Post-Game Talk: The worst part is when they gave you hope

[guymez]

It’s clear they’re gripping their sticks tight again and overthinking the game.

I scoffed when some said that the Bolts game broke the team after Skinjob shit the bed in it, but it’s looking like an awfully interesting coincidence now

They scored 1 freaking goal and thats the best they could muster against a weak defensive team.
They do not handle adversity very well....especailly in game adversity.
This team is a great front runner but ultimately it gets deflated way too easily.
They played a bad PK team and came up -1. I watched this team doing the same shit that they were doing at the start of the season. Forcing passes...bad puck management.
How is it that the team can be so good and then so bad so quickly?

That is a question of fortitude and a will to win. Grind and keep grinding instead of looking for an easy solution. Like or hate the Cannucks that team grinds.
This team doesnt. This team likes it easy.
This rollercoaster (win a bunch...lose a bunch) is going to continue until that changes.

I still maintain that some strong Vet leadership would help. A vet player that can ignite this overly introverted leadership group that gets into their heads too easily.

A player like Pat Marron would be a valuable add IMO.

 

[Oilhawks]

They scored 1 freaking goal and thats the best they could muster against a weak defensive team.
They do not handle adversity very well....especailly in game adversity.
This team is a great front runner but ultimately it gets deflated way too easily.
They played a bad PK team and came up -1. I watched this team doing the same shit that they were doing at the start of the season. Forcing passes...bad puck management.
How is it that the team can be so good and then so bad so quickly?

That is a question of fortitude and a will to win. Grind and keep grinding instead of looking for an easy solution. Like or hate the Cannucks that team grinds.
This team doesnt. This team likes it easy.
This rollercoaster (win a bunch...lose a bunch) is going to continue until that changes.

I still maintain that some strong Vet leadership would help. A vet player that can ignite this overly introverted leadership group that gets into their heads too easily.

A player like Pat Marron would be a valuable add IMO.

Agree but meh to the bolded. If this team had Demko and the Nucks PDO they would be gunning for the President's Trophy. They haven't really faced any adversity so it's difficult to predict how they will handle it. I don't believe in that core whatsoever. (Not that this one inspires much confidence)

A player like vintage Maroon would be great, agreed. The current version wouldn't make a big difference IMO.

There is no reason that they can't go for a cheap vet goalie and bottom 6 player to shake things up a bit. Ideally they get an upgrade on Ceci but I think that's a bridge too far for Jackson and Holland.

 

[Soundwave]

They scored 1 freaking goal and thats the best they could muster against a weak defensive team.
They do not handle adversity very well....especailly in game adversity.
This team is a great front runner but ultimately it gets deflated way too easily.
They played a bad PK team and came up -1. I watched this team doing the same shit that they were doing at the start of the season. Forcing passes...bad puck management.
How is it that the team can be so good and then so bad so quickly?

That is a question of fortitude and a will to win. Grind and keep grinding instead of looking for an easy solution. Like or hate the Cannucks that team grinds.
This team doesnt. This team likes it easy.
This rollercoaster (win a bunch...lose a bunch) is going to continue until that changes.

I still maintain that some strong Vet leadership would help. A vet player that can ignite this overly introverted leadership group that gets into their heads too easily.

A player like Pat Marron would be a valuable add IMO.

The thing that isn't accounted for is how long this has gone on. This is now a year+ here, last year Campbell crapped the bed a lot and Skinner destroyed them in the playoffs, but they still kept fighting on.

What happens when you let that go for too long is it breaks a team. I think the same would happen to any team ... Vegas, Colorado, etc. if you put them in the same situation.

This team got a mulligan for its goaltending mistakes last year and they still sat on their ass and did nothing in the summer but gamble again on the same goaltending tandem. It's destroyed the team's confidence and resulted in a team that is extremely fragile mentally, when a game like the Tampa one (which is one of the best efforts of the year for everyone but the goaltending), it sends the team into a spiral.

People want to yell and scream and say "just play better!", I don't think it works like that, these things are interconnected, confidence is interconnected. If you want proof of that take the 2005-06 Oilers, they are a team everyone who was here in 2006 10000% loved, but even they had stretches where they would tune out and go on stinkers because of continual bad goaltending. And that team has the character to make a Cup Final, but they were still prone to falling apart for a while without goaltending.

It's exhausting to have the 2nd best goaltender every night, night after night.

 

[ThePhoenixx]

.850 vs .969

.872 vs .974

.773 vs .930

Last 3 losses.

The last two Holland signings (around 10 milllion) are absolute garbage. The team was on the cusp of winning and he brought in Campbell and Brown. Add in the dead cap space from the buyout and you have a Connor McDavid (12.5) sitting in the stands every night.

Add in the crap goaltending with a team who watches management keep the fellow most responsible...no wonder morale is at an all time low.

 

[brentashton]

It's exhausting to have the 2nd best goaltender every night, night after night.

You‘re assuming our on ice goalie is better than their back up on the bench. Not sure I can even assume that.

I think on many nights we might only have the 3rd best goalie.

 

[frag2]

Roloson I will give you that, but peca was shit that year, and he turn it up in playoffs.
Brown will be Pisani lol

More like Brown will be Conklin

Or at least have as many goals as him anyway

 

[Oilers]

We need a goalie, but I dont think last nights game is all on Skinner.

We were brutal on special teams.

 

[russ99]

It’s such a cop out to blame the goalie for the skaters’ lack of team cohesion and willingness to work, and thinking shots alone will let them easily coast to a win.

 

[nexttothemoon]

Vancouver and Vegas are the 2 best teams in the league. Thats just pain.

KIngs/Canucks/Knights... 3 best teams in the NHL right now.

Oilers are in a brutal division and a wild card spot is the best it's gonna get for them... if they can rebound and even pull that out of the bag. If Arizona is for real... and the longer the season goes... the more it looks like they are... the Oilers have a pretty brutal path to even grabbing a wildcard spot.

Missing the playoffs is something zero expected this year... but after I watched those 2 games vs the Canucks to start the year... I thought this team was likely toast.


The hot 8 game win streak shocked me with how well they played... especially defensively.. and I started to think this team definitely has a chance... but they are so damn up and down... the pendulum seems to swing so hard from positive times then to depressingly negative times with this team.

If I had to bet I would say no way they get a wildcard spot with how the team is currently constructed... just not enough skill+desire+heart+resilience in this club. When you lack in maybe 1 or 2 of those categories you can still squeak through... but they lack in all 4.

I'm normally pretty optimistic but I'm pretty gloomy on their chances of a wildcard spot with the way the team is currently constructed.

 

[BlackDogg]

Painful would be paying 1.5M for a crackhouse in Vancouver. jmo

How do you know its a crackhouse?

Well its in Vancouver sir.

 

[BertMcDrai]

This team is so frustrating...it's so bipolar...I could think as a long time fan of this team you are supposed to be bipolar or shizophrenic someday...I guess half of us need a therapist or just live with being mentally ill ;-)

 

[YakDavid]

We need a goalie, but I dont think last nights game is all on Skinner.

We were brutal on special teams.

We need to upgrade goaltending but we also need to not give up three goals on special teams. Last year our powerplay was clutch and this year it kills any momentum.

 

[joestevens29]

Said it all season this team lacks leadership.

 

[nexttothemoon]

Here's a stat to ponder...

Lavoie has 10 hits for the Oilers in the 6 games he played (7:36 TOI per game for those 6 games).
Brown has 11 hits in the 23 games he's played. (14:26 TOI per game).



Brown obviously is useless offensively... you would think he'd at least try to be a tiny bit physical out there in lieu of any offensive production and his mediocre defensive abilities (carrying around the worst +/- on the team).

I think the guy legit is playing as carefully and easy as possible with no extra exertion as he doesn't want to get re-injured and risk never getting another contract because GM's will know he's a bandaid at this point... problem is he's being so ineffective that no one will want to sign him anyway with the less than nothing performances he's posting on the daily.

 

[McDNicks17]

I love how Skinner doesn't even push off before the puck is on Holmstrom's stick haha.

 

[mkatcherin00]

View attachment 787262

I love how Skinner doesn't even push off before the puck is on Holmstrom's stick haha.

Lundqvist would tell his dmen to be very aggressive and just attack the guy with the puck and he will deal with the one timer /breakaway

He said he played better knowing what was going to happen right away and just dealing with it.

Skinner should tell his guys the same. What Bouchard did there was useless lol

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

They scored 1 freaking goal and thats the best they could muster against a weak defensive team.
They do not handle adversity very well....especailly in game adversity.
This team is a great front runner but ultimately it gets deflated way too easily.
They played a bad PK team and came up -1. I watched this team doing the same shit that they were doing at the start of the season. Forcing passes...bad puck management.
How is it that the team can be so good and then so bad so quickly?

That is a question of fortitude and a will to win. Grind and keep grinding instead of looking for an easy solution. Like or hate the Cannucks that team grinds.
This team doesnt. This team likes it easy.
This rollercoaster (win a bunch...lose a bunch) is going to continue until that changes.

I still maintain that some strong Vet leadership would help. A vet player that can ignite this overly introverted leadership group that gets into their heads too easily.

A player like Pat Marron would be a valuable add IMO.

lack of character and leadership to stay at an even keel

when things go well, everyone is confident and playing like they should and they look like Cup favorites

the second something goes wrong, they have no idea how to grind, work hard and stay in the fight...they get frustrated and start playing stupid

 

[Oil53]

2015 was the best of times and the worst of times.
Got McDavid and Chiarelli.Instead of rebuilding we are retooling ,throwing assets away to try and win a Stanley with an 18 year old leading the charge.Canned Chia way to late and bring in another past his prime GM who continues to flush assets for bandade repairs.We are now void of enough assets to fix this no depth team.Trading Drai may be the only way to try and fix the multiple holes that need to be fixed.Yes,we can scream about this leading to McD leaving but at this level of play I think there is a very good possibility of that happening anyway.Fire away.

 

[McDNicks17]

It's looking like you can add Simon Holmstrom to the list of guys they should have drafted over Broberg.

 

[Soundwave]

lack of character and leadership to stay at an even keel

when things go well, everyone is confident and playing like they should and they look like Cup favorites

the second something goes wrong, they have no idea how to grind, work hard and stay in the fight...they get frustrated and start playing stupid

Any team would break after 16 months of dog shit goaltending. Vegas would.

The 05-06 Oilers … did they lack leadership? They were a Cup challenger, no? They had stretches like this too after the goaltending would crap the bed before Lowe finally fixed the problem.

 

[Lacaar]

I think Devan Toews had a great quote last night that to me describes this hockey team. Even though he wasn't talking about the Oilers.

I think we got some guys who think they’re playing well and I think they’re kidding themselves at this point​

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

Any team would break after 16 months of dog shit goaltending. Vegas would.

The 05-06 Oilers … did they lack leadership? They were a Cup challenger, no? They had stretches like this too after the goaltending would crap the bed before Lowe finally fixed the problem.

they've scored 2 goals the past 2 games...goaltending is a problem but so is offense now

and no, the 2005-06 didn't lack leadership...they also were 16-11-2 after 29 games that year with "shit" goaltending because they grinded out wins

 

[iCanada]

The thing that isn't accounted for is how long this has gone on. This is now a year+ here, last year Campbell crapped the bed a lot and Skinner destroyed them in the playoffs, but they still kept fighting on.

What happens when you let that go for too long is it breaks a team. I think the same would happen to any team ... Vegas, Colorado, etc. if you put them in the same situation.

This team got a mulligan for its goaltending mistakes last year and they still sat on their ass and did nothing in the summer but gamble again on the same goaltending tandem. It's destroyed the team's confidence and resulted in a team that is extremely fragile mentally, when a game like the Tampa one (which is one of the best efforts of the year for everyone but the goaltending), it sends the team into a spiral.

People want to yell and scream and say "just play better!", I don't think it works like that, these things are interconnected, confidence is interconnected. If you want proof of that take the 2005-06 Oilers, they are a team everyone who was here in 2006 10000% loved, but even they had stretches where they would tune out and go on stinkers because of continual bad goaltending. And that team has the character to make a Cup Final, but they were still prone to falling apart for a while without goaltending.

It's exhausting to have the 2nd best goaltender every night, night after night.

That 05-06 team even fell apart in the final based on Goaltending.

The Oilers that came in to game 2 weren't nearly the same oilers that went into game 1.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

That felt like an early season game. Generally carry the play, but unable to buy a goal and a bad giveaway ends up as a odd man break to seal the game...

Though on thing I notice is there's a lot of throwing the puck at the net and just hoping it pin balls in. They're still unable to (or don't look to) generate a clean look for a good shot. It leads to them looking like they can't shoot, but we know that's not true. It's rather a case that they don't look to break down defences and the attack the high slot, but they want to move the puck to the blue line for a point shot and then hope someone (normally Hyman or Kane) can win a 1 on 1 in front of the net.


Brown is the the most snake bitten guy I've seen since Rieder. What makes him particularly frustrating is the fact he gets chances, but the guy's got to be closing in on 10 posts on the season already. Though I didn't mostly mind what I saw out of him and McLeod in the highlights. It was an upgrade on the early season.

 

[joestevens29]

they've scored 2 goals the past 2 games...goaltending is a problem but so is offense now

and no, the 2005-06 didn't lack leadership...they also were 16-11-2 after 29 games that year with "shit" goaltending because they grinded out wins

That team actually did lack leadership. It wasn't until the coaches decided to run a "we are going to get fired so let's just teach them shot blocking" practice that the players smartened up.

I mean they had the players for it, but they needed a wake up call.

This club clearly doesn't have the vocal leadership though