Post-Game Talk: Steely Resolve

[Whyme]

Plus-minus needs context because the minus portion is dependent upon goaltender performance.

In the first 21 games, the Oilers scored 82 goals on 676 shots (12.1% shooting percentage) and allowed 61 goals on 714 shots against (0.915 SV%). That's a total goal differential of +21, averaging +1.00 per game.

The next 23 games, the Oilers scored 61 goals on 792 shots (7.7% shooting percentage) and allowed 85 goals on 702 shots against (0.879 SV%). That's a total goal differential of -24, averaging -1.04 per game.

Assuming league average save percentage (0.904) for both stretches (and yes, I do know that we give up some really dangerous chances against, but that's true for both stretches), we should have allowed 69 goals against in the first stretch and 67 goals against in the second stretch. That would mean a total goal differential of +13 in the first stretch (+0.62 per game) and -6 in the second stretch (-0.23 per game).

It's always nice when someone goes through some effort to base their thoughts so thank you! I agree, but (sorry) still do think +- tells something. I mean all stats have their problems. Even point totals, where things like TOI, PP time, linemates, empty netters etc. play a big part. The way I see it is that part of the reason why the goal difference was worse in the 2nd half was that McDavid and Drai couldn't carry the team the way they did in the first half. I know I'm not alone with these thoughts and some media like the EJ saw a decline in the performance too (according to player grades).

 

[McTonyBrar]

 

[Duke74]

Some quick observations:

-Great for Woody to get his first win!

-Smith was awesome. More Smith like this please!

-Still a lot of defensive miscues and odd-man rushes against. I have faith Woody will try to get that out of their system.

-McDavid, along with several others, seemed re-energized. He looked like the old McDavid, which is telling about his feelings for Tippett.

-Pooly also seemed like the Pooly from the beginning of the year. Another player that likely struggled under Tippett.

-Not a huge issue but did anyone think Draisaitl should've gotten an assist on Pooly's goal? He won the face-off, the puck squirted past an Islander and McDavid, who both swiped at it but missed, and straight to Pulju. Maybe an Islander touched it enroute, but it was hard to tell.

 

[McTonyBrar]

 

[LTIR]

Train tracks..
Looks like its back to basics for Oil

 

[SwedishFire]

Some quick observations:

-Great for Woody to get his first win!

-Smith was awesome. More Smith like this please!

-Still a lot of defensive miscues and odd-man rushes against. I have faith Woody will try to get that out of their system.

-McDavid, along with several others, seemed re-energized. He looked like the old McDavid, which is telling about his feelings for Tippett.

-Pooly also seemed like the Pooly from the beginning of the year. Another player that likely struggled under Tippett.

-Not a huge issue but did anyone think Draisaitl should've gotten an assist on Pooly's goal? He won the face-off, the puck squirted past an Islander and McDavid, who both swiped at it but missed, and straight to Pulju. Maybe an Islander touched it enroute, but it was hard to tell.

I think points is the last thing to focus on. Draisaitl has got his Hart, Rocket, 40 goals and the highest scoring german in history. He is already a HoF, he can just ignore numbers. Hopefully he realise that, and the same goes for McDavid. They dont actually nees to think of stacking points they got their personal accolades, and its time to be a playoff winner. A more complete player.

Woodcrafts close relation to the upcoming Bakersfielder and communication is great for this team. I hope for success. I think Nuese and Draisaitls defensive commitment is crucial. Those are the inofficial leaders of the team. If they get mojo, everbody else follows. McDavid is that great student that does a lot of thinfs right, but he just doesnt hit it socially.

 

[Duke74]

I think points is the last thing to focus on. Draisaitl has got his Hart, Rocket, 40 goals and the highest scoring german in history. He is already a HoF, he can just ignore numbers. Hopefully he realise that, and the same goes for McDavid. They dont actually nees to think of stacking points they got their personal accolades, and its time to be a playoff winner. A more complete player.

Woodcrafts close relation to the upcoming Bakersfielder and communication is great for this team. I hope for success. I think Nuese and Draisaitls defensive commitment is crucial. Those are the inofficial leaders of the team. If they get mojo, everbody else follows. McDavid is that great student that does a lot of thinfs right, but he just doesnt hit it socially.

I completely agree that wins and not points should be the focus. I loved Draisaitl's diving backcheck last night. Wonder if the mains took notice, especially that WooTangClan troll that's always slamming him and McDavid for their lack of defence and leadership.

I just found it strange that they took Draisaitl's assist away on that play. BTW, I've also seen Puljujarvi lose several assists on plays where I think he touched the puck. NHL scorekeeping needs to be more accurate in that regard.

 

[Stoneman89]

Some quick observations:

-Great for Woody to get his first win!

-Smith was awesome. More Smith like this please!

-Still a lot of defensive miscues and odd-man rushes against. I have faith Woody will try to get that out of their system.

-McDavid, along with several others, seemed re-energized. He looked like the old McDavid, which is telling about his feelings for Tippett.

-Pooly also seemed like the Pooly from the beginning of the year. Another player that likely struggled under Tippett.

-Not a huge issue but did anyone think Draisaitl should've gotten an assist on Pooly's goal? He won the face-off, the puck squirted past an Islander and McDavid, who both swiped at it but missed, and straight to Pulju. Maybe an Islander touched it enroute, but it was hard to tell.

Tippet was the coach when Pulju started the year so strongly though, same with McDavid. But it was definitely well past time for a change.
And it's amazing how a great goaltending performance can mask so many things, and make other players and the coach look pretty good.
I wonder where all the guys that were constantly lambasting Tippett for using Smith are, after this game?

 

[gordonhught]

Never been as interested in practises as I am now.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Some quick observations:

-Great for Woody to get his first win!

-Smith was awesome. More Smith like this please!

-Still a lot of defensive miscues and odd-man rushes against. I have faith Woody will try to get that out of their system.

-McDavid, along with several others, seemed re-energized. He looked like the old McDavid, which is telling about his feelings for Tippett.

-Pooly also seemed like the Pooly from the beginning of the year. Another player that likely struggled under Tippett.

-Not a huge issue but did anyone think Draisaitl should've gotten an assist on Pooly's goal? He won the face-off, the puck squirted past an Islander and McDavid, who both swiped at it but missed, and straight to Pulju. Maybe an Islander touched it enroute, but it was hard to tell.

I don't get it either. I've never seen an assist not awarded for a clearly won faceoff win like that. Even if an Islander barely touched or tipped the puck it doesn't interrupt the possession sequence anymore than it would a delayed penalty. Assists are usually awarded in this kind of play.

I don't agree that Pulju struggled under Tippett. Indeed Pulju found his traction under Tippett, and quite clearly.

 

[Drivesaitl]

I completely agree that wins and not points should be the focus. I loved Draisaitl's diving backcheck last night. Wonder if the mains took notice, especially that WooTangClan troll that's always slamming him and McDavid for their lack of defence and leadership.

I just found it strange that they took Draisaitl's assist away on that play. BTW, I've also seen Puljujarvi lose several assists on plays where I think he touched the puck. NHL scorekeeping needs to be more accurate in that regard.

Drai will never get the defensive acclaim that seems to be so automatically granted to players like Barkov who just play in better teams with better rosters. Not sure what it is, but Drai is just that kind of player that opponent fans, journalists, hockey people just kind of dislike. They will refuse to give him his due and this the case always. would be interesting if drai even got his dues if McD wasn't here. I don't see it as a Malkin situation either. Drai doesn't get the attention that Malkin does in any broadcast.

Now that said there was a lot of give up in Drais game I felt in moments over the last several weeks. he was taking himself out of games through frustration, getting upset, and blowing some of his steam emotionally instead of channeling intensity on ice.

 

[Louis Cypher]

Who is that? Lol

Not sure but looks pretty good for her age.

 

[Duke74]

I don't get it either. I've never seen an assist not awarded for a clearly won faceoff win like that. Even if an Islander barely touched or tipped the puck it doesn't interrupt the possession sequence anymore than it would a delayed penalty. Assists are usually awarded in this kind of play.

I don't agree that Pulju struggled under Tippett. Indeed Pulju found his traction under Tippett, and quite clearly.

Tippett did help Pulju at first, but then something happened that caused his confidence to deteriorate and Tippett didn't really do anything to build it back up. I think Woodcroft might be the ideal coach for Pulju, who seems to still struggle with confidence. He has all of the tools but when something takes him off track, he gets down on himself and it snowballs from there. Hopefully that's something that gets corrected with time.

 

[Duke74]

Drai will never get the defensive acclaim that seems to be so automatically granted to players like Barkov who just play in better teams with better rosters. Not sure what it is, but Drai is just that kind of player that opponent fans, journalists, hockey people just kind of dislike. They will refuse to give him his due and this the case always. would be interesting if drai even got his dues if McD wasn't here. I don't see it as a Malkin situation either. Drai doesn't get the attention that Malkin does in any broadcast.

Now that said there was a lot of give up in Drais game I felt in moments over the last several weeks. he was taking himself out of games through frustration, getting upset, and blowing some of his steam emotionally instead of channeling intensity on ice.

That's a good observation. I think he suffers from a similar syndrome as Pulju but instead of getting sad like Jesse, he gets angry and frustrated, which isn't a good look. Maybe the team should employ a psychiatrist to help with some of these issues and strengthen players' ability to deal with adversity. Or maybe this is something coaching helps with but Tippett certainly didn't have that ability.

 

[Drivesaitl]

That's a good observation. I think he suffers from a similar syndrome as Pulju but instead of getting sad like Jesse, he gets angry and frustrated, which isn't a good look. Maybe the team should employ a psychiatrist to help with some of these issues and strengthen players' ability to deal with adversity. Or maybe this is something coaching helps with but Tippett certainly didn't have that ability.

Sometimes people just need a shift in tone. Tippett is 60yrs old. Its hard at that age to convey the same enthusiasm, joy, positivity for the game, even though he has it, doesn't translate as well to a younger crowd. I mean this is what Woodcroft looks like. He conveys joy just with his look. without even words. A lot of energy that people feel is communicated visually, and not just with words. A person like Woodcroft can transform the feel of a room. Bring it positivity. It takes a lot of energy to face the world with this kind of smile but it can transform the feel of a room too.

 

[rboomercat90]

Who is that? Lol

Alice Eve.

 

[nally]

For sure not resigning here

 

[nally]

What a difference Smith makes on our defense and passing game. His handling if the puck is the perfect combo to our dman

 

[AM]

Sometimes people just need a shift in tone. Tippett is 60yrs old. Its hard at that age to convey the same enthusiasm, joy, positivity for the game, even though he has it, doesn't translate as well to a younger crowd. I mean this is what Woodcroft looks like. He conveys joy just with his look. without even words. A lot of energy that people feel is communicated visually, and not just with words. A person like Woodcroft can transform the feel of a room. Bring it positivity. It takes a lot of energy to face the world with this kind of smile but it can transform the feel of a room too.

View attachment 506733

Ageism isn’t acceptable. And it’s got nothing to do with his age. If a coach needs to be a booster, the problems run to personnel.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Ageism isn’t acceptable. And it’s got nothing to do with his age.

It isn't ageism. I'm the identical age of Tippett in anycase. Its harder to communicate infectious joy and enthusiasm at age 60 than younger. The Oilers have lately been a sad, angry frustrated team and locked in some of those emotions. Tippett, too, has been understandably sad in that. Theres a lot that has happened here that has taken energy and joy out of the lineup. Could be Woodcroft is communicating joy and enthusiasm more effectively. he's putting it out there anyway. We'll see if its a better time coming to the rink now and if this transforms a better feeling within team. This is no knock, on Tippett, I'm a fan, but he was wearing the same sadness the players were. This lead to a feeling that nobody had the way and confidence to alter path.

 

[AM]

It isn't ageism. I'm the identical age of Tippett in anycase. Its harder to communicate infectious joy and enthusiasm at age 60 than younger. The Oilers have lately been a sad, angry frustrated team and locked in some of those emotions. Tippett, too, has been understandably sad in that. Theres a lot that has happened here that has taken energy and joy out of the lineup. Could be Woodcroft is communicating joy and enthusiasm more effectively. he's putting it out there anyway. We'll see if its a better time coming to the rink now and if this transforms a better feeling within team. This is no knock, on Tippett, I'm a fan, but he was wearing the same sadness the players were. This lead to a feeling that nobody had the way and confidence to alter path.

Just because you of an age obviously doesn’t mean all the aged are identical. If this team needs anything it is something like the guy in Calgary brings. Imagine the joy of the players on the team when the surly are called out for their missed defensive plays.

 

[Took a pill in Sbisa]

Talk about a late announcement, baby will be here by playoff time

 

[onetweasy]

Just because you of an age obviously doesn’t mean all the aged are identical. If this team needs anything it is something like the guy in Calgary brings. Imagine the joy of the players on the team when the surly are called out for their missed defensive plays.

Let’s see what the man down south brings when he isn’t getting vezina level goaltending and half a team on pdo heaters.

 

[AM]

Let’s see what the man down south brings when he isn’t getting vezina level goaltending and half a team on pdo heaters.

Wow, that’s inspiration for you!

 

[onetweasy]

Wow, that’s inspiration for you!

Not sure what your point is but sure.