That was potentially the worst game I’ve seen all year. It was so bad that I actually needed to mentally walk away from the Oilers for the rest of the weekend. I just couldn’t bring myself down by trying to comprehend how and why the team was as terrible as it was. If the team hadn’t already fired their coach this season it would have been the kind of performance that gets a coach fired. So I guess that’s a free pass for Nelson.
The Oilers sans Hall and Pouliot are a slow team. Actually, even with them they aren’t a fast team, but they bring a consistent amount of speed. Without them the Oilers are Jason Allison slow. This is going to be a significant problem moving forward because I don’t think the team is built to play a slower game. If you aren’t going to use speed to gain entry into the offensive zone then teams are going to challenge you physically. That’s not so bad if you have a heavy team with physical players, but the Oilers don’t fit that bill.
No speed for the Oilers means no zone entry. Period.
It is painful to watch this team struggle with who they are but not having an identity is exactly how you get to be the worst team in your conference. They arent fast, they don’t forecheck very well, they arent physical, and they definitely don’t know how to play in their own zone. They are basically just there most nights and sometimes that doesn’t include being there emotionally or mentally.
The boost from having a new coach seems to have worn off and this is very much looking again like the team that got Eakins turfed (not that he wasn’t also a problem). The ping pong playing, laid back, players’ coach style that Todd Nelson is bringing hasn’t turned this team into something watchable night in and night out.
Purcell just doesn’t fit on this team at all. I don’t think Fraser is an NHL player. Pakarinen hasn’t proven anything at this level. Gazdic’s role is diminishing in the current landscape of the NHL, and Lander is just finding footing as an NHL player. The Captain’s days as a top 4 defender are over. Marincin has just 57 games of NHL experience, Klefbom has even less. Justin Schultz is struggling to figure out what he can do at the NHL level, and Petry is halfway out the door. Then there’s the goalies.
So many parts just don’t fit or don’t fit right that you have to wonder what exactly the architects of this team were actually trying to build.
LINEUP
Hall returned to Edmonton to have his ankle looked at more closely via MRI which might be signaling that the rest of the season could look like some kind of hellscape. Benoit Pouliot took the morning skate but again will not play tonight. Petry took a maintenance day yesterday but is good to go today. It should be the same lineup as in Toronto (yay?) except Scrivens will get the start in net. The pairings got mixed part of the way through the game and Marincin was back with Petry. I’m going with those pairs.
Purcell RNH Eberle Fraser Roy Yakupov Hendricks Gordon Klinkhammer Gazdic Lander Pakarinen
Marincin Petry Klefbom Schultz Ference Fayne
Scrivens
OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME
1) Check Your Watch. Maybe they didn’t show up to the game because it was Eastern Time and they forget to adjust their watches accordingly. At this point I’m willing to accept any excuse because the alternative is that the performance we saw on Saturday was the team giving it their 100% effort. So for now I will accept any lame excuse as long as they actually start better tonight.
2) Jagr Hair. Jaromir Jagr is approximately as old as the Sun and still the leading scorer of an NHL team. Additionally, he takes the Oilers’ lunch money pretty much every game he plays them. If he gets traded to a Pacific team he might be able to extend his career another 2-3 years just feasting on the Oilers. I would like to say it defies logic, but he’s an extremely hard working and intelligent hockey player who knows exactly how to target teams who are unwilling to engage him physically. He was tailor made to beat up on a weak and inexperienced Oiler club that would rather ask nicely for the puck back in their own zone than take it from someone by force.
3) Paging Nuge. He has just 2 points in his last 6 games and the little guy is getting the gears from Hockey pundits who question not just if he is really a 1st line Center, but even a 2nd line center! Kelly Hrudey on Hockey Night in Canada suggested he was maybe a 3rd line player. Sure, he’s been the best Oiler for most of the year, their only All-Star, and is tied with Joe Thornton for even strength points, but you know…people are talking. They might be logically deficient people, but they are technically still people. The Oilers need their top Center to throw caution to the wind and create more chances. They need him to push the river offensively.
Puck drops at 5:08 PM Mountain Time on Sportsnet West. Tank On!
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