Doomsday is upon us. REPENT!
This is pretty much what I gather is the mood among many Oiler fans these days. And I understand why. The Oilers are on the verge of having another season flushed down the toilet. I’m happy that this year we made it to December.
Guys, meaningful games in December is progress! Aren’t you happy?
No, of course you aren’t. They weren’t supposed to be this bad. Or maybe they shouldn’t be this bad, and that’s close but not the same thing at all. Edmonton has been terrible for so long that there aren’t any excuses that matter to a fanbase that will miss the playoffs for a 10th year in a row barring a major turnaround or minor miracle. That said, the defense is critically inexperienced or underperforming, the goaltending is on shaky ground, and the bottom 6 forwards are all providing replacement level offense.
Frustration and exasperation have set in. What we have now is full blown hysteria in social media and it’s being incited by the people with the most influence. It starts with Mark Spector beginning the campaign to label Ryan Nugent-Hopkins “Soft Skill…. That catches on like wild-fire and the new 2015-2016 Oilers media Buzzword has been created. Last year we heard about “Compete… until our ears bled as the team and their lackeys drove Petry’s value down the drain. Remember when the team traded a 22 minute a night RHD to the Canadiens for table scraps because they didn’t think they could win with him?
This “Soft Skill… trash is the laziest, basest descriptor possible to describe a player like RNH. And yet, here we are. It’s been pushed by Spector, picked up by Rishaug, and now it’s going to be a thing all year. I hope that every time you hear it there’s a tiny bell that goes off in your head. When you hear that bell I want you to remember that “Soft Skill… is just another way for someone to say “I’m lazy and don’t know what I’m talking about….
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins plays the most minutes among the forwards. He goes to the hard areas of the ice. He battles hard and leads the team in takeaways. RNH plays almost exclusively against the most talented and dangerous opposition on a nightly basis. These are not the attributes of “Soft Skill…, however it may be loosely defined.
The Oilers need to change to be better, but that’s not carte blanche for a complete dismantling of the team based on wildly inaccurate assessments. As a collective, the Oilers, their fans, and the people who cover the team need to do a better job of acting like rational human beings. In less than a week we’ve gone from trading Eberle, to the Nuge, to now people are talking about moving Taylor Hall.
The team is in this mess because it hasn’t valued the right kinds of players in their own lineup for years. It’s happening again right in front of us and the mob is getting caught up in the fervor. I have no problem saying that Oiler fans deserve the Oilers in times like these.
LINEUP
Waiting for the reports from the morning skate to come in. Will update ASAP. This is a placeholder though I’m unsure of Davidson and I wouldn’t play Schultz at all if I had the choice.
Hall Draisaitl Purcell Pouliot RNH Eberle Korpikoski Letestu Pakarinen Hendricks Lander Khaira
Nurse Sekera Klefbom Fayne Davidson Schultz
Talbot
OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME
1) Stay Out Of The Box. The Bruins are converting on almost 1/3 of their Power play opportunities through 22 games played. They are crushing the NHL with a 32.4% PP efficiency. While their shooting percentage on the man-advantage is really high (21.5%), the success isn’t all smoke and mirrors. They generate the 2nd most shot attempts on the Power Play and naturally a good number are making their way through to the net. Avoiding the box is paramount to success tonight.
2) Fire. For all of the reactionary garbage being written about the Oilers, the one unpleasant truth about the team is that on the road trip the Oilers lacked the fire and passion needed to win on too many nights. The games against the Leafs and the Hurricanes stand out as particularly bad. Edmonton doesn’t have the talent throughout the lineup to go without that fire in the belly. No doubt they have talent, but it’s bunched up in the top two forward lines. Bland games from any one of those lines leaves the club effectively shorthanded. The Oilers owe it to themselves and the fans to show up angry and ready to play tonight at home.
3) Quit Jultzing About. Since returning from injury Justin Schultz looks like he has lost whatever assertive momentum he had built up prior to going down. He started the season with a renewed effort level in his own zone specifically. To me, he has looked timid. He has also started mixing in more of those patented mental lapses into his game. Two goals against in the last game were the result of him taking himself out of plays for no good reason. He was chasing the play out to the boards and never came back and then he chased the puck carrier all the way out to the blueline. I have no idea what’s going on in his head, but he needs to reset himself.
Puck drops tonight at 7:30 PM Mountain Time on Sportsnet 1. Get Better, Connor!
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