Oilers Vs. Canucks Postgame: Poor Devan
Jonathan Willis
January 20 2010 11:30PM
Vancouver Canucks: 3
Edmonton Oilers: 2 (OT)
Devan Dubnyk's body language said it all as he slumped to the ice after allowing a power play goal in overtime. He deserves a win at some point.
First Period
Lucky me, living in B.C; I get to watch the Canucks feed.
Devan Dubnyk vs. Roberto Luongo seems like a mismatch at first glance. At second glance too, for that matter.
“Go Canucks Go” sounded like the chant at Rexall. Every game is a road game from here on out, apparently. Unless the Oilers play Carolina in Carolina.
Jacques on the fourth line now with Pouliot and Stortini. I wonder if Moreau’s neck is still bothering him, or if he’s somehow been promoted.
Moreau, Horcoff and Pisani out together as a line; that’s an interesting shutdown trio.
Pouliot/Jacques may not be a bad combination, actually; I’ve pretty much given up on Jacques when it comes to the hockey-playing side of things but he did have some AHL success with Pouliot.
A very nice chance for Patrick O’Sullivan is the Oilers’ second serious chance on net (Jacques, of all people, had the first one), and that leads to more good stuff as Bernier is whistled for an roughing penalty on Strudwick.
Nice Souray shot setup by some good puck retrieval work by Robert Nilsson, but that’s pretty much it for the first half of the power play.
The second half of the power play goes a little better; Lubomir Visnovsky hits a post and then Gagner capitalizes on a poor change and a nice pass from Grebeshkov to put the Oilers up 1-0.
I’m watching this game with my lovely wife, who is watching against her better judgement. She’s laughing every time the Oilers miss a pass, and it’s starting to bother me. Not because she’s wrong, but because the sound of uninterrupted laughter gets irritating after a while.
Hooking penalty to Stortini. Enter the penalty killers; we who are about to die salute you.
A good start for Devan Dubnyk is interrupted as Alex Burrows tips a Sedin/Sedin pass into the net with the man advantage. My lack of surprise may be palpable.
The Canucks commentators compare Burrows to a table hockey player before saying that he’s infinitely more talented than the cardboard cutout. Given some of the names who have had big scoring years with the Sedins, “infinitely” may be putting it strongly.
After a scrum where Cogliano and Glass engaged in some stick work, Dustin Penner ended up with Kyle Wellwood draped off him. For all the world it looked like the latter was whispering sweet nothings to Penner amid the chaos. Perhaps a shared moment over both being the butt of fat jokes at various points in their careers?
First Intermission
The next time Doug MacLean wants to call out Shawn Horcoff for shoddy defensive play, he should have them cut the replay off before it shows Horcoff calmly rubbing out the guy with the puck. Imbecile.
Wisdom from Nick Kypreos: “You might think that just anybody can put his stick on the ice, but no.” Suddenly, I understand why Red Green has been telling me for years to keep my stick on the ice – because not just anybody can do it!
“I’m not sure Edmonton can continue to play sound defensively.” I think the best hting about these panels is the insight involved. You think just anyone can guess that the Oilers won’t be able to hold up defensively? It takes a keen eye for and understanding of the game to make a statement like that, given the Oilers epic defensive proficiency.
Second Period
Sheldon Souray scores on an offensive zone faceoff. The real hero here though is Zack Stortini, who recovered the puck after Kyle Wellwood won the faceoff for the Canucks. Also appearing in this goal: Marc Pouliot, who somehow gets awarded an assist. I didn’t think he’d touched the puck, but he may have sped up Stortini’s pass to Souray
Fernando Pisani just stopped a goal as Devan Dubnyk kicked a rebound right at Mason Raymond.
Patrick O’Sullivan with a gorgeous chance, but he fires it directly into Luongo. A few seconds later, Shawn Horcoff takes a high-sticking call.
Devan Dubnyk was very good on the penalty kill, and somehow the Oilers manage to hang on for the entire two minutes.
”Lou”-ing comments have to be the most irritating things about Canucks fans and commentators. You love Luongo. The whole world gets it.
Great shift for Sam Gagner. He had a nice rush, went in and out on the Canucks defenceman and draws a hooking call. There’s a delayed call, and Steve Bernier has a step on Gagner, but instead of going for the puck he angles away from it to drill Gagner. Gagner reacts to the nasty hit by taking a swing at Bernier. Now, there are three possible calls there – the initial hook on Edler, the interference call on Bernier, and the roughing call on Gagner. The referees opt to hand Bernier a penalty. Meanwhile, John Garrett moans and whines that Gagner reacted to a clean hit and should have been called for swinging at Bernier, illustrating either blind homerism or simple stupidity, I’m not sure which. Memo to Garrett: the puck has to be near the play for a hit to be clean. Yeesh.
Roberto Luongo makes a few great saves to kill off the penalty.
Garrett’s back on Gagner for swinging at Bernier. “Clean hit,” he says. Listen: Bernier had a step on Gagner and he was still two or three steps from the puck. That means that when he turned and drilled Gagner it wasn’t a clean hit. Good grief. Why, yes, I do upon occasion yell at the people in the TV, why do you ask?
Fun end to the second with chances both ways, often to improbable people.
Second Intermission
Anyone remember that nice chance for O’Sullivan I pointed out earlier? Doug MacLean just watched it and credited it to Gagner. Awesomeness.
The panel is now discussing goals from the red line, and manage to do it without any reference to Dan Cloutier. Or Vesa Toskala.
Third Period
Nice hit on Salo just at the corner of the camera; I didn’t see who did it.
Kyle Wellwood takes a penalty for holding back Jason Strudwick. It’s his third minor of the season, and I have to wonder – did he really feel that intimidated by the vaunted Strudwick speed?
I think the best word for that power play is “uneventful.”
A series of nice plays by Sam Gagner; a shot on net and then a nice stick check on Wellwood.
Canucks hit a post.
Jason Strudwick, doing one of the things he does well, drills Mikael Samuelsson as he goes for the frozen puck. There is a certain virtue to having a guy like Strudwick in that position.
I’m not sure John Garrett knows the difference between Devan Dubnyk and Jeff Deslauriers; he just implied that Dubnyk was a first round bust at the age of 25. I suppose it’s technically possible he has a time machine and zipped ahead two years, but then again, who would trust John Garrett with a time machine. I’ll try and keep things within the bounds of possibility.
I think Pat Quinn has started line matching. Things must really be desperate. The hope here seems to be that Ganger, Penner and Cogliano can score and Moreau, Pisani and Horcoff can shut things down.
The camera zooms in on Gary Bettman, who has been in town less than a full day but is already hard at work preaching how essential a new arena is to the team. I think it’s a tougher sell when the team is so obviously miserable.
Burrows and Horcoff take penalties; the one against Horcoff was fairly weak, in my opinion, but he did react a little bit to Burrows actions.
A little over four minutes left, and Andrew Cogliano takes a penalty for hooking. Salo shoots and scores about five seconds into the man advantage to knot the game at two. Big shock.
Overtime
A point tonight is unavoidable, now. The streak ends.
Denis Grebeshkov takes a penalty as Mason Raymond steamed past him to give the Canucks a power play. I wouldn’t argue with that one, although of course any penalty at this point in the game is a little vexing just because of the time.
Jason Strudwick clears the zone nicely, and thiry seconds are killed.
Moments later, Daniel Sedin scores the winner as Henrik threads a pass through Jason Strudwick to him and he tips it in. 3-for-4 on the power play tonight, and Devan Dubnyk, who must dearly want a win, hangs his head in frustration despite the fact that he wasn’t really to blame.
Three Stars
1. Jason Strudwick. He may not actually deserve the first star rating, but I was so impressed with him tonight (relative to his usual play) that I’m giving it to him. The fact that he was on the ice for five even-strength scoring chances for and none against may be the most remarkable statistic of the season.
2. Sam Gagner. A solid game, again, for Gagner. He scored the first goal of the game on a lovely shot, and generated chances all night.
3. Patrick O’Sullivan. I’m dying to include Ryan Potulny (his line was very strong tonight) but Patrick O’Sullivan narrowly gets the nod here. I’m also tempted to include Devan Dubnyk, who played well, but O’Sullivan was a threat almost every time he was on the ice.
DFF Star. The penalty kill. One for four and doing the dive proud.
He'll only be making 4mil & 3 mil then.
Also, budget teams may then have interest in him as his $ figure will be less than his cap hit.
I think we both know that by that time his actually salary won't matter, it will be his cap hit that the internet world focuses on ;)
@Original Ogden Brother
Exactly.
@Original Ogden Brother
I've focused on cap hit from day one. I don't even think he'll be worth that salary either by then.
I'd agree with that. Although some might argue that part of being a professional hockey player is playing the best you can whatever the situation, which is in part why they get paid what they do.
I do think that it must really suck to know that the organization you play for doesn't have winning as its top priority. It goes against the very nature of what these guys do. Athletes want to win the next game. I don't think they care much for how things will be in three or four years.
Its an ugly compromise of a situation. I feel bad for the young players, although I suspect they're learning a lesson about the business of sport.
Say what you want, Bob Stauffer is very very knowledgable and it would appear he is in the inner circle with the Rexall boys. Why not promote Bob to Assistant GM so he can get some of his idea's into action? It would be a very smart move on the Oil's part.
The commissioner also repeated his support for a new rink to be built in Edmonton's downtown.
"I think it's very important to this franchise," he said. "This is the second oldest arena in this league and if this team is going to be successful long term, they need an arena. There's no question about it. With the lease expiring in 2014, people need to focus on the need for a new arena."
As for Edmonton's on-ice troubles, Bettman said teams are bound to go through a tough year now and again.
"The draft is the annual right of renewal," he said. "Teams have trying seasons get better. Teams go through this. Only six teams have been to the Stanley Cup finals since the lockout. The Oilers are one of them. Lets not be too harsh."
comments from the commish.
I agree with what he says If u think about it we have been a decent team since the lockout a Stanley cup run n mid pack finishes the next couple years. Obviously the draft in the earlier years before the lockout is where this team went wrong. Too much focus on tryin to get a superstar without concentrating on the future but I admit the past couple drafts we have improved on the players we drafted gagner eberle mps I can only see the future getting better with new rink n new up n coming players look at Chicago they were in worse situations before their smart drafting improved them I feel the bashers here r not true fans get back on your bandwagon
The commissioner also repeated his support for a new rink to be built in Edmonton's downtown.
"I think it's very important to this franchise," he said. "This is the second oldest arena in this league and if this team is going to be successful long term, they need an arena. There's no question about it. With the lease expiring in 2014, people need to focus on the need for a new arena."
As for Edmonton's on-ice troubles, Bettman said teams are bound to go through a tough year now and again.
"The draft is the annual right of renewal," he said. "Teams have trying seasons get better. Teams go through this. Only six teams have been to the Stanley Cup finals since the lockout. The Oilers are one of them. Lets not be too harsh."
comments from the commish.
I agree with what he says If u think about it we have been a decent team since the lockout a Stanley cup run n mid pack finishes the next couple years. Obviously the draft in the earlier years before the lockout is where this team went wrong. Too much focus on tryin to get a superstar without concentrating on the future but I admit the past couple drafts we have improved on the players we drafted gagner eberle mps I can only see the future getting better with new rink n new up n coming players look at Chicago they were in worse situations before their smart drafting improved them I feel the bashers here r not true fans get back on your bandwagon
*receives text message from 630 Ched*:
"BOB STAUFFER IZ NOT GOING N-E-WHERE"
Did you read the entire post I was referring to? Read it again.
If he can put up 20/40 and play like that against the top lines in the league, the 5.5 will be justified.
Let me help. I wasn't referring to point totals alone.
hahaha.... not that I know Bob super well but he doesnt exactly hold back on his opinions and ideas as it is. So rather that promote him, just ask him what he thinks and you should arrive at the same position, for less money.
or not.
Interferes by playing him with our top point producer? Or do you mean by playing him on the powerplay? If anything, this year will provide Sam with experience playing against top competition as well as playing key minutes and being relied on by his club to produce. If Sam pisses and moans about being on a losing team and wants to run away to another team then I would say that would speak to his character, or lack there of.
Bob Stauffer just says Columbus offered the Oil Jason Chimera earlier this season and they passed.
Was it for Moreau?
Some of you people need to take a step back from the ledge. This team was not put together right before they stepped on the ice on day 1 of training camp. Compound that with the loss of their best player and only NHL proven goaltender and you have a lousy team with a lousy record. What did you honestly expect?
@Gunner
5.5m for third line checker, not a chance unless the cap was 100million.
@ Gunner
This year was a godsend, with Hemsky and Khabby in the line up fulltime were still battling for 8,9,10 spot again. We are way to weak in so many areas. This way it is very clear that buying older liabilities is not how you build successful teams, it's through the draft.
The object of the whole thing is to win the Stanley Cup, not just win the next game...once Hemsky went down and then Khabby this team wasn't going to challenge for a playoff spot let alone a Stanley Cup. In essence I disagree with the statement that this organization doesn't have winning as it's top priority, in fact they have tried and tried the last couple of years to land a big fish to no avail. With Hemsky being out and the team showing what they are without him it has once and for all confirmed that this team needs a revamp....there's absolutely no point in trying to make some stop gap moves in order to try to win a couple of more games.
Finishing close to last if not last will enable this team to actually become a winning team faster than the status quo we've been subjected to for 15+ years.
I won't necessarily take 3 more years to become a team that challenges for a playoff spot. The right moves (easier said than done) combined with a top end draft pick will move this team forward a lot faster than what's been done in the past and Sam Gagner will be a big part of it.
I would think he would be excited about that.
I'm really starting to wonder if Tambellini has completly over valued every asset the Oilers have.
(assuming it was for Moreau)
@Original Ogden Brother
Moreau was my speculation, but you gotta think he would've been on the Jackets radar given their acquisition of Chris Clark.
If Chimera was the offer I for one am happy that we turned them down....Chimera still has 2 yrs on his contract at around 1.8 mil and this team doesn't need another Chimera/Pisani/Moreau under contract for another 2 yrs. I'm hoping they're wanting to target more grit, more sandpaper, more in your face guys such as Ott, Tootoo, Colby Armstrong...I applaud the Oilers for not making that deal.
Agreed, but you cannot move him. If he can achieve what was posted above, you can live with it until that albatross expires.
@RossCreek
Why were they so desparate to move the guy?
I think its a no brainer to lock up at least Brule and Gagner dont you think? Possibly even Cogs n Potulny I like the effort they've been putting in lately. The rest of em bye bye.
@Crash
I totally understand the logic behind the DFF. I get it... You, along with most of the DFF set, are probably a fairly pragmatic end-justifies-the-means kinda guy. I'm more of a believer in the means-are-more-important-than-the-ends-you-hope-to-achieve kinda guy.
Losing feels wrong. When something feels wrong and you start to justify your actions and ignore that critical inner voice: you are steering yourself toward harm. I'll illustrate with an example based on both personal and closely observed experience:
Someone once said, "Life is what is happening while you make other plans." Men from all over Canada come to Alberta to work in camps away from their family. They say things like, "A little short term pain now will be worth it if I can just get the family finances in order..." Sounds reasonable. The end justifies the means... right? Problem is... life is happening: and you're missing it. Maybe you miss seeing your baby take her first step, or see your son score his first goal... Many camp workers find that the means by which they hope to achieve their ends (financial security) are truly not worth the price... and like me, they go home, and find a better means by which to achieve their goal. Many will always regret the time lost. Others get stuck there, hopelessly hooked on the money, but unable to get ahead, until they drift apart from the people they intended to support...
To parallel the DFF: an NHL season is a historical event. Meticulous records are kept... Happenings are discussed and remembered; events become legend. An entire NHL season is precious time lost. Time lost for fans who may not be alive in three years. Time lost for players nearing the end of their careers. If Tambellini is ignoring that inner voice and steering this team into the sewer on purpose: he's making a poor bargain... And like the camp worker who gets stuck working 14 hours a day, alone, just to pay alimony: He will eventually realize his mistake... Poor means often create unintended ends.
I'm sorry I'm so long winded. The DFF will happen. It should not be celebrated... And if this fall has been even a little bit engineered by the organization it will leave a permanent stain on the integrty of the Oiler brand. Taylor Hall isn't worth that.
I'm guessing Smid is hurt bad, I just heard Chorney is on his way up
Your right. Gagner may have been a poor example. I'm guessing the guys in the room aren't real happy with Tambellini though.
I get the DFF thing, but I'm on board with Chris. Ethically it bothers me alot that any athletic team wouldn't try to do its best ALL the time. One magic pick and a few top prospects won't make this team golden any time soon. We could have retained our dignity by making some moves over the course of the year and still break in the new guys next fall. And by "break-in" I mean ten minutes a game rather than eighteen+, 60 point expectations and a berth in the semis.
Wow, that's really deep stuff and seriously I don't think there will be any permanent stain of any sort left on anything...what I think is lost in the translation of us DFF'ers to those of you who don't like it is that this team was lost...you can't just waive a magic wand and steer this team to the promise land just by saying it...it's a process and this year has been turned into a write off not just because Tambellini isn't making all these moves you guys seem to think is easy enough to make to turn us into a playoff contender but because of key injuries to key personnel and continuous bouts with sickness.
If it was so easy for teams to go out and make all these moves that you guys are suggesting the Oilers make that would turn us into instant winners then more teams would be doing it. There are many teams on the bubble of contending for a playoff spot that haven't made wholesale changes to improve. What has Dallas done? Detroit, Anaheim, St. Louis, Minnesota, Atlanta, Montreal, Florida, etc. These teams are on the outside of the playoffs looking in and haven't made any significant moves. The reason is it isn't just as easy as saying make moves to win us enough games to make it.
Back to our situation which was made bleak by not being able to add pieces in the offseason to make us contenders and even more bleaker by all the sickness and injuries mentioned earlier. The very thing that you guys want (winning) will more than likely happen sooner via obtaining a top 3 pick in the draft. This of course isn't a guarantee but it's playing percentages. Just what kind of moves do you guys think can be made that is going to turn this ship around enough to make the playoffs?
What is it that you guys don't understand about the benefits of having a top 2 pick in the draft going forward? This isn't about driving the team into the sewer it's about reloading and getting back to winning quicker.
Crash Wrote: "What is it that you guys don't understand about the benefits of having a top 2 pick in the draft going forward? This isn't about driving the team into the sewer it's about reloading and getting back to winning quicker."
How many times must I say that I get it. I understand the DFF... completely. When the team finishes last they get a prize. Losing now to reload quicker is as brutally effective as cutting off your legs to achieve your weight loss goals overnight...
Oh yes... I understand the DFF. What I don't understand is ~fans~ (not necessarily you) who openly celebrate the failure of the mini camp. Some DFFers are so scared that the Oilers might not lose enough and grant them their saviour that they have lost all perspective. At the bar last night, I sat next to an a$$hole who loudly cheered against Dubs. He told me he was a ~fan~ and he was scared that Devon might get hot and "ruin everything with some wins" and Tambellini should "send him back to Springfield before this happens..."
These are dark times for Oiler fans.
That isn't a fan, that's an idiot.
I agree with you, that guy isn't a fan...I am a season ticket holder and I live in Red Deer...I travel around 400km every game and I always cheer for my team...at the same time I sure don't want our management making stop gap moves and picking up some vet players and playing them ahead of some of the younger guys. Now is a good time to use the guys like Cogliano in more significant roles, find out what they have now in these roles maybe even in some cases increasing their trade value. All of this in an attempt to make the team a winning team sooner.....my fear is if we were to add some older vets to try to win a few more games that it would end up costing us valuable development time and evaluation time. So the DFF means we stick with what we have, see who we need to keep between JDD and DD, etc. If we win fine, if we don't, it's all good because adding Taylor Hall or Tyler Seguin is going to help us become a winner sooner and I think there's one thing we can agree on....we all want the Oilers to become a consistent winner.
@Crash
I bought tickets when I lived in Provost (On the SASK border an hour south of Lloydminister). For two years I did at least twenty 500-600k round trips to see my beloved OIL in action. Fortunately I live a lot closer now... But I still have friends who do that drive on icy winter secondary highways. These people deserve a better overall gameday experience.
I don't believe that management purposely assembled a stinker. I don't believe this organization has the depth to absorb the kind of injuries it has sustained... But I can also see that management has done NOTHING to address it's shortcommings. They could have made small lateral moves that don't invole mortgaging the future to "patch" holes in the lineup... The DFF may have still occured but the longsuffering, commuting, paying fans would at least know that the organization cared... and that the fall was legit.
I don't think there are many organizations that could absorb what the Oilers have faced this year as far as injuries go and still have a successful season....I'm really not sure what it is you believe management could have done to patch holes in the lineup...even the Detroit Red Wings who most on this site always want us to copy have stated they will not make any moves with all the injuries they have sustained in an attempt to get better even if it means missing the playoffs....
I in fact think letting this play out as it is and looking to move guys who most now realize need to be moved and allowing the younger guys to show who can compete through this and who can't is showing more caring for the organization than if they were to try to fill some holes to win a few more games only to still place out of the playoffs and not have a shot at a top 2 or 3 pick. IMO, missing the playoffs is losing...doesn't matter if you are 17th or 30th, you are a loser and this team wasn't making the playoffs after the Hemsky and Khabibulin injuries no matter what lateral moves they made. And as stated before, making moves isn't as easy as some may think or more teams would be doing it.
@Chris
Do you honestly think the organization cares about the people who commute into the city to watch? If they don't renew/sell their tickets, someone else will purchase them.
That wasn't supposed to be directed only at you Chris but more of a generalized statement.
Why would the Oilers want Chimera when he badmouthed the organization. I wouldn't have taken Chimera if the BJs would have paid Chimera's contract. Once a player badmouths an organization like Chimera did, I don't want him back.
Well apparently that is the reason why Rexall isn't full, because of the poor weather for the out of towners.
"Well apparently that is the OFFICIAL reason why Rexall isn't full, because of the poor weather for the out of towners."
Fixed.
Oh I know... this "Oil Country" thing is a lot of hot air...
Also due to this much talked about season ticket waiting list: an organizational degree of arrogance has set in... fans are being taken for granted. Foe example: despite the fact that the on ice product has been lacking for three years now; the Organization has done NOTHING to improve the off ice activities. Ever go to a Rush game? It's an absolute blast and the team hasen't even been that good. It would be nice to be appreciated...
Many of my friends are on that list; doesn't mean they'll necessarily anti up the money should they get the chance... Times have gotten tighter and the product has gotten worse.
Indeed.. ive been saying for some time that the waiting list shall be tested. I do the Provost drive a lot, very long return trip when the effort level is Penneresque. Its such a long drive I cant even get the full measure of the after game whining because the stations fade out of range, perhaps thats a good thing.
I am pumped for the Rush game Saturday!!!! Even when they got a franchise worst spanking against the roughnecks last year, i had a blast.... the line brawl to start the second half is still one of the highlights of my young sons entire sports year... LOL.
Way too much mumbo jumbo about DFF. K.I.S.S. This organization needs a top pick. Is that all it takes, of course not.