So Horc isn't a vet? Hemsky didn't almost get his second in the third?
Unforunately, he turned the puck over consistently in the final two periods. He's been up and down this year. I thought the same about Hall even though he got the points on the score sheet. Their lackadaisickal play 5 on 5 is really hurting this team from going to the next level.
On the other hand, the Avs showed nothing in the first two periods. Literally nothing. Probably not indicative of their game since ROR, Landeskog and Downie are out.
It was knocked off his stick after he forced the turnover and turned the D-man inside out. He had a few too many soft turnovers tonight but trying to discredit his good plays is a little bit far fetched.
It was a nice pick, don't get me wrong, but imo it's incorrect to say he got "robbed". He came around, had an open net (looked like 2 sticks in the way), he swung, and he missed.
Hemsky had an ok game but I wasn't overly impressed.
So what was Potter doing out there with the 1st unit on that last PP? Smells like showcasing.
Yeah, kinda does. Thing was, he was doing ok out there tonight in general. Made a few nice pinches to keep the puck in the zone, tried to put the puck on net a few times.
that's an ugly, and scary stat.
maybe they can fix that next game. at least this game they got the lead, and held it. (despite the scary 3rd period.)
I agree with this one hundred percent. I feel like they played good enough to draw those penalties 5 on 5 and it put them in a position to succeed. But at the same time, we could get matched up against a disciplined team that can keep us to the outside and we would likely have nothing to show for it offensively.
Hall did a really good job of moving the puck up the ice and establishing control in the offensive zone. I think it really helped the top line have a great game tonight.
Yeah, kinda does. Thing was, he was doing ok out there tonight in general. Made a few nice pinches to keep the puck in the zone, tried to put the puck on net a few times.
We were defend the lead mode... so Kruger had 2 Dmen on instead of just 1.
Potter was part of league's 3rd best PP unit last year so nothing too shocking..
It was nice to get a win but tonight was a big mixed bag....
Eberle and Hall were excellent, constantly pushing the play and creating consistent 5 on 5 pressure. Hall is much better when he keeps it simple which he did tonight although he did get too fancy at times. Eberle was a stud, plain and simple, dat shot on the goal. RNH just seems off, his timing is off and he looks weaker on the puck than he did last season and a bit passive. I wonder if he's playing with some kind of injury because this isn't the Nuge that we all know and love.
Gagner looks really good this season, he is playing with as much consistency as i've ever seen him play with which leads to my next point. It's a shame that he's stuck with Hemsky and Yakupov. I know that each scored a goal but Hemsky looks horrible with the puck this season, just fumbling all over the place and i hate to say it but Yak just doesn't look like an NHLer right now. So many turnovers and he looks lost more often that not. Rookie is rookie so i'm not concerned.
The 4th line was great. THAT'S what we need from a 4th line, really should be the 3rd line. We might have something there with Paajarvi and Hartikainen, they always look good together, Belanger was just riding shotgun. Lets hope they keep it up.
The 3rd line was meh. They did ok i guess.
The defense was solid up until the 3rd when it turned into an all too familiar fire drill.
Whitney looks brutal, Nick Schultz still seems off and Petry and Smid were good at times but suspect at others. Justin Schultz continues to be the most solid defender for the Oilers and while that's good for him, that's not a good sign for the team when he's the best defender. Petry and Smid need to be more consistent and play like a top pairing if this team is to succeed.
One thing that really concerns me about this team is that when momentum goes against them, they have a very hard time stopping it. Dubnyk and some luck prevented this from being a much closer game or even a tie in the 3rd. I hate when they sit on leads, reminded me all too much of a lot of games last season when they got dominated in the 3rd. I hope that this doesn't become a habit because it was ugly there for a good 10 minute stetch against a depleted Avs team.
Anyway, a win is a win. We'll take all the wins we can get.
This is why you need a great goaltender. The great ones all seem to have the ability to slow the game down by freezing it everytime their team starts running around.
OIlers PP right now is probably up there with SJ. If they manage to improve on the PK, special teams might just make them competitive enough this year.
I think the PK is fine. it's 5 on 5 the oilers have to work on.
I'm happy about the oilers winning, but it's tempered by three of their best players being out.
An ok win all in all, some things to be happy about and others not so much. I'll just say that I'm relieved; this is a game we were supposed to win, and we did. That's more than we can say for the 2009-2012 Oilers, who seemed to have a talent for dropping the ball.
.... well that is 3 of our goal scorers tonight
RNH just seems off, his timing is off and he looks weaker on the puck than he did last season and a bit passive. I wonder if he's playing with some kind of injury because this isn't the Nuge that we all know and love.
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