The Edmonton Oilers are in New York to play the Rangers on Sunday. A win tonight would move them to 2-2 on their current five-game road trip and give them a much needed boost up the standings. A loss, on the other hand, would make it all too easy to dismiss Friday’s win as an aberration and bring yet more pressure down on the coach and general manager.
One of the things I wonder when I look at this team is whether Dallas Eakins was doomed by the fifth game of the season. I say that because the Oilers aren’t a terribly good team – I pegged them 12th in the West – and so even playing 0.500 hockey is pretty tough to do for a sustained period of time. When a team loses its first five games, even if it goes 18-18 over the next 36 it’s still going to be sitting at 18-23 on the year by the halfway point of the season.
That’s sort of what’s happened to the Oilers, who are 5-5-0 over their last 10 games. Unfortunately for the club, that 0-4-1 start means that despite winning half of their last 10 games the club is 5-9-1, seven points out of the playoffs and seeing torch-and-pitchfork wielding mobs on social media after every loss (and sometimes, if the opponent is Buffalo, even after the wins).
I thought the Oilers played better than an 0-4-1 mark would indicate over their first five, but even if that’s true the dice have no memory – the team doesn’t get to demand the bounces go their way for five straight games to even things out. Somehow, Eakins needs to find a way to get this team to play at better than a 0.500 pace for a while or he needs to get some friendly bounces. Otherwise, the team is going to stay near the bottom of the NHL standings.
Lineup
No changes up front; the biggest question is how much time Iiro Pakarinen gets. Eakins has been double-shifting Nail Yakupov and the Russian winger has looked pretty good, but Pakarinen’s own play has been a strong argument that he deserves more minutes. There isn’t a wrong answer for the coach here.
Andrew Ference is back, which means that Martin Marincin gets to join Oscar Klefbom as a healthy scratch. Eakins has opted to reunite last year’s wretched Ference/Justin Schultz pairing, and we’ve seen enough of it to know how that’s likely to go. The other two pairings are unchanged, as Nikita Nikitin is given another game with Jeff Petry as he tries to overcome his own struggles and shutdown defenceman Mark Fayne draws Keith Aulie once again.
It’s an ugly position, but the personnel choices here aren’t helping.
Viktor Fasth played well against Buffalo, so he gets to try again against New York.
Predictions
Game day predicition: New York played on Saturday, with Alain Vigneault opting to start his backup against Toronto – presumably under the belief that with Henrik Lundqvist in net the Rangers stand a good chance even tired against the Oilers. It’s a reasonable bet on his part, but it won’t work out, as the Oilers manage to squeak out a 2-1 decision.
Obvious game day prediction: Keith Aulie likes playing, and fighting doesn’t hurt his chances of staying in the lineup, so he and Tanner Glass will square off at some point in the first half of the game.
Not-so-obvious game day prediction: While much of the focus will be on Benoit Pouliot returning to New York, he’ll be outshined by Nail Yakupov. There have been suggestions for years that Glen Sather’s love of elite talent might make him interested in Yakupov, and the 2012 first overall pick won’t hurt that talk with a goal and an assist against the Rangers.
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Come on Dallas….. Schultz and fernuckle together on d pairing ! How desperate you getting man.
Fire this coaches ass now and run him out of town
Ah haha. Marincin and Klefbom sit for Ference and Aulie. Hey, sure, why not. Heck, pair Ference and Aulie together. LET’S GET CRAZY!
Marincin sits for Aulie? WHAT THE H3LL MAN?!?! *spits*
What is wrong with Eakins?
How can he not see what every other person who watches the Oilers sees.
Aulie, slow and slower. Ference, slow and old. Nikitin, slow and good at gaurding the boards.
Please make better decisions Mr. Eakins.
“Aulie, slow and slower. Ference, slow and old. Nikitin, slow and good at gaurding the boards”….Seems to me it’s not the coaches fault these players are old and slow…..who is responsible to bring him talent???????
I totally agree. But you don’t fix a mistake with another one. Who would you play?
Marinicin or Aulie?
Klefbom or Nikitin?
I’m really tired of changing coaches on what seems on an annual basis so I would let my coach make those decisions. I know the real issues are at the top and it’s been well documented by the fans. IMO changing the coach merely takes the accountability and pressure away from those sport jocks that run the team at the management and President of Operations positions.
I also suspect Eakins is getting direction from the above mentioned idiots on who he can play and not play!
Well if you are a coach and you are not allowed to make your own line up you may as well quite because you’re not the coach.
I agree with you, the management of the OIlers has been poor. It still doesn’t excuse Eakins from making more poor decisions.
If I was Katz, I would have had fired the whole lot, but apparently until the fans stop unloading the brinks truck to the front door of Rexall Place than the pile of suck that is the Edmonton Oilers organization will not stop.
Agree.
Looks like Eakins is going to take the first bullet soon. Unfortunately he may be the only victim.
I hope he goes down swinging and gives us all insight into the ineptness of management, professional scouting and ownership!
Although we hope that would be the case it is highly unlikely. Eakins would risk payment of the balance of his contract which I believe would be 3 years or so. Contractually they are obligated to not embarrass the team even after termination….that’s why they typically disappear into the sunset and hope for another gig, if it ever comes!
Let me see……………….
MacT got the players for Eakins to coach.
Kevin Lowe hired MacT, a coach that was previously fired by same guy…
Hmmmmmm…….
What’s wrong here?
Eakins decisions seem to never get “normal”. He scratches Klefbom and Marincin while Ference and Aulie are playing…Can’t follow this guy’s thoughts and probably never will.
Rebuild is over. No more excuses, time to put up some W’s!!! If the maple leafs can beat the rangers surely the oilers can.
This is Yaks best game of the year so far.
Someone has unleashed Yakupov and it is one of the best decisions this season.He is awsome.
Fire the trainers and equipment staff again.
The last time they did it, it didn’t work. These guys are the first faces the players see when they enter their Resort/dressing room. Fire them again. They need to get it right this time.
No something new instead…fire the coa..wait, oh ya we did..fire the G….oh ya, we did…well that only leaves…Kevin Moss or Joey Lowe….Is this really how far we’ve fallen. Our POHO hides behind Joey’s skirt…
Your comment is out of line. Bash Lowe all you want but leave Joey alone. That is worse than tossing your jersey.
No offense intended at Joey what so ever…have volunteered at a couple of his projects including the home next to Winnifred Stuart School….It was Klown I was bashing, he’ replaced everyone other than himself and Mr.Moss. Other than the batcape what does he have left to hide behind. Would rather have Joey’ enthusiasm and love of the game than Blowhards ego.
You can bad talk everyone in this organization. But you never EVER mention Joey’s name out of disrespect again.
Or I will hunt you down I will find you and I will shave your head, paint your skin red drug you and staple a flames jersey to you and leave you for dead on whyte ave with a cardboard sign that says “Oilers suck almost as bad as Edmonton does.”
How much of a chance do you have walking away from there alive sport?
Anyone else also notice Shultz constantly passing the pick back in the neutral zone during a PP? What’s the point if this play? Don’t get it.
Norris-quality defencemen have a method to their madness known only to them and their coaches and GMs, not to us no-nothing, second tier peons.
It is a zone entry. You mis direct the other team to one side than pass back to a player with speed to enter the offensive zone with possession.
MacT said Norris “potential”. At least mock MacT for his actual transgressions and not imagined ones.
He got so used to it going the wrong way last year he just doesn’t bother with the blocked shot part of it anymore and goes straight to the break-away pass part…
It’s a designed breakout play. Schultz skates the puck up the middle and draws the opposition, then fired it back to the trailing D man. Taylor hall then goes flying up the wing, and the trail in D skates the puck up and hits Hall in full stride for the zone entry.
So what’s the plan when Hall isn’t playing?
Well, I believe they are going to be patient and assess what they have. Then after assessing for a few games they will evaluate then assess the evaluation. It’s a process, you know.
It creates separation from the onside forward. Detroit built this play
as a means to keep possession of the puck as they cross the blue line.
It is called the “second wave”.
Imagine the embarrassment in the Rangers room. Outworked by the Edmonton Oilers.
Thats gotta hurt.
Yak and Perron have looked great tonight, only a matter of time before the points start coming. Great to see Yak playing with that kind of edge.
Yak has Jam.
Ebbs sure looked like himself on that PP rush,he owned the tender on that hard penetration.Excellent decision.
Nuge is flying.
GDP: Oilers can only win in bunches. 3-2 in OT.
OGDP: JSBM Productions is full of thick, funny smelling smoke, and someone decides to steal a Japanese toothpaste commercial and call it the game day video. Somehow Wayne approves it.
NSOGDP: Oilers fans are so fed up with the state of the franchise, that even with a first period lead, fans turn off the game en-masse to avoid any chance of watching another Oilers late game collapse. Fand check 3 different websites for the final score before believing that the Oilers held on to win in OT.
“Somehow Wayne approves it.”
HIS IDEA!!!
Aulie! Aulie! I picked him as my star. He’s +4 in two games. Who wants to shotgun some Kool aid with me?
Please Oilers. Don’t poop the 3rd. You’ve been playing solid.
Best game of the year for the Oilers. Nuge was very good as usual but Petry was outstanding also.
Petry was good until that major brainfart giveaway to Hayes…
Those are the plays that kill this team, but luckily Fasth bailed him out. I like Petry, but he makes some awful decisions at key times in the game.
Was honestly hoping Pouliot would score 🙂
Excellent to see every line looking to score,nice job by the 4th line.
Super excellent work on managing the zone transition speeds and keeping everyone involved and together. Not to fast not to slow,perfect.