Would you sit McDavid/Draisaitl at all during the remaining schedule?

[K1984]

What's the plan for the final game of the season on the 18th?

The 18th will be 3 in 4 nights and the playoffs start on the 20th?

Hopefully Oilers play on 21st or 22nd but i'm assuming that will have to do with arena conflicts and such

If the Division is up for grabs then you do everything you can to win the final game on the 18th. Nothing more complicated than that.

Due to the Jekyll and Hyde nature of the Oilers special teams at home vs. the road, guaranteeing home ice through the first two rounds at least is a massive, massive win. IMO home ice is more important this year than it has been in any of the prior seasons due to this phenomenon alone.

 

[VainGretzky]

I think you may be underestimating the physical toll basketball takes on its players. For a guy who is 39, 6'9" and 250lbs to lug himself up and down a court, deal with a significant amount of contact (yes basketball is a very physical sport) make quick cuts, etc is very demanding on the body.

nothing compared to hockey played both sports you don't see Desharnais needing maintenance days nor did Chara, Basketball has tons of stoppages during a game as well as timeouts and fouls

 

[Canovin]

Guys like McDavid doesn't become rusty from a week of resting and pre-game training with the boys. Rest McDavid and see what the rest of the team is made of.

 

[Fourier]

nothing compared to hockey played both sports you don't see Desharnais needing maintenance days nor did Chara, Basketball has tons of stoppages during a game as well as timeouts and fouls

My guess is that you never played in the NBA. There is a difference when players are that size, that athletic and that intense. You don;t have the collisions you have in hockey but the impact on ankles and knees can be intense.

 

[VainGretzky]

My guess is that you never played in the NBA. There is a difference when players are that size, that athletic and that intense. You don;t have the collisions you have in hockey but the impact on ankles and knees can be intense.

Basketball requires a lot of cardiovascular but other than sprained ankles and occasional ligament injuries it's totally soft compared to hockey, you spend maybe 4 minutes a quarter at high-end exhaustion

 

[bellagiobob]

If the Division is up for grabs then you do everything you can to win the final game on the 18th. Nothing more complicated than that.

Due to the Jekyll and Hyde nature of the Oilers special teams at home vs. the road, guaranteeing home ice through the first two rounds at least is a massive, massive win. IMO home ice is more important this year than it has been in any of the prior seasons due to this phenomenon alone.

Home ice advantage in the second round doesn’t mean much though if you don’t have enough gas to win what will be a very tough first round series. This 5 games in 7 days is such BS, but we need to be smart with load management.

 

[K1984]

Home ice advantage in the second round doesn’t mean much though if you don’t have enough gas to win what will be a very tough first round series. This 5 games in 7 days is such BS, but we need to be smart with load management.

I think the 5 games in 7 days thing is an assumption. I doubt that we're playing on the 20th, all teams don't play on the first night ever.

I have no concerns about LA no matter what, but the home ice considerations as they related to special teams against Vegas and Vancouver are legitimate and could be the difference in a series.

The stone cold fact that the officials love both of those teams, both of those teams have a penchant for beating up the Oilers PK and both teams aren't afraid to dive trumps any fear of the team being possibly a little tired for Game 1 in the first round. Both a prospective Vegas and Vancouver series are likely to be won or lost on special teams IMO, so having a Game 7 at home is more important than anything else and it isn't close IMO.

 

[McFlyingV]

Only if 1st place is out of reach. Otherwise roll 4 lines and lets take that top spot baby. These two have been very durable their entire careers outside of a few dirty incidents. The risk isn't high with playing them.

 

[bellagiobob]

I think the 5 games in 7 days thing is an assumption. I doubt that we're playing on the 20th, all teams don't play on the first night ever.

I have no concerns about LA no matter what, but the home ice considerations as they related to special teams against Vegas and Vancouver are legitimate and could be the difference in a series.

The stone cold fact that the officials love both of those teams, both of those teams have a penchant for beating up the Oilers PK and both teams aren't afraid to dive trumps any fear of the team being possibly a little tired for Game 1 in the first round. Both a prospective Vegas and Vancouver series are likely to be won or lost on special teams IMO, so having a Game 7 at home is more important than anything else and it isn't close IMO.

The 5 in 7 is legit, from the 12th to the 18th we play 5 games in 7 days. Even if we don’t play until the 21st, the 19th is a travel/recovery day flying home from Denver, so still a quick turnaround for game 1. LA will be well rested for the series. Decent chance we have home ice advantage over Vegas in round 2 anyhow after they beat the Canucks in the first round.

 

[Fourier]

Basketball requires a lot of cardiovascular but other than sprained ankles and occasional ligament injuries it's totally soft compared to hockey, you spend maybe 4 minutes a quarter at high-end exhaustion

Soft can have different meanings but exhaustion is probably not the first things that comes to my mind when I think of the term as it is typically used in a hockey forum. It's also not why basketball adopts the load management strategies. Those are mostly because of the pounding that joints take, particularly knees, ankles and hips. It is entirely about reducing the risk of injury not about rest. The problem is that the strategies probably don't do much in that regard, at least according to data released by the NBA.

 

[K1984]

Hold on, they're starting the playoffs on a Saturday? I don't remember that ever happening, unless I'm mistaken.

Sure, if the Avs game is meaningless then sit them out for that one if indeed they're starting the playoffs on the 20th. Since it's the NHL and they always find a way to do something dumb, I wouldn't be surprised if they do indeed start the playoffs 2 days after the regular season ends.

Based on last season I'm counting on them releasing the schedule with the Oilers playing on the 21st, but then moving it to the 20th at the 11th hour because the Vegas owner wants to attend his grandkid's dance recital or some f***ing bullshit.

I'm still equal parts offended and dumbfounded by that nonsense last playoff.

 

[rboomercat90]

I would treat the next 3 games like normal. See where the team sits at that point. The team will have a very good idea of what’s left to play for after the Vancouver game.

 

[CookiesAndMilk]

Cut some minutes and that's it. Maybe maybe maybe sit them 1 game maximum. I think that already goes a long way.

 

[Perfect_Drug]

Guys like McDavid doesn't become rusty from a week of resting and pre-game training with the boys. Rest McDavid and see what the rest of the team is made of.

The team plays better when we play regularly.

We play like shit after long breaks.

Our 16 game streak literally ended after the All-star break, and we sucked for a short while until we got the rhythm going again.

Obviously load management is important.

But rather than sit McDrai, play them for 10mins each.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

only after their position in the standings is secured ie. 2nd place

those last 2 away games may not matter

 

[Mr Positive]

There is that final back to back where they should sit out one of them imo. In theory, both if they are meaningless games in the standings

 

[Slats432]

 

[McBeastMode]

 

[McBeastMode]

 

[PositiveCashFlow]

well now you rest him until that particular part of his body is healed at least (I'm not going to say what it is because it's just twitter speculation for now)

 

[K1984]

Oh that second line is going to beat the puck square.

Hide the f*** out of that line.

 

[Stoneman89]

Sit them both out rest of the season and until the 2nd round. That way, they're well rested.

 

[Broberg Speed]

Sit them both out rest of the season and until the 2nd round. That way, they're well rested.

it's not like we're Vegas

 

[Aerchon]

McDavid didn't take a shift with the net empty like he usually does. Draisaitl did. I was wondering why and was thinking only an injury would. Hope it's not serious.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

You sit Connor because we aren't winning shit without him and the odds of him winning the Art Ross are very slim. Put personal accolades aside for the betterment of the team. Get Holloway up and running, have everyone else up their games so that we can ride that wave as far as we can in the playoffs.