James Tanner: Coyotes Looking for Second Goal in Third Game

Coyotes win 4-1, and all the rumors and doubters finally silence...at least for a second.

And Vegas, though good, is way overhyped, and loses in the first round of the playoffs. Take it to the bank....

Luckily, their break gave me a chance to watch the Mindhunter, which is a show on par with the Sopranos, Game of Thrones and the Wire. And they can't delete this while claiming it's not hockey related because the star of the show is Jake Gardiner.

The guy doubles as one of the NHL's best players and one of TV's greatest actors. Amazing.

Where was I?

Oh yeah, I was about to make fun of the Coyotes for scoring less goals in two games as Auston Matthews routinely scores in a period.

"Fewer."

Scratch that...just saw that Raanta is inexplicably taking the crease instead of Kuemper. Make it an overtime win 4-3.

Scratch that...just saw that Raanta is inexplicably taking the crease instead of Kuemper. Make it an overtime win 4-3.
- Dahlmanyotes

How long until he gets injured?

Less goals? That's it, not going to be buying your book anymore.

Less goals? That's it, not going to be buying your book anymore.
- danielghancock

I think you should reconsider.

Scratch that...just saw that Raanta is inexplicably taking the crease instead of Kuemper. Make it an overtime win 4-3.
- Dahlmanyotes

This is insane, Kuemper has been unreal .

This is insane, John Gibson has been unreal .
- James_Tanner

Fixed.

How long until he gets injured?
- Atomic Wedgie

Warm up.

Fixed.
- Tanuki

Gibson looked good against Detroit. Only a howitzer by Hronek beat him. I like the Ducks aggressive forecheck style. They're going to give opponents fits this year. Gibson will keep them in games. Manson looks like a beast. It was against the Red Wings but I like what I see from the Ducks right now.

Detroit looked unreal in the first period. If they can figure out how to keep up that level of pressure over 60 minutes, they're unbeatable.

Hey tanner, while it may be just luck right now do you still believe that the oilers got hosed in the lucic deal like you said when the trade was made?

Detroit looked unreal in the first period. If they can figure out how to keep up that level of pressure over 60 minutes, they're unbeatable.
- yzermaneely

Red Wings have a good first line. Mantha-Larkin-Bertuzzi. Athanasiou is really all they have after that. It's a bunch of plugs. The team overall is hustling more this season which is nice to see. I love what I see from Hronek and Seider has me excited about the future. But it's a tank year.

By that I mean Yzerman didn't do much this summer knowing they'll be bad. His real work will begin next summer when Green, Daley, Pylon Ericsson and Howard are off the books. Mantha, Bertuzzi and AA are RFAs who'll need to be re-signed. But the players will still try to win. They just won't win many games.

Blashill is a lame duck head coach. Yzerman will replace him with his own guy next season. I have no idea who that wiill be. Maybe Cooper if Tampa craps the bed in the playoffs again. But who knows...

Hey tanner, while it may be just luck right now do you still believe that the oilers got hosed in the lucic deal like you said when the trade was made?
- RedC21

I believe what I said when the trade was made was that "I wouldn't want either player on my team."

The reason I said Lucic was better is because if neither player is scoring, then at least Lucic won't hurt you with brutal defensive play like Neal will. I stand by that, but since Neal is now scoring, it's a moot point.

Either way, you gotta cut me some slack here because I was asked for my opinion on what was better between peeing your pants or puking on your shirt.

I haven’t read the other comments but Subban is expected to get the start. Hayton is also making his debut tonight

Keller-Step-Kessel
Hayton-Dvorak-Schmaltz
Grabner-Richie-Hinostroza
Garland-Soderberg-Fischer

I was hoping to see Vinnie in the top 6 but I’ll settle for Hayton.

Gave my ticket to a coworker, hoping to watch the second half

I believe what I said when the trade was made was that "I wouldn't want either player on my team."

The reason I said Lucic was better is because if neither player is scoring, then at least Lucic won't hurt you with brutal defensive play like Neal will. I stand by that, but since Neal is now scoring, it's a moot point.

Either way, you gotta cut me some slack here because I was asked for my opinion on what was better between peeing your pants or puking on your shirt.
- James_Tanner

It’s definitely not a moot point when he just broke an Oilers record while not on the same line as McDavid and Drais - that’s pretty crazy to think about. I’m happy for the guy for no other reason than he had so many doubters about him rebounding (me not one of them) and he’s literally shutting them up because they won’t admit they were wrong...

It’s definitely not a moot point when he just broke an Oilers record while not on the same line as McDavid and Drais - that’s pretty crazy to think about. I’m happy for the guy for no other reason than he had so many doubters about him rebounding (me not one of them) and he’s literally shutting them up because they won’t admit they were wrong...
- WSCTeton17

I saw it as a garbage for garbage trade but gave the Oilers the advantage. Neal doesn't have to be protected in the expansion draft whereas Lucic does. He has a no move clause. But when I think about it Neal only had 1 bad season.

He was a 40 goal scorer for Vegas and they tried re-signing him. They just didn't want to sign him to the long term Neal wanted. The Flames gave it to him. I didn't see many Flames games last season but it seemed Flames fans were extremely frustrated with his play. He just couldn't seem to get it going.

I saw Lucic much more last season and I recall thinking McDavid could score 150 points if Lucic wasn't there. So many great passes wasted trying to get Lucic the puck. I recall Oilers fans fuming how bad Lucic was.

Maybe Neal was motivated by the bad press he got and worked out like a man possessed this summer. Who knows? But he is playing well right now. He won't continue scoring at this current clip but he should score at least 20. This alone makes the Oilers win this trade.

Flames fans are trying to convince themselves that Lucic adds toughness to their lineup which will pay dividends in the playoffs. It might. We'll see. I recall how a minor move Holland made back in the summer of 2007 when he signed an old Dallas Drake as a UFA.

Drake wasn't much use during the regular season but boy did he ever have an impact in the playoffs. His hitting and toughness really complimented the Red Wings skill players during that 2008 Cup run.

If anything it was a smart gamble for Holland to make. Neal was more likely to bounce back than Lucic was. So far it looks like he has. I've been one of Ken Holland's biggest critics and I stand by what I said about him.

But I have to give him some credit here. Dumping Lucic for Neal looks like a win for the Oilers. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out. It's a long season.

I saw it as a garbage for garbage trade but gave the Oilers the advantage. Neal doesn't have to be protected in the expansion draft whereas Lucic does. He has a no move clause. But when I think about it Neal only had 1 bad season.

He was a 40 goal scorer for Vegas and they tried re-signing him. They just didn't want to sign him to the long term Neal wanted. The Flames gave it to him. I didn't see many Flames games last season but it seemed Flames fans were extremely frustrated with his play. He just couldn't seem to get it going.

I saw Lucic much more last season and I recall thinking McDavid could score 150 points if Lucic wasn't there. So many great passes wasted trying to get Lucic the puck. I recall Oilers fans fuming how bad Lucic was.

Maybe Neal was motivated by the bad press he got and worked out like a man possessed this summer. Who knows? But he is playing well right now. He won't continue scoring at this current clip but he should score at least 20. This alone makes the Oilers win this trade.

Flames fans are trying to convince themselves that Lucic adds toughness to their lineup which will pay dividends in the playoffs. It might. We'll see. I recall how a minor move Holland made back in the summer of 2007 when he signed an old Dallas Drake as a UFA.

Drake wasn't much use during the regular season but boy did he ever have an impact in the playoffs. His hitting and toughness really complimented the Red Wings skill players during that 2008 Cup run.

If anything it was a smart gamble for Holland to make. Neal was more likely to bounce back than Lucic was. So far it looks like he has. I've been one of Ken Holland's biggest critics and I stand by what I said about him.

But I have to give him some credit here. Dumping Lucic for Neal looks like a win for the Oilers. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out. It's a long season.
- gergeswillems

It’s like you said early on: Neal has a history of scoring (he averaged a 40 goal pace for each of his full seasons in Pitt) and had one down year. He just wasn’t a fit, that’s literally all it was.

Listening to the average fan is never a good idea imo. I know dozens and dozens of hockey fans who don’t know anything about the game or how to analyze a players performance. It’s like when a team gives up 15 quality scoring chances and generates 3 and that average fan tells you it was the goalies fault 😂

I think Neal scores in the upper 20’s, not sure if he gets 30. Really comes down to health/deployment imo. Can he continue to play with at least RNH if not Drais or McD? Time will tell

where is that line from. betting on the Generals.

Mindhunter is amazing!

It’s like you said early on: Neal has a history of scoring (he averaged a 40 goal pace for each of his full seasons in Pitt) and had one down year. He just wasn’t a fit, that’s literally all it was.

Listening to the average fan is never a good idea imo. I know dozens and dozens of hockey fans who don’t know anything about the game or how to analyze a players performance. It’s like when a team gives up 15 quality scoring chances and generates 3 and that average fan tells you it was the goalies fault 😂

I think Neal scores in the upper 20’s, not sure if he gets 30. Really comes down to health/deployment imo. Can he continue to play with at least RNH if not Drais or McD? Time will tell
- WSCTeton17

Neal scored again tonight. 😂 Oilers win. 4-0 now. Red Wings are 3-1. ☺ That's October hockey for you.

It’s definitely not a moot point when he just broke an Oilers record while not on the same line as McDavid and Drais - that’s pretty crazy to think about. I’m happy for the guy for no other reason than he had so many doubters about him rebounding (me not one of them) and he’s literally shutting them up because they won’t admit they were wrong...
- WSCTeton17

you completely misunderstood what I said. The point I was saying was moot was about who is better if no one is scoring.

where is that line from. betting on the Generals.

Mindhunter is amazing!
- Njuice

The classic Simpsons episode where Homer goes to Clown College.

The classic Simpsons episode where Homer goes to Clown College.
- James_Tanner

That's right, I had a feeling it was Simpsons but I couldn't picture the episode. That was a great one!