“…these Oilers are going to go down in history as Toronto West.” Says One Local Longtime Oilers Scribe

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

Oilers loss to Kings a consequence of playing with noncommittal effort

He (Tippett) saw this effort coming: Soft, noncommittal, all eyes peeled in search of the easy road.
This was a barn dance, and the Oilers showed up in ballet slippers, not cowboy boots.
Not enough push from not enough people. Too many no-shows.
Calling Foegele. Jesse Puljujarvi. Zack Kassian. Kailer Yamamoto. Tyson Barrie. Derek Ryan. Even McDavid, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Leon Draisaitl for the past two games.
Let’s face it: Tippett has a fourth line, with Colton Sceviour, Derek Ryan and Devin Shore. But he doesn’t have a third line.
Foegele is a big body who can skate. But his hands…? If he’s not throwing his weight around, he’s not helping.
And Kassian? That ship had sailed, folks. He hasn’t been a positive player for three games in a row in ages.
If you think you’re going to win a series against Calgary with the “pretty boys” approach the Oilers have adopted of late, you are sadly mistaken.
The Flames team we’re watching will eat this Oilers’ effort for lunch, spit them out in five games, and move on to the next victim.

BLH’s Thoughts: I don’t know if there’s really much to add. Spector has sort of summed up everything I’m feeling about the team right now and he’s 100% right on Calgary.

The analytics supporters must be pulling their hair out trying to figure out how a team with Milan Lucic, Brett Ritchie, Nikita Zadorov, and Erik Gudbranson is one of the best in the entire league…

Cult of Hockey

Player grades: Connor McDavid kicked out of game, Edmonton Oilers fall apart in 5-1 loss to L.A. Kings

Derek Ryan, 3. Edmonton has one shot for, 10 against when he was on the ice at even strength.
Evan Bouchard, 3 . He had been playing better on defence but things went sour this game when he was paired up with Nurse again.
Connor McDavid, 4. He got an untimely penalty for blasting Kempe into the boards late in the third. It turned out to be the major. Debatable call and it, essentially, killed the Oilers’ chances in the game.
Jesse Puljujarvi, 4. It was silent running for the aircraft carrier early in the game but he fired off a nasty blast in the second that almost beat Quick. But did little otherwise.
Philip Broberg, 4. He went down to stop the pass on the first LA goal but failed to stop the pass.
Mikko Koskinen, 4. Indeed, he was sharp on a number of LA’s many Grade A and B scoring chance shots.
Markus Niemelainen, 6. His physical play is impressive, but his passing? A few glitches here and there.
Tyler Benson, 6. Combined well enough with his old linemate McLeod. Mucking it up, hitting when he can, trying to find his way in the NHL and making some progress.
Zach Hyman, 7. Almost scored on a power play rebound in the second. Short but great little pass to kick off the Nurse goal scoring sequence. Threw a wicked hit on Bjornfot in the second.

BLH’s Thoughts: I thought the game could’ve used more Sceviour as he was one of the Oilers harder working forwards on a night when a lot of guys simply couldn’t get their lawnmower out of turtle.

Another guy who was playing well was Ryan McLeod. He was flying and the puck was glued to his stick. He was assertive along the wall and I’m not sure much more could’ve been asked of him last night. He should’ve been on the 3rd line with Foegele and Sceviour in my opinion.

Tyler Benson also impressed me with his work ethic and physicality. Good on him. I really respect that he’s pivoted his playing style in order to keep himself in the show for a bit longer.

Do you think Connor McDavid feels the need to wallpaper Adrian Kempe like that if he’s getting a few more calls his way? Leon had Alex Edler draped all over him for most of the evening with no call but when he got his lick in the refs were looking the other way.

Or maybe Connor was tired of his team’s effort on the night and decided to clock out?… Either way, that call basically handed LA the win and it’s back to the drawing board for Edmonton’s coaching staff.

I didn’t necessarily see the Kings as the more dangerous club last night, they were simply more willing to work for their chances and if the Oilers would’ve had 50% of LA’s effort, they would’ve won that game. I really believe that.

Spector’s Hockey

SPORTSNET: Elliotte Friedman reports the Boston Bruins are continuing to shop Jake DeBrusk, who requested a trade last weekend. They’ve informed teams that they’re going to do this on their timeline and seek a defenseman or forward of equal value to the 25-year-old winger.
PITTSBURGH HOCKEY NOW: Dan Kingerski mused over whether DeBrusk would be a fit with the Penguins. While his style of game could be enticing, his consistency and the fact the Penguins are jockeying with the Bruins for a playoff spot makes a trade between those two clubs unlikely.
THE ATHLETIC: In a recent mailbag segment… Staple suggested Montreal Canadiens defenseman Ben Chiarot or Chicago Blackhawks (and former Isle) Calvin de Haan could help the Islanders blueline. He mentioned the Bruins’ Jake DeBrusk but feels that could cost the Islanders a forward in return.
NEW YORK POST: Larry Brooks recently reported the Rangers opened contract extension talks with center Ryan Strome. Brooks pointed out the difficulty of re-signing Strome when the Rangers face a salary-cap crunch for the next two seasons with Kaapo Kakka and Alexis Lafreniere due for new contracts.

BLH’s Thoughts: I think Strome is going to get himself a Phil Danault-like contract, but I wonder if the Oilers would look at him in hopes of him coming back to Edmonton at a cut-rate price on a long-term deal to be the team’s 3rd line center?

However, if you were Strome, would you do that considering the chemistry he’s got with Artemi Panarin and getting to live in one of the greatest cities in the world…