One of the good stories surrounding the Oilers this season is young RNH. The young man has been very good offensively and is surprisngly well schooled away from the puck. Among the things Oiler fans can count as a great development and a strong up arrow is Burnaby Ryan.
- Jari Kurri (80-81) 75gp, 32-43-75
- Jason Arnott (93-94) 78gp, 33-35-68
- Dave Lumley (79-80) 80gp, 20-38-58
- Glenn Anderson (80-81) 58gp, 30-23-53
- Sam Gagner (07-08) 79gp, 13-36-49
- Andrew Cogliano (07-08) 82gp, 18-27-45
- Jordan Eberle (10-11) 69gp, 18-25-43
- Taylor Hall (10-11) 65gp, 22-20-42
- Raimo Summanen (85-86) 73gp, 19-18-37
- Miro Satan (95-96) 62gp, 18-17-35
- Magnus Paarjavi (10-11) 80gp, 15-19-34
- Jaroslav Pouzar (82-83) 74gp, 15-18-33
- Mike Grier (96-97) 79gp, 15-17-32
- Kyle Brodziak (07-08) 80gp, 14-17-31
- Rem Murray (96-97) 82gp, 11-20-31
- David Oliver (94-95) 44gp, 16-14-30
- Ales Hemsky (02-03) 59gp, 6-24-30
- Jozef Beranek (91-92) 58gp, 12-16-28
- Linus Omark (10-11) 51gp, 5-22-27
- Todd Marchant (94-95) 45gp, 13-14-27
- Dean McAmmond (93-94) 45gp, 6-21-27
- Martin Gelinas (89-90) 46gp, 17-8-25
- Mats Lindgren (96-97) 69gp, 11-14-25
- Scott Fraser (97-98) 29gp, 12-11-23
- Jason Chimera (02-03) 66gp, 14-9-23
--
Sam Gagner is day to day, Whitney is on the radar now, and Barker is gone for a time. Linus Omark was injured in last night's game and Tyler Bunz took a puck to the head while sitting on the bench last night (but has tweeted he's hopeful to go tonight).
OKC's Barons have come alive on the scoresheet and I think there may be some movement at the big league level if the 3 & 4 lines in Edmonton keep struggling. Some of the numbers:
- Phil Cornet 15, 11-2-13 +5
- Teemu Hartikainen 15, 7-4-11 +1
- Linus Omark 7, 1-6-7 +2
Man there's a lot of talent being wasted. That's on the coach, folks.
Shouldn't the Oilers be mentioned in the Title?
ReplyDeleteDamn that MacT! Why won't the let the horses run!? He's ruining our good young offensive prospects with defensive responsibilities.
ReplyDeleteIf only he would give schremp a chance, everyone could see...
As an Oilers fan, I feel a lot like watching this is like watching someone do the hokie pokie.
You put your defensive responsibility in,
You pull your defensive responsibility out,
You put your defensive responsibility in,
And you shake those players about!
You do that Oilers coaching as you spin those fans around.
That's what it's all about!
Derek has been putting together some really nice graphic representations of how players are doing vs. how thye should be expected to be doing over @ C&B. They reflect what I think a lot of us have been seeing re: lines 3 & 4, and our bottom pairing D.
Black F-ing holes. And the coach's plan is to keep the status quo? When the only reason the team was winning games was a goalie getting all the bounces?
Something else has to be going on here, because this does not make sense.
LT: Due respect to the great Jari Kurri but the king of Oiler rookies is Wayne Gretzky:
ReplyDelete80 GP 46-64-110 overall
72 GP 43-61-104 as an Oiler
Won the Lou Kaplan Trophy as WHA Rookie of the Year.
Long live the Rebel League!
Bruce: As you know, the NHL's arbitrary rules makers made 99 ineligible. Silly damn rule, but there you go.
ReplyDeleteIs the Calder the only trophy never won by an Oiler?
ReplyDeleteRNH seems like our best shot since Arnott so far.
(I realize no Oiler has actually won the Rocket Richard either, but I feel like those should be handed out retroactively - how awesome would that ceremony have been if they'd gotten all the living past winners together?)
(And also, Smyth is apparently determined to win it this year anyway...)
I don't understand, what's wrong with the 4 line?
ReplyDeleteLT,
ReplyDeleteDon't mean to be obtuse, but can you elaborate on "Man there's a lot of talent being wasted"?
You mean Omark only? Or do you think Harsky should be called up?
I have a felling "tank lite" is the MO this year. Need 1 more year of top level picks.
ReplyDeleteLT: Those aren't 99's "first NHL season" numbers I cited, they are his Rookie numbers. 1978-79. Best ever rookie season by an Oiler.
ReplyDelete(I realize no Oiler has actually won the Rocket Richard either, but I feel like those should be handed out retroactively - how awesome would that ceremony have been if they'd gotten all the living past winners together?)
ReplyDelete@commonfan14: I had the exact same sentiment a while back and wrote this piece on the Retro Rockets.
The idea of a mass ceremony was brought up in the comments section, and yes it would be awesome. Sooner would be better, though.
I could be wrong about this, but I think it has a lot more to do with using the players in a way that alows them to succeed.
ReplyDelete91 sitting tonight (for the 3rd game? in a row?) makes little sense. He lander and omark had excellent chemistry early on, and since then they have played very little together. Now, I recognize it would be difficult to have them all up here when everyone is healthy, but if it gives the Oil a real 3rd scoring line... who cares?
Nothing helps allay doubts about management decisions like winning.
Further to Conan's point about "man there's a lot of talent being wasted," how so?
ReplyDeleteOmark is a bad defensive player who doesn't create things without the puck. Tom Renney requires responsibility without the puck.
MPS shy's away from physical contact and is the definition of a perimeter player. Sure, Belanger isn't the best fit for him, but he goes into the corners in a poke check first mind set. Heartthrob Rishaug made a good point about this last week. He's been playing like he dresses - a little too feminino.
Harsky was a healthy scratch in the AHL a couple games ago. Is he really a better option then what we have on the fourth line right now?
Put Jones back on the 2nd for a "shut-down" line and let Hemsky, Gagner and Magnus skate circles around the other teams 3rd D pairing. Regardless of what Jones' Corsi, etc. say, the team was winning when he was with 94 & 10 shutting down the top lines in the league.
Lander and Omark had chemistry? I don't remember them playing together except for about 1 or 2 periods in the preseason when they had the 91-57-23 line together. I double checked the lines and it seems that the swede line was together for 1.29% of Lander's ES icetime this year. That's about 1:51 by my math. Not a lot of time to show any real chemistry, and an incredibly small sample to take any of what they showed to mean anything
ReplyDeleteGagner not on ice for morning skate.
ReplyDeleteLine up as per Principe tweet:
ReplyDelete4-93-14
94-10-83
91-20-28
55-57-37
5-77
25-44
24-58
35
40
Barker surgery, gone til March. Petry's here for the duration.
ReplyDeleteBarker out 3 months!! Hurray! He definitely won't be getting any faster; hope he has been wisely investing his money thus far.
ReplyDeleteLater goat-boy!
Wow, poor Barker. He hasn't been playing well, but it sucks to see a guy injured badly enough to miss most of the season. I guess we'll see what the blue looks like without him now.
ReplyDeleteTough news for Barker, great news for Petry and Peckham.
ReplyDeleteI think I prefer Barker (yikes) to Peckham (just horrible right now), so I'm not sure if this will improve the blue line over the course of the season.
We need Whitney to have a chance at the playoffs.
We also need Ryan Suter, too, to be a good team.
I don't know whether to feel happy or sad about Barker. Sure, it's great that Petry will be up here for that period, but... isn't it sad that the guy the Oilers brought in to provide depth and push poeple down the depth chart is the guy who's injured?
ReplyDeleteGlad to see PRV get back in. Hope he finds success with the plumbers.
The only people Barker pushed down the depth chart were players more qualified to fill his spot in the lineup. I'm sorry that he got hurt, but I think our defense is better for the loss. Hopefully Whitney is back soon.
ReplyDeleteSend 57 and 91 to OKC and recall Brule and Hartikanen. Brule now has 10 pts in 13 games.
ReplyDeletewith a lack of anything from the bottom 6, doesn't it make sense to try something different? I think they can run 2 kinds of lineups, one home and one away. At home have 2 kid lines, and protect them. Away, shuffle it up and go with 2 tough minute lines, and a 4th line that hopefully can hold it's own.
ReplyDeleteWould love to see (for the next month at least)
Kid line
Smyth-Horc-hemsky
Jones-Belanger-Petrell
MPS-Lander-Omark
With gagner back you can sit any of the swedes, and can run a "tough guy" in any of the bottom lines.
With the Barker experiment over for the next few the months the team is screaming for a significant Peckham upgrade.
ReplyDeleteToo bad Gags can't stay healthy and as a result can't help in this regard, I don't expect much outside of Linus walking....
The idea that Omark is bad defensively is utterly absurd. He's not only decent defensively, he's also better than several of our current players and has the potential through his skillset to be excellent.
ReplyDeleteBendelson: I would think Whitney's return in ~10 days would be considered a fairly significant Peckham upgrade at LD.
ReplyDeleteOmark is a bad defensive player who doesn't create things without the puck
ReplyDeleteCould somebody please provide some evidence for this assertion? I keep being told that Omark can't play defense, but I have yet to see any proof for this.
I think if we had beat the Coyotes, or one of Boston, Chicago, or Detroit on the road trip then we wouldn't have a lot of complaints right now.
ReplyDeleteStill above of VANCOUVER, San Jose, Detroit...
7th in the Western Conference. A win tonight gets us up to 4th.
3 losses in a row vs. those teams, on the road. Reality is a snowstorm. Don't think Renney should have played NK back to back Detroit Chicago but that's just my take. Now the older guy plays 3 in a row.
A loss tonight and a whisper becomes a familiar, annoying acquaintance.
Still, think they'll come out flyin' and getta coupla smokies!
Omark is not a poor defensive player and he's a very hard worker.
ReplyDeleteHis issue is that he's a floater, best evidenced in the Penguins and first Canucks games.
When a guy is ready to push up at a moments notice or floats in the zone waiting for a breakout pass, Renney's not going to be happy with his commitment to covering his man in his own zone.
Putting him on a checking line with inherent defensive responsibilities makes that even worse.
Misfit: you really think Whitney can stay anywhere remotely close to healthy? Let's give him 10 games and see if he is playing or back on the IR.
ReplyDeleteIf Whitney ( and Hemsky )are still in the lineup in Feb. count me as pleasantly surprised.
One thing that jumped out at me from the article was the similarity of Hemsky and Omark's rookie numbers. Omark had around five less GP and about 3 less points.
ReplyDeleteObviously Hemsky was younger in his rookie season, I'm not saying Omarks the next Hemmer or anything but I thought it was interesting.
Cakle: what the witches who put the injury curse on the Oilers do every time a player goes down.
Good stuff. I sure hope Renney finds a way to get Teddy and Petry some more PK time.
ReplyDeleteI remain skeptical about the roster makeup of the Oiler parent team. Omark is miles better than some of the men who'll dress tonight, but the 4th line is going to have an Eager or Hordichuk on it all year long no matter the performance. So, the Oilers are looking at three lines that can score and a butcher line. So far they have two scoring lines, a third line that has run out of time and a 4th line that looks like a bleeder of historic proportions. Man there's a lot of talent being wasted.
ReplyDeleteAnd yet somehow, the Sharks found a way to develop Logan Couture with Ben Eager in their lineup last year. Will wonders never cease?
That paragraph is the very definition of biased editorializing LT. 'The players I like aren't playing so Oil mgmt. must be frittering away their future.' Right.
Nevermind the fact that Hordichuk isn't even playing, riddle me this Batman? When are the players themselves going to be held accountable for their nonperformance? Gagner & MPS are getting their at bats and doing nothing with them. Do you honestly believe your boy Omark being in the lineup is going to singlehandedly solve this problem?
Eager is open for criticism. He was brought onboard to fill a specific role and thus far, he hasn't done it. However, if you want to look for root causes on why some of the Oiler prospects are seemingly stalling in their development, I think you want to get past the bias to some more meaningful issues. First and foremost, when are the Oil going to truly commit to developing their top prospects in the A (not just the D or the 'project' picks) before rushing them to the bigs?
Someone posted a while ago here that you don't learn offense in the A? Has this been proven? Seems to me that MPS and Gagner would both benefit from learning how to compete against more physical players if they could do so in a slower league. Their decision making on the fly just isn't there.
That's too bad about Barker. He wasn't my favorite Oiler but you don't like to see anyone get hurt.
ReplyDeleteThis is totally off topic but does anyone else find Spector's show very hard to listen to? He's a good guest on other shows but he's lacking as a host. I don't know if he had previous experience on the radio but IMO there would be a huge improvement if they brought in a host and made him the colorful sidekick.
Aren't we starting to see some of the same cracks in Renney's coaching style that led him to losing his job in NY? I am not saying the bloom is off the rose, but if the Oil have a bunch of young players who aren't progressing under the guy, and has an over-reliance on the element of 'toughness' (to the detriment of the skill/scoring) then some questions need to be raised about what he's doing. Especially when the Oil go on losing streaks, but the same lines keep getting thrown to the wolves over and over again.
ReplyDeleteI dunno, but I am wearying of what Renney's style promises for the future.
Lee:
ReplyDeleteAgreed.
LT has been clamoring for a 3rd line C and vet winger for years and then when it happens and youth gets pushed down the depth chart he cries foul.
Very odd.
Lee:
ReplyDeleteAgreed.
LT has been clamoring for a 3rd line C and vet winger for years and then when it happens and youth gets pushed down the depth chart he cries foul.
Very odd.
Assuming that Eric Belanger and Ryan Smyth are the players you're referring to when you mention a 3rd line C and veteran winger, I don't really think that LT is complaining about their presence pushing players like Omark down the depth chart. I think his problem is that Omark has been pushed out of the lineup completely while there are other guys who are worse hockey players (Eager, for example) that should probably have been booted out first.
Good points Lee. Sooner or later one needs to make the call on the readyness and talent level on this team rather than how the line combos are set. I just don't see us being a tough team to play against outside of one line and doubt very much if Gagner or Omark would change that much. We need to be bigger and grittier in our top 9 F's.
ReplyDeleteST didn't go far enough in recruting FA vets at the deadline imo. This would have pushed a couple that are currently playing down to the A where they belonged. Belanger would be just fine if he had someone decent riding shotgun and I think Eager is still feeling the effects of his TC concussion. He was a lot more aggressive in Chitown but again with a stronger linemates. Maybe Renney has a short leash on him.
Hannan and White were had for pretty cheap and could have helped here. Maybe ST figured we were set with Barker and Sutton but I can't believe he knew how good Potter would turn out to be.
Bloody hell people. Yes, the Oil have a tough guy in their lineup. So do the majority of the teams in this league. This is not the sole reason the Oilers are an overmatched hockey team.
ReplyDeleteIf you absolutely can't stand this player type, maybe you should be a Red Wings fan instead? Or possibly figure skating is more your thing. Get over it already.
Yeah, go cheer for a winning hockey team if you don't like JF Jacques.
ReplyDeleteIsn't the problem with the Oilers lack of scoring? Is Eager/Hordichuk going to solve that?
ReplyDeleteThis issue is not that the Oil are getting pushed around (likely because the PP was doing a good job, so there was no value in running the Oilers' players) its that they are getting outscored. And to solve that problem they PB'd one guy who can play, threw another guy into the AHL and considered putting the third onto the 4th line. Dunno how Eager/Hordichuk solve that issue.
But please, keep telling me that PRV, Gagner and Omark are what's wrong with the line-up right now.
Nice try Kris and Bar Qu. No one's arguing for a team full of fire hydrants at the expense of skill players. I'm just calling utter bullshit on this smokescreen that one goon in the lineup is the root cause of all the Oil's troubles.
ReplyDeleteMacT lost the room!
ReplyDeleteI was arguing the coaching is poor, which is why the line-up is overmatched. And if the issue is scoring, ensuring you have a 3-5 min a night goon over a skill player (in the freakin' AHL) in the line-up makes no sense to me.
ReplyDeleteThat, and somehow PRV taking a step backward in his sophmore year is somehow cause to run him out of town on a rail too. Its not like he is the first guy to struggle in year two.
I apologize for saying that "one goon in the lineup is the root cause of all the Oil's troubles."
ReplyDeleteAnd of course we all know grit players cant produce points in the top 6
ReplyDeleteRichards
Brown
Glencross (sry to bring up this malignant tumour again. Nice job KLowe)
Morrow
Doan
Clowe
Backes
Stewart
Kesler
Burrows
Is there a softer top 6 (or 9) than the Oilers in the Western Conf? Nobody says they have to be Hordichuk's and Laroques. Just some guys with some jam and size that can play the fn game.
Anyone actually believe this lineup could make some noise even if they did manage to get into the playoffs? If Gagner and Omark can help you get a piece or two then lets give up on the "experiments" and arguing over whether a guy will ever fill a role. Those two are tweeners at best.
If the teams you're trying to get ahead of are doing it then it might be smart to take heed. I don't even want to think about how things go down if Horcoff or Smyth go out with injuries.
Omark isn't competing with Eager for a job. He is competing for a top 9 job.
ReplyDeleteThe bigger issue here is a group of fans don't believe sandpaper is necessary while another group does.
Even the greatest coach of all-time, Craig MacTavish, dressed Stortini every night.
In retrospect, I think the Oil's troubles winning are caused by a lack of Whitney and another top 4 D-man to play with Gilbert and Smid. (Claim 1)
ReplyDeleteI also think that Omark, and Hartikainen are players that, if injected into the lineup, would make winning this game against Ottawa more likely than having Eager in the lineup. They are better players than Eager. (Claim 2)
(I'd say the same for Jones and Petrell, but that's more controversial, because they PK, so I won't assert it now.)
I also am worried that it's somewhat likely that Tambellini may make a bad trade of a young player. (Claim 3)
Because Tambellini has made more bad trades and signings than good ones (Claim 4)
Are those claims wrong? I know LT made a bunch of stupid claims, because he is really dumb, but can we agree to claims 1-4?
I apologize for saying that "one goon in the lineup is the root cause of all the Oil's troubles."
ReplyDeleteYou're right. Your actual comment was nothing more than worthless sarcasm. My bad for lumping you in.
Bar Qu said...
ReplyDeleteAren't we starting to see some of the same cracks in Renney's coaching style that led him to losing his job in NY?
It is far more likely that we are seeing cracks in the Oilogosphere.
LT said...
Man there's a lot of talent being wasted. That's on the coach, folks.
This is as about as inaccurate a statement as I have ever seen on this blog.
First the statement makes a massive assumption: that talent is being wasted. Talent not playing at the highest level is not the definition of talent being wasted.
It then makes the further assumption that that waste is wholly and solely because of the head coach.
PART of it MIGHT be on the coach, IF talent is being wasted. That's about all we can say with any degree of accuracy.
I would also make the case that if Omark no longer requires any development in his game, then we can say the player we have today is about the best we can expect. Thus there should be no qualms about trading a "player that we don't know how good he is going to be". Because we do.
Did anyone read the Sun article today on Filatov? And the coach commenting that Filatov is wasting his talent by not adjusting his game or taking care of the little things?
And can we agree that the coach's goal is to win games and over time, build a Stanley Cup Winner? And use that as a starting point for our discussions?
Let me amend claim 2. That should read "slightly more likely." (Though over the long term, every bit helps winning games.)
ReplyDeleteWe are talking about relatively few minutes per game. I get that.
agreed, in so much as omark and eager dont fill the same role and are not competing for the same roster spot.. I see eager in comp w petrell and hordichuk..
ReplyDeleteWRT Omark, I think he is competing w eberle, gagner, MPS, and hemsky for one of a couple roster spots.. but of those he, to my eye, may only outperform gagner and MPS..
An aside, Im getting a little unsettled w MPS's season and, in general, development.. to my eye, his best stretch of play came w omark as a linemate.. but for the most part, he has not shown much outside of that stretch (this could be a reflection of my own limitation to asset young players), nor have they been on the same line often.. If possible, staple those two together (w gagner, or bust?!) as a secondary softy line and hopefully by next season lander can jump in.. If that line could produce something, anything!! - seriously, then who cares if they bleed chances.. this is still a development year..
It is understandable that the top trio each hold golden tickets to top ice time, but why neglect the secondary guys?!..
Anyways, many of you are prob right when you say line combos are less signif at this point, but here is my 2 cents..
Lander can spend more time in Ok.. get belanger on the 4th and get that line in shape to be a 2ndary tough min line.. THEN! question if eager is a good enough fit w 20 & 37..
Either way,.. these are the oil.. and, We still 'got' time to bleed..
Your actual comment was nothing more than worthless sarcasm.
ReplyDeleteI usually write the worthless sarcasm from my "Steve Smith" or "Kinger" accounts.
"MacT lost the room!"
ReplyDeleteHaha.. makes me laugh every time..
Guaranteed to bring out the smiles..
I apologize for the repetitiveness. I missed the last hour of the discussion and thus added a whole boatload of jackshit.
ReplyDeleteI usually write the worthless sarcasm from my "Steve Smith" or "Kinger" accounts.
ReplyDeleteGood to know.
Claim 1:
ReplyDeleteEdmonton currently has a winning record. Claimed debunked.
Claimed 2:
Omark isn't competing against Eager for a role. Eager matches up against the Neil's and Konopka's. Can Omark do that? Claim debunked.
Claim 3:
The only young players that Tambellini has traded is Riley Nash and Andrew Cogliano. Both look like good trades. Claim debunked.
Claim 4:
Claim 4 is based on claimed 3 so bye-bye. Debunked.
The problem I have is that the Oilers are being outscored and Renney's solution seems to be to focus on the goals against, not goals for.
ReplyDeleteOilers are 26th in the league in GF/gm.
Oilers are 3rd in the league in GA/gm.
They got spanked a couple times on the trip by very good teams, but goals against don't seem to be the problem, its goals for.
Renney has played a 3rd line that looks like an example of godot's square pegs and round holes theory, they just don't seem to be able to pay well together.
Some of us would like to see a true scoring line there with the likes of 91,89,83,23 on the line, but Renney chooses to play 20, 28 and even 57 there.
That's the frustration.
For those of us who have been married to the team, this year finally had a roster that could role out 3 lines with some offensive chops. That hasn't happened since the early 90's.
20 years since we've been able to watch a team roll some fire power and win games 6-5.
So when they roster is there to be had and its not utilized by the coach that way. A roster whe 23 plays in OKC,HS 91,play 89 on the wing, but 37,55,57,28 get rolled out every night, its frustrating.
Its his team, he's gonna do it his way, but I reserve the right to bitch about it.
Often.
The bigger issue here is a group of fans don't believe sandpaper is necessary while another group does.
ReplyDeleteAgreed.
Harsky could take a handful of jobs on this team today.
If Pitlick and Harski make the team next year, this will be less of an issue.
Even the greatest coach of all-time, Craig MacTavish, dressed Stortini every night.
On the 4th line.
Problem is the 3rd line had sucked hind tit.
The Oilers would be better served with Eager, Belanger and Pettrell/Jones on the 4th and ice 3 players like 91,89,23,83 on the 3rd, imo.
I like Belanger a lot, but he seems to be an offensive sinkhole with the type of players the Oilers have to play with him.
Penner-89-83 was a good line for the Oilers last year, 91/23-89-83 would probably be ok too.
Edmonton currently has a winning record.
ReplyDeleteI was responding to Lee's claim about the "Oil's troubles." I assumed this mean trouble winning, not trouble going to the bathroom.
Omark isn't competing against Eager for a role. Eager matches up against the Neil's and Konopka's. Can Omark do that? Claim debunked.
I think we disagree here. Omark is better at hockey and would do better against Neil and Konopka than Eager, IMO. He'd outchance and outscore them. It's possible you mean "matches up in a fight" and not "matches up playing hockey." If not, you think Eager is a better hockey player than Omark. And why not Hartikainen if the issue is size?
The only young players that Tambellini has traded is [sic] Riley Nash and Andrew Cogliano.
But he has traded other players, too. Don't his bad trades, in general, make another bad trade more likely? Or is it your theory that he makes bad trades in general, but good trades when trading kids? (Based on the large sample of two, fairly small, trades?)
so bye-bye
Bye. Get milk on your way back.
I think Omark being in OKC and Paajarvi playing 10 minutes a night are indeed on the coach.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I've said lots of crazy things. For instance, in the summer I suggested Ben Eager was a hockey player.
Man, THAT was a doozy.
"Often".. haha..
ReplyDeleteAh yes, and Jones.. the guy that keeps making good of the opportunities provided.. Id love to write him off, but he has outperformed all other bottom six wingers.. he is the wild card, comp w omark / petrell and eager?! to a lesser extent.. couldnt he simply push petrell down to Ok?!.. or is the argument that the oil are already to small/easy to play against?!..
"On the 4th line.
ReplyDeleteProblem is the 3rd line had sucked hind tit."
I'm pretty sure Eager is playing on the 4th line so he has nothing to do with the 3rd line failures.
Belanger was brought in to be the 3rd line center. I wasn't the guy praising Tambellini for bringing him in July 1st (that was you guys) but I refuse to believe he is the reason that MPS and Gagner are struggling.
Renney should give MPS and Gagner a highlight reel of Smyth's goals this year. Aside from the nice move around Pikka Rinne off a nice feed from Horcoff every single goal has has been of the garbage variety.
Yeah, LT, maybe the trouble is that Renney wanted that early 3rd line-combo with MPS-Belanger-Omark to trap and play defensively, and they had some trouble making it work early on, so Renney dumped them.
ReplyDeleteI don't think they were that bad: some bad luck, tough zone starts, etc., but they seemed better than anything on Belanger's line we've managed since. I seem to remember that their chance numbers in those early games were decent, but low event, which sort of fit with the style they were playing.
I also think Omark on the PP over Belanger would be a good idea, too.
Re: Eager and Omark not competing for the same job
ReplyDeleteMaybe the two of them aren't competing for the exact same role, but I still think it would be possible to insert Omark into the top 9 and bump someone like Jones down into the spot Eager is currently occupying.
How about this.
ReplyDeleteGagner and Paajarvi aren't very good hockey players.
And it's not Belanger's fault.
And Hemsky can't fix it.
DSF: I disagree with your suggestion that Gagner and Omark aren't very good hockey players.
ReplyDeleteBoth started slowly and I would argue in less than ideal circumstances. Even with that, I'll bet money on both of them having wonderful NHL careers.
And, if I'm honest, I'd bet they would have much better seasons if coach Renney were better able to handle the situation.
Right now he's running two lines and waiting for the drowning. And even with that I don't think Gagner has been poor. He's improving, as one would expect him to coming off an injury.
The panic isn't in the fanbase, but I think the coach might be a little off in his thinking.
We'll know he's thinking clearly again when Omark is recalled.
jmo.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteperhaps, at the next GM meeting they could discuss increasing the number of men that can dress by one.. then that can be the roster spot fought over by the goons and the fourth line wouldnt have to be compromised..
ReplyDeletehehe
Corbin: Eager played 9 minutes against Chicago. I'd argue that's at least two minutes too much for him, especially when he is playing so poorly.
ReplyDeleteWhoa. Some of you guys sould like you are surprised that this may not be a playoff team.
ReplyDeleteThey were -78 last year. They are +1 this year.
If Renney brings them in somewhere around -30 by season's end he will have done a wonderful job.
Well, unless he doesn't play Omark 35 minutes a night - then civiliation will end.
Ah yes, and Jones.. the guy that keeps making good of the opportunities provided.. Id love to write him off, but he has outperformed all other bottom six wingers...
ReplyDelete...while playing with Shawn Horcoff and Ryan Smyth.
Ducey: Agreed. Renney's Oilers had a great start, and are now fading. The coach needs to make things work, and an idea might be shuffling the lines in order to get some secondary scoring.
ReplyDeleteWe wait.
If it were only one player, say Omark, it might be reasonable to blame the player. But it isn't only one player. It's Omark, it's Paajarvi, it's Gagner, it's almost everyone.
ReplyDeleteAnd notice it's top 10 draft picks who already have a track record that is better than their pedigree. Did all of these players turn into pumpkins overnight or are they being turned into pumpkins.
And it isn't just them, Hall is off to a disappointing start as well.
If one player underperforms you can blame it on the player if everyone does you can blame it on the coach.
And don't talk to me about record. Unless something changes this team is headed for the basement once again. They've won out of luck so far not out of skill.
and an idea might be shuffling the lines in order to get some secondary scoring
ReplyDeleteSure, but the two guys with the lowest Rel Corsi on the team are Petrell and Lander. If you want them to learn in the NHL then at least some portion of the bottom 6 is going to bleed.
I think Petrell, Lander and perhaps MPS should be sent down and Hartikanen and Brule should be promoted.
This would likely be better for the team in the short term and in the longterm.
How about this.
ReplyDeleteGagner and Paajarvi aren't very good hockey players.
And it's not Belanger's fault.
And Hemsky can't fix it.
Gagner 5v5 pts/60 0.50
Paajarvi 5v5 pts/60 0.38
Kessler 5v5 pts/60 0.35
Junk em all.
I'm pretty sure Eager is playing on the 4th line so he has nothing to do with the 3rd line failures.
ReplyDeleteDidn't say he was.
Belanger was brought in to be the 3rd line center. I wasn't the guy praising Tambellini for bringing him in July 1st (that was you guys) but I refuse to believe he is the reason that MPS and Gagner are struggling.
He may not be, but evidence is he isn't helping them either.
Renney should give MPS and Gagner a highlight reel of Smyth's goals this year. Aside from the nice move around Pikka Rinne off a nice feed from Horcoff every single goal has has been of the garbage variety.
Agreed 100%.
This is why I want Harsky back too, he goes to the net.
I have no problem with smaller players if they go the net.
I have little time for any sized player who won't go to the net.
Ducey: I think it's overdue that they send Lander out, and Petrell--altough a good PK guy--would be an option too.
ReplyDeleteThere's also nothing wrong with sending Paajarvi down for a few games, but when you bring him back for crying out loud play the man.
And play him with skill.
...while playing with Shawn Horcoff and Ryan Smyth.
ReplyDeleteHave you noticed who those guys are playing against?
Jones has played very well, no doubt. I'd be open to putting him back on that line and using Hemsky as fire starter for the 3line.
ReplyDeleteMan that would be cool.
Have you noticed who those guys are playing against?
ReplyDeleteSure. And Jones is indeed doing well. My point is just that saying that he's outshone the other "bottom sixers", when he's got Smyth and Horcoff and they've got Eager and Pettrell, might not be a fair comparison.
Petrell's game has impressed me as the season goes along.
ReplyDeleteLowetide: noting that there's got to be some "mix" on these lines, why not go outside the box and use Ryan Smyth as the fire-starter?
ReplyDeleteKeep the kid-line together, but then roll out this:
Jones-Horcoff-Hemsky
Smyth-Gagner-Paajarvi
Lander-Belanger-Petrell
If Smyth and Horcoff were good enough to cover up for any of Jones' shortcomings, Horcoff and Hemsky should be good enough to do so, right?
Might depend on how much Renney likes the Smyth-Horcoff duo against tough minutes. My guess is that he quite likes it (and why wouldn't he?), so it's doubtful we see this. But it should be tried eventually...
Given the lack of offense for the Oilers this year, is anyone else on the same page as me that EDM should, ideally, be looking to draft a F again this year?
ReplyDeleteShouldn't the focus from coaching always be on GA? Or should they be coaching offensive creativitiy? (and yes, I know they should be coaching systems like breakouts).
ReplyDeleteWoodguy made the comment last Game Thread that the Oil forwards weren't coming back to help out the Fs. I agree and think the Fs are trying to cheat to offense too much. I think some of the recent lack of success comes from the team not playing the system well (heresy I know, when we can criticize roster decisions etc).
I'm not saying that would have changed the win-loss column. But, I'd like to see this team play the sys a little better before we start subbing players in and out. And if these players won't do it, then swap.
It's a process. And it requires patience.
HBomb: Smyth would be an outstanding option (as you describe).
ReplyDeletespeeds: Sure. I'd always go F unless Denis Potvin is available.
spOILer: I don't know if the Oilers have 9 forwards playing well. That's certainly part of the problem alright.
Easy to say now that Paajarvi is struggling, 20 20 hindsight and all that, but I do recall back at the 2009 draft that many were hoping the Oilers draft Kulikov*. I haven't really followed FLA all that closely, but with the benefit of hindsight, I can certainly see how a 21 year old D playing 22 min a night would be of use to the Oilers.
ReplyDeleteActually, Kulikov might be an interesting RFA target for some team.
* Not me, Kulikov was in my top 10 but not my BPA when EDM picked, which was Schroeder. Can't win them all!
Another shortie for Rieder tonight. Leading his team in scoring and tied for 2nd in the OHL for SHG. Kid is having a very nice season for a 4th rd draft pick.
ReplyDelete3 hours ahead of MST and early morning so look forward to reading the comments tomorrow. Go Oilers!
Another random thought bubbling around:
ReplyDeleteAnyone think Tambellini might approach Smyth come early February and say something like:
"We're interested in signing you again this summer, but we can get something pretty decent for you at the deadline, and we're wondering if you'd be willing to go somewhere else for the rest of the year so we can pick up a prospect/draft pick, and then bring you back in the summer. Any interest?"
Lowetide: Smyth is playing so well right now, he'd probably earn the nickname "Coke".
ReplyDeleteAs in, everything goes better with Coke, NOT some sort of "he's scoring like he could hang with the mid-80's Oiler" inference.
Rather than making talented young players ride the pine, put them in a position to succeed and let them learn to run instead of assuming they can barely walk.
Dreger reports...
ReplyDeleteSources say Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford is trying to make a deal for a forward and even though his top defenceman Joni Pitkanen is injured, it's believed Rutherford would trade either Tomas Kaberle or Bryan Allen in return for an offensive boost up front.
Not much there...Is Allen any good/useful?
Matty's latest blog
ReplyDeleteYou have to wonder what calendar Matty looks at when he suggests the Oilers should have signed Staios or should call Struddy.
Lordy.
He also has some trade smoke, Gagner for Franson.
He said Franson was a top 4 D in NAS. Actually Franson was 7/7 TOI for Dmen with 20+ games played, so not quite top 4.
I know Franson has pedigree, but he lost his job in NAS (Blum ate his lunch) and can't get a job in TOR.
Beware of any player David Poile gives away.
Woodguy: Matheson isn't quite what he once was, but at least he didn't go to the level Dan Tencer did during Oilers Now this afternoon.
ReplyDeleteApparently, Cam Barker has been "pretty solid" for the Oilers so far this year.
Huh?
Strudwick and Staios don't help the issue of a lack of a top-four blueliner that this team has, nor does the injury to Barker make that hole any bigger.
Hbomb
ReplyDeleteI heard that too. Stauffer and Tencer were having a lovefest over Barker and blabbing on how much they will miss him and his calmness.
Do they even watch the games?? There's a difference between calmness and slowness
Jeebus. Has the universe turned itself upside down?
ReplyDeleteWhat's going here?
When did Traktor become the voice of reason and beacon of sanity at this blog?
I say that with the utmost in sincerity here as I find myself agreeing with all of his posts (that I've read thus far).
I always thought traktor was more of a 4rth line agitator like DSF, lol...
Speeds,
ReplyDeleteIf the Oilers aren't fighting for a playoff spot I hope they have that conversation.
Puck drop.
Go Oilers!
In fairness, Barker looked quite calm as forwards zipped by him. No panic that I saw.
ReplyDeleteMy random thoughts...
ReplyDeleteEager got his bell rung by the crazy Russian--there's a decent chance that it has affected his play.
Gagner's looked brutal at RW though I was admittedly in favor of trying it for when he returned. It hasn't worked and probably won't given his size/foot speed.
Jones has played very well, no doubt. I'd be open to putting him back on that line and using Hemsky as fire starter for the 3line.
Yeah, I would have liked to have seen this option tried.
Omark probably is what he is at this point, so I agree with whoever made that point. For those who're lamenting his demotion, how did he look in Eberle's place on the top line?
As for the Oilers, sure, they're overmatched--less because of coaching and probably more because their d corps sucks. Again, not a surprise from all of the off season analysis.
Smid and Gilbert were briefly hitting above their batting average and have subsequently come down to earth along with a number of other percentages.
As for a playoff push, sure it's not happening this year, so we wait... and wait...
Petrell's game has impressed me as the season goes along.
ReplyDeleteI like him too, but his -24 Rel Corsi suggests he could use a little time with LT's girlfriend (the one busting out of her red sweatshirt) in OKC
Yank him.
ReplyDeleteThere goes the save %age
ReplyDeleteGreat, Oilers dominate the first 7 minutes in terms of possession, then the Senators score two goals on their two shots.
ReplyDeleteI think Khabibulin's hot-streak is over.
He's baaaaaaaack.
ReplyDeleteUnbelievable...
ReplyDeleteWhat the heck just happened?
In all the nonsense being spewed by traktor and lee, (and dsf too, though that's ptty normal) I saw nothing about Renney doing a good job coaching. IMO the issue is not the line-up or who is under performing but the fact that there seem to be a lot of under-performers out side of Smyth. And while the pucks aren't going in their own net, they certainly aren't scoring very many either, which was especially made apparent on the road. This makes the question of why Lander or Petrell are sticking over other more potential offensive fwds a more relevant question.
ReplyDeleteKH is not looking like a world-beater tonight.
Jesus.
ReplyDeleteKhabby's SV% sinking like an olive in a martini
Shame with the pressure the Oil had.
Sutton out and no 7th D on the roster.
Terrible move by 24 to create the 2 on 1 on the first OTT goal.
24 and 58 out against Spezza's line? Humpth.
I don't know what the scoring chances are but Oilers had a very nice start, lots of energy.
ReplyDeleteIf they can get that back, it'll be 2-2 soon.
HBomb: The pairings will be weird with Sutton out.
That HBomb should have been Woodguy.
ReplyDeletenonono potter and a bum call!
ReplyDelete44 hurt.
ReplyDeleteTime to see 91 on D?
PULL HIM ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThat was awful.
ReplyDeleteWell F me - Dammit hockey Gods
ReplyDeleteMaybe GA are an issue now.
ReplyDeleteThis is terrible.
Can't score.
Can't stop being scored on.
Like the last two years.
My 74 year old mother asked "why doesn't Hall pass the puck"?
There's very little grit on this team. outside of 94 and 28, the guys with grit either a) can't play very well or b) don't care.
ReplyDeleteIm ready for Hartikainen.
Good question, Grandma Woodguy. At some point he has to learn when to slow things down.
ReplyDeletePretty sucky period after about the 7 minutes mark.
ReplyDeleteIncase it hasnt' been mentioned yet, Sutton will not play because of a groin injury.
ReplyDeleteMakes the team look real smart for not calling up a healthy body a couple days ago, doesn't it?
There's nothing in this 3-nil deficit that couldn't be solved by subbing Omark for Eager.
ReplyDeleteThe team is WASTING Nikolai Khabibulin's talent hanging him out to dry like this.
Brutal job covering the defensive zone by Oilers' F. Brutal job covering the low slot by Oilers' D. Brutal job covering the 4-by-6 by Oilers' G. Brutal job covering the game by Sportsnet.
ReplyDeleteOther than that, everything's all good.
I think Khabibilun still gets his mom to cut his hair. Nice.
ReplyDeleteEager's toughness scored a goal, but it got called back because toughness doesn't score goals.
ReplyDeleteBye-bye
ReplyDeleteLee: That entire fourth line is horseshit. Eager is part of that line. OF COURSE Omark would be better.
ReplyDeleteThank goodness you're coming around.
Is it just been or does Phil Cornet look exactly like Rene Bourque?
ReplyDeleteIt would be nice if he played like him too.
Whoops, wasn't signed in with my worthless sarcasm account there.
ReplyDeleteGagner's PTS/60:
ReplyDelete0.00
Let's see if they get their heads screwed back on right, between periods. Losing Sutton is a real killer though. Gonna be a circus on D now.
ReplyDeleteI'm concerned about Potter at this point.
ReplyDeleteLee,
ReplyDeleteWhy do you troll here?
I don't understand people who post on websites soley to tell everyone else on the site how wrong they are.
Its like walking into a Catholic Church and bitching about the Pope and Virgin Mary.
Why walk in at all?
Looked like 44's groin as well. So possibly Tuebert and Plante in for Chicago.
ReplyDeleteThey're still in this one, but if you look at the schedule this could turn into a 9 game L streak based on the opponents play of late.
Traktor: Incorrect stat.
ReplyDeleteHi, Dubnyk
ReplyDeleteEager's toughness scored a goal, but it got called back because toughness doesn't score goals.
ReplyDeleteHilarious :P
Peckham's grit took a penalty.
ReplyDeleteLander #1!!!
ReplyDeleteBeauty from Lander!
ReplyDeleteAtta boy Anton. Congrats!!!
ReplyDeleteVery happy for Lander right now. Do that more, kid. You'll get a lot more of those.
ReplyDeleteFeed anyone?? My gamecenterlive has this one blacked out, and what is rediculous is Ottawa is my 'home market' but the ga,e is not on Sportsnet East....laughable.
ReplyDeleteAnyone have a working feed for the game?
ReplyDeleteI know we've said it before by Holy Jésus, Eager can skate for a big guy.
ReplyDeleteWilliam, try this....
ReplyDeletehttp://chanfeed.com/10563/watch-ottawa-vs-edmonton
It's time to send 91 down. He loses every battle and the play is dying on his stick.
ReplyDeleteGive Teemu a chance
Potter looks like he shouldn't be playing, not making much of a stride at all.
ReplyDeleteI think there needs to be a variant of Godwin's law, with free speech substituted for Nazis.
ReplyDeletePotter out now, too? Man, that OKC depth could be gobbled up in one night.
ReplyDeleteI expect they'll recall Teubert, but after that? Chorney? Plante?
Here comes the lottery.
ReplyDeletePotter and Sutton hurt. We are in bigtime trouble.
ReplyDeleteThere should probably be a Godwin's Law for Godwin's Law.
ReplyDeleteWho could ever have guessed that the Oilers would need more depth on D than what they had going into the season?
ReplyDeleteOTOH, Motin might just have missed his chance to get some NHL games in.
4 really soft calls on the Oilers and about 4 non-calls on OTT including the hook on 14 that ended in the Oiler net.
ReplyDeleteI think 14 went down easy, but a horizontal stick at your hands is a hook.
Que the Fall-off for Yakupov.
ReplyDeleteThe Fail for Nail.
WG: Even with that, the other D should be demoted for his read on it.
ReplyDeleteSlightly off topic...
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know why Blogger displays the seconds in a post's time signature? Seems to lack a certain purpose.
There should probably be a Godwin's Law for Godwin's Law.
ReplyDeleteFor run-of-the-mill mentions, sure. But mine was bloody brilliant.
Does anyone know why Blogger displays the seconds in a post's time signature? Seems to lack a certain purpose.
ReplyDeleteEspecially since it's always "00".
In other news, the Oilers are who we thought they were.
(Word verification: worst. Seriously.)
Could we have some paramedics check out Hemsky please. Maybe check for internal bleeding, just to be safe.
ReplyDeletesticking your leg out is a trip
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing good about this gsame except Lander getting his 1st NHL goal.
So Tuebert and Chorney get the call?
Lord save us Teddy Peckman is a 2nd pairing Dman.
CHI Friday then two back to back road games out of 4.
Might be down with CAL in a week.
"Steve",
ReplyDeleteLOL! Great save.
And yup the :00s is the mystery I was referring to.
spOILer: I too am seeing Hemsky real bad (again) tonight. He might as well be on the Moon.
ReplyDeleteShots that period were 3-3. Nice pushback by the home team there.
I really think these last few days were a chance to shuffle things a little. Renney has 6 forwards going and 6 who can't do jack.
ReplyDeleteHe certainly knows more about the game than I do, but this break might have been a chance to break up the kids and vets in an effort to get a real 3rd option going.
Maybe Gagner's injury ended the opportunity. But now they're looking at a significant losing streak and 6 forwards still in a funk (Lander's shot aside).
Wonder if Stu Mac is now directing his scouts to the teams who have the the top 5 ranked players, as opposed to the playes ranked 25-30. ;)
ReplyDeleteLT,
ReplyDeleteNo PVR where I am, who missed the assignment on the breakaway?
WG: Theo.
ReplyDeleteThe blue line has physically exploded and the forward lines can't get anything going. Oh, and Khabby is back to letting in soft goals and twitching his eyes furiously at his lack of effectiveness.
ReplyDeleteAh...it's the good old oilers we've known and loved. What happened to that tight checking, defensive minded, scrappy team of the first 10 games? How I miss you.
Look, as much as it may be fun to dream of another top overall pick, this team is too good to be in the lottery. And I don't think a 7th overall pick is what any of us wants. They need to turn this around now.
The young players need to step up, veterans need to lead (looking at you hemsky), and most importantly: the coaching staff needs to prepare these guys.
The coaches have made a ton of questionable personnel and line combo decisions, and I think some of the critique has to go to them. 5 days off and your team gives up 3 goals in the first period?
Point is though, I really don't want us to tank another season. Come on boys, let's make a game of it at least in the third.
Also, MPS on D? Anyone? A pipe dream, perhaps...
Carter already wants out of CBJ LOL!
ReplyDeleteIf we slide for the rest of the season and finish in the lottery again - you figure Tambo is about done, no?
ReplyDeleteDoes that not worry other people around here? What is he going to try?
Potter out, Peckham zoned out. It's Gilbert, Smid, Petry and they're down 4-1.
ReplyDeleteIf the Oilers came back and won this we'd talk about it forever.
If we had had Jason Strudwick playing Winger on the 4th line, we wouldn't be in this position right now.
ReplyDeleteJust sayin.
Also, Strudwick was gritty.
ReplyDeleteI mean, "shitty."
Jeebus that Tebow can't throw a lick.
ReplyDeleteYet here he is, scoring a touchdown with less than a minute left to possibly beat the Jets.
And they would be as upset about this loss back in the room.
ReplyDeleteShould call up Danis with the two D.
ReplyDeleteJust awful.
What an awful game. Petry had one stellar shift and the fourth line had a couple of shifts that looked nice but other than that, I don't know. Awful.
ReplyDeletePotters officially done with an ankle injury (on Edmonton ice again?). I hope Gilbert (still even somehow) and Petry had some orange slices in intermission.
I thought I saw Paajarvi out there with some skill, but could be wrong.
ReplyDeleteMessage for 4, switching him with 91. Maybe a ego lift fpr 91.
ReplyDeleteWhen the Oilers were effecrive in the break out they were making 3+ passes before they got out of their own end.
Now everytime the D gets the puck its a jail break and the F are forcing the D to make some really low percentage passes.
Wasn't it Ottawa last year on Hockey Day in Canada that beat them around pretty good, precipitating the visit from the GM?
ReplyDelete@LT
ReplyDeletePaajarvi and skill are mutually exclusive.
He skates fast though :)
This is the first game back after the CFR, typically the worst ice of the year, IIRC. Looked like Eberle went down on the breakaway goal that everyone wanted the penalty on, by getting his skate caught in a rut.
ReplyDeleteRight now I just want to make it to the end of the game with everyone else healthy.
Not moving 2 forwards back when you have that 4 d is idiocy
ReplyDeleteDSF: No question he's not going to be the calibre of the other kids (Hall, Eberle). But he's way better than he's been this season.
ReplyDeleteWG
ReplyDeleteAnd Hall has to realize that passing will buy him room for shooting. He's pressing too hard for the goal, trying to do too much himself.
One of the worrying things about Paajarvi is that he gets pushed off the puck so easily. I'd also like to see him paired with a shooter while he works on developing his shot with the guru Eberle and Gilbert saw. But he's gonna have to be stronger on the puck and take more initiative along the walls.
ReplyDeletespOILer: It's one of the reasons I don't understand why Omark is in OKC. That guy is instant chem with Paajarvi, and maybe they find a shooter for those two.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I don't know that he can avoid okc at this point. Might be best for him long term.
Yes. Considering it's 5-1, I don't know why Eager or Petrell or Paajarvi or someone doesn't take a couple shifts on D. Hell Eberle.
ReplyDeleteNice of Hall to come back over the blue line of a completely evacuated D zone.
ReplyDelete@ LT
ReplyDelete3 giveaways in the offensive zone on his last shift.
He's getting murdered.
By the Ottawa Senators.
DSF: Yeah, I think he'll have some time in OKC to get some confidence back.
ReplyDeleteShould've been two penalties. Would be nice if the refs made some effort to protect our players at this stage.
ReplyDeleteYou don't fist pump on a 5-2 goal off the foot...brutal Jones.
ReplyDeleteTencer: Oilers have now lost 4 straight, outscored 20-8 in those games.
ReplyDeleteGot to be a career high, or close to, for Petry in ice time tonight - 28:43
ReplyDeleteI don't think a shuffling would hurt here. They have to callup at least two D if Potter and Sutton are hurt, and they must be tempted to call up another so they can HS Teddy Peckman (who must be hurt; either that or his brain fell out).
ReplyDeleteI don't think it would do any harm to send down Paajarvi, Lander and or Petrell either. Bring up any number of guys, but Hartikainen and Omark would be front and center.
Airlift time? It's an option.
Obviously it's very early, but it's conceivable EDM doesn't qualify two RFA D currently in the NHL, in Peckham and Barker, this summer.
ReplyDeletespeeds: At this point, I don't know that Peckham lasts the season here. He's been very poor.
ReplyDeleteI only saw it for a shift, but I think I liked the looks of a Belanger-Eberle-Jones line. It gave Eberle a chance to control the puck a bit. It's hard to make anything out from this mess, though.
ReplyDeleteGreat effort from Petry. For sure playing beyond himself in this one.
This is the first game back after the CFR, typically the worst ice of the year, IIRC.
Good call. I forgot all about that.
Joanne Ireland just tweeted that Jeff Petry said he was okay but was on his way to see the doctor.
ReplyDeleteWow. Expensive loss.
Obviously it's very early, but it's conceivable EDM doesn't qualify two RFA D currently in the NHL, in Peckham and Barker, this summer.
ReplyDeleteIt's not too early at all to say that Barker doesn't get qualified.
what is with all the ankle injuries?!
ReplyDeleteI've never seen anything like it.