Every time Barker steps on the ice, a boneheaded play is to be expected. The guy is the Patrick O'Sullivan of defencemen. The fact that Renney kept throwing him out there shift after shift proves that he should not be coaching this team.
I gotta listen to the post game show to hear if stauffer does his standard political correct criticism: Player X (in this case Barker) has got to be better." That's as vicious as Bob gets anymore.
Rob Brown says Barker shouldn't have pinched on the 1st goal. Bob agrees. Next topic...
Horcoff had a pretty decent game. He was a beast on the PK. I really don't like it when people try to find excuses to bash Horcoff.
yeah he was good on the pk no doubt.. but your highest paid player and captain has to do more than pk, might as well slap the C on belanger than no difference between the players
Barker played like absolute garbage tonight. That was a joke, how do you so consistently have just off gap control? zzzz
He seemed like he just had no clue what the hell he was doing out there. He may have a big body, and be a damn smooth skater but he aint got much else... maybe a shot he never utilizes. Useless defensively, less than mediocre in the offensive zone. Just brutal.
Get this guy out of here, I want Sutton back... He makes mistakes too, but atleast he sends some bodies flying doing it.
On the other hand, Schultz really impressed me. He displayed excellent gap control and his stick just had this presence on the ice. Schultz just seemed to always prevent the most dangerous option from happening in the first place... so refreshing to see a guy not have to resort to mad scrambling because he is just calm, collect, and made the right play in the first place. That is the first time I've seen an Oilers defenceman do that since Pronger.
Full credit to the Oilers for their success on the powerplay this season but it's a little anomalistic and more than a little nutty.
No, I'm talking about a team like the Canucks or the Predators. Obviously. Some playoff series turn into a battle of who can score the most powerplay goals and I can't see the Blues winning that tussle.
I think Renney was trying to protect some of the guys, at least I saw Nuge get off the ice a lot...not sure what the TOI is....
if the game meant something maybe Renney plays the game differently...as it was I think he was trying to "manage" the game....which I hate...but may be smart in terms of keeping players healthy and might be some sort of strategy.
I hate when coaches juggle line and "line-match" though...especially when your checking and goon lines don't set the tone consistantly.
I blame .....(*draws names from hat*)....Horcoff.....and Barker.
Horcoff had a pretty decent game. He was a beast on the PK. I really don't like it when people try to find excuses to bash Horcoff.
Yeah, Horcoff was fine. He has been fine in the last several games in his proper 3rd line role but people will complain about him no matter what he does.
Barker played like absolute garbage tonight. That was a joke, how do you so consistently have just off gap control? zzzz
He seemed like he just had no clue what the hell he was doing out there. He may have a big body, and be a damn smooth skater but he aint got much else... maybe a shot he never utilizes. Useless defensively, less than mediocre in the offensive zone. Just brutal.
Get this guy out of here, I want Sutton back... He makes mistakes too, but atleast he sends some bodies flying doing it.
On the other hand, Schultz really impressed me. He displayed excellent gap control and his stick just had this presence on the ice. Schultz just seemed to always prevent the most dangerous option from happening in the first place... so refreshing to see a guy not have to resort to mad scrambling because he is just calm, collect, and made the right play in the first place. That is the first time I've seen an Oilers defenceman do that since Pronger.
Nice description. We now have Schultz, Petry and Smid that can hold their gaps properly. An immediate improvement.
Quit hating on Dubnyk, honestly. He was awful tonight, but he can turn that around and have a great next game. He is very inconsistent, but has the capacity to be a great goaltender at times.
Barker is atrocious. Tambellini gave him a chance, but I'm sure Barker is going to lose his job here.
So uh, why is Horcoff still being spoonfed minutes? What does he accomplish out there, exactly? Both RNH and Gagner had better face-off win percentages tonight.
I think schultz looked alright..
But why in the world would Jones have a minute more Ice time than Eberle? I know there was a five min. Major but Cmon!
Hemsky was NOT good tonight..Hall was Hall..Eberle was oils best forward on Ice..
Gagner needs more Ice time..
Yeah, Horcoff was fine. He has been fine in the last several games in his proper 3rd line role but people will complain about him no matter what he does.
I think that everybody just has a problem with him routinely getting more minutes than guys like Eberle and even Gagner. That had better come to an ABRUPT stop next year.
Quit hating on Dubnyk, honestly. He was awful tonight, but he can turn that around and have a great next game. He is very inconsistent, but has the capacity to be a great goaltender at times.
Barker is atrocious. Tambellini gave him a chance, but I'm sure Barker is going to lose his job here.
I think schultz looked alright.. But why in the world would Jones have a minute more Ice time than Eberle? I know there was a five min. Major but Cmon!
Hemsky was NOT good tonight..Hall was Hall..Eberle was oils best forward on Ice..
Gagner needs more Ice time..
Quit hating on Dubnyk, honestly. He was awful tonight, but he can turn that around and have a great next game. He is very inconsistent, but has the capacity to be a great goaltender at times.
Barker is atrocious. Tambellini gave him a chance, but I'm sure Barker is going to lose his job here.
Can't wait to see Klefbom next year...
You just described Dubnyk perfectly; he is a great backup goaltender, but nothing more.
So uh, why is Horcoff still being spoonfed minutes? What does he accomplish out there, exactly? Both RNH and Gagner had better face-off win percentages tonight.
Because his Double QualAdjusted Relative Corsi / 60 is out of this world!
I think schultz looked alright..
But why in the world would Jones have a minute more Ice time than Eberle? I know there was a five min. Major but Cmon!
Hemsky was NOT good tonight..Hall was Hall..Eberle was oils best forward on Ice..
Gagner needs more Ice time..
Renney is letting Ebs die on the vine. I would switch him with hemsky.
