Crossbar. Bar. Bar. Post.
That and some disengaged second-period play cost the
Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night against their arch-rival
Calgary Flames in a
3-2 loss.
And wouldn’t you know it — for the
seventh time this regular season, the Oilers failed to win a third consecutive game.
It’s not hard to see why.
If the Oilers are successful, they are more inclined to enter the next game in a pass-happy, look for the perfect chance mode. It’s been their modus operandi for years, and it can work to great effect when it’s working. When it doesn’t, it generates negative momentum.
The Oilers also get capital-N Nothing from
the bottom-six, and if the power play gets stymied, it’s a coin flip.
That’s what Saturday’s game was, as evidenced by a 12-12 split of High Danger Scoring Chances five-on-five, according to
Natural Stat Trick. A coin flip that flipped four times tails for the Oilers on those crossbars and posts, and a couple of mistakes and breakdowns that were punished. Not a great game by any means, but not a terrible one. If anything, it confirms the current flaws of the team.
Unfortunately, nothing to be surprised by.
Also, did we really expect Calgary to lie down after three days of Christmas tainted by getting dog-walked by Edmonton? You saw a much better effort, and it showed.
Upcoming games this week:
- Away at WPG Monday (5:30 PM)
- Home to BOS Wednesday (7:30 PM)
- Home to PHI Saturday (1:30 PM)
Ingram is an answer
What I most enjoyed this week is the
calming presence of Connor Ingram. My God, what a treat it is to watch a goaltender play so quietly in the net.
Make the read, make the slide, make the save.
Ingram’s biggest test was this Calgary game and there were multiple chances and breakdowns that became a distant memory because a save was so quietly made.
I’ve been writing a couple weeks now that Ingram, whether he was playing well in the AHL or not, needs to be seen in an Oilers uniform. Plus .900 goaltending has returned to the City of Champions, as Ingram has provided in all three starts, and he’s gone 2-1 in them.
Why you should be excited is that this isn’t necessarily a fluke. Ingram has
produced in the National Hockey League before and can do so again. If he continues to play at the same level, it eliminates the need for the Oilers to spend further capital on say, Alex Lyon (who I don’t believe will be dealt right now).
Whether you’re inclined to believe in
Kris Knoblauch’s injury timelines or not — and I’m not — Ingram is this team’s starter for the foreseeable future as Jarry recovers. January also provides a largely home schedule, which helps even more.
To sum my stance up: Connor Ingram – I’m a fan.
Be amazed
It’s worth marvelling at the exploits of
Connor McDavid and
Leon Draisaitl in December. I’ve been reluctant to talk about these two. In a sense, their uber-elite ability is so obvious that waxing lyrical about their abilities becomes a major game of telephone.
Frustration loomed at the start of the season after McDavid’s declaration that he would shoot more. We wondered, well, when exactly are you planning that, Connor? It seems like reuniting with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman has given McDavid the comfort and peace of mind to let it fly more.
For example, he had seven shots against the Flames last night. Six before that, then five before that, then six. In fact, in December, McDavid has four or more shots on goal nine times out of 13. It’s a great trend because he’s displaying what we all know: if McDavid wants to, he can score 60 goals routinely.
He just creates so many bloody chances.
There is a tendency for McDavid and Draisaitl to become too unselfish and force an extra pass when things aren’t going well, or when playing with a linemate like Trent Frederic or Andrew Mangiapane, to spread the wealth.
It’s part of being a good teammate, and I think they like getting other guys going. But when situated on their own lines, with the right linemates going, it’s a sweet symphony.
But the rest?
Before Saturday’s game, the Oilers’ goal differential at five-on-five was +7 in their last 10 games, according to
Moneypuck, the fourth-best mark in the NHL, which is almost entirely McDrai’s doing.
For the others: Mangiapane got a
deflection goal against Minnesota Wild with McDrai. Quinn Hutson scored in Boston with Max Jones and Draisaitl on the ice, but this was largely a fourth-line goal. Savoie scored with Janmark and Frederic in PIT. Lazar scored on December 6th against the Winnipeg Jets with Janmark and Frederic, as well as Tomasek scoring with Frederic and Lazar in that game…. and that’s the list. Now the Winnipeg game doesn’t count in the last 10, either.
They aren’t unlucky either, they are just getting beat.
It’s an Adam Henrique dead zone right now. He’s pointless in his last 11 games and goalless in 31 games. Credit to Oilersnation
contributor Golden Hockey for this nugget from Dec. 23.
“The Oilers are only scoring 1.13 goals per hour in Henrique’s five-on-five minutes this season, which is less than half the league average, and ranks dead last on the team.”
There was a golden opportunity just seconds into Saturday’s game for Henrique off the rush, but his boots just don’t have any jump, and the play died. Luckily, he kills penalties.
But it’s not just Henrique’s fault. This team won’t win consistently with all-around bottom-six performances lagging like this, and it makes perfect sense why three-in-a-row is an elusive target.
One of the issues Stan Bowman faces is that the roster isn’t as good as he thought it would be when the season began, in part because of the signings of
Frederic and Mangiapane, but also Henrique’s steep drop-off.
He did score just 27 points a season ago, so the signs were there. Now? It’s getting scary with nine points playing in 39 games so far. This ain’t a slump, it’s an alarm bell.
The third-line centre role is a heavily scrutinized position when the playoffs begin. I’d argue it’s the biggest issue facing this team in terms of Stanley Cup hopes, provided Jarry’s timeline is true.
It didn’t help that Mangiapane was particularly ghastly on Saturday. To do an impression of someone in section 118, row 13, while on the power play: “Shoot the puck!”
Flawed…but
And sure, the Oilers are flawed, but this league ain’t great shakes right now. Once you get past the big three of the Central in Colorado, Dallas, and Minnesota, each team in the league is compromised with issues.
Hockey Night in Canada panellist Kevin Bieksa has made a habit of calling this parity “Garity” after Gary Bettman. I couldn’t agree more.
Does this make the league better? I tend to believe that a group of teams bunched together shows that each team is flawed, not that each team is good. The results tend to be luckier, more chance oriented, as each team becomes indistinguishable from another.
Properly tiered teams bracketed from…
- Elite
- Really good
- Good
- On the bubble
- Bad
…is the healthiest league in my opinion. Can a team believe right now they’ve turned the corner by winning three hockey games in a row? They shouldn’t be able to, but in the current Eastern Conference, that’s enough to launch you into a wildcard spot.
For the Edmonton Oilers, it’s sweet serenity. The Anaheim Ducks are due for some regression after a tremendous start, and after Vegas, no one stands in their way
in the Pacific. Despite all the issues, can the Oilers still win the Pacific Division?
You bet they can. Especially with 17 divisional games remaining out of their last 43.
Record vs Pacific this year: 4-2-2.
Not a big deal
The
David Tomášek experiment is over. While Tomášek does look like an NHL player to me, he doesn’t look like a fit with the Edmonton Oilers.
Perhaps on a Columbus or a Vancouver, a team that can offer legitimate middle-six minutes, Tomášek would acclimate to the league and produce at a 30-40 point level. But not the Oilers.
Look,
he had his chances early on in the season to produce. However good his underlying numbers were initially, there is something to be said for the
overlying numbers (3-2–5), and when you don’t maximize your opportunity on a team with a lot of options at forward, bear down and capitalize on your scoring chances, I don’t blame the coaching staff for dropping his minutes.
Stan Bowman bought a lottery ticket at a cheap AAV and gambled to see if one of them could produce. It didn’t work, so it’s a good divorce for both teams.
If the Oilers hadn’t invested three times his contract into Trent Frederic or Andrew Mangiapane, signed Curtis Lazar, who can be trusted to take a shorthanded face off, or given Mattias Janmark a no-trade contract a year ago, it could’ve been a different story. The redundancy, combined with his age and his feet, makes it a no-brainer. Particularly if Tomášek wants to make the Czech Olympic team – he needs to play.
I won’t be crying over this spilled milk. In the meantime, Tomášek will join the great and many obscure Oilers of franchise past, a name that can be brought up drunkenly with a friend years from now…”Ya know who could’ve been a great Oiler?…”
Besides, there are reinforcements coming back from injury (
knocks on wood).
Really, Canada?
To the World Junior Hockey Championship, which so far my biggest gripe is that the camera angle from the 3M Arena is so high it reminds me of the old Shark Tank.
But seriously, I liked Canada’s demeanour and chippiness against Czechia, a team that’s played them stiff in recent years. I liked crossing the red line in warmups ever so much and imposing your will early. A little swagger can be good for this tournament.
However, I didn’t like captain
Porter Martone taking an unsportsmanlike penalty after scoring the empty-netter on Boxing Day and appreciate his statements afterwards, especially as Canada has penalized themselves to back-to-back 5th place finishes.
But Canada not shaking hands with Czechia after the game? Poor, poor form from Canada. They claim ignorance, and I know no one is thinking about it after an emotional win, but it’s such a bad look.
In short, I wasn’t a fan.
It seemed like pure Hockey God comeuppance on Saturday when Canada was in the tight sphincter zone
against Latvia, ahead by a goal, but never comfortable with how closed-off and connected Latvia played in the neutral zone.
In the end, Canada avoided embarrassment
déjà vu avoiding repeat of the upset of upsets last year when Latvia bested them in the shootout, but man, was that close. The major penalty was chintzy that Canada scored their lone regulation goal on as well. Michael Hage shoots the puck like ice cream tastes.
While I still like Canada’s chances in the tournament, we remain with questions, even with a plethora of talent.
Good for Latvia
Maybe Latvia isn’t a doormat anymore? This quote by Latvia coach Artis Albols makes a late charge for one of the best hockey quotes of the year:
“If you had a gun with 100 bullets, you can shoot all over, but if you have a gun with 10 bullets, you have to be smart.”
True that, Artis.
Gone are the days like in 2009, where in Saskatoon, Canada stomped Latvia 16-0 for their worst shellacking in tournament history.
Latvia represents a Sliding Doors moment in World Junior Championship history. Despite already being promoted back to the top tournament for 2023, they were accepted a year earlier with the ban of Russia from IIHF events.
By consequence, Latvia has been able to sustain itself as one of the best eight hockey countries for under-20s three of the last four years, avoiding the relegation round all but once.
While no one is pencilling Latvia in for any medals anytime soon, I find myself rooting for these unsexy hockey countries to make a push. To their credit, they’re doing it without a major game-changer in their lineup. It isn’t like Germany in recent years, with a top pick like Tim Stützle or JJ Peterka.
Latvia had just three players drafted in 2024: Eriks Mateiko, Mikus Vecvanags, and Darels Uljanskis. Plus, 14 of their players are playing in North America.
It’s good for the game that the “lesser” countries are mixing it up.
Who will be snubbed NYE?
Which national team roster decision will upset the most people?
Team Canada is set to be unveiled on New Year’s Eve, which if nothing else, will provide you with menial conversation at a bad party that night.
My guess is that Hockey Canada sticks it to
Connor Bedard for not showing up to the World Championships and uses his injury as an excuse to withhold him from the team.
Hockey Canada loves a grudge or a sleight. Claude Giroux declined to attend hockey orientation camp in 2013 while rehabbing a finger injury that August. He was not picked for that team despite scoring a point-per-game the year before and a then career high 93 points the year before that.
Despite scoring 31 points before the new year, Giroux was left off the team. I wonder why.
The debate this autumn raged around Bedard or Celebrini, there can only be one. This injury seems like a convenient cop-out for Doug Armstrong and the brass. I also think they won’t be talked off of Tom Wilson, which is a selection I endorse. A few feet of smaller can go the right way, and I think people underestimate that Wilson can play between the lines if he wants to.
Gilbert Perreault is that you?
The Buffalo Sabres may never lose again.
Count ’em eight straight wins for the Sabres after a 4-1 victory over the Boston Bruins on Saturday, which puts them in a four-team logjam tie for the last wildcard spot. Heck, they’re five back of the Atlantic Division lead.
Buffalo is such a good hockey market. They deserve something good to happen to them.
If forced to lend support to an Eastern Conference team, I say, “Let’s go Buffalo!”
ARTICLE PRESENTED BY bet365
: Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/WbmC3AnnGj
