All Time Draft First Round - Vancouver Canucks @ Edmonton Oilers

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In the defensive battle of the first round two evenly matched teams go head to head in Vancouver and Edmonton, and now to the lineups..


Edmonton Oilers
Head Coach: Don Cherry
Captain: Ted Lindsay
Alternate: Bob Gainey
Alternate: Darryl Sittler
Alternate: Scott Stevens

#7 Ted Lindsay - #5 Nels Stewart - #8 Punch Broadbent
#11 Brian Sutter - #27 Darryl Sittler - #9 Glenn Anderson
#23 Bob Gainey - #27 Mike Peca - #12 Duane Sutter
#20 Al Secord - #12 Tom Lysiak - #19 Scott Mellanby
#27 Darryl Sutter

#2 Scott Stevens - #2 Jack Stewart
#4 Craig Hartsburg - #44 Dave Babych
#2 Ian Turnbull - #21 Jason Smith
#5 Phil Russell

#30 Rogie Vachon
#1 Eddie Giacomin
#29 Mike Palmateer


Vancouver Canucks
Head Coach: Jacques Lemaire
Captain: Milt Schmidt
Alternate: Charlie Conacher
Alternate: Brian Skrudland
Alternate: Adam Foote

#19 Marcus Naslund - #15 Milt Schmidt - #6 Charlie Conacher
#22 Steve Shutt - #7 Neal Broten - #12 Hakan Loob
#9 Adam Graves - #21 Eric Staal - #23 Brian Bellows
#14 Brian Rolston - #25 Peter Zezel - #20 Brian Skrudland
#18 Kirk Maltby

#4 Bobby Orr - #52 Adam Foote
#7 Alexei Kasatonov - #2 Joe Hall
#5 Alexander Ragulin - #6 Wade Redden
#34 Jamie Macoun

#35 Mike Richter
#1 Vladimir Dzurilla
#30 Seth Martin

Well to get this series started I think the Canucks have a clear advantage in every area except for in goal where it is pretty much a sawoff considering the very similar achievements of Vachon as well as Richter, who isn't nearly as bad as many people make him out to be, being one of the bigger reasons the Rangers won in 1994 and the only reason the USA won in 1996 (his play in 2002 wasn't bad either). Beyond that he was able to lead a team to the conference finals which was over the hill to say the least.

The only area where the Oilers have the advantage is offensive grit and that is minimized by the grit that can be found on the backend of the Canucks.

Canucks in 6

I bet the Canucks regret the Horner for Shutt trade now......

I bet the Canucks regret the Horner for Shutt trade now......

I think that Redden is a defenseman that can really help in terms of puck movement, while his playoff performances to date haven't been great (haven't been horrible either) his recent performance in these playoffs should errode any doubt as to the quality of defenseman that he really is in the playoffs, and while I do appreciate Horner as a defenseman I have questions regarding his overall skill to be quite honest ever since I drafted him. Past that having someone who can put the puck in the net is something that the team was lacking and this has been at least partially recified with the aquisition of Shutt (50 goals in 99 games in the postseason)... Plus it allowed me to ditch Sandstrom who really didn't seem to fit in on the Canucks style of play.

Just a friendly reminder by the way - there are only 5 skaters allowed on the ice. Don't know if your coach caught that.

We should take a look at the Minnesota Wild game sheets this year to see if they were 100% free of too many men on the ice penalties... :P

I don`t care about the fact that there was a too many men on the ice penalty, however the time in which it occured and how it occured (Cherry says he saw 6 Montreal skaters I believe) is just one more example as to how undiciplined Cherry is behind the bench. Having him and Lindsay on the ice at the same time is only going to result in the Canucks PP having a large number of chances.

Well I'd say you do at least have a clear coaching advantage. Cups vs. No Cup makes that case by itself.

Well to get this series started I think the Canucks have a clear advantage in every area except for in goal.Canucks in 6

Clear advantage in every area?

Up front line matchups shows something different..........:)

Conacher and Schmidt are Vancouvers biggest threat. With Edmontons home ice advantage, they'll see alot of Peca's line. Peca and Gainey are definitely capable of stifling that line. They'll also see alot of the Oils first line and the advantage is still Edmontons. Either way Vancouvers top line is in tough.

When Stewarts line isn't going head to head with Schmidts they'll be matched up with Brotens line. Hakan Loob......, meet Ted Lindsay

Sittlers line should see plenty of action against............Eric Staal?????

Rolston/Zezel/Skrudland can muck it out with Secord/Lysiak/Mellanby. Still an advantage offensively to the Oil.

The ice is definitely going to be slanted towards the Nucks end throughout the series. Nullify Schmidts line and offense from up front is going to be tough. Steve Shutt isn't going to be very comfortable hanging around the front looking for garbage either.

This Vancouver team shares alot in common with the current one. Not enough offense. With the forward lines stifled it'll allow the Oil to key in on Orr even more so. Who really is the only offensive threat from the blueline now.

On the occasion Schmidt & Conachers reckless style does break through, meet Scott Stevens.....ouch!

Too many subplots as well:

Conachers crease crashing style vs Andersons is going to set the stage for fireworks early and probably throughout.

Cherry vs Orr, Really the only so called weakness I can think of Orr having is his fiery temper and even that isn't much of a weakness given that he could channel it into revenge more times than not. Orr will be the best player on the ice and he'll be recieving special attention from a very physical lineup. Cherry's seen more of Orr than anyone and if anyone knows a weakness in him, it'll be Don Cherry.

Cheap Shots and retaliation. There's going to be plenty. Ted Lindsay and Nels Stewart forechecking against the likes of Kasatonov and Joe Hall. Orr rushing the puck as often as he does is going to meet a Scott Steven open ice bodycheck somewhere along the line. The Oilers are going impose themselves physically on the Nucks and the depth guys like Loob, Broten, Staal & Bellows are going to be hurting.

Atmosphere in both rinks will be nuts.

Oil wear down and grind the Canucks out in 6, Canucks will be left wondering where the offense went.

IMO, one of the keys to the series will be how Naslund-Schmidt-Conacher deal with Gainey-Peca-Sutter and Stevens-Stewart. There are only a handful of defensive units that could contain that line, and I think that Murphy may have one of them.

I question whether some people might overrate Stevens defensive abilities just due to his ability to make a big hit, much like Dion Phaneuf at the current time - people equate the big hit with a great defensive game. That shouldn`t be taken to say that Stevens was weak in his own zone but I wouldn`t put him on a level all by himself but rather on the same plain as a player such as Foote.

The second line isn`t going to be a line which is built around mucking it up in front of the net, it is a line which is built around speed as well as solid puck movement, and that is where they are going to expose your much slower backend with the likes of Dave Babych. With the use of a strong transition game the Canucks should be able to go out and while not grinding the opposition using the entire ice surface to their advantage and exposing some of the mistake of the Oilers squad.

You are right about Sitler though his playoff performances should be evidence of that enough, just look at his cup rings... oh no cup rings. Ok look at the number of times that he has helped his team get past the first round... oh he has only played over 10 playoff games in a single season once.... yeah he doesn`t seem like the big bad threat that he did in the regular season all of a sudden. Plus Bellows and Graves were solid defensive players in their day and should be able to take care of whatever playoff performers you can throw at them. Just remember 5 at a time.

For the Oilers though their entire style of play is based upon crashing the crease and lets just say that the Canucks defense isn`t going to take much of that and that is going to lead to a low number of quality scoring chances against a proven playoff goaltender in Richter. At this point the only thing that the Oilers are going to be able to do is lick their wounds and wonder why there wasnt any offense to begin with, especially with Lindsay being in the box for extended periods of time considering his temper and his well liberal use of the stick. Those four minute powerplays and the 5 minute misconducts that your more tempermental players will be racking up will lead to a number of great PP chances for the Canucks, while their more disiplined team game will leave the Oilers shaking their heads and wondering what went wrong.

I question whether some people might overrate Stevens defensive abilities just due to his ability to make a big hit, much like Dion Phaneuf at the current time - people equate the big hit with a great defensive game. That shouldn`t be taken to say that Stevens was weak in his own zone but I wouldn`t put him on a level all by himself but rather on the same plain as a player such as Foote.

Is Vancouvers camp seriously trying to sell that Foote's shut-down ability is equal to soon to be Hall of Famer Scott Stevens? Thats just crazy talk.

I sense desperation starting to creep in, already!!

Is Vancouvers camp seriously trying to sell that Foote's shut-down ability is equal to soon to be Hall of Famer Scott Stevens? Thats just crazy talk.

I sense desperation starting to creep in, already!!

I would say that both defenders were equal in their defensive abilities, obviously Stevens has a great advantage when it comes to the intimidation aspect of the game but past that I would say they are pretty even steven (haha) at least defensively. The difference is that Stevens early in his career showed much more offensive abilities that Foote, although at that time Stevens wasnt nearly as solid on defense as he is at the current time.

By the way does anyone know how to change the settings on a laptop from french to english language because having the french É come up whenever I want to use a questionmark is really irritating... does anyone knowÉ

Dismissal of another teams players from Edmonton, I sense cockyness starting to creep in already. Could this lead to a Vancouver advantage?

I question whether some people might overrate Stevens defensive abilities just due to his ability to make a big hit, much like Dion Phaneuf at the current time - people equate the big hit with a great defensive game. That shouldn`t be taken to say that Stevens was weak in his own zone but I wouldn`t put him on a level all by himself but rather on the same plain as a player such as Foote.

The second line isn`t going to be a line which is built around mucking it up in front of the net, it is a line which is built around speed as well as solid puck movement, and that is where they are going to expose your much slower backend with the likes of Dave Babych. With the use of a strong transition game the Canucks should be able to go out and while not grinding the opposition using the entire ice surface to their advantage and exposing some of the mistake of the Oilers squad.

lol, more mis-information from Vancouvers pro scouting. Much slower backend? compared to who? Take away Orr and the Nucks back end bunch doesn't seem exceptionally fast or mobile. Who's the fast one? Joe Hall? Ragulin? Macoun???

Well I didn't say that my defense is extremely mobile (I would say that Redden is quite mobile though as well as Kasatonov and well Foote well not a speedster isn't really slow). The advantage for myself is that you don't seem to have a really quick flashy forward corps thus minimizing any slower players that I have on the backend... your entire game seems to be built around crashing the net and getting the garbage goals, the problem being however that doesn't jive well with a physical defense in Vancouver.

Vancouver is probably most scared of that shutdown line: Boy, would I ever be!

Markus Naslund, at least IMO, isn't a 1st liner. Conacher and Schmidt are good, but having Nazzy kind of slows those two down. Don't get me wrongt, that's a awesome line, I'm just not sure Naslund is the rght player for that spot.

As for Edmonton, Murph probably knows what I think of them...

Well it is an interesting idea to shuffle the lines up a bit and have the top two lines

Shutt - Schmidt - Conacher
Naslund - Broten - Loob

Actually I don't think that makes a huge difference but it is an interesting idea none the less.

Naslund while not the ideal first line center was at his prime one of the best in the game until the elbow injury that seemed to change him and take away his shot. Not a great first line player but at the same time not a horrible first line player. People will judge him a bit to much on his most recent season and in the process ignore the previous 5 where he was one of the best in the league.

Well it is an interesting idea to shuffle the lines up a bit and have the top two lines

Shutt - Schmidt - Conacher
Naslund - Broten - Loob

Boooooooh Yaaaa!!!!

Shutt - Schmidt - Conacher vs Gainey - Peca - Sutter

Shut down that line and matchup:

Naslund - Broten - Loob vs Lindsay - Stewart - Broadbent.

Ouch! They'll never get it out of their end.

Stevens was the best shut down defenceman in the league the last five to 10 years of his career. Watch a video from New Jersey's victories in 2000 and 2003. He was unbeatable. He shut down every type of player. He could beat you with his physical play, he could beat you with his positioning, he could beat you with his smarts. And he had that presence about him. Opposing players were hearing footsteps every time he was on the ice.

Foote was terrific defensively. But he could be had. Can't say the same about Stevens in 2000 and 2003.

I kind of had a hunch that this would be the match-up in the Robson for 4-5. Two double-tough teams who were built for this time of year. The battle between the best defence in the draft, and likely the best defensive team in the draft. And, to add to the suspense, these two teams met in the Foster Hewitt Final last time out.

I think the key for Vancouver is to really pressure the Edmonton defence. While you're never going to intimidate a defence with Stevens and Stewart, the ability to move the puck is not their forte. If you pressure them and force turnovers, then you really take the forwards out of the game. And Edmonton does actually have some forwards who can put the puck in the net.

I'll give Edmonton the edge in net. I'll take Vachon ahead of Richter. Richter's better off as a back-up. Vachon did more than Richter did. More rings. More all-star team selections. As good as Richter was in the 1994 playoffs and the 1996 World Cup, Vachon was that good in the 1969 playoffs and the 1976 Canada Cup. Eddie Giacomin rates among the top three or four back-ups in the draft. Don't fault him that the Rangers were never an elite team in the late 60s or early 70s.

I like Edmonton more in terms of grit and intangibles. And I think that'll be the difference in this series. Not to say that Vancouver is lacking, but Edmonton might be the grittiest team in this draft, and they're right up there with Trail in terms of intangibles. How many captains does Murphy have?

Gainey-Peca-Sutter is the best checking line in the draft, and with Stevens and Stewart out there, you're looking at one of the best five-man defensive units in draft history. Therein lies the key to this draft. If they can contain Elvi's awesome first line, which becomes even more impressive with Orr on defence, Edmonton wins. If not, Elvi wins, and if Edmonton can't shut down the Schmidt-Conacher-Orr trio, then we're all in deep trouble, because nobody will.

Vancouver has the edge in top-end talent. Three best offensive players in the series with Orr, Conacher and Schmidt. Edmonton has much better depth, with guys like Lindsay, Stewart, Sittler, Broadbent, Secord, Sutter and one of the best clutch scorers ever in Glenn Anderson.

A very tough seven-game series, which is what you expect from these two. This series will have a survivor, and if the winner gets Nanaimo in the next round, then Nanaimo's first round bye will loom very large.

Is Vancouvers camp seriously trying to sell that Foote's shut-down ability is equal to soon to be Hall of Famer Scott Stevens? Thats just crazy talk.

I sense desperation starting to creep in, already!!

I'd actually rank them as quite close.

That said. Stevens against two player who attacked the zone with reckless abandon, leading to short careers, in Conacher and Orr is just asking for trouble. I predict that Stevens perminantly removes at least one of them from the playoffs.

That said, I question how effective Edmonton's powerplay will be, or at least how long they will be. FI is harping on Lindsay, but Stewart finished his career as the NHL's all-time leader in PiM.

I'd actually rank them as quite close.

That said. Stevens against two player who attacked the zone with reckless abandon, leading to short careers, in Conacher and Orr is just asking for trouble. I predict that Stevens perminantly removes at least one of them from the playoffs.

That said, I question how effective Edmonton's powerplay will be, or at least how long they will be. FI is harping on Lindsay, but Stewart finished his career as the NHL's all-time leader in PiM.

That can be said without bragging, or hyping Stevens up. Orr really did attack with reckless abandon and disregard for himself. Conacher did the same, which lead to his assorted injuries throughout his career. Scott Stevens is really the worst nightmare for these two and its realistic to think one of these two will get injured in the series.

While Stewart finished his career as the all-time pim leader, it needs to be pointed out that Nels Stewart finished his career as the all-time points leader.

Most everyone here will know how effective Philly's powerplay was with Tim Kerr in it. Nels Stewart plays the same way, and will be just as effective and be just as important to the Oilers powerplay.

Ted Lindsay was a major contributor to 4 cups, he didn't do that by sitting in the penalty box.

While Stewart finished his career as the all-time pim leader, it needs to be pointed out that Nels Stewart finished his career as the all-time points leader.

Most everyone here will know how effective Philly's powerplay was with Tim Kerr in it. Nels Stewart plays the same way, and will be just as effective and be just as important to the Oilers powerplay.

Ted Lindsay was a major contributor to 4 cups, he didn't do that by sitting in the penalty box.
I'm not denying your team can score, but, you're team will absolutly have some penalty troubles.

A very tough seven-game series, which is what you expect from these two. This series will have a survivor, and if the winner gets Nanaimo in the next round, then Nanaimo's first round bye will loom very large.

Uggh, the winner of this series gets to play the Clippers?

Well neither team is going to take the easy way out so why not take out Namaimo along the way to victory......:yo:

I'm not denying your team can score, but, you're team will absolutly have some penalty troubles.

hence, the stellar pk.........:D

Uggh, the winner of this series gets to play the Clippers?

Well neither team is going to take the easy way out so why not take out Namaimo along the way to victory......:yo:

Depends if there is an upset or not. If there is an upset, then you don't get Nanaimo. No upset, yeah, you get the well rested team.

I think that Foote is similar to Stevens, but minus the intimidation factor (on Footes part of course) and that was a significant part of Stevens game as forwards always had to keep their head up when he was on the ice or at least they should have (still don't like the Willis hit but that is besides the point).

Perhaps the best thing for the Canucks to do is seperate their offensive threats into three scoring lines, none of which are as potent as their top line is (not even close) but at the same time allows for scoring threats to get away from the defensive line of Edmonton... something alone the lines of

Graves - Schmidt - Loob
Shutt - Staal - Conacher
Naslund - Broten - Bellows

This goes a long way to spreading out the offensive threats that the Canucks have throughout the lineup, it will all depend on the way in which the series is going, as Lemaire has been known to shuffle the lines when things are not going his way.

You are right about Sitler though his playoff performances should be evidence of that enough, just look at his cup rings... oh no cup rings. Ok look at the number of times that he has helped his team get past the first round... oh he has only played over 10 playoff games in a single season once.... yeah he doesn`t seem like the big bad threat that he did in the regular season all of a sudden. Plus Bellows and Graves were solid defensive players in their day and should be able to take care of whatever playoff performers you can throw at them. Just remember 5 at a time.

Darryl Sittler is a bad playoff performer now? He's at a point-per-game, and had some HUGE performances. Dude scored 21 points in 9 games in 1977. He can hardly be blamed for the failings of a franchise that was perpetually undermined by Harold Ballard.

I don't know about anyone else, but your condescending tone is really making me not want to even consider voting for you, even before properly evaluating this match. You should play nicer.

Darryl Sittler is a bad playoff performer now? He's at a point-per-game, and had some HUGE performances. Dude scored 21 points in 9 games in 1977. He can hardly be blamed for the failings of a franchise that was perpetually undermined by Harold Ballard.

I don't know about anyone else, but your condescending tone is really making me not want to even consider voting for you, even before properly evaluating this match. Might want to work on that.

hmmmm, Cherry's messing with Orrs head, Foote is getting compared to Stevens and now the forward lineup is getting juggled around and second guessed............:naughty:

I agree, Sittlers the man! this gm loves him and he seems to me a Cherry kind of guyas well. I don't think Gretzky and Lemieux together could help a team managed by Ballard but Sittler persevered and excelled anyways. The guy was as well rounded as anyone and on this team will provide exceptional second line punch. I'd expect a couple huge performances out of him before this series is over.

Just for the record FFI and I have battled before and we've talked before. He's not being condecending to me in the least. We've both agreed to go all out and neither of us is taking this personally.

Just for the record FFI and I have battled before and we've talked before. He's not being condecending to me in the least. We've both agreed to go all out and neither of us is taking this personally.

Ah, alright then. As long as it's all in good sport, flame on young men, flame on.

Ah, alright then. As long as it's all in good sport, flame on young men, flame on.

Yeah everyone knows that I respect Murphy, even if he is an Oilers fan whose teams can't score more goals than a young girls ringette team and whose coach can't count properly and couldn't win with the best player of all time on his side (and yet he expects to stop him).... I laugh at the mere thought of it.... ha.... haha.

But realistically I think that either team could take this series, but what I think it all comes down to is the special teams after Edmonton takes stupid penalty after stupid penalty leading to some of the talented Canuck players being able to pile the pucks in the net.

I think that Foote is similar to Stevens, but minus the intimidation factor (on Footes part of course) and that was a significant part of Stevens game as forwards always had to keep their head up when he was on the ice or at least they should have (still don't like the Willis hit but that is besides the point).

Perhaps the best thing for the Canucks to do is seperate their offensive threats into three scoring lines, none of which are as potent as their top line is (not even close) but at the same time allows for scoring threats to get away from the defensive line of Edmonton... something alone the lines of

Graves - Schmidt - Loob
Shutt - Staal - Conacher
Naslund - Broten - Bellows

This goes a long way to spreading out the offensive threats that the Canucks have throughout the lineup, it will all depend on the way in which the series is going, as Lemaire has been known to shuffle the lines when things are not going his way.
Staal and Conacher? I like Eric, a lot, I think he's going to go down as one of the top five or six all-round forwards drafted in this decade. But put him on a line with Conacher at this stage in his career? Staal's way out of his league, at 22, on a line with one of the top 10 RW's of all-time.

Honestly, Elvi, I think Schmidt and Conacher have to be together. I think they're better as a unit than separate. Especially since I'm not sure you have an RW who belongs on a line with Schmidt, and you definitely don't have a centre who's a strong fit for Conacher.

Part of the problem with playing a team like Edmonton (or my team or Spit's team) is that no matter which line you play, you're going to face strong checkers, especially on the wings in Edmonton's case. So you can spread the lines around and watch them all get shut down, or you can load up one line, cross your fingers, and know that if your gunners can put up points against Murphy's potential five-man unit, and your team can survive this round, they can put up points against any team.

Yeah everyone knows that I respect Murphy, even if he is an Oilers fan whose teams can't score more goals than a young girls ringette team and whose coach can't count properly and couldn't win with the best player of all time on his side (and yet he expects to stop him).... I laugh at the mere thought of it.... ha.... haha.

But realistically I think that either team could take this series, but what I think it all comes down to is the special teams after Edmonton takes stupid penalty after stupid penalty leading to some of the talented Canuck players being able to pile the pucks in the net.

Count this. 15, thats a big 1-5, thats the total of former captains on the Oil. The leadership here is rediculous. They know when to take penalties and when not to. Who to goad and who won't bite.

I'll concede the Oil will probably take more penalties, thats definitely a by product of a physical game but it won't be a parade to the box. I don't think special teams will be all that much a factor actually.

Its almost like Vancouvers scouting staff get out on the road, party it up during pre-game and send back game reports while drunk. Special team battles? under-rating Stevens shut down ability, belittling Sittler and calling the defense slow? Seems what the Nucks are hoping for and counting on is the legendary too many men penalty. Thats not going to happen twice.......;)

My daughter used to play ringette, those girls can motor!

Honestly, Elvi, I think Schmidt and Conacher have to be together. I think they're better as a unit than separate. Especially since I'm not sure you have an RW who belongs on a line with Schmidt, and you definitely don't have a centre who's a strong fit for Conacher.

I agree, Schmidt and Conacher are a formidable duo. I don't know what it'll do to the rest of the lines but I think Graves would be an excellent LW for them.

Thats not going to happen twice.......;)

42 times? Maybe...

Count this. 15, thats a big 1-5, thats the total of former captains on the Oil. The leadership here is rediculous. They know when to take penalties and when not to. Who to goad and who won't bite.

To many leaders in a dressing room can have the same impact as to few leaders in a dressing room though, and being a captain in and of itself doesn't mean much to me, think about it at the current time there are at least 30 captains or former captains playing in the NHL, the number likely closer to 60... and that isn't including players who have the rotating captaincy....

Look at the Canucks in terms of captains...

Naslund, Schmidt, Conacher, Broten, Skrudland, Rolston, Bellows, Foote, Macoun have all been captains at one point or another in their careers, that doesn't necessarly mean that leadership is one of my strengths.

I think it means a dressing room full of like-minded individuals. All with the character in them needed to do the job at hand. You think a Sutter is going to go in a sulk because they want to lead or are they just going to do whats needed to win?

I'm just curious to see Ricter's reaction to a face full of chewing tabacco spit when Old Poison's bearing down on him...

lol, nothing like a face full of snow shower followed up by a little chew spat upon him. I'm thinking Richters going to snap and yet this will be yet one more storyline that will cause fireworks.

Oh yeah, I want to write the Robson division...

lol, nothing like a face full of snow shower followed up by a little chew spat upon him. I'm thinking Richters going to snap and yet this will be yet one more storyline that will cause fireworks.
Geez, where's Ron Francis with a dump in from centre ice when you need it? Do we have a trade deadline in this thing? Any chance for a Sittler for Francis type swap?

Another thing that is being downplayed is the Orr effect. While I like Edmonton's second line better than Vancouver's, assuming Orr spends time away from Vancouver's big line, that's a secondary scoring threat that will be extremely difficult to contain. Assuming Edmonton's first defensive pairing plays the majority of the game against Vancouver's first line, I can see the other two pairings having trouble containing Orr. But that depends on how much free reign he is given by Lemaire.

Another thing that is being downplayed is the Orr effect. While I like Edmonton's second line better than Vancouver's, assuming Orr spends time away from Vancouver's big line, that's a secondary scoring threat that will be extremely difficult to contain. Assuming Edmonton's first defensive pairing plays the majority of the game against Vancouver's first line, I can see the other two pairings having trouble containing Orr. But that depends on how much free reign he is given by Lemaire.

That is one very understated point, it isn't really going to be 5 unit hockey as can be seen with coaches such as Bowman, Orr will not be attached to the first line, Orr as well as Foote will be on the ice for roughly 30 minutes a game and will play with all of the top three lines, so it isn't going to be as easy to nullify Orr as many here would like to think.

That is one very understated point, it isn't really going to be 5 unit hockey as can be seen with coaches such as Bowman, Orr will not be attached to the first line, Orr as well as Foote will be on the ice for roughly 30 minutes a game and will play with all of the top three lines, so it isn't going to be as easy to nullify Orr as many here would like to think.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. My guess is that you'll see at least one of Orr or Schmidt/Conacher for at least 40 mins/game. So there will be significant portions of the game where one of Edmonton's second or third pairing will be on the ice against them.

Dammit, almost two pages and Orr was for the most part being ignored, just the way I wanted it.

How do you contain Orr? You don't....you just try and limit his scoring chances and the end to end rushes.

With the checking line mostly matched up against the Conacher/Schmidt duo I think the best tactic will be to matchup Stevens when Orr's on the ice. This should do a few things. As good as Orr is, he's not going to school Stevens very often and with Orr's reckless disregard for his own well being, I'd hope the best open ice hitter in the business is able to catch Orr a couple times. I don't want to see him get hurt, just have Orr second guessing his style and being leary of Stevens when he's trying to rush.

With the shut down line looking after Schmidt I don't want another checker or line specifically for Orr. That would take to much time away from going on the attack. That said any line thats out there, the winger is going to have to be aware of him and not over commit at anytime.

Orr has a temper and isn't afraid to mix it up. A physical game plan means never letting an opportunity to hit Orr go by. He'll be hit, jabbed, antagonized at every chance. Orr will stick up for himself and mix it up as well. Orr in the penalty box is the best outcome possible for the Oil.

Don Cherry knows him inside and out. He'll know what to say to antagonize, he knows what type of game Orr loves best and try to take it away from him.

He's the best player in the series and will definitely be recieving special attantion by everyone this series. I see Konstantinov, Hall, Macoun and Graves trying to defend their star and causing some mayhem as well. They're warriors as are the Sutters, Lindsay, Stewart, Stewart and Stevens. These guys aren't going to back down from each other or be intimidated. Its going to be great!

Correction, Don Cherry likes to think he knows the ins and outs of Bobby Orr but at the same time does he really know what it means to stop Bobby? He has always (except with the woefull Rockies) had the advantage of having Orr on his team, will he really be able to react when Orr is on the other side of the equation, I think not. Cherry is a smart hockey mind, just not as smart as he likes to think he is.

That being said if you look at Orr's PIM statistics in the playoffs he has barely over 1 PIM per game, so a penalty every two games on average, a reduction from the regular season, so he knows how to play a diciplined game when the chips are down, can Lindsay say the same? Can anyone on the Oilers roster really gear down and play a strong, yet disiplined game? I really don't see it from the roster. They are going to get in penalty trouble, and even with a great checking line they will be in tough when it comes to holding off the offensive weapons that the Canucks have to offer on their first two lines. I mean if you take away the cheap shots that will get called, what will you be left with in Lindsay, will he be as effective a player?

Worried about Ted Lindsay? He was a major player in all his cup wins (twice as many as Orr btw) He's considered the second best LW ever. He's the complete package. It's not like he's going to be Link Gaetz out there.

Depending on how much he plays, I could see Joe Hall out PIM'ing anyone on Edmonton's team.

Depending on how much he plays, I could see Joe Hall out PIM'ing anyone on Edmonton's team.

Hall is mainly going to be seeing between 10-15 minutes a game for that reason depending on his restraint, something that is preached by Lemaire... add to that Hall was at least according to some sources felt he could change his game and was in a sense a bit embarased about some of the goon tactics.

As for Lindsay, I love the guy I really do (in a platonic way :)) but I can see him getting into penalty trouble over the course of a series given the amount of ice time that he will have coupled with his style of play and the undisiplined coaching of Don Cherry. He was always near the top of the PIMs when he played and I can only see the PIM totals rising relative to his era (more games, plus tighter reffing)...

what you need is Ulf on this team...

Now that the voting is over I would just like to say that I feel that in a playoff series I really like Edmonton's chances against this Vancouver team. The main thing that they are lacking is a great offensive punch, however there is solid scoring distributed throughout the lineup which would make this less of a burden.

Now that the voting is over I would just like to say that I feel that in a playoff series I really like Edmonton's chances against this Vancouver team. The main thing that they are lacking is a great offensive punch, however there is solid scoring distributed throughout the lineup which would make this less of a burden.

Bah! Orr is being way too underrated by everybody. He's arguably the best damn player ever. This guy schooled pretty much anyone he played. I think Vancouver has got a decent chance, but in the end, you may be right. But I don't "really like Edmonton's chances" just yet.

I think that Orr will ensure that the series will last for a number of games, however when the Canucks are a team that lacks scoring depth, going up against the best checking line in the draft is going to severly reduce their chances, you can only rely on offense from Orr for so long before the team starts to suffer as a result. Likely the best player of all time but that doesn't change the simple fact that it will be an uphill battle for the Canucks. However upsets have happened before.... nyquil is good by the way, especially when combined with sinus medication.

Game 1:

Schmidt wins the opening draw to Orr; who immediatly turns it into a rush the other way, but Vachon stops the shot.

Stewart gets a pass in the slot, spits in Ricter's face and shoots one by him. The ref immediately throws Stewart out of the game with goalie interference and unsportsman-like conduct penalties.

On the ensuing powerplay!
Orr fakes the pass to Naslund but backhands it to Conacher who rips a shot past Vachon.

The Oilers try and get it back, but the depth of Vancouver's defence is too much.

Gainey is able to watch the Conacher/Orr connection for the rest of the night, but, Loob gets a between the legs pass to Shutt who wrists one home for the 2-0 lead.

The Oiler's press harder and Anderson is able to get a goal crashing the net. But that's all they could muster.


The Vancouver Canucks lead the Edmonton Oilers 1 game to 0 after a 2-1 win.

Game 2


Nels Stewart returns with a fire in his belly. Crushing Redden with a thunderous body check on his second shift

Later, Stewart is getting in Richter's face and he tips in a Turnbull point shot for the opening goal.

In the second, after killing the first 5 powerplays of the game, the Oiler's penalty kill can't stop a Bobby Orr point shot that makes it's way through a crowd and off Black Jack's skate and in.

On the next shift Stewart is possessed, he takes the lead pass from Babych and, despite his lack of speed he breaks in the Canucks zone, using his size and strength to protect the puck. Head fake, wrist shot high blocker side for the game winner.


Series tied 1-2 after the Oiler's 2-1 win.

Game 3:

The Canucks tighten things up defensively and play a Jacques Lemaire game. This suits the Oiler's fine. Things slow to a halt as the two teams grind it out.

Darryl Sittler skates hard to the net but Adam Foote angles him to the boards where Graves crushes him.

Mike Peca darn near decapitates Broten with a breathtaking open ice hit.

Late in the game, Canucks on the powerplay for the 7th time after an Al Secord penalty. Orr breaks in before the PK can get set up, passes back to Conacher who one times it past Vachon for the only goal of the game.


The Vancouver Canucks lead the Edmonton Oilers 2 games to 1 after a 1-0 win.

Sounds like the refs are Vancouver fans.........:rant:

Its the Oilers against the world!!!!

Everyones Against Us!!!!

The NHL hates the Oilers!!!

Rah, Rah Rah!!!

Sounds like the refs are Vancouver fans.........:rant:

Its the Oilers against the world!!!!

Everyones Against Us!!!!

The NHL hates the Oilers!!!

Rah, Rah Rah!!!

LL, is that you?

LL, is that you?

Nah, it me rallying the troops ala Gretz at the Olympics

Quick Summary:

In Game 4, Conacher comes in the zone with his head down, and Stevens makes him pay. Conacher is out with a concussion for the remainder of the series. Orr is still a constant threat at both ends, but, Gainey is able to shutdown Schmidt and Naslund, which neutralizes alot of Orr's offense by proxy. Lindsay takes his team on the back offensively getting 2 goals and 4 assists in the final 3 games. With Vancouver retreated offensively without Conacher, Edmonton is able to win the last 3 games convincingly, with Glenn Anderson getting the final two game winning goals.

The Edmonton Oilers defeat the Vancouver Canucks 4 games to 2.

Three Stars:
1st: Bobby Orr
2nd: Ted Lindsay
3rd: Bob Gainey

Boo Yah!!

Thank-you Bob Gainey, keep up the stellar work and you just might find yourself a future first round pick for the Oil!

Gotta say hats off to FI #2, I was a little surprised to find that I had to face off against you in the first round. Tracking your team throughout the draft I knew it would be a tough squad. Its nice to know that I was able to put together a team good enough to defeat yours but at the same time sucks that a good team and gm like yourself gets knocked out first round.

I enjoyed the banter back and forth and hope we can face off with each other in future drafts.

I hate to say it but I wonder if Gainey is being vastly overrated in these drafts by well pretty much everyone. Now I know that he is a great defensive player but at the same time he wasn't a superhuman hockey player who you could put on the ice and neutralize the oppositions best player. That is just one of the little quirks that I have noted.... and the first person to pull out the Tikhonov quote wins.

I hate to say it but I wonder if Gainey is being vastly overrated in these drafts by well pretty much everyone. Now I know that he is a great defensive player but at the same time he wasn't a superhuman hockey player who you could put on the ice and neutralize the oppositions best player. That is just one of the little quirks that I have noted.... and the first person to pull out the Tikhonov quote wins.

The reason I didn't say he was a bad pick was that is that I knew he got more 3-star votes than any other 4th round picks last time. The same seems to be holding true.

That said, I would have preferred a non-rush job to explain it, but, my thinking was that he could neutralize Schmidt, a wet towel can neutralize Naslund in the playoffs, and, with Conacher out, Orr's lack of options would make it so he is effective, but, not effective enough to win games. Like a 20 year old Lemieux.