GDT: Somethings A Bruin At Home - #5 // Bruins @ Oilers // Oct 18 @ 7 PM MST // TV: SNET

[harpoon]

Ugh 1 Defenceman that in the lineup that WILL make mistakes is bad, 2 that are essentially guaranteed to make mistakes is a recipe for disaster. Like I've said for 2 failed off seasons in a row, Chia has done jack **** to address the biggest glaring holes on our team.

To be fair he’s tried to address what he thought were the holes in the team, never quite got got that job done as you say, and then he realized he’d ripped new holes in the roster elsewhere. Oops.

The point you raise is precisely one of the reasons I can’t blame it all on the coach when I can look and see for myself that the roster isn’t good enough. McLellan is making mistakes for sure but good lord this roster is paper thin from top to bottom. And as much as I dislike Chiarelli’s record as GM I’d have to say that there are guys - as many as six or seven probably - who should be playing with a lot more urgency shift by shift based on the chances and opportunities they’ve been given with this squad. Chiarelli wasn’t being totally unreasonable to expect some of these players to perform better than they’ve shown over the last fifty games.

One thing I would say about the coach is he should play Koskinen at least once right away here imo. I’d have been tempted to give him this game if I were coach, but he needs to get some ice. Pay premium for a backup so Talbot can get some rest and reset time, better start using him. Need to see what he can do as well.

 

[McClelland]

Want to see signs of a improved pp, want to see a pk without having breast pains every time!

Some secondary scoring would be great, Want to see Lellan coaching for once, dont put out Benning against Bruins toplines and reduce his D zonestarts, Talbot also need to make som big saves early one.

Bruins BtB but also fired up from a lost, 4-3 Oilers!

Say hi to Mary Jane!

 

[joestevens29]

To be fair he’s tried to address what he thought were the holes in the team, never quite got got that job done as you say, and then he realized he’d ripped new holes in the roster elsewhere. Oops.

The point you raise is precisely one of the reasons I can’t blame it all on the coach when I can look and see for myself that the roster isn’t good enough. McLellan is making mistakes for sure but good lord this roster is paper thin from top to bottom. And as much as I dislike Chiarelli’s record as GM I’d have to say that there are guys - as many as six or seven probably - who should be playing with a lot more urgency shift by shift based on the chances and opportunities they’ve been given with this squad. Chiarelli wasn’t being totally unreasonable to expect some of these players to perform better than they’ve shown over the last fifty games.

One thing I would say about the coach is he should play Koskinen at least once right away here imo. I’d have been tempted to give him this game if I were coach, but he needs to get some ice. Pay premium for a backup so Talbot can get some rest and reset time, better start using him. Need to see what he can do as well.

I can see why Talbot has been playing. Wanted the Rags game against old team, coach wanted to ride the hot hand last game and then tonight it's the home opener. Not exactly odd for the starter to play this one either.

That and it's only 5 games in spread across a lot of days

Personally as a fan and if I were a coach I'm far more concerned about getting Talbot on track.

 

[sundaysleftovers]

Want to see signs of a improved pp, want to see a pk without having breast pains every time!

Some secondary scoring would be great, Want to see Lellan coaching for once, dont put out Benning against Bruins toplines and reduce his D zonestarts, Talbot also need to make som big saves early one.

Bruins BtB but also fired up from a lost, 4-3 Oilers!

Say hi to Mary Jane!

Sounds like Trent Yawney runs the defense and deploys them as he see's fit. McLellan mentioned this a couple times in his interviews.

So we might see more defense pairing match ups on home ice. Klef and Lars will probs see the top line most of the night.

 

[bone]

He's a top-4 defenseman, he's played like it continually since he's been an Oiler. He has flaws in his game, but he's top-4 defenseman. You people

Let's just meet in the middle and say, I like him as a number 5 as he can be serviceable in the 4 spot when injuries happen. When he's number 4 in a healthy lineup that's when trouble starts in my opinion.

Problem is that people can't separate that from his contract as he's paid to be a 4 that can fill in as a 3 as opposed to a 5 that can fill in as a 4. He is the 87th highest cap hit defense man in the league if he was closer to about 110th highest cap hit (i.e. between 2.7-3.2M) people would be happier about him. But that's not his fault for asking for that much. It's Chia's fault for giving it to him.

 

[guymez]

Sure, but a lot of that comes with experience which young D just don't have the opportunity to acquire. So in a sense it's a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

I think they can acquire it in the right situation. For the most part they need to be supported by being brought along slowly and not pushed too high in the lineup too fast.

Kind of the way they are handling Bouchard.

 

[guymez]

He deserves a lot of criticism but as the old saying goes,

"Can't make chicken salad out of chicken ****".

There is some truth to this but its more complicated than that.
I think when players confidence is involved its a difficult thing to balance hurting the team and derailing a players development. Its not an easy thing to balance and posters havent got a clue about what goes on in practice and the film room. So its more than just what they see on TV thats has to be factored into things.

That said of course more depth is always better as it provides more options.

On that note TMac doesn't have a lot to work with..

 

[McClelland]

Sounds like Trent Yawney runs the defense and deploys them as he see's fit. McLellan mentioned this a couple times in his interviews.

So we might see more defense pairing match ups on home ice. Klef and Lars will probs see the top line most of the night.

Hope so! I thought Larsson had a great game against pegs, played simple out of zone , had some crisp passes who could result in scoringchances, Klefbom had a decent game. thinks he will contribute more in the offense as the season continues, he was a wreck last season at times, plays a safe game so he can find his stride.

 

[guymez]

Hope so! I thought Larsson had a great game against pegs, played simple out of zone , had some crisp passes who could result in scoringchances, Klefbom had a decent game. thinks he will contribute more in the offense as the season continues, he was a wreck last season at times, plays safe game so he can find his stride.

They really do need someone on the 3rd pairing to step up though.
They cant keep playing Nurse, Larsson and Klefbom inflated minutes to compensate for the poor showings on the 3rd pairing.
This is why i was pushing so hard for a trade for a 4/5 dman.

Its not a great option but I am wondering if Gravel might be better than what they have right now.

 

[Little Fury]

He deserves a lot of criticism but as the old saying goes,

"Can't make chicken salad out of chicken ****".

I wonder if TMac is dumbing down the gameplan because he doesn't trust the roster with anything more complicated than "fire it around the boards then dump it in" or if he's just that old-school.

 

[StevenF1919]

He's a top-4 defenseman, he's played like it continually since he's been an Oiler. He has flaws in his game, but he's top-4 defenseman. You people

Since he's been an Oiler, the team has been outshot (negative corsi and corsi rel) and outscored (negative gf% and gf% rel) when he's on the ice. He's 6th of all Edmonton dmen in 5v5 P/60 and 8th in 5v5 P1/60 over that period. His wins above replacement rating is -0.09, so he's worse than an average replacement level player.

Even if you just use the eye test, he can't handle the puck, can't make a pass, is constantly hemmed in his own zone because of his poor clearing attempts, has poor gap control, constantly gives up zone entries because of his lack of aggression at the blueline, and routinely makes poor decisions with the puck in the offensive zone. His only positive quality is skating. In what world is he a top 4 dman? He's barely even good enough for the bottom pairing.

 

[McClelland]

They really do need someone on the 3rd pairing to step up though.
They cant keep playing Nurse, Larsson and Klefbom inflated minutes to compensate for the poor showings on the 3rd pairing.
This is why i was pushing so hard for a trade for a 4/5 dman.

Its not a great option but I am wondering if Gravel might be better than what they have right now.

Thought people said we was deeper at D this season, but cant see it. We switched Gryba with another kind of Gryba and Sekera out longtime again. A injure to the top 3 nd we have some playing over their head again.

Blame Chia who done nothing yet to make us deeper, he didnt expect klef to have misery season, but i think you are spot on. that we need to upgrade our bottom pair somehow. Havent seen enough of bear to have opinion yet.

Garrisson wouldnt be a lost to waive, but i think they still dont want to lose Benning for nothing.

Dont updated at how many contract we are at, Garrisson who clear doesnt open up a spot either.

 

[NeverForget06]

I'm nervous that if we win this game I might start believing again

 

[Canada Drai]

Lmfao was using IE because I wanted to check something logged out real quick and got a virus scam full page warning from this site. Lmfao what.

 

[Mr Tadakichi]

Lmfao was using IE because I wanted to check something logged out real quick and got a virus scam full page warning from this site. Lmfao what.

Haha, my tk virus is working.

Brb, stealing your id.

 

[Canada Drai]

Haha, my tk virus is working.

Brb, stealing your id.

I enjoyed my stay, I'll see you all under the name Canada Wet.

 

[McTrashBoat]

Lmfao was using IE because I wanted to check something logged out real quick and got a virus scam full page warning from this site. Lmfao what.

didn't think the posting was that bad lately

 

[Canada Drai]

didn't think the posting was that bad lately

Just goes to show you can't trust HFOil

 

[guymez]

Thought people said we was deeper at D this season, but cant see it. We switched Gryba with another kind of Gryba and Sekera out longtime again. A injure to the top 3 nd we have some playing over their head again.

Blame Chia who done nothing yet to make us deeper, he didnt expect klef to have misery season, but i think you are spot on. that we need to upgrade our bottom pair somehow. Havent seen enough of bear to have opinion yet.

Garrisson wouldnt be a lost to waive, but i think they still dont want to lose Benning for nothing.

Dont updated at how many contract we are at, Garrisson who clear doesnt open up a spot either.

I think the team was deeper just prior to the Sekera injury.
With Sekera in the lineup (assuming he is close to the Sekera in early 2017) the defence is actually just fine IMO.
That would bump down Russell to play on his proper wing and help mentor a player like Bouchard who they could switch on and off with Benning. It also alows for a limited amount of buffer if (when) a top 4 dman gets injured.

Like you said though with Sekera not available this defence is precariously close to disaster if another top 3 dman gets hurt. I cant imagine that Chia is comfortable with this situation.

He has to do something but he may be trying to see what he really has on the roster so he can properly evaluate worth before making a trade.
I am not sure about that but it makes sense to me.

Its not without risk though. He is risking his job.

 

[The Head Crusher]

Hopefully we can catch them on the end of this back to back. And Patrice Bergeron I Am Crushing Your Head!

 

[Jumptheshark]

me tonight

 

[talitintti]

Statement game. Home opener. Please put on a great effort.

 

[RegDunlop]

Just arrived here from NS. If Marchand does anything foolish, I’m jumping outta my seat and knee bombing him from the 2nd level. Then I’ll get him in the summer in his home in NS

We'll all be watching for you!

 

[780il]

Hopefully we can catch them on the end of this back to back. And Patrice Bergeron I Am Crushing Your Head!

The gif in the post and in your profile pic not being in sync is killing me rn.

 

[McDrai]

We always seem to follow up a terrific game with an absolute dud. Hopefully that is not the case tonight. Hoping for a good start with home opener advantage