Well, Oilers fans, here we are in 2021 and I feel like we’re still watching an Edmonton Oilers team from The Decade of Darkness. What in Sam’s Hell is wrong with the defencemen on this team? How is it from year to year, the same GD problems keep creeping up? Is it a product of shoehorning young defenders into spots before they’re ready because that’s what the club has been doing for… ever?
How many times does Darnell Nurse need to join his d-partner behind the net or in the corner only to leave an opposition skater wide open in front of the net for a scoring chance against or a goal against? Caleb Jones got caught pinching on multiple occasions. Ethan Bear was fighting the puck all night long and Tyson Barrie looked lost. Adam Larsson went for the big hit leaving Bo Horvat open for a gimme and Slater Koekkoek… Actually, I really liked him. He was involved in a lot of positive plays on both sides of the puck last night.
This is what Mark Spector had to say about Larsson’s game in his post-game write-up,
“Is Larsson finished as a shutdown-type defenceman? He was poor last season, brutal in the qualifying round, and on opening night he made two reads that resulted in Canucks walking in all alone to score on Koskinen.”
After the first game of the season… Whew! Talk about turning up the heat early.
Wasn’t Nurse going on and on over the off-season about improving goals against?
“5-on-5, obviously, we have to get our goals down,” Nurse declared. “We talk about it far too often in the last five years that I’ve been here.” (source)
Then they go out and allow five? How am I supposed to react to that? Is this group all talk and no action or…
All we heard from Bob Stauffer before this game was how this mobile defence was going to move the puck better so that they wouldn’t have to play in their zone so much…
Coach Tippett certainly was unhappy after the game (rightfully so) and he started singling people out immediately,
“Larsson made a poor read on the first one. (Zack) Kassian made a poor read on the fifth one. Caleb Jones made a poor read on (the fourth one). Those are puck play errors compounded by poor reads, mistakes by players that lead to Grade-A chances against.”
I will say this though, Nurse and Larsson scored two really nice goals despite their roles being that of a “shutdown defenceman”.
That said, the Oilers really didn’t have any excuses. It’s not like their practices were closed for COVID protocol and they didn’t have their leading scorer forced to miss the game.
Speaking of leading scorers, how in the world did Connor McDavid play 26 minutes and not register a point?
Enough of the bitching and moaning, let’s talk about the good stuff.
My three stars for the night:
- Kailer Yamamoto – Showed the kind of urgency that everybody should’ve been showing. He was in the guts of the game all night long and I think he’s going to have Oilers fans soon forgetting about that Brendan Gallagher playing for the Oilers fantasy.
- Slater Koekkoek – I counted one misplaced pass the entire night. He was solid on both sides of the puck and overall, I found him to be one of Edmonton’s better defenders.
- Connor McDavid – He had a really good evening but just couldn’t get the puck to hit the back of the net. Vancouver’s defense didn’t have an answer for him aside from Braden Holtby. Can Thatcher Demko do the same to him tonight?
The Oilers’ second line was its best. Kahun and Draisaitl were electric and Yamamoto displayed a sort of desperation that you’d love to see out of all of your players. He even drew a couple of penalties, which is something I noted way back before he was called up as one of his assets.
Jesse Puljujavi had a really nice game. Yes, he was responsible for a turnover that lead to a goal and that penalty he took at the end of the game was unfortunate, but physically he fits right in with everyone else. He’s now able to take the abuse along the boards and in the corner a lot more than previously which allows him the time and freedom to make plays.
I really dug the game of Slater Koekkoek. He was hitting, blocking shots, making passes, getting up the ice, and not costing his teammates in the process. I’d have him on my second pair to start tonight if I was the coach.
Now, going into tonight’s game I think we’ll see a few roster changes. Me thinks the bottom-6 will see a different look. If Devin Shore clears waivers, I think he should draw in for Jujhar Khaira but that doesn’t mean he will as Ryan McLeod is also available.
Just on Khaira for a moment. Do you think he’s as tired as everyone else is with his inconsistency? It’s obviously something that he has no idea how to fix nor the plethora of coaches, GMs, and teammates he’s had in his career. Maybe it’s time for a change for his sake, on a psychological level, before he loses his marbles completely.
Getting back to tonight’s game, if I had my way, I’d give Kassian a period to show me something before swapping him with Puljujarvi. Don’t get me wrong, Kass didn’t have a bad game per se, but he still isn’t playing like the old Kassassin we know and love.
I know, it’s game two and we’re already throwing JP into the top-six, but here’s the thing, check out the 5×5 fancies of his linemates with and without him from last night’s game and then check his… It’s no coincidence…
- Kyle Turris (9:01):
- CF% with: 36.36
- CF% without: 55.56
- Josh Archibald (9:04):
- CF% with: 28.57
- CF% without: 83.33
- Jesse Puljujarvi:
- CF% rel: 4.15
- FF% rel: 13.11
As a line, these three got out-corsi’d 7-2… Just a thought, but what if they swapped Archie with someone else. I feel like he’s really built for a different kind of line. If he’s not out there playing physical and getting in the grills of the opposition, what’s he really doing?
McDavid and Puljujarvi had two minutes together at 5v5 tonight and outchanced the Canucks 3-1.
Two of them high-danger chances.
xGF%: 100
FF%: 100
CF%: 80I know it's only 2 minutes, but that doesn't mean I'm not allowed to like those results.
How'd Kassian do?#Oilers
— BLH (Edmonton Oilers Enthusiast} (@BeerLeagueHeroe) January 14, 2021
Lowetide summed up the game thusly and it would be hard to find an individual Oilers fan who would disagree with his sentiments,
“It’s one game, there’s plenty of track, and the Oilers have several new hands. If McDavid snipes a couple in the second, we’re talking a different game story today.
Game 1 offered very few answers to those pressing questions. It was a stormy and disappointing night in Edmonton on Wednesday. It’s a long season, and the Oilers should be motivated for Thursday night’s game.”
Thank you for reading. It’s been some time since we had to do these kinds of posts and so they might be a bit mucky until I find my rhythm. I appreciate the patience and if there’s anything I can do to make them better for you, the reader, please let me know!
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