Edmonton Oilres Playoff Talk: “The leaders all led the Oilers to this embarrassing result.”

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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Sportsnet

Unprepared from the opening minute, the Oilers embarrass themselves in Game 1

Not ready to start the game. Not prepared to compete. Not even close to a playoff performance in an embarrassing, Game 1 no-show by the Edmonton Oilers.
…the shots (48-28 for Calgary), the high danger chances (19-7) all tell the true story of a stem-to-stern, 9-6 butt-whipping administered by Calgary in Game 1 of this Western Conference Round 2 series.
…if you are the Oilers, this game means one of two things: Either you arrived in the second round and thought it would somehow get easier than the Los Angeles Kings in Round 1, or the Flames are this much better than you are, and this series won’t live to next weekend.
It was indeed wasteful to get six even-strength goals on the road and surrender nine in total, giving Markstrom a pass on one of the worst nights of his playoff career.
It was a team effort, and the leaders all led the Oilers to this embarrassing result in Game 1 against a Flames team that is bigger, stronger, and far better than the Kings…
The final humiliation came when the game sheet showed that McDavid led his team not only in points with four, but in hits as well, with five.

BLH’s Thoughts: How in the world can the Oilers go into a game as important as this one completely unprepared? How does a coaching staff even allow that to happen? Conversely, how does a team as defensively sound with one of the best goalies in the world let a 6-2 lead slip in the latter half of a playoff game?

I don’t know if there’s much point in picking this one apart because it was such an outlier on so many levels. That said, here are my observations:

Puljujarvi looked better. Calgary even gave him some room to move about and his confidence with the puck looked increased. I’d like to see him finish a hit or two, mind you. He doesn’t have to run around like Archibald does, but he’s got to be 220lbs, why not lean into a couple of Calgary’s skaters from time to time.

Draisaitl was a shadow of his first round self and that’s understandable considering he’s playing on one leg. However, the advantages of having him on the ice were outweighed by the mistakes he made because of said injury. Either he’s got to sit and heal up or the Oilers have to pump him up with enough painkillers that his ankle doesn’t bother him.

I have a feeling that Jay Woocroft’s message to the team was to stay away from the muck and out of the penalty box because there was very little physicality from the Oilers in this one and it didn’t do them any favors. When Connor McDavid leads your team in hits, you’ve got a major problem that needs solving for game two.

How good was Zach Hyman? He had Gudbranson and Zadorov in his back pocket and I wonder if he’s got Markstrom’s number now.

Did I miss something or did Milan Lucic get mad because Ryan McLeod took the puck away from him at the end of the game? Seems kinda petty to give a guy a couple whacks to the back of the knee for.

Tell ya what, Mike Smith shit the bed on that one but he does this from time to time. I’d rather he do it in game one than in an elimination game. Koskinen had a couple of bad bounces get behind him but he wasn’t amazing either. I feel like Markstrom might’ve had a worse night though considering how many goals he let in and the timing of them.

I remember Bob Stauffer hoping on Oilers Now yesterday morning that the reffing would be tight because of Edmonton’s more potent PP… Talk about your all time backfires.

What are the odds that Warren Foegele gets re-inserted for game two? The 11-7 didn’t quite work out as planned. I mean, Connor got his cookies, but McLovin’ could come back in and offer some size and speed on the walls as well as somebody that’ll drive the net plus he plays a similar style to Hyman and we saw how impactful he was.

Lastly, I just found Edmonton to have played a very reactive game when they need to be playing a proactive one.

Cult of Hockey

Player grades: Calgary Flames zap Edmonton Oilers in messy Battle of Alberta non-classic

Connor McDavid, 7. An up and down game, with six major contributions to Grade A shots, meaning the team had little offence without him on the ice… He was caught puck-watching and not covering his man on a 5-alarm Tkachuk shot in the first… he was puck-watching again in the second, allowing Gaudreau a dangerous slot shot… McD got drawn out of the defensive slot, making him a culprit on Calgary’s seventh goal.
Tyson Barrie, 7. The Oil’s best d-man. He kept a clean sheet at even strength, with not one major mistake on a Grade A shot against.
Zach Hyman, 7. He took a cross-check and knee from Blake Coleman and limped off the ice in the second but quickly came back to whip in an outside shot for Edmonton’s third goal. A moment later his hustle paid off as he scored his second coming around the net hard and whipping an outer slot shot home.
Evan Bouchard, 6. He started off shaky but got much better as game went along.
Brett Kulak. 6. A quiet 16:35, which is good news in a crazy ugly game like this one. He was not on the ice for even one goal against.
Leon Draisaitl, 3. He’s not able to stop and turn rapidly, which led to him getting caught flat-footed in the slot as Blake Coleman buzzed by him for Calgary’s fifth goal. His turnover in the second ignited a dangerous Calgary rush where Tkachuk almost scored… He was drifting and not covering Rasmus Anderson on the seventh goal, then made a nasty turnover on Calgary’s eighth goal. He struggled to make plays on the power play.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 3. He turned over the puck moment after Calgary’s first goal, leading to a Grade crease shot and kicking off the extended Sequence of Pain leading to Calgary’s second goal in the first minute of the game, with RNH losing one more battle along the way. He got little done on the attack.
Zack Kassian, 3. He made little impact on the game. Zero hits.
Darnell Nurse, 2. Just a bad game. He made seven major mistakes on Flames chances, four of them at even strength, three shorthanded… He had zero hits.
Mike Smith, 4. Not his night, though he wasn’t much at fault on any of the goal against him.
Mikko Koskinen, 3. Failed to come up with a big save when one was needed, just like Smith.

BLH’s Thoughts: On a huge night, the Oilers spit the bit… Again.

This team cannot afford to have Nurse, Nuge, and Draisaitl all having shit games on a consistent basis. Not with the TOI they get on a nightly basis and the amount of responsibility they have. Ideally, you’d like to see others pick up the slack at this time of year but it’s a tad unfair to ask the likes of Ryan McLeod, Brett Kulak, and pick any bottom six forward to somehow transform into players they are not.

I mean, if #25 is so banged up he can’t even muster a single hit, Kulak is playing that much better, maybe it makes sense to up his TOI and bring down Nurse’s. Lean on the guys who aren’t struggling.

Anyway, Oilers gotta get that split in game two or else my prediction from yesterday might just come true.

Trade Rumors

Spector’s Hockey

SPORTSNET: Elliotte Friedman believes there have been talks with defenseman Mark Giordano about bringing back the 39-year-old defenseman at a lower salary.
THE ATHLETIC: Making a decision on Filip Forsberg’s future topped Adam Vingan’s recent list of offseason issues the Nashville Predators must address… Vingan cited Evolving Hockey’s contract project model indicating Forsberg could get $8.5 million annually on an eight-year extension with the Predators or $9.5 million on a seven-year deal on the open market.
…UFA Bryan Rust said he felt he’s taken his play to a higher level than the salary he’s been earning the past few years. He indicated he’s seeking a fair and reasonable new deal.

The Daily Goal Horn

“There will changes to the Maple Leafs roster based on salary cap and free agency, but, I don’t foresee drastic changes or sense that the coach or GM are in trouble,” Dreger wrote. “Toronto made strides this season and faced a great opponent in a entertaining 7 game series.”
According to Jesse Granger of The Athlethic, he identified five players that could be moved thanks to cap issues. They are as follows: Robin Lehner (G), Alec Martinez (D), Max Pacioretty (F), Nolan Patrick (F), William Karlsson (F).
…the Wild are wide open to an offer sheet for Fiala that they simply can’t match… it may behoove GM Bill Guerin to call up Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald and work a deal instead of losing him for draft picks.