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Post by neufab94 on Nov 21, 2023 21:30:04 GMT -7
The other threads didn't seem to be the right fit.
So after 17 games the Oilers look like a directionless team with plenty of issues at various levels. For the positive side, I believe that this team has it within them to finish the season strong like the Blues in their Cup year IF they get their crap together. Offensively we have a point per game defenseman with Bouchard which can be a huge asset if the rest of his game comes together. Kane and Hyman are playing well no matter who is at center. I trust that eventually McDavid and Draisaitl will return to a dominant form.
The not so good:
It seems like the team cannot put everything together in the same game. When it looks like goaltending might be okay the group falters and leaves him hanging out to dry. I haven't counted the number of own goals but they seem to happen far too often. They have had enough to last them the rest of the season. The fact that this team fails to execute the very elementary aspects of hockey is mind blowing. Can't figure out to handle a 2 on 1, frequently leave the back door open, failure to play the body, often screening their own goalie and unable to clear the front of the net. Nurse is a let down on both ends of the rink. He needs to play tough and on the edge, and figure out how to hit the net instead of shin pads. Ceci and Kulak look like depth D.
Ken Holland has made this team better than when he arrived but I think he is now past his expiration date. The Nurse contract is a gross overpayment. Ceci and Kulak are pretty much the same player. The bottom 6 lacks toughness. KH has been going backwards and wrongfully terminated Woodcroft. It stinks of desperation when he couldn't make whatever trade he wanted. Upper management has made the same mistake by keeping KH just a little too long as they did by keeping PC far too long.
Far too many of the same player on this roster. The lack of toughness is problematic. The o-zone shots lack net front presence. Power play looks disjointed and weak. This is the team that KH built and I say he screwed up.
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Post by sharptooth on Nov 22, 2023 16:57:27 GMT -7
The other threads didn't seem to be the right fit. So after 17 games the Oilers look like a directionless team with plenty of issues at various levels. For the positive side, I believe that this team has it within them to finish the season strong like the Blues in their Cup year IF they get their crap together. Offensively we have a point per game defenseman with Bouchard which can be a huge asset if the rest of his game comes together. Kane and Hyman are playing well no matter who is at center. I trust that eventually McDavid and Draisaitl will return to a dominant form. The not so good: It seems like the team cannot put everything together in the same game. When it looks like goaltending might be okay the group falters and leaves him hanging out to dry. I haven't counted the number of own goals but they seem to happen far too often. They have had enough to last them the rest of the season. The fact that this team fails to execute the very elementary aspects of hockey is mind blowing. Can't figure out to handle a 2 on 1, frequently leave the back door open, failure to play the body, often screening their own goalie and unable to clear the front of the net. Nurse is a let down on both ends of the rink. He needs to play tough and on the edge, and figure out how to hit the net instead of shin pads. Ceci and Kulak look like depth D. Ken Holland has made this team better than when he arrived but I think he is now past his expiration date. The Nurse contract is a gross overpayment. Ceci and Kulak are pretty much the same player. The bottom 6 lacks toughness. KH has been going backwards and wrongfully terminated Woodcroft. It stinks of desperation when he couldn't make whatever trade he wanted. Upper management has made the same mistake by keeping KH just a little too long as they did by keeping PC far too long. Far too many of the same player on this roster. The lack of toughness is problematic. The o-zone shots lack net front presence. Power play looks disjointed and weak. This is the team that KH built and I say he screwed up. We need to trade Bouch for as more defense first guy. That is what is really hurting us. The worst defense I have ever seen at this level
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Post by neufab94 on Nov 22, 2023 18:35:51 GMT -7
The other threads didn't seem to be the right fit. So after 17 games the Oilers look like a directionless team with plenty of issues at various levels. For the positive side, I believe that this team has it within them to finish the season strong like the Blues in their Cup year IF they get their crap together. Offensively we have a point per game defenseman with Bouchard which can be a huge asset if the rest of his game comes together. Kane and Hyman are playing well no matter who is at center. I trust that eventually McDavid and Draisaitl will return to a dominant form. The not so good: It seems like the team cannot put everything together in the same game. When it looks like goaltending might be okay the group falters and leaves him hanging out to dry. I haven't counted the number of own goals but they seem to happen far too often. They have had enough to last them the rest of the season. The fact that this team fails to execute the very elementary aspects of hockey is mind blowing. Can't figure out to handle a 2 on 1, frequently leave the back door open, failure to play the body, often screening their own goalie and unable to clear the front of the net. Nurse is a let down on both ends of the rink. He needs to play tough and on the edge, and figure out how to hit the net instead of shin pads. Ceci and Kulak look like depth D. Ken Holland has made this team better than when he arrived but I think he is now past his expiration date. The Nurse contract is a gross overpayment. Ceci and Kulak are pretty much the same player. The bottom 6 lacks toughness. KH has been going backwards and wrongfully terminated Woodcroft. It stinks of desperation when he couldn't make whatever trade he wanted. Upper management has made the same mistake by keeping KH just a little too long as they did by keeping PC far too long. Far too many of the same player on this roster. The lack of toughness is problematic. The o-zone shots lack net front presence. Power play looks disjointed and weak. This is the team that KH built and I say he screwed up. We need to trade Bouch for as more defense first guy. That is what is really hurting us. The worst defense I have ever seen at this level Everyone except Ekholm looks like they belong in junior. At least Bouch is putting up numbers and is definitely not their biggest problem.
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Post by drtaf on Nov 22, 2023 22:42:45 GMT -7
The other threads didn't seem to be the right fit. So after 17 games the Oilers look like a directionless team with plenty of issues at various levels. For the positive side, I believe that this team has it within them to finish the season strong like the Blues in their Cup year IF they get their crap together. Offensively we have a point per game defenseman with Bouchard which can be a huge asset if the rest of his game comes together. Kane and Hyman are playing well no matter who is at center. I trust that eventually McDavid and Draisaitl will return to a dominant form. The not so good: It seems like the team cannot put everything together in the same game. When it looks like goaltending might be okay the group falters and leaves him hanging out to dry. I haven't counted the number of own goals but they seem to happen far too often. They have had enough to last them the rest of the season. The fact that this team fails to execute the very elementary aspects of hockey is mind blowing. Can't figure out to handle a 2 on 1, frequently leave the back door open, failure to play the body, often screening their own goalie and unable to clear the front of the net. Nurse is a let down on both ends of the rink. He needs to play tough and on the edge, and figure out how to hit the net instead of shin pads. Ceci and Kulak look like depth D. Ken Holland has made this team better than when he arrived but I think he is now past his expiration date. The Nurse contract is a gross overpayment. Ceci and Kulak are pretty much the same player. The bottom 6 lacks toughness. KH has been going backwards and wrongfully terminated Woodcroft. It stinks of desperation when he couldn't make whatever trade he wanted. Upper management has made the same mistake by keeping KH just a little too long as they did by keeping PC far too long. Far too many of the same player on this roster. The lack of toughness is problematic. The o-zone shots lack net front presence. Power play looks disjointed and weak. This is the team that KH built and I say he screwed up. oilers (KH) basically stood pat while everyone else improved or tried to improve (did he have a choice)? IDK if KH's rationale for Brown was that his "offence" would outscore our G+D deficiencies, but it never materialized and to top it, everyone else on team now seems to have fallen in the crapper? As for our Rookies? Every year we expect them to "take a step" and every year we are bitterly disappointed? Is this because they are simply "not that good" or is it the way we manage them and how we introduce them into the big squad?? IDK TBH, but whatever the reason, it doesnt work either? I think there are some "fundamental flaws in this organization that were masked somewhat by the brilliance of McDrai but are now being brutally exposed as they have suddenly become human. The last desperation dart throw was to fire woody, but that too has hit a brick wall. I'm kinda dreading what the next desperation move will be as they can only get wilder and more desperate from here on in?, with the consequences becoming equally more dangerous?? Ironically, nobody really knows for sure who's even going to be throwing the darts?? KH? JJ? KG? dutchie's boy???
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Post by neufab94 on Nov 24, 2023 21:14:43 GMT -7
The other threads didn't seem to be the right fit. So after 17 games the Oilers look like a directionless team with plenty of issues at various levels. For the positive side, I believe that this team has it within them to finish the season strong like the Blues in their Cup year IF they get their crap together. Offensively we have a point per game defenseman with Bouchard which can be a huge asset if the rest of his game comes together. Kane and Hyman are playing well no matter who is at center. I trust that eventually McDavid and Draisaitl will return to a dominant form. The not so good: It seems like the team cannot put everything together in the same game. When it looks like goaltending might be okay the group falters and leaves him hanging out to dry. I haven't counted the number of own goals but they seem to happen far too often. They have had enough to last them the rest of the season. The fact that this team fails to execute the very elementary aspects of hockey is mind blowing. Can't figure out to handle a 2 on 1, frequently leave the back door open, failure to play the body, often screening their own goalie and unable to clear the front of the net. Nurse is a let down on both ends of the rink. He needs to play tough and on the edge, and figure out how to hit the net instead of shin pads. Ceci and Kulak look like depth D. Ken Holland has made this team better than when he arrived but I think he is now past his expiration date. The Nurse contract is a gross overpayment. Ceci and Kulak are pretty much the same player. The bottom 6 lacks toughness. KH has been going backwards and wrongfully terminated Woodcroft. It stinks of desperation when he couldn't make whatever trade he wanted. Upper management has made the same mistake by keeping KH just a little too long as they did by keeping PC far too long. Far too many of the same player on this roster. The lack of toughness is problematic. The o-zone shots lack net front presence. Power play looks disjointed and weak. This is the team that KH built and I say he screwed up. We need to trade Bouch for as more defense first guy. That is what is really hurting us. The worst defense I have ever seen at this level I don't think anyone will expect Bouchard to be a shut down D-man, tough and rugged like Steve Smith. Bouchard is a top tier offensively gifted D-man that this team has desperately needed. Ekholm is the guy that needs to have his back. Nurse, Ceci, Kulak, Bromberg, and Desharnais are all replaceable before Ekholm or Bouchard. This pair is as important to the Oilers for bringing home a Cup as McDrai. The construction of this team depends on it.
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Post by sharptooth on Nov 25, 2023 11:05:15 GMT -7
We need to trade Bouch for as more defense first guy. That is what is really hurting us. The worst defense I have ever seen at this level I don't think anyone will expect Bouchard to be a shut down D-man, tough and rugged like Steve Smith. Bouchard is a top tier offensively gifted D-man that this team has desperately needed. Ekholm is the guy that needs to have his back. Nurse, Ceci, Kulak, Bromberg, and Desharnais are all replaceable before Ekholm or Bouchard. This pair is as important to the Oilers for bringing home a Cup as McDrai. The construction of this team depends on it. Most nights his defensive mistakes are way worse then what his offense brings to the team imo
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Post by Bronco73 on Nov 25, 2023 14:35:06 GMT -7
I don't think anyone will expect Bouchard to be a shut down D-man, tough and rugged like Steve Smith. Bouchard is a top tier offensively gifted D-man that this team has desperately needed. Ekholm is the guy that needs to have his back. Nurse, Ceci, Kulak, Bromberg, and Desharnais are all replaceable before Ekholm or Bouchard. This pair is as important to the Oilers for bringing home a Cup as McDrai. The construction of this team depends on it. Most nights his defensive mistakes are way worse then what his offense brings to the team imo I agree. We can't outscore our mistakes. He's making the entire roster look bad. Everybody is lacking especially on our side of the ice, but Bouchard is taking bad defense to a whole new level
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Post by Bronco73 on Jan 8, 2024 23:11:20 GMT -7
I just had to post this here. He was always an Oiler and he knew it.
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Post by yuke on Jan 9, 2024 16:10:14 GMT -7
I just had to post this here. He was always an Oiler and he knew it. I was disappointed when he chose to finish his career in NY.
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Post by mrtea on Jan 9, 2024 16:24:29 GMT -7
I just had to post this here. He was always an Oiler and he knew it. I was disappointed when he chose to finish his career in NY. At the time it was just a financial reality. The Oilers were struggling to gather enough money to keep a competitive team and keep that team in Edmonton. The Rangers had enough money to pay an aging superstar his last few seasons as he gracefully retired. Edmonton was focused on just finding enough money to fill every position with the best players they could get to play for what they could afford to pay. Those were tough years for the Oilers and their fans.
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Post by yuke on Jan 9, 2024 18:51:49 GMT -7
I was disappointed when he chose to finish his career in NY. At the time it was just a financial reality. The Oilers were struggling to gather enough money to keep a competitive team and keep that team in Edmonton. The Rangers had enough money to pay an aging superstar his last few seasons as he gracefully retired. Edmonton was focused on just finding enough money to fill every position with the best players they could get to play for what they could afford to pay. Those were tough years for the Oilers and their fans. If I remember correctly another Canadian team, Toronto, tried hard to get him.
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Post by mrtea on Jan 9, 2024 22:02:48 GMT -7
At the time it was just a financial reality. The Oilers were struggling to gather enough money to keep a competitive team and keep that team in Edmonton. The Rangers had enough money to pay an aging superstar his last few seasons as he gracefully retired. Edmonton was focused on just finding enough money to fill every position with the best players they could get to play for what they could afford to pay. Those were tough years for the Oilers and their fans. If I remember correctly another Canadian team, Toronto, tried hard to get him. I thought I heard back then that he even wanted to play for the Leafs because he was from Ontario, I'm surprised it never happened. I guess for some reason they couldn't get the timing right. Gretzky liked being a Ranger also, probably because of the entertainment and it didn't hurt that the Rangers are an original six team.
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Post by mrtea on Jan 14, 2024 10:51:35 GMT -7
Well boys and girls, next game is back in Edmonton and it's going to be a tough one because while I don't usually admit it, the Leafs are a good team. On top of that the Leafs are going to be hungry because of the losses they have had recently. As usual I have faith in the boys, but only as long as they come out ready to play and take this game seriously. This is not a time for the team to take it's foot off the gas. They need to remember why they are in the spot that they now find themselves in and take precautions not to have it happen again. In other words, if they have any killer instinct, use it now and develop it like a weapon because in a way it is a weapon. Use it to find weaknesses in the opposition and use it to exploit them and finally use it to finish them off. Sorry if this sounds bloodthirsty, but the Oilers need to be ruthless from now on in. No more funny business, get'r done boys!!
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Post by happyhappy on Jan 14, 2024 12:29:02 GMT -7
Well boys and girls, next game is back in Edmonton and it's going to be a tough one because while I don't usually admit it, the Leafs are a good team. On top of that the Leafs are going to be hungry because of the losses they have had recently. As usual I have faith in the boys, but only as long as they come out ready to play and take this game seriously. This is not a time for the team to take it's foot off the gas. They need to remember why they are in the spot that they now find themselves in and take precautions not to have it happen again. In other words, if they have any killer instinct, use it now and develop it like a weapon because in a way it is a weapon. Use it to find weaknesses in the opposition and use it to exploit them and finally use it to finish them off. Sorry if this sounds bloodthirsty, but the Oilers need to be ruthless from now on in. No more funny business, get'r done boys!! Very interested to see how we perform this week coming up now that we've achieved the mighty 10 wins in a row. Leafs and Kraken at home and a quick trip down the road to play the Flamers. Tough games but all certainly winnable. While we have an extra day of rest before we face Toronto they play today vs Detroit and will be on their 3rd game in 4 nights come Tuesday. They are playing Samsonov today and it's his first game back since his stint in the AHL. Wonder if we'll see him or Jones on Tuesday.. probably depends on Samsonov's play today. Our schedule has been favorable this month with the spacing between games. It's allowed Skinner to have rest and he's played so well (along with Picks) it has bought us time to figure out our goaltending situation before the deadline. We have 10 days off after the Preds on the 27th for the All-Star break and even after that our sched doesn't get busy till mid Feb. Both SS and CP are above .900 in SV% and that's awesome. Skinner has been sensational for some time now, gotta love it along with how the boys in front of him are playing right now too. Team is firing on all cylinders, it's great to be an Oiler fan right now!! Keep it up boyzzz! GOG!!
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Post by drtaf on Jan 15, 2024 10:12:02 GMT -7
Well boys and girls, next game is back in Edmonton and it's going to be a tough one because while I don't usually admit it, the Leafs are a good team. On top of that the Leafs are going to be hungry because of the losses they have had recently. As usual I have faith in the boys, but only as long as they come out ready to play and take this game seriously. This is not a time for the team to take it's foot off the gas. They need to remember why they are in the spot that they now find themselves in and take precautions not to have it happen again. In other words, if they have any killer instinct, use it now and develop it like a weapon because in a way it is a weapon. Use it to find weaknesses in the opposition and use it to exploit them and finally use it to finish them off. Sorry if this sounds bloodthirsty, but the Oilers need to be ruthless from now on in. No more funny business, get'r done boys!! Very interested to see how we perform this week coming up now that we've achieved the mighty 10 wins in a row. Leafs and Kraken at home and a quick trip down the road to play the Flamers. Tough games but all certainly winnable. While we have an extra day of rest before we face Toronto they play today vs Detroit and will be on their 3rd game in 4 nights come Tuesday. They are playing Samsonov today and it's his first game back since his stint in the AHL. Wonder if we'll see him or Jones on Tuesday.. probably depends on Samsonov's play today. Our schedule has been favorable this month with the spacing between games. It's allowed Skinner to have rest and he's played so well (along with Picks) it has bought us time to figure out our goaltending situation before the deadline. We have 10 days off after the Preds on the 27th for the All-Star break and even after that our sched doesn't get busy till mid Feb. Both SS and CP are above .900 in SV% and that's awesome. Skinner has been sensational for some time now, gotta love it along with how the boys in front of him are playing right now too. Team is firing on all cylinders, it's great to be an Oiler fan right now!! Keep it up boyzzz! GOG!! Not quite sure if we've been firing on all Cylinders HH, but i love the sentiment and you cant argue with 10W's on the trot! I'd actually love to see them open it up (throttle not their play) and fire on all cylinders against the leafs because if we do, we will beat them 100%!
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Post by neufab94 on Jan 15, 2024 15:13:02 GMT -7
Very interested to see how we perform this week coming up now that we've achieved the mighty 10 wins in a row. Leafs and Kraken at home and a quick trip down the road to play the Flamers. Tough games but all certainly winnable. While we have an extra day of rest before we face Toronto they play today vs Detroit and will be on their 3rd game in 4 nights come Tuesday. They are playing Samsonov today and it's his first game back since his stint in the AHL. Wonder if we'll see him or Jones on Tuesday.. probably depends on Samsonov's play today. Our schedule has been favorable this month with the spacing between games. It's allowed Skinner to have rest and he's played so well (along with Picks) it has bought us time to figure out our goaltending situation before the deadline. We have 10 days off after the Preds on the 27th for the All-Star break and even after that our sched doesn't get busy till mid Feb. Both SS and CP are above .900 in SV% and that's awesome. Skinner has been sensational for some time now, gotta love it along with how the boys in front of him are playing right now too. Team is firing on all cylinders, it's great to be an Oiler fan right now!! Keep it up boyzzz! GOG!! Not quite sure if we've been firing on all Cylinders HH, but i love the sentiment and you cant argue with 10W's on the trot! I'd actually love to see them open it up (throttle not their play) and fire on all cylinders against the leafs because if we do, we will beat them 100%! The 10-in-a-row is fantastic but I agree that the Oilers still look like they have another gear. They have dug themselves out of the pit they put themselves into and if they hit the next gear they should be able to challenge for home ice in the playoffs.
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Post by mrtea on Jan 16, 2024 7:43:50 GMT -7
Did you ever get the feeling you were in an alternate universe or in Bizzaro world? Well I just heard Craig Button raving about how good the Oilers are playing and complimenting players, the team as a whole and our new coach Knoblauch. Button talked about how Kane is a good player and that the Oilers know it and he praised Knoblauch for how he's handling the situation and called it good coaching.
It is so strange hearing Button praise the Oilers, yet still he bugs me and I think he's a jerk full of hot air looking for a headline.
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Post by drtaf on Jan 16, 2024 9:53:12 GMT -7
Did you ever get the feeling you were in an alternate universe or in Bizzaro world? Well I just heard Craig Button raving about how good the Oilers are playing and complimenting players, the team as a whole and our new coach Knoblauch. Button talked about how Kane is a good player and that the Oilers know it and he praised Knoblauch for how he's handling the situation and called it good coaching. It is so strange hearing Button praise the Oilers, yet still he bugs me and I think he's a jerk full" of hot air looking for a headline. As much as i love those sentiments, i rarely take anything Button says seriously. He tries to be a "shock jock" but comes off plain silly most times. Every once in a blue moon though, he hits the nail on the head (and I'm not necessarily saying this is one of those times)
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Post by mrtea on Jan 17, 2024 21:31:52 GMT -7
Oh man, Sportsnet and TSN are trashing the Leafs in article after article. The Oilers are mentioned a lot in some of the same articles, but are being praised instead. It seems like losing to the Oilers was the straw that broke Toronto's back. The media is all over the Leafs so bad that I almost feel sorry for them....almost.
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Post by Bronco73 on Jan 17, 2024 21:51:18 GMT -7
Oh man, Sportsnet and TSN are trashing the Leafs in article after article. The Oilers are mentioned a lot in some of the same articles, but are being praised instead. It seems like losing to the Oilers was the straw that broke Toronto's back. The media is all over the Leafs so bad that I almost feel sorry for them.... almost. I don't... none of them felt sorry for us when we went through that crap. in fact, they usually made jokes and laughed.
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