May 22, 2022 /

Edmonton Oilers Playoff Talk: I see a change coming…

This is your TL/DR (too long, didn’t read) summary post where excerpts are taken from the best of the best when it comes to Edmonton Oilers blogs. BLH gives you his two cents on the latest posts being published in the Oilogosphere! Including those from Lowetide.ca, The Athletic, Oilersnation, The Cult of Hockey, Copper N Blue, Oil on Whyte, and more!

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Cult of Hockey

9 Things
  • Oilers goaltender Mikko Koskinen is reported to have already signed a contract to play in Lugano next season. It is a little awkward, considering Edmonton is still alive in the playoffs
  • Head Coaches being coy or evasive on player injuries when it comes to Stanley Cup Playoff time is far from new. But I see a change coming… as wagering becomes an increasingly larger percentage of revenues across the league, the NHL’s new partners will demand and get far greater transparency.
  • …the step-up from Caleb Jones to Duncan Keith in specific moments like Friday cannot be ignored.
  • After the lopsided loss to Calgary in Game 1, there were quite a few people calling for wholesale lineup changes. A lot of AHL-based names were brought up… No disrespect meant to those prospects and solid veteran pro’s, but they were in the AHL for a reason… But that doesn’t mean that one of the current Black Aces won’t see action in this series and have an opportunity to make an impact.
  • Prior to Game 2, I Tweeted that the quickest way for the Oilers to bow out of this series would be to shift and try to play Calgary’s game, as opposed to their own.
  • The Oilers have superior team speed and they used it to their benefit in the Game 2 victory. If they continue to, I think Edmonton can beat Calgary in a 7-game series. Can a superior skater such as Dylan Holloway or even Philip Broberg play a role in that? I think it is likely.

BLH’s Thoughts: I also thought it was a bit weird that Koskinen’s contract was announced, but then again Bob Hartley (Lugano’s head coach) used to coach Calgary… You never know what kind of shenanigans teams will get up to this time of year. 

The one thing I’ve seen over the years is that coaches will adapt. For me, the only way that NHL teams are going to disclose injuries to the public is if they’re forced to by the league and even in that scenario I can definitely see teams finding a way around it. Life… uh… Finds a way.

Yeah… Of all the things that have surprised me this year, how much better Keith is playing than Jones isn’t one of them. 

I’ve not been impressed with Warren Foegele for about a month now. I was hoping his speed, size, and physicality would shine in the post-season but he’s gone into hiding and I do agree with Mr. Leavins in that Dylan Holloway could be a fella who could make an impact. He’s got all of the things that Foegele has plus plus and in a limited role akin to Puljujarvi’s (around 10 minutes a night), DH could be an impactful player. Maybe with Edmonton having last change for the next two games, we’ll see the former AJHL MVP make an appearance. 

Oilersnation

Game Notes: Calgary Flames @ Edmonton Oilers — Game 3
  • There’s been a common theme through the first two games between Edmonton and Calgary. The Flames start off hot and then take their foot off the gas as the game goes along…
  • Edmonton’s win in Game 2 in Calgary was huge. It was the first time all year that the road team had won a Battle of Alberta game…
  • Historically… The team that wins Game 3 and goes up 2-1 in a series wins that series 69.5 percent of the time, so winning Sunday’s game in Edmonton would be nice for the Oilers.
  • In Games 1 and 2 against the Oilers, Markstrom allowed 11 goals on 68 shots, an .838 save percentage.

  • It’ll be interesting to see if Jay Woodcroft and Co. opt to inject some youth into this series. Dylan Holloway has never played an NHL game would give the Oilers some added size, speed, and skill in their top-nine. Josh Archibald and Zack Kassian played under five minutes in Game 2.
  • If the Oilers do manage to go on a deep run, we could seriously see Connor McDavid put together one of the best playoff performances of all time… McDavid has 20 points in nine games in the playoffs so far… The all-time record for points in a single playoff was when Wayne Gretzky scored 47 points in 1985.

BLH’s Thoughts: So we’re at the point in this series where Calgary is having trouble holding a lead and if Edmonton scores first, it’s almost a guaranteed win for the Oilers… That is a helluva conundrum seeing as the Flames’ Vezina candidate goalie seems to shit the bed against McDavid and Co. In addition to that, the aforementioned Connor McDavid has entered God Mode.

Personally, I’m still hesitant to give this series to the Oilers but FFS, do they ever make it difficult to commit to an opinion on them because if they start scoring first or if they continue to dissolve any lead the Flames get, they could easily take this series. 

I mean, Calgary nearly doubled their hit totals from gm1 to gm2 and it didn’t do them any favors. In fact, Sutter started hard starting certain players in the o-zone and the d-zone in gm2 whereas in gm1 he was happy to spread those responsibilities out a tad. Matthew Tkachuk went from starting 53% of his shifts in the offensive zone to 72.7% in gm2, Rasmus Andersson started 56% in the OZ in gm1 but shot way up to 82% in gm2, and this pattern repeated for most of CGY’s stars. I don’t know if that game plan helped any either and now that the games are in Edmonton Jay Woodcroft will be able to get the matchups he prefers… 

Geez, if Edmonton makes it to the Cup final, you could really see McDavid challenging that record of Gretzky’s as long as he stays healthy, right? He’s already got 7pts in two games in this series… 

I know the old guard are saying they’ve never seen anything like this before but they’re just talking out of their asses. Gretzky used to produce like this and Mario Lemieux used to as well, one could argue that Jagr used to too. The difference being they didn’t do it with as much speed as Connor does it. 

Does 97 blow my mind on a nightly basis with some of the shit he pulls? Of course. Will he end up being the best of all time? Not sure on that one. Gotta win a few rings first and then we can talk. What I will say though is that we’d better not hear any more about Edmonton’s stars needing to have their “Yzerman moments” after this years post-season… 

https://twitter.com/heavyoilcontry/status/1527904304312508416

Trade Rumors

Spector’s Hockey
  • They (Drance/Dhaliwal) feel the Canucks are unlikely to take Boeser to arbitration and could qualify him if a compromise isn’t reached beforehand. It’s believed that’s something the winger’s camp prefers as well. It could be a short-term extension, perhaps for three years and below the $7.5 million qualifier.
  • Team sources also doused reports suggesting Oliver Ekman-Larsson could be shopped in a cost-cutting move this summer.
  • Ben Kuzma believes J.T. Miller will draw plenty of trade interest if the Canucks cannot free up sufficient cap space to sign the 29-year-old center to a contract extension.
  • The Winnipeg Jets also met with Trotz while the Vegas Golden Knights and Detroit Red Wings could also be among his suitors.
  • The Dallas Stars could circle back to Rick Tocchet as a coaching candidate to replace Rick Bowness, who stepped down earlier this week.
  • Friedman reports the New Jersey Devils are considering all their options for the offseason. That could include shopping their first-round pick (second overall) in this year’s draft.

The Daily Goal Horn

  • The Bruins are said to be looking to extend head coach Bruce Cassidy as he enters the final year of his deal.
  • One player that Boston will likely be reconsidering their stance on is Jake DeBrusk. He had asked for a trade out of the organization this season, but if Bergeron doesn’t return, keeping him will be imperative.
  • Some believe the Rangers have already made re-signing Copp a priority.
  • The truth is, unless Guerin can unload some salary, I’m not sure how he can pay Fiala at least $6 million and field a complete team… There’s a lot of talk that the pending RFA with arbitration rights could be moved at the NHL Draft to the NJ Devils. Not only do they have interest and the cap space to pay him, they are willing to trade their first round pick which is #2 overall.

NHLRumors.com

  • The Chicago Blackhawks are on the lookout for a 2022 first-round draft pick… Would someone offer up a first for Connor Murphy?
  • Could the Islanders take a run at Johnny Gaudreau if he hits the open market?
  • Ottawa Senators GM Pierre Dorion has already said they could be open to trading their first-round pick, No. 7 overall, for immediate help… The Senators would like to add a top-six forward to play with Tim Stuetzle and possibly a top-four defenseman.
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CategoriesArmchair GM Beer League Hero Edmonton Oilers NHL Rumors

TagsBattle of Alberta Edmonton Oilers Edmonton Oilers Rumors NHL NHL Rumors

Beer League Hero Written by:

I'm the Beer League Hero! I am from Camrose, Alberta but I make my home in Taipei City, Taiwan. I've been through the ups and downs and the highs and the Lowes, the Bonsignores and the McDavids, the Sathers and the Eakins but I'll never leave my Oilers, no matter what! They're with me until the end and then some. GO OILERS GO!