Post-Game Talk: We will never win 2 in a row again.

[Anarchism]

All of the following can be true:

-Drai is an amazing player
-Drai is a little worn out due to all the minutes he’s playing
-he’s not playing great

The hot takes on here are so frustrating. No, Drai is not “drunk” and he isn’t “trash”.

On the flip side, some of the mental gymnastics being done to defend him are also hilarious. He doesn’t need to be prime Crosby, but he can tie his man up and have a little more defensive awareness. That will not detract from his offensive game. And I don’t think it’s unfair to ask him to do that, I don’t care how many minutes he playing.

SIt that boy down for a couple of weeks

 

[SwedishFire]

McDavid has superhuman stamina other players don't. You can't play Leon the minutes they were playing him and think there will be no downside to it.

Team needs to trade for offensive help so players aren't played to death by Christmas plain and simple.

I also think this is the real problem. Long term stamina, or fatigue as you said it. I remember Nuge had a share from the fans last year of this critic?

Holland shouldnt rush anything, but, a good evulation, of what can develope or not develope in this organisation, and trade that material that doesnt fit in bottom 6 for forward help.

Neal isnt the problem,
Nuge isnt the problem, but the 2nd line with the combo of Neal-Nuge not having great chemistry is a problem.

 

[Bring Back Bucky]

I’m still f***ing livid that I stayed up for an 11 pm game to watch some asshole kick a f***ing puck in the net like he’s f***ing Pele

 

[GOilers88]

Umm, maybe you didn't understand what I wrote. I expected the EXACT OPPOSITE of the team "to become a playoff contender over the course of one summer". I expected the team to perform pretty much exactly how it did last year, because there was no significant changes made in the off-season, and that is exactly what has happened. We are trending for another bottom-10 finish. The people who were talking about the Oilers making the playoffs back in November are the ones with expectations that are out of whack.

How are they trending for a bottom 10 finish exactly? The team has made big improvements, specifically on the special teams. That doesn't include Koskinen proving himself either. The bottom six has been contributing for the past three to four weeks as well but it just happens to coincide with McDrai going cold.

The Pacific Division ensures this is a wildcard team, and they are.

 

[Stoneman89]

this is why we need top 6 help and NEEEEEED to trade futures for the help

guys are being run down, playing PK, EV, and full 2 mins on the PP.
hopefully gets some rest and is good to go for calgary and 2020

should sit for all star game too tbh

Not at all. Most pundits predicted anout of the playoffs finish for us, and I suspect most people on here would have done the same. To this point, we've over-achieved, mostly due to Koskinen being way better than anyone thought he could, and McDavid and Drai starting off like a house on fire. They are now trending to what they really are, and were expected to be. If they can stay in the hunt,that would be nice and a bonus, but now is not the time to do panic Chia style moves. Teams are going to take advantage of us, as we are entering a position of weakness.

 

[MaxR11]

On the flip side, some of the mental gymnastics being done to defend him are also hilarious. He doesn’t need to be prime Crosby, but he can tie his man up and have a little more defensive awareness. That will not detract from his offensive game. And I don’t think it’s unfair to ask him to do that, I don’t care how many minutes he playing.

Bang on. When your game isn't on you need to be able to fall back on to the basics and play well from our net out. Defend. I mean i could understand him doing what he's doing for a game or two trying to work his way out but it's been over a month now he's been looking poor regardless of points. At some point in time you HAVE to set aside your ego and maybe the individual point totals have to take a hit while you focus back to the basics, defend well and eventually find your game. You can't be selfish and keep cheating and forcing your game back while sacrificing team play and responsible play. He's really hurting the team doing so.

That early torrid point collection by drai maybe hurts him/us in the long run because now he feels like when he doesn't get points that he's not doing good for the team and he's now cheating, forcing it, conserving energy and not giving a c*** on D. Many great players better than him have had multiple extended pointless streaks and can still be not a liability to the team. He needs to realize this.

 

[BlackDogg]

 

[MaxR11]

I don't think McDavid and Drai are being overplayed. I think Drai is. McDavid is still flying out there, with his perfect, seemingly effortless skating technique. Drai is a churner, who has to carry a much larger frame and has a different style. He looks like a plow horse now.

Drai did create a lot of chances out there last night. Trouble is, many of them were for the Canucks with costly turnovers and ill advised passes. Hopefully this break does him some good and he can recharge his batteries and refresh his mind.

Yup, mental fatigue/stress is very real and can actually affect physical energy. An athlete's body may be ok and recovered somewhat decently but if there is enough mental stress/fatigue it WILL affect how you feel physically and can make your legs feel like they have less pop and energy. You can see it sometimes when a player in a bit of a slump scores a goal and he gets his "goal legs" going and has jump and energy. It's like a bit of mental weight lifted and it positively affects the physical. it's like the chains have been broken or loosed from the legs and body.

When a player is stressed about his game the body/muscles tighten and it really affects energy and looseness and pop in the legs. Everything feels tighter and heavier. You also start to make irrational decisions on the ice and process things improperly.

 

[Jumptheshark]

My little voice is tell me that we lost the season due to our December play

 

[Oilhawks]

My little voice is tell me that we lost the season due to our December play

They have medication for that.

 

[McJadeddog]

How are they trending for a bottom 10 finish exactly? The team has made big improvements, specifically on the special teams. That doesn't include Koskinen proving himself either. The bottom six has been contributing for the past three to four weeks as well but it just happens to coincide with McDrai going cold.

The Pacific Division ensures this is a wildcard team, and they are.

Their advanced stats have been pretty bad all year. They also just LOOK bad, although I'm not a fan of judging teams based on how they look. They are a 2 person team, and even though 1 of those people is the best player in the game, that isn't enough. Our bottom-6 isn't any better than last year, our defense is a little better though, I'll admit that.

I think they will finish bottom-10 (so 21st or worse) and you think they will make the playoffs. I believe this calls for a friendly avatar bet! Game?

 

[tardigrade81]

Hope all you guys have a great Christmas. I’ll be off the board for a couple days! Oh and we will win 2 in a row again! I promise!

 

[Aceboogie]

this is why we need top 6 help and NEEEEEED to trade futures for the help

guys are being run down, playing PK, EV, and full 2 mins on the PP.
hopefully gets some rest and is good to go for calgary and 2020

should sit for all star game too tbh

It would be great to add another all star, elite player to the top 6. To bad none are ever available. Would be even better to get one for no younr roster players and b level prospects only

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

Hope all you guys have a great Christmas. I’ll be off the board for a couple days! Oh and we will win 2 in a row again! I promise!

Merry Christmas to you and to all as well.
Hope the best for everyone

 

[McDNicks17]

I was curious how different the chunks of Drai's season have been at 5v5 and it's pretty wild.

First 20 games: 25 goals for, 12 goals against (67.5 GF%)

Last 20 games: 11 goals for, 30 goals against (26.8 GF%)

 

[GOilers88]

Their advanced stats have been pretty bad all year. They also just LOOK bad, although I'm not a fan of judging teams based on how they look. They are a 2 person team, and even though 1 of those people is the best player in the game, that isn't enough. Our bottom-6 isn't any better than last year, our defense is a little better though, I'll admit that.

I think they will finish bottom-10 (so 21st or worse) and you think they will make the playoffs. I believe this calls for a friendly avatar bet! Game?

Nobody f***s with the Jesus

That said I'll gladly eat crow if they bomb into another top ten pick.

 

[Debbie Mathers]

I can see why Roussel would fight Nurse. Matching fighting majors, Nurse is the far more valuable player and a D-man. The Canucks gained an advantage.

The question I want to ask is, why on earth would Nurse fight a guy like Roussel? To me, it made absolutely no sense at that particular point in the game.

 

[syz]

I can see why Roussel would fight Nurse. Matching fighting majors, Nurse is the far more valuable player and a D-man. The Canucks gained an advantage.

The question I want to ask is, why on earth would Nurse fight a guy like Roussel? To me, it made absolutely no sense at that particular point in the game.

I imagine it's difficult to pass up any opportunity to punch Roussel in the mouth.

Too bad the linesman saved his life.

 

[ArthurAnyMoreDonuts]

Is Draisaitl injured? He hasn't been the same since the Ottawa game.

 

[BlackDogg]

Is Draisaitl injured? He hasn't been the same since the Ottawa game.

I think so. His injury is also a product of Mcdavid...

All speculation though.

 

[McDrai]

The Horvat goal reminds me of Happy Gilmore where the golf coach tells him to “just tap it in”. Except in this scenario it’s “just kick it in”.

 

[Debbie Mathers]

I imagine it's difficult to pass up any opportunity to punch Roussel in the mouth.

Too bad the linesman saved his life.

I understand that Roussel is a bit of a fist-magnet. But I believe Nurse needs to realise that his role on the team has changed over the last few years. He is not a rookie anymore, he is a very important player. Even more so as he is paired with Bear. With Nurse in the box for 5 minutes, the top 4 gets messed up, Bear has to take shifts with Russell or Jones... not ideal. I mean had we been down two goals at the time and looking for something to fire the bench up, I could have understood it. But we weren't.

Also, some of Nurse's punches clearly landed on Roussel's helmet. I'm just worried about the potential of broken bones in Nurse's hand.

I get that Nurse is an aggressive player, but I'd rather he channelled that aggression in a different way.

 

[YouNeedToBeInformed]

remember when we lost to the canucks?

sometimes i wish we had a team like that, one who provided us more than 2 nhlers that we got rewarded for being a laughing stock.. *sigh*

oh well, maybe this is the year, am i right folks?! we're trending up... right!?! *looks at trend this season*

i mean how can we not succeed with all these stud goalies we pass off as starters!!! woot woot. yay oilerssss

#mvphall #barzal4lyfe #griffinreinhart4norris #canweplaymcdavid60minagamebeforeheleavesus #whoneedsStrome #arizonagoaliesalwaysdowelloutsidearizona #depthsoverrated #atleastweliveinabeautifulcity #ufasloveedmonton #nursemadnursetakepenalty

 

[McJadeddog]

Nobody ****s with the Jesus

That said I'll gladly eat crow if they bomb into another top ten pick.

Late on checking back on this. So you in for avatar bet? 21st of worse, and I win, playoffs and you win. Push if no playoffs, but higher than 21st. 1 month avatar bet.