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Post by blackhawk216 on May 3, 2022 9:47:07 GMT -7
To me Quick outplayed Smith with some added luck. You have to shoot to hit the top half of the net to beat him, down low he's hard to beat. Obviously Smith with the costly mistake. Hopefully we move on and he ups his game like he's been doing for 2 months. Not sure what's up with Pulj and why he's so up and down. He does make good plays but for the past while he is always deferring and shooting the puck around the boards for other players to do the work or the play dies with that. He's not all in, he's playing half hearted again. Kid is so up and down with his confidence. Played 7 minutes and was a -2. After the loss pissy for sure. Oilers need to break this playoff curse and that needs to start with a win. Sometimes you just have to be honest and acknowledge that the other team was better, and that certainly was the case last night v LA. They looked quick-er (pardon the pun), more skilled on the puck and I will say more determined not to lose battles for the puck...........and if there is any doubt about which of our two younger wingers to keep, Yammo or JP I think last night's game went a long way to showing which one we should keep and which one can leave. If you can't get your game up for a play off game as important to the team and city as last night's game was, when are you going to do so? I guess 7 minutes ice time tells the story, and the -2 doesn't help of course. Lets call a spade a spade, JP is a soft hockey player, soft hockey players don't influence play off games. At least Yam uses every ounce he has to fight for the puck. I am hoping I need to come back on here and eat humble pie after the next game when JP scores a hat tick..........not holding my breath though. The loss was not down to him of course, it was simply down to LA being better (especially between the pipes......what was he thinking of?) than the Oilers.
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Post by blackhawk216 on May 3, 2022 9:56:48 GMT -7
4-1 Kings 5 on 5 that is a huge problem. We cannot rely on getting PP's to win or compete in this series because you know they are going to dry up. Sorry Fogs but that Smith blunder has been brewing for about 10 games he has just been lucky they haven't been put in the back of the net before. The fact that the coaching staff hasn't told him that pass up the middle needs to stop is concerning. They can't just let him do what he wants. I told my wife a week ago he was going to cost us a game in the playoffs and bingo first game. They decided to take the last two games off at the end of the season and it bit them in the Fogolin2 in this game when they got outworked more often than not. Bruce McCurdy had a shocking stat today. In the last 7 playoff games we have been tied or ahead in every one going into the 3rd period and have lost all of them and have been out scored 14-1. 100% correct about Smith.......perhaps he should realise he is 40 now, not 20 and cut out the fancy stuff behind the net.......I agree, this "blunder" has been coming for a while, but his overall game last night reeked of a guy who was not sure of his game, he (Smith) never looked in total control......Quick did, and that was the biggest positional difference between the two teams. Why the Oilers were touted as heavy favourites v LA in the series I don't know, as a five point spread over 82 games is virtually nothing. We are in for a battle in this series, it will be interesting to see if the Oilers are up for it.
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Post by igibb on May 3, 2022 10:01:53 GMT -7
Well it certainly screams that our stars don't get it done when it matters in the playoffs. 1 goal (scored by Jujhar) in 7 3rd periods and 5 overtime periods is pathetic.
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Post by drtaf on May 3, 2022 10:30:17 GMT -7
Well it certainly screams that our stars don't get it done when it matters in the playoffs. 1 goal (scored by Jujhar) in 7 3rd periods and 5 overtime periods is pathetic. THERE's YOUR PROBLEM! We got rid of Jujhar!! Sorry, just trying to add some levity! Not sure that our stars haven't contributed in the last bunch of playoff games, but secondary scoring is still a major issue. LA's so called shut down line dominated the game, Kane and Hyman were mostly invisible, certainly at least on the scoreboard and JP is playing himself out of town(too bad as he'll be a late bloomer IMO). The 3rd and 4th lines were simply not good enough either. It's been said many times, but if the opp only have to worry about McD and Drai, they'll take that, limit them as much as possible and focus on dominating the other matchups (which LA did). Our last 2 months of reg season were good because everyone contributed, last night's defeat was because not everyone did (and of course goaltending is always crucial and we lost that handily too). I'm hoping that in game 2, everyone shows up wanting to do what it takes to win. i'm cautiously optimistic they will, but as a diehard oilers fan, all my fingers and toes are crossed, because they haven't yet proven they know what "all in" really means from a playoff perspective?
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Post by Marshall Bruce Mathers III on May 3, 2022 10:57:31 GMT -7
4-1 Kings 5 on 5 that is a huge problem. We cannot rely on getting PP's to win or compete in this series because you know they are going to dry up. Sorry Fogs but that Smith blunder has been brewing for about 10 games he has just been lucky they haven't been put in the back of the net before. The fact that the coaching staff hasn't told him that pass up the middle needs to stop is concerning. They can't just let him do what he wants. I told my wife a week ago he was going to cost us a game in the playoffs and bingo first game. They decided to take the last two games off at the end of the season and it bit them in the Fogolin2 in this game when they got outworked more often than not. Bruce McCurdy had a shocking stat today. In the last 7 playoff games we have been tied or ahead in every one going into the 3rd period and have lost all of them and have been out scored 14-1. 100% correct about Smith.......perhaps he should realise he is 40 now, not 20 and cut out the fancy stuff behind the net.......I agree, this "blunder" has been coming for a while, but his overall game last night reeked of a guy who was not sure of his game, he (Smith) never looked in total control......Quick did, and that was the biggest positional difference between the two teams. Why the Oilers were touted as heavy favourites v LA in the series I don't know, as a five point spread over 82 games is virtually nothing. We are in for a battle in this series, it will be interesting to see if the Oilers are up for it. While I agree he should stay on his net, Leon was up the ice calling for the puck. Smith would have cleared the puck to the side of Leon wasn't calling for the puck.
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Post by blackhawk216 on May 3, 2022 11:31:59 GMT -7
100% correct about Smith.......perhaps he should realise he is 40 now, not 20 and cut out the fancy stuff behind the net.......I agree, this "blunder" has been coming for a while, but his overall game last night reeked of a guy who was not sure of his game, he (Smith) never looked in total control......Quick did, and that was the biggest positional difference between the two teams. Why the Oilers were touted as heavy favourites v LA in the series I don't know, as a five point spread over 82 games is virtually nothing. We are in for a battle in this series, it will be interesting to see if the Oilers are up for it. While I agree he should stay on his net, Leon was up the ice calling for the puck. Smith would have cleared the puck to the side of Leon wasn't calling for the puck. If you are suggesting that a goalie of Smith's experience has what you say as a "get out of jail card" then we shall have to agree to disagree. That is like little Johnny at school when in trouble blaming his friend Alfie for damaging school property because Alfie told him to do so. This isn't school play ground stuff, it is the NHL play offs! To his credit, Smith blamed himself in the post match interview and seems the sort of guy that hopefully can rebound from that error. Just so it is clear, I am not averse to Smith not staying in his net, but especially fairly late in the game to try to go down the middle of the ice from virtually the backboards is not the thing to do. We were not one up in regular season facing an empty net with Smith trying to score as has happened recently, we were 7 minutes or so from what could have been overtime looming in the most important game for the Oilers for five years. Absolutely no reason to take that chance and with all the years of experience, as Smith admitted (I am paraphrasing here), he should know better. But MBM, I respect your opinion however misguided it is.
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Post by AlwaysOil on May 3, 2022 12:27:51 GMT -7
I only saw the last 15 min of the game but one big difference I saw in that time was LA players going to the net on shots but not so much the oilers, or if they did they were boxed out. You stand in front of Quick and he can’t come out to challenge the way he was. The gwg was an LA player at the net.
Not sure how the other 2 periods were, but we played the third like we were scared to lose. We need to play like we are 3 goals down to start. As much as I think Smith #$&@‘d up, he was trying to make something happen rather than just hoping something bad didn’t happen. Need more of that with other players.
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Post by drtaf on May 3, 2022 12:42:43 GMT -7
I only saw the last 15 min of the game but one big difference I saw in that time was LA players going to the net on shots but not so much the oilers, or if they did they were boxed out. You stand in front of Quick and he can’t come out to challenge the way he was. The gwg was an LA player at the net. Not sure how the other 2 periods were, but we played the third like we were scared to lose. We need to play like we are 3 goals down to start. As much as I think Smith #$&@‘d up, he was trying to make something happen rather than just hoping something bad didn’t happen. Need more of that with other players. Totally agree with 1st sentence, we were all saying that in the GDT. don't agree with 2nd, we need to have patience and wait for the opportunity to present itself. with McD and Drai, you know you'll get your chances eventually. Trying to force things leads to mistakes and that's what happened and has bounced us from playoffs the last 2 years. Good teams bide their time and strike when given half a chance, they dont force things, that's what inexperienced playoff teams do IMO.
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Post by windsoroiler on May 3, 2022 12:46:09 GMT -7
100% correct about Smith.......perhaps he should realise he is 40 now, not 20 and cut out the fancy stuff behind the net.......I agree, this "blunder" has been coming for a while, but his overall game last night reeked of a guy who was not sure of his game, he (Smith) never looked in total control......Quick did, and that was the biggest positional difference between the two teams. Why the Oilers were touted as heavy favourites v LA in the series I don't know, as a five point spread over 82 games is virtually nothing. We are in for a battle in this series, it will be interesting to see if the Oilers are up for it. While I agree he should stay on his net, Leon was up the ice calling for the puck. Smith would have cleared the puck to the side of Leon wasn't calling for the puck. Bingo. Lots of chatter about Smith, yes it is a mistake but you have Leon cheating for the puck on offense. As most have talked about past several playoff games we have not scored in the 3rd or overtime. I don't believe that's the main problem. The main problem is this cheating for offense. Pay attention to D, your transition play will get you that offense in return when it comes to the playoffs. This is the 3rd year we are talking about it. Our forwards supporting the D and the goalie. I believe we are better at that but what Leon did was cheating/cherry picking. The 3rd goal was the same (Lemieux goal) in the slot, that's with McD's line on. Pulj did get tripped with no call that led to the odd man rush and goal but still the slot was left uncovered. At 5 on 5 last night. Danault played over 8 minutes against McD and Drai's lines allowing only 1 shot against while his line created many chances all evening. There is your defense first then offense will take care of itself it takes to win in the playoffs. We did get some calls and scored 2 PP goals but usually that's not going to happen. Even though we beat them on special teams it was their 5-5 play that won the game.
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Post by windsoroiler on May 3, 2022 12:52:12 GMT -7
To me Quick outplayed Smith with some added luck. You have to shoot to hit the top half of the net to beat him, down low he's hard to beat. Obviously Smith with the costly mistake. Hopefully we move on and he ups his game like he's been doing for 2 months. Not sure what's up with Pulj and why he's so up and down. He does make good plays but for the past while he is always deferring and shooting the puck around the boards for other players to do the work or the play dies with that. He's not all in, he's playing half hearted again. Kid is so up and down with his confidence. Played 7 minutes and was a -2. After the loss pissy for sure. Oilers need to break this playoff curse and that needs to start with a win. Sometimes you just have to be honest and acknowledge that the other team was better, and that certainly was the case last night v LA. They looked quick-er (pardon the pun), more skilled on the puck and I will say more determined not to lose battles for the puck...........and if there is any doubt about which of our two younger wingers to keep, Yammo or JP I think last night's game went a long way to showing which one we should keep and which one can leave. If you can't get your game up for a play off game as important to the team and city as last night's game was, when are you going to do so? I guess 7 minutes ice time tells the story, and the -2 doesn't help of course. Lets call a spade a spade, JP is a soft hockey player, soft hockey players don't influence play off games. At least Yam uses every ounce he has to fight for the puck. I am hoping I need to come back on here and eat humble pie after the next game when JP scores a hat tick..........not holding my breath though. The loss was not down to him of course, it was simply down to LA being better (especially between the pipes......what was he thinking of?) than the Oilers. I hope to eat crow too. Pulj played so well first 3rd of the season. Since then not much from him but he has been making good plays on both sides of the puck and keeping momentum going for the team. But this trend of rimming the puck around the boards when he gets under pressure all the time is not a recipe for success. I have not seen any other player do this in the league. Must be a Bison King thing. He's a big man, make some plays, don;t defer constantly and make your teammates do all the work or rim the puck so hard all the way around the boards that the puck gets out of the zone or you leave our D with a tough play. Seen it again and again and again
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Post by igibb on May 3, 2022 13:27:31 GMT -7
While I agree he should stay on his net, Leon was up the ice calling for the puck. Smith would have cleared the puck to the side of Leon wasn't calling for the puck. Bingo. Lots of chatter about Smith, yes it is a mistake but you have Leon cheating for the puck on offense. As most have talked about past several playoff games we have not scored in the 3rd or overtime. I don't believe that's the main problem. The main problem is this cheating for offense. Pay attention to D, your transition play will get you that offense in return when it comes to the playoffs. This is the 3rd year we are talking about it. Our forwards supporting the D and the goalie. I believe we are better at that but what Leon did was cheating/cherry picking. The 3rd goal was the same (Lemieux goal) in the slot, that's with McD's line on. Pulj did get tripped with no call that led to the odd man rush and goal but still the slot was left uncovered. At 5 on 5 last night. Danault played over 8 minutes against McD and Drai's lines allowing only 1 shot against while his line created many chances all evening. There is your defense first then offense will take care of itself it takes to win in the playoffs. We did get some calls and scored 2 PP goals but usually that's not going to happen. Even though we beat them on special teams it was their 5-5 play that won the game. Don't know how you can say that going over 3 games worth of time without scoring is not the problem. We lost every one of those games by one goal except one that was 2-1 when 2 empty netters were scored. You are not winning very many one goal games that you are leading or tied in going into the third if you can't score another goal.
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Post by windsoroiler on May 3, 2022 14:00:21 GMT -7
Bingo. Lots of chatter about Smith, yes it is a mistake but you have Leon cheating for the puck on offense. As most have talked about past several playoff games we have not scored in the 3rd or overtime. I don't believe that's the main problem. The main problem is this cheating for offense. Pay attention to D, your transition play will get you that offense in return when it comes to the playoffs. This is the 3rd year we are talking about it. Our forwards supporting the D and the goalie. I believe we are better at that but what Leon did was cheating/cherry picking. The 3rd goal was the same (Lemieux goal) in the slot, that's with McD's line on. Pulj did get tripped with no call that led to the odd man rush and goal but still the slot was left uncovered. At 5 on 5 last night. Danault played over 8 minutes against McD and Drai's lines allowing only 1 shot against while his line created many chances all evening. There is your defense first then offense will take care of itself it takes to win in the playoffs. We did get some calls and scored 2 PP goals but usually that's not going to happen. Even though we beat them on special teams it was their 5-5 play that won the game. Don't know how you can say that going over 3 games worth of time without scoring is not the problem. We lost every one of those games by one goal except one that was 2-1 when 2 empty netters were scored. You are not winning very many one goal games that you are leading or tied in going into the third if you can't score another goal. I'm assuming you meant 3 years? We also lost all those games by one goal because we couldn't defend or we lost the d battle in preventing that goal. Goes both ways lol. I believe we are a better team at transition then trying to rush things and pushing for offense. 3 playoff year we cheat to push the offense and have been getting burned every time. Insert Woodcroft with more emphasis on the forwards and especially the centers coming back on d hard to support the d. It's been preached and stressed on. You have seen the interviews right?
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Post by blackhawk216 on May 3, 2022 14:16:53 GMT -7
Sometimes you just have to be honest and acknowledge that the other team was better, and that certainly was the case last night v LA. They looked quick-er (pardon the pun), more skilled on the puck and I will say more determined not to lose battles for the puck...........and if there is any doubt about which of our two younger wingers to keep, Yammo or JP I think last night's game went a long way to showing which one we should keep and which one can leave. If you can't get your game up for a play off game as important to the team and city as last night's game was, when are you going to do so? I guess 7 minutes ice time tells the story, and the -2 doesn't help of course. Lets call a spade a spade, JP is a soft hockey player, soft hockey players don't influence play off games. At least Yam uses every ounce he has to fight for the puck. I am hoping I need to come back on here and eat humble pie after the next game when JP scores a hat tick..........not holding my breath though. The loss was not down to him of course, it was simply down to LA being better (especially between the pipes......what was he thinking of?) than the Oilers. I hope to eat crow too. Pulj played so well first 3rd of the season. Since then not much from him but he has been making good plays on both sides of the puck and keeping momentum going for the team. But this trend of rimming the puck around the boards when he gets under pressure all the time is not a recipe for success. I have not seen any other player do this in the league. Must be a Bison King thing. He's a big man, make some plays, don;t defer constantly and make your teammates do all the work or rim the puck so hard all the way around the boards that the puck gets out of the zone or you leave our D with a tough play. Seen it again and again and again At the risk of repeating myself windsor............"soft hockey players don't influence play off games"............fact! And as much as we all like JP, he is big enough to influence games, but I am afraid not tough/brave/fearless enough at this stage in his career, and who knows, maybe never will be. I would much rather see those lips of his closed tightly with a look of determination than his tongue dangling outside his mouth. That may not seem relevant, but I think it is. He still has that shocked look on his face whenever a scrum breaks loose and someone tries to grab or lay a glove on him. I am afraid he sometimes looks like a child playing in a man's game. (there goes that tongue I mentioned).
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Post by drtaf on May 3, 2022 14:51:43 GMT -7
I hope to eat crow too. Pulj played so well first 3rd of the season. Since then not much from him but he has been making good plays on both sides of the puck and keeping momentum going for the team. But this trend of rimming the puck around the boards when he gets under pressure all the time is not a recipe for success. I have not seen any other player do this in the league. Must be a Bison King thing. He's a big man, make some plays, don;t defer constantly and make your teammates do all the work or rim the puck so hard all the way around the boards that the puck gets out of the zone or you leave our D with a tough play. Seen it again and again and again At the risk of repeating myself windsor............"soft hockey players don't influence play off games"............fact! And as much as we all like JP, he is big enough to influence games, but I am afraid not tough/brave/fearless enough at this stage in his career, and who knows, maybe never will be. I would much rather see those lips of his closed tightly with a look of determination than his tongue dangling outside his mouth. That may not seem relevant, but I think it is. He still has that shocked look on his face whenever a scrum breaks loose and someone tries to grab or lay a glove on him. I am afraid he sometimes looks like a child playing in a man's game. (there goes that tongue I mentioned). As a big JP supporter I have to agree. I was excited when i saw in preseason he was taking boxing lessons LOL, and in first half he was laying some hits, but about half way through the season he got called for a couple of questionable hits (IMO the calls were questionable not the hits) and since then he's shied away from physical contact. He is very much lacking the confidence of a grown man and he seems more like a shy uncomfortable teenager. I keep hoping he gains that confidence because if he does, watch out! unfortunately, at some point, KH will have to pull the trigger, i just hope he doesnt do it too soon, but at this point in time, I wont blame KH if he does, but wont be surprised if he goes elsewhere and becomes a really valuable player either.
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Post by drtaf on May 3, 2022 15:01:42 GMT -7
Bingo. Lots of chatter about Smith, yes it is a mistake but you have Leon cheating for the puck on offense. As most have talked about past several playoff games we have not scored in the 3rd or overtime. I don't believe that's the main problem. The main problem is this cheating for offense. Pay attention to D, your transition play will get you that offense in return when it comes to the playoffs. This is the 3rd year we are talking about it. Our forwards supporting the D and the goalie. I believe we are better at that but what Leon did was cheating/cherry picking. The 3rd goal was the same (Lemieux goal) in the slot, that's with McD's line on. Pulj did get tripped with no call that led to the odd man rush and goal but still the slot was left uncovered. At 5 on 5 last night. Danault played over 8 minutes against McD and Drai's lines allowing only 1 shot against while his line created many chances all evening. There is your defense first then offense will take care of itself it takes to win in the playoffs. We did get some calls and scored 2 PP goals but usually that's not going to happen. Even though we beat them on special teams it was their 5-5 play that won the game. Don't know how you can say that going over 3 games worth of time without scoring is not the problem. We lost every one of those games by one goal except one that was 2-1 when 2 empty netters were scored. You are not winning very many one goal games that you are leading or tied in going into the third if you can't score another goal. Oilers/Smitty had full possession of the puck, so a lot of forwards will "cheat" in this case, anticipating the puck to soon be moving rapidly the other way. I've read lots of opinions from NHL players, inc several former NHL goalies today, who think Smitty was insane/nuts to try that pass at that juncture of the game. IMO it was done out of frustration because the kings had been dumping into the corners all night and not allowing him to "puck handle", so when the opportunity arose, he tried to force it/do something special (like the 3on3 McD pass) and it backfired big time. It was a rookie mistake from a 40yr old vet goalie. Time for him and everyone to flush it and hope it never happens again.
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Post by pillotte on May 3, 2022 15:58:23 GMT -7
Last I heard it takes a team to win 4 games out of the 7. This was one game. I'll still encourage Smitty to handle the puck as it does take some heat off the d. The communication broke down and the play happened. Quick was the difference in this game. Next game I think (IMO) will be different.
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Post by AlwaysOil on May 3, 2022 15:59:45 GMT -7
I only saw the last 15 min of the game but one big difference I saw in that time was LA players going to the net on shots but not so much the oilers, or if they did they were boxed out. You stand in front of Quick and he can’t come out to challenge the way he was. The gwg was an LA player at the net. Not sure how the other 2 periods were, but we played the third like we were scared to lose. We need to play like we are 3 goals down to start. As much as I think Smith #$&@‘d up, he was trying to make something happen rather than just hoping something bad didn’t happen. Need more of that with other players. Totally agree with 1st sentence, we were all saying that in the GDT. don't agree with 2nd, we need to have patience and wait for the opportunity to present itself. with McD and Drai, you know you'll get your chances eventually. Trying to force things leads to mistakes and that's what happened and has bounced us from playoffs the last 2 years. Good teams bide their time and strike when given half a chance, they dont force things, that's what inexperienced playoff teams do IMO. Fair enough comments and can’t really disagree with the strategy except that we don’t seem to play like the teams that have patience knowing their chances will come. We just seem to be scared which leads to the constant rimming and flipping the puck out. We are not waiting for an opportunity and we’re not ready when there’s a situation that can lead to an opportunity. Playing on our heels.
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Post by yuke on May 3, 2022 16:21:02 GMT -7
To me Quick outplayed Smith with some added luck. You have to shoot to hit the top half of the net to beat him, down low he's hard to beat. Obviously Smith with the costly mistake. Hopefully we move on and he ups his game like he's been doing for 2 months. Not sure what's up with Pulj and why he's so up and down. He does make good plays but for the past while he is always deferring and shooting the puck around the boards for other players to do the work or the play dies with that. He's not all in, he's playing half hearted again. Kid is so up and down with his confidence. Played 7 minutes and was a -2. After the loss pissy for sure. Oilers need to break this playoff curse and that needs to start with a win. Sometimes you just have to be honest and acknowledge that the other team was better, and that certainly was the case last night v LA. They looked quick-er (pardon the pun), more skilled on the puck and I will say more determined not to lose battles for the puck...........and if there is any doubt about which of our two younger wingers to keep, Yammo or JP I think last night's game went a long way to showing which one we should keep and which one can leave. If you can't get your game up for a play off game as important to the team and city as last night's game was, when are you going to do so? I guess 7 minutes ice time tells the story, and the -2 doesn't help of course. Lets call a spade a spade, JP is a soft hockey player, soft hockey players don't influence play off games. At least Yam uses every ounce he has to fight for the puck. I am hoping I need to come back on here and eat humble pie after the next game when JP scores a hat tick..........not holding my breath though. The loss was not down to him of course, it was simply down to LA being better (especially between the pipes......what was he thinking of?) than the Oilers. Good game by Yamamoto, I wouldn't be jumping on JP quite yet. Nobody really knows why he recently missed 3 games.
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Post by windsoroiler on May 4, 2022 8:21:22 GMT -7
I hope to eat crow too. Pulj played so well first 3rd of the season. Since then not much from him but he has been making good plays on both sides of the puck and keeping momentum going for the team. But this trend of rimming the puck around the boards when he gets under pressure all the time is not a recipe for success. I have not seen any other player do this in the league. Must be a Bison King thing. He's a big man, make some plays, don;t defer constantly and make your teammates do all the work or rim the puck so hard all the way around the boards that the puck gets out of the zone or you leave our D with a tough play. Seen it again and again and again At the risk of repeating myself windsor............"soft hockey players don't influence play off games"............fact! And as much as we all like JP, he is big enough to influence games, but I am afraid not tough/brave/fearless enough at this stage in his career, and who knows, maybe never will be. I would much rather see those lips of his closed tightly with a look of determination than his tongue dangling outside his mouth. That may not seem relevant, but I think it is. He still has that shocked look on his face whenever a scrum breaks loose and someone tries to grab or lay a glove on him. I am afraid he sometimes looks like a child playing in a man's game. (there goes that tongue I mentioned). Hard to argue with that. Pulj has shown he can be more physical, more determined and more gritty. Insert key words "when he's confident". When he was called up from the Bake he did it, a good portion of his 1st 3rd of the season this year he did it. It's not like it's never been in his game. McLeod is another soft player, he's making a few more checks now so there's always hope. Game 2 tonight, let's rock!
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Post by drtaf on May 4, 2022 8:37:23 GMT -7
Totally agree with 1st sentence, we were all saying that in the GDT. don't agree with 2nd, we need to have patience and wait for the opportunity to present itself. with McD and Drai, you know you'll get your chances eventually. Trying to force things leads to mistakes and that's what happened and has bounced us from playoffs the last 2 years. Good teams bide their time and strike when given half a chance, they dont force things, that's what inexperienced playoff teams do IMO. Fair enough comments and can’t really disagree with the strategy except that we don’t seem to play like the teams that have patience knowing their chances will come. We just seem to be scared which leads to the constant rimming and flipping the puck out. We are not waiting for an opportunity and we’re not ready when there’s a situation that can lead to an opportunity. Playing on our heels. Yeah, i probably should have qualified my comments and said that i'm not sure we have a team that can sit back and be patient either. It's one thing to say that's what we should do, another to have a team that can execute that type of game plan? I watched the flames/Stars game last night and both teams sat back and waited for a mistake (or PP) to happen. flames got theirs in 1st 5mins and then stifled rest of the way. Its classic playoff type hockey, albeit like watching paint dry as a neutral observer. Our team is not built like that and although towards the end of the reg season, we threw up a reasonable facsimile, the playoffs amplify every little error. We are more like Avs in that we "live by the sword, die by the sword". Unfortunately, it helps if you have a Grant Fuhr like goalie to cover up the mistakes when they do happen and we just dont have that, avs think they do now in kuemper. Right now a lot of non oiler hockey fans are pointing fingers and saying "we told you your Goaltending isn't good enough". If we go out in 1st round again, it will be hard to disagree.
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