Saying "well, we were missing these players and they were missing those players..." is completely pointless. It is just a preseason game, and often the best players are the rookies who are fighting for jobs.
I only managed to catch the overtime and shootout on the radio, so I'm wondering - were there a lot of chances and the game just happened to go to a shootout at 1-1, or was it a pretty defensive game? That is, was there any extra offence in evidence based on the rule changes?
There was one super headsup play where the Oilers were killing a 5 on 3 powerplay, and Smyth had one second to go. Harvey one the draw, and immediately Bergeron fired a long distance pass forward for Smyth.
I felt both teams goalies played quite well though. I didn't think Calgary's powerplay was very good though. I think they even had one of the 5-3 powerplays in the second period, when they notched a whopping 3 shots on goal in total.
I was more impressed with the Oilers powerplay (at times), particularly Schremp, Bergeron, Stoll, and Pronger. Horcoff not so much (fanning on a shot), Smyth was Smyth, but I wasn't really watching him. He certainly wasn't as molested in front of the net.
I wouldn't have considered the game to be that defensive oriented, but I did feel that both teams played solid defense. Goalies were solid, but at times I felt both teams were getting lucky in the goalie department with respect to shots "squeaking by" the were just wide and stuff like that. Rebound control was also a bit of an issue, but all in all I felt they played well. I wasn't expecting any Brodeurs. They were active in coming out to play the puck in terms of play in front of the redline. ALthough I felt they all (there were 3 goalies in the game) struggled in playing the puck behind the net.
There was one super headsup play where the Oilers were killing a 5 on 3 powerplay, and Smyth had one second to go. Harvey one the draw, and immediately Bergeron fired a long distance pass forward for Smyth.
I couldn't remember if it was Smyth or Dvorak, so I flipped a coin
Smyth's was an excellent lead pass, but Smytty couldn't quite keep his foot onside so it was offside. Inches away from a killer breakaway. That was in the second period.
I really thought the Flames would be more physical.
Observations.
Bergeron really struggled, trying to do too much and make some major giveaways. No doubting the talent though but he needs to simplify the game.
Schremp was good, the puck just seems to follow him and no major defensive lapses.
Jacques is a tad too slow for the NHL level IMO.
Smyth is going to be very difficult to control this year. Had two great plays where he just missed scoring because he came out from behind the net. Interesting couple of calls against him, one where he is shoved into the goalie and gets the goalie interference penalty, one where he is cross-checked in the back and again gets called.
Great penalty killing, yes the Flames were missing a lot of veterans but we were missing some key penalty killers as well. They had three two man advantages for over a minute and barely got a sniff.
Good atmosphere in the building for a pre-season game.
Doesn't matter, it's a nothing game. Getting feathers ruffled over this is pointless.
You can't pose an accurate argument here.
Plus Rookies always look better at the beginning of training camp because they've had a pre camp to get up to speed and the Vets generally have more rust and this year it's 17 months of rust for some of these veterans. The last couple of games of pre-season when the line-ups are set and boys have learned how to play given the new rules could be more telling.
IMO we should've thumped the Flames with their line-up, and I was disappointed with the score, however that is not what pre-season games are about, the Oilers got to see Schremp against another teams professional players, Pronger and Harvey got some ice time with their new teammates. So it's not like it was a total waste, however I would've liked to have seen a 3 or 4-1 game in our favor.
So... you sat out your third line and your lower-tier defensemen?
We sat 3 of our top 4 defensemen, our number one goalie, our top three lines... and STILL only got beat 2-1 in a shootout.
What's gonna happen when the Oilers have to step up and face the real thing?
Let me tell you about trolling. Trolling is talking trash on other team's boards. Now obviously you are pretty new here, so this is your ONE and ONLY break.
The FAQs are at the top of the page. If you make one inciteful comment on this board you will receive the appropriate warnings and potential bans that come with the penalties.
As for you Oilers fans...speaking to someone that could incite arguments can also get you in trouble. Do not feed trolls.(Don't you hate that retaliation penalty?)
__________________
DD only signs in Edmonton if he is a big fan of losing. The image that the Oilers are an up and coming team is dead. - WingedWheel1987
Good game, Syvret was possibley the most impressive guy for me, if he doesnt take Cross's job this year it will be a travesty. Who ever said Jaques was too slow for the NHL wasnt watching the same guy i have been for the past three games. This kid is an excellent skater, to go along with his frieght train hitting abilty. Hes a keeper.
Good game, Syvret was possibley the most impressive guy for me, if he doesnt take Cross's job this year it will be a travesty. Who ever said Jaques was too slow for the NHL wasnt watching the same guy i have been for the past three games. This kid is an excellent skater, to go along with his frieght train hitting abilty. Hes a keeper.
Yep I forgot to mention him, Syvret was very solid.
I said Jacques was slow and tonight he was, sure he was fast against the Golden bears and looked good in an intrasquad game where the players were playing at 75%
Tonight the competition got a little tougher and I didn't think he played that well and he looked like he was behind the play all night.
To be fair that was his first NHL league game and its a big step.
I had to listen to the game on the internet in TORONTO at WORK. I have to say it sounded great to hear Rod Phillips after almost two years. I also may eat crow if Shremp makes the team.
If I remember, he had a bad give away, and seemed timid and not aggressive on the ice.
He did show some promise slashing in to the net in a 1 on 1 from the wing, but that was his only high point.
Unfortunately, it didn't seem to impressive to me.
I really liked Syvret and Schremp however, for the rookies. Syvret played a sound game, and did an excellent job pinching in at times to keep the puck onside. Schremp also made a few nice grabs on clearing attempts, and seems to have excellent vision.
It was my first experience watching either play, but I was impressed with what I saw.
Not so much with Rita
EDIT: One thing I will say, is that it definitely seemed to be a fair amount of rust on all players, particularly the veterans.
Quite the time I had tonight. We waited around after the game because my buddy had to wait for sister to finish work (she was the coat check girl), and we happened to be waiting infront of the dressing room. Needless to say, we got autographs, cool. I decided to have a little fun, though, since it can be boring just waiting there. When Pouliot came out and started signing a child's jersey, I took my Oilers mini-flag, rolled it up and used it as a microphone to interview him. It was great how he went along with it. Also, as we walked down that tunnel towards the LRT, we happened to run into Schremp and Syvret who were headed towards the train. They are very nice guys and needless to say we were kind of giddy. My voice is gone, though. The atmosphere during the shootout was amazing.
Overall the game was good for me, because I expected all the rust on the ice.
The whole arguement that the Flames were sitting all their guns is crap because the Oilers had key guys out, too. Iginla is being saved for the home games, though.
Not to toot my own horn; but I called this over a month ago and am taking full credit for it
Schremp just won't take no for an answer, it seems.
Good idea PDO, just not as unique as you think.
He played the point for the RRs, too.
That would be... last year.
I recall a few posters calling 'Stollie on the point' in '03-'04, too.
btw - Peca plays the point on team white.
Looks like MacT thinks he now has the horses to run with 1D and 4Fs.
_________
It was good to get back to a game.
The atmosphere was heady. pre-season eh?
Locals are going to have to buy up all the tickets for the 27th, tho.
I don't ever want to hear another 'group cheer' for Calgary in the Rex.
It's September, I expect mistakes, so I'm not getting down on anyone... yet.
I think the penalties were 8 for us and 10 for Calgary.
edit - according to the dailies, there were 22 penalties called.
Between 14 and 15 minutes of man-advantage for each team.
A lot of good dialogue between the refs and players.
Schremp - looks at home in copper and blue.
Mo - stopped everything he could see.
Pronger - is coming along... took a penalty... meh
Cross - no goals against while on the ice... took a penalty... meh I stand corrected - he was on the ice for a goal against.
Syvret - played well. toi - 20 minutes.
Harvey - is fun to watch. Keep him on a line with Laraque.
Rita - was ok, considering he hadn't lined up with Dicaz and Rob before. Then he took a penalty, followed by a long sit... toi - 7 minutes.
JFJ - took out Robyn Regehr with a nice open ice hit. Needs some seasoning in the AHL.
I'm liking the 'STP' line, at least till it goes the way of the 'Torque' line.
And, I'm impressed with the above mentioned 1D and 4Fs on the pp.
Last edited by IceDragoon: 09-17-2005 at 09:08 PM.
I didn't get an opportunity to watch the game but I'm guessing that the reason for the close score primarily lies in the number of penalties that were called. The Oilers are a dominant 5on5 team and this game unfortunately became a special teams showcase. The guys didn't get a chance to start getting their legs in the game and the extreme number of penalties prevented the Oilers from rolling 4 lines.
In any event, you have to be pretty happy with the penalty kill tonight (especially considering Peca, Reasoner, Smith, Staios and Moreau were all out). The Flames had at least three 5on3's that lasted for a minute or so and they came up empty on every one. Both teams rested a number of players (especially the Flamers) but the young guys are generally the ones that are fighing the hardest right now. There's definitely a lot of room for improvement but I'm not worried as of yet - it will be interesting to watch how Peca performs on Sunday.
With all the true NHLers for both sides the only thing to look at is how the backup goalies did,i'm assuming all 4 did very well. what were the shot totals and who stood out?
BTW,people getting snitty over a preseason game with mostly AHL players need their heads examined
I only saw the highlights from TSN but Schremp did make a dandy pass to Smyth that he should have burried right before the goalie interference call. I don't think anyone else on our roster, with Hemsky being the possible exception, making that pass. 80% of the time that play results in a goal.
With all the true NHLers for both sides the only thing to look at is how the backup goalies did,i'm assuming all 4 did very well. what were the shot totals and who stood out?
BTW,people getting snitty over a preseason game with mostly AHL players need their heads examined
the Oilers had Mike Morrison is all game and he had 24 saves, Philippe Sauve started, made 18 stops before being replaced by Brent Krahn in the second period, who faced 13 more shots.
Morrison's goal was probably the weakest (of the two goals scored in regulation ), but there was a ton of traffic in net so he probably never even seen it coming. Considering he didn't seem to drop to his knees on the five hole shot....
Krahns goal was a bullet one timer after Pronger had faked a shot and made the extra pass to Stoll. It was a fast shot!
Sauve was solid on a particular Schremp bullet on the Powerplay.
No goalie had a bad game, and is likely the biggest reason for the low scoring game.
I mean, you could have a team of Gretzky's playing a team of me, but if I have a goalie that's on his game and doesn't let anything in, it looks like I totally shutdown the snipers and I r0x0r teh kazbah!
