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!
The latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation comes from all of the internet’s top sites like Spector’s Hockey, The Fourth Period, NHL Trade Talk, The Hockey Writers, and The Daily Goal Horn just to name a few!
If you’re short on time but want to keep up with the day’s Oilers news, you’ve come to the right place!
Give us a follow on the socials!
- Youtube: Beer League Heroes Channel
- Twitter: @beerleagueheroe
- Instagram: @beerleagueheroes
- Facebook: Beer League Heroes
Spittin’ Chiclets
If you click on the video below it should start right at the point where the Spittin’ Chiclets guys get into who has the most pressure to get out of the first round, the Maple Leafs or the Oilers. That then heads into what should happen if either or both get eliminated early on and the trade Leon Draisaitl for the sake of doing something talk. I’ll put some notes underneath if you’re not interested in watching.
- PB: I think of any team entering these NHL playoffs, the most pressure is on the Edmonton Oiler.
- RW: If you’re trying to say that anybody has more pressure than the Toronto Maple Leafs, you’re just not following the league.
- PB: If they don’t beat the LA Kings minus Drew Doughty, f*cking blow it all up! Blow it all up, because I know if Toronto ends up losing to Tampa you’re going to say blow it up too but they’re the back-to-back champs… The fact that LA is even in the playoffs is a jaw dropper… This is the biggest layup of a first round series for the Edmonton Oilers, maybe in franchise history.
- RW: I was going to say if the Oilers lose the series, blow it up… Trade Draisaitl and it’s not even his fault but you’re not trading McDavid, you gotta trade him and I’m not even kidding… If Edmonton loses, it’s pathetic, it’s embarrassing, and they should blow it up, yes!
- RW: The worry I have is that Jonathan Quick just stands on his head which is not out of the realm of possibility… But we could not have hoped for a better matchup and the way that we’re buzzing, Mike Smith looks phenomenal, I think the Oilers have the no.1 PK since Woodcroft took over.
- RW: They’re going to win the two games at home, split in LA, and then win at home in 5. This is a team that is on a mission.
- RW: The guys LOVE playing for Woodcroft. I’m talking, I don’t think there’s a group of guys in the league right now that love playing for their head coach more than the Oilers. But Woodcroft, it’s straight-up passion playing for the guy. They’ve changes the culture there with a new head coach.
- RW: They’ve got Evander Kane playing like an absolute stud. He’s on another level. I mean this team has finally actually turned the corner and become a team that if they don’t get through the first round blow it up.
BLH’s Thoughts: So, let me get this straight. Now that the team has finally turned the corner and the culture has been changed, if they lose to LA it’s time to hit the reset button?!
That is the biggest crock of shite that I’ve come across so far from any reputable pundits online and from one that claims to be a legit Oilers fan no less.
You don’t blow it up at this point, that’s the worst move. Right now the Oilers are an annual top-two team in their division because the core is set. If they come up against a hot goalie (again), it’s not their fault. Shit happens, but to tear it all down and start again right when the team is trending up is daft. Even in Toronto, if they blow that up because they lose to Tampa, I think that’s a poor decision. There’s no shame in losing to the two-time reigning champs, you augment and come back stronger next year.
The biggest thing that has been Edmonton’s problem in past playoff series has been complimentary scoring, right? Even though 97 and 29 were scoring, it was only them. I don’t think that will be the case this year considering Ken Holland added Evander Kane, Zach Hyman, and Warren Foegele. We can’t forget about Pulju and Yamo either.
So I think it will come down to which teams goaltending blinks first if the offense is sawed off.
FWIW: I picked Edmonton to meet St. Louis in the Western Conference final and Tampa to meet the Rangers in the East. I think Tampa will three-peat over the Blues in the final this year and yes, I’m predicting we will see the Battle of Alberta as well as the Battle of FLA.
Oilersnation
A deep dive into the Los Angeles Kings ahead of their upcoming playoff series against the Edmonton Oilers
- First Line: Alex Iafallo – Anze Kopitar – Adrian Kempe
- This trio is well-rounded overall, with an excellent defensive presence in Iafallo, a strong two-way playmaker in Kopitar, and a shooter/goal-scorer in Kempe. They have a decent 50 GF% and 52 xGF% this season, but compared to other top lines around the league, this trio isn’t exceptional by any means.
- Second Line: Trevor Moore – Phillip Danault – Viktor Arvidsson
- This season, the trio has played 471 TOI together and have posted a superb 56 GF% and 59 xGF%. They’ve generated an excellent rate of 3.6 Goals/60, and 3.8 xGoals/60. This is certainly a line to watch out for.
- Third Line: Andreas Athanasiou – Dustin Brown – Quinton Byfield
- Overall, it’s a pretty average third line, and nothing exceedingly special or significant.
- Fourth Line: Carl Grundstrom – Blake Lizotte – Arthur Kaliyev
- In general, this is a pretty strong fourth line, especially in regards to exiting the zone and shooting the puck at a high rate.
- First Pairing: Alexander Edler – Matt Roy
- Both of them are fine defenders deep in the defensive zone. However, Edler’s above-mentioned declining foot-speed, combined with Roy’s poor entry defence results, consequently means that the most significant key to exposing this pair is attacking them off the rush with speed.
- Second Pairing: Tobias Bjornfot – Sean Durzi
- Sean Durzi excels at breaking the puck out of his zone, using both his individual exit transition abilities and his breakout passing skills… Meanwhile, Tobias Bjornfot has one of the weakest play-style profiles in the entire database; he doesn’t rank above average in any category.
- Third Pairing: A toss-up between Olli Maata, Mikey Anderson, Jordan Spence, Jacob Moverare
- Maata is LA’s best defenceman at defending the blue line… Mikey Anderson, who frequently played on the top pair with Drew Doughty, is excellent at defending deep in his own zone… Jordan Spence and Jacob Moverare haven’t played a lot in the NHL this season.
- The Kings rank high in numerous different microstat categories. They’re a superb transitional team, ranking 2nd in the league in controlled zone entries and successful zone exits.
- They’re also excellent at exiting the zone with possession and generating chances off their entries.
- LA doesn’t have any notably strong forecheckers besides Lizotte, so how do they rank top-five in the entire league?
- In regards to Entry Defence, they deny the entry at a top-five rate as well.
- LA shoots the puck at a very high rate, ranking 6th in the league in shot volume/quantity, and consequently, their expected goals rank decently high as well.
- Furthermore, their poor quality chance generation is likely a major factor as to why Los Angeles is the worst finishing team in the league.
- LA seems to prioritize shot quantity over quality.
- They rank 5th in the league in shot attempt volume against (CA/60), but they rank 26th in shot quality against.
- Their goaltending is solid. Quick’s SV% of 90.9% isn’t exceptional, but his GSAx (goals saved above expected, which accounts for shot quality unlike SV%) is at 12.01.
- …it’s worth noting that Quick’s recent performance isn’t exceedingly encouraging; in his last 20 games, he has a 1.2 GSAx, and a SV% of 90.3%; he had a stellar start to the season, but he’s cooled down.
- They rank second-last in the league in Quality +/-. Combine this with their abysmal finishing, and as a result, their 5v5 goal share is unimpressive. Their GF% has been even worse in the past 25 games, likely due to their recent injuries.
- My eventual prediction is for Edmonton to win in six games. I could be wrong, as the playoffs are exceedingly unpredictable, especially in regards to goaltending; there’s a very legitimate chance that Mike Smith regresses yet again, and/or Jonathan Quick decides to randomly perform at a Vezina-calibre level.
- I think Edmonton’s dynamic offence under Woodcroft will shine against a team that allows high-quality chances near the front of the net and off the rush at a high rate, and they have a considerable edge in special teams as well.
BLH’s Thoughts: If you’re an Oilers fan and you’ve got some worries going into this series with LA, the article from Sid at Oilersnation should help quell some of those fears. It goes deep and long… Giggity.
This series is Edmonton’s to lose, just like the ones vs. Chicago and Winnipeg were. I just think that the Oilers are rolling really hard right now and the way they’re playing and with the overall health of the team where it is (knock on wood), Edmonton should take this in five.
Trade Rumors
- Spector’s Hockey: Pat Hickey suggests the Canadiens could see a roster teardown in the offseason. He pointed out they’re up against next season’s $82.5 million salary cap with 19 players, including the probably permanently sidelined Shea Weber, under contract.
- Hughes said he has no plans to trade winger Brendan Gallagher…
- The Habs GM made no comment about the futures of winger Jonathan Drouin and Joel Armia.
- Craig Morgan reports Jakob Chychrun doesn’t sound like he’s keen to be part of another rebuild with the Arizona Coyotes.
- (Mark) Scheifele sounded frustrated during yesterday’s season-ending press conference… (Scott) Billeck and (Mike) McIntyre believe Scheifele’s comments are the start of what could be a turbulent offseason for the Jets.
- In addition to Scheifele’s future, there were reports of a divided dressing room and a lack of accountability throughout this season.
- Charlie Roumeliotis recently reported long-time Blackhawks star Patrick Kane said he’d had multiple conversations with general manager Kyle Davidson and expects to learn more about the club’s offseason plans following the end of the regular season.
- The Daily Goal Horn: “The Golden Knights have no cap space, no top draft picks, and a thin prospect cupboard. It feels like an inevitability that coach Pete DeBoer will be cut loose,” Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli said. “But will GM Kelly McCrimmon follow him out the door?”
- No matter who the GM is this summer, the Golden Knights are likely to make some roster changes.
- Captain Mark Stone isn’t going anywhere because he has a full no-move clause, which points us to Max Pacioretty… Patches as he’s affectionately known has a modified no-trade clause and must submit a 10 team list. The 33 year-old has one more season remaining on his deal at $7M AAV and will have a good market for his services after scoring 35 points in 38 games.
- Evgenii Dadonov and his one year left at $5M AAV is most assuredly gone.
BLH’s Thoughts:
