If only the Oilers had known what time the game started at. Final Score: 3-2 Predators.
The last time the Oilers played the Predators, they basically got their show run. The Predators dominated almost every aspect of their last meeting, and if the Oilers were going to close out this road trip with a win, they were going to have to come up with a better effort. Unfortunately, that’s not what happened… kind of. Right off the bat, the Oilers found themselves in a 2-goal-hole no more than 10 minutes into the first period. Needless to say, playing catch up against Nashville is not a very good game plan.
The most frustrating thing about the Oilers is that they’ll play a really solid game, like they did against the Rangers, then drop a fresh turd on the ice the very next game. I’ve never seen a team with so much Jekyll and Hyde in their game. Not even Sigmund funkin Freud himself would be able to figure out what’s going on around here. Then again, the Oilers also looked like a team on the back end of a road trip. Is being tired an excuse for showing up a period late? No, absolutely not.
The sad part is that the Oilers ended up playing fairly well for the final 40 minutes. Unfortunately, they dug themselves a hole that they couldn’t get out of. To be honest, I would have even bet on a blowout for Nashville in the first intermission. Again, the Oilers will be able to take some positives out of the last 2 periods of this game. Unfortunately, moral victories don’t count for squat in the standings.
Let us wrap.
THE BRIGHT SIDE
- The Oilers jerseys are much better than the Predators jerseys.
- The Oilers lost in front of very few people. I’m pretty sure it was empty seat night in Nashville.
- Nikitin has done an excellent job of earning my goat nomination.
- Benoit Pouliot seems to be turning it up, and the offence is welcomed.
- Yakupov is finally rewarded for his play. I’m expecting goals to come in bunches for Nail, and I base that on absolutely nothing. Great play by Perron to set Yak up.
- Much better 2nd and 3rd period. Although, that’s not saying much. The first period played like a dumpster fire.
THE FACE PALMERS
- Awful start by the Oilers. They did not seem ready to play at all.
- Justin Schultz could have been wearing a dunce cap on the first Nashville goal. Norris candidate indeed.
- Geography prohibits the Oilers from playing in the Eastern Conference.
- Not a great night for Viktor Fasth. I wouldn’t say all 3 of those goals were his fault, but they weren’t exactly unstoppable either. Scrivens was much better in relief.
- Slow start killed what could have been a solid road game. It’s a shame, really.
- Yakupov went down the tunnel early. It could be nothing, but it could be bad news. It looked like Perron may have stepped on his arm when they were against the boards in the a scrum. ***UPDATE*** Yakupov had to get a couple of stitches and will be okay, as per Dallas Eakins.
BEST OF THE TWEETS
Hopefully won’t need too many of these tonight… @OilersNation pic.twitter.com/CDYXYmVqYK
— the Mangiant (@mngnt) November 12, 2014
@OilersNation pic.twitter.com/Xm2EMmw2Ij
— Stu The Penguin (@StuThePenguin) November 12, 2014
@OilersNation Rinne of the Pekka is an epidemic in Finnish college dorms.
— Ryan B. (@IAmByks) November 12, 2014
@OilersNation about the same as saying one prostate exam was better than another ?
— Where Is Wanye?? (@ford2nv) November 12, 2014
— Dave Caswell (@DaveCaswell) November 12, 2014
Good thing about Hall being injured on this trip is he doesn’t get to spend time in these cities seeing how awesome it’d be to play there.
— Travis Dakin (@TravisDakin) November 12, 2014
@OilersNation #HereComesTheNAAIIYYEEEERRR
— Kris (@_AGuyNamedKris) November 12, 2014
Yak’s hairs/square inch leads the NHL. Thick and luxurious.
— Woodguy (@Woodguy55) November 12, 2014
I’m losing in all of my fantasy hockey leagues. Maybe I should join an Eastern Conference pool? #isthatathing #mightbeeasier @OilersNation
— Rey Javier (@unbeREYvable) November 12, 2014
If you want to be included in ‘Best of the Tweets’ be sure to tweet your cleverness to both @OilersNation and @jsbmbaggedmilk.
THE PHOTO CONTEST
Last week, I posted details for the November picture contest. Surprisingly, there aren’t that many pictures coming in yet. What am I saying? If you enter this thing, your odds of winning something is very good right now. Granted, people have all of November to enter – maybe I’m just impatient.
What is the picture contest? I’m just looking for you guys to get creative and take pictures of yourselves in NationGear, Oilers Gear, or doing something hilarious that shows you’re an Oilers fan. At the end of the month, we’ll take the 5 best pictures, and put them up for a vote. The winners will be showered with Internet glory and prizes.
If you have a picture you’d like to enter, email it to me at baggedmilk@oilersnation.com. Happy hunting, Nation, and Godspeed.
NewAgeSys=Dallas Eakins….Hey Dallas shouldn’t you be watching Dallas Cowboys film or something?
Newagesys=Moma2
There just can’t be two ppl that similar.
I missed the second period and the first half of the third, so i guess i missed all the good stuff? I hate that, a more superstitious man would think the Oil only do good when he’s not watching, but that’s crazy.
That Preds fore-check was AWESOME. not saying the OIl didn’t suck it up, cause they did, and Fasth was pitiful, but NSH looked great. A LOT of teams would have had trouble with that, but most would have been moderately better in their own end.
Also, to all of you who trashed a comment here at ON earlier I posted about Nikitin being weak, I thumb my nose at you.He can’t handle pressure, can’t WAIT to get rid of the puck, and will turn it over again and again until he grows a set.
With last nights game the oil have completed 20% of their season.
And are on track for a 67 point year.
Sound familiar? It should.
That’s the same number of points as they got last season.
And the 20% they just completed was by far the easiest part of the schedule…
How much longer do they have to suck before the purge of management – including KLOWE – happens?
How much longer do they have to suck before the purge of management – including KLOWE – happens?
How long is forever?
When Katz is ready to sell the team and he needs the team to win to pump up its value. That day will come after he pocketed every penny he can from the arena district. Isn’t it obvious he’s way more excited about the EAD development than any Oilers issues? He sees EAD as a big bowl of cash, and buying Oilers gives him exclusive access to it. As a business man, he is as smart as anybody else.
Most of the West force us into a periphery game , and play us physical while pressuring our defence in our own zone . defence in their offensive zone they do not need to pressure as we have very little for good shots from the point . The cycle game we do have is inferior to most other teams as well as slot presence . We are getting better but still lack the personnel to win much at this stage . We have an inferior lineup to win at the Western style of play in a nutshell . We are simply not beating Western clubs at their own game , and very few let us get into a game and style we would be better at . The east of course does not see us nearly as often and we have had success with many of them , but in a series , etc. they would also revert to same tactics West employs against us .
We need 3 major acquisitions before we can really challenge the West . We are at a stage in season that you can not entirely write our team off , but also not good enough to write them in even more so .
Well done, save the last paragraph – this season has been written off since the first of November. Since the loser point era began, There has never been a team this far back this late in the season ever come back and make the playoffs.
It is now nine years and counting…
Philly just did it last year. After 16 games, they were 5 wins and 1 OT loss for 11 points.
Not saying we can do it, but to say there has never been a team ever come back this late in the season is simply incorrect.
You are incorrect.
Since the loser point era began, almost no team has made the playoffs if they were more than 4 points out as of November 1st. Almost.
Dallas was 6 points out of a playoff spot starting November last year and made the post-season. Calgary also did it back in ’06-07.
Here is the thing…who on earth thought the Oilers were making the playoffs this year?
They were universally predicted to finish 11th or 12th in the West. A 6-9-1 record, tied with Arz @ 13 pt and 1 pt behind Min and Dal is congruent with that prediction. It was nine years and counting before the season even started.
Basically, the Oilers are exactly what most expected they would be this year. They are a better team than last year and won’t be battling Buf, Car or Fla for McDavid and Eichel. They also won’t be battling for a playoff spot.
If you ran a Monte Carlo simulation on this season that result would be one of the highest probabilities.
So why get your panties in a bunch when the expected happens?
I disagree. I believe Edmonton will indeed be battling for McDavid & Eichel.
And improvement, after this many years of bad, has to be better than “we only missed the playoffs by hundreds of miles instead of thousands of miles”
It’s November the 12 not the first.
And yes they are where I expected them to be and that still makes the discussion of center a waste of time – its months too late. And that’s what’s ticking me off – that supposedly responsible, paid analysts are talking like there is still hope for this season rather than going after what is really wrong with this organization.
Cowardice and dissembling pi$$ me off.
Seriously, how can guys who make MILLIONS of dollars a yr (for playing a game non-the-less that costs parents thousands upon thousands of dollars so that their kids can play) not come out and be prepared or ready to start ahockey game?
Sure, they were at the end of a somewhat long road trip, but, there wasn’t too much travelling once they got started as a bunch of those teams were in a somewhat close area so it wasn’t like they were flying 1000kms after every game, not too mention that these guys are supposed to be some of the most fit, best athletes in the entire world…
They’re getting better. I see them starting to play as a team.
This group really needed to at minimum to stay in an outside looking in – playoff run, for as long as possible this year.
Playing 4 pointers with some hope (even feint hope) to make the playoffs makes for an almost playoff like “must win” environment. 4 months of this and the Oilers might have been ready (with some key additions) to make the playoffs next year.
Playing “no hope” hockey for the remainder of the season?
Is a disaster…
Draisaitl played a whopping 7:25 last night. Tell me again how either he or the team are better served by having him flounder in the NHL right now?
Actually we are much better than last year. Here is some math to explain it all
Last year: Out of the play-offs by Oct 31st
This year: Out of the play-offs by Nov 12
12/30 days = 40%
:. we are 40% better than last year: I love statistical analysis! We can make any # or value look attractive using the correct math.
Now shut up and put your name on the season ticket waiting list
I am sorry, just trying to lighten things up a bit. At least some of the other Canadain teams are doing well
playoff teams and championship teams are built from Defence ,goaltending,and center all in that order we have one NHL center in the making all the rest are just meh, its no surprise we are what we are
Right on.
This should be every GM’s first 5 checklist in the off-season
1 Top flight Goaltender
2 Top pairing legit bona fide D-men
1 Scoring Center that can take on toughest d-men
1 2 way center that can play both the offensive and defensive Game
A coach to lead, organize and motivate the team, with the ability to help them achieve a Stanley Cup
The Oilers had how many of these checked off this summer?
Rhetorical I know but the answer is no to all.
And that is why MacT should be fired.
That’s a very nice checklist and if we checked off all the items on that list we’d be doing much better.
The problem is that there aren’t 30 top flight goaltenders. There aren’t 60 Top pairing legit bona fide D-men. The reason that there aren’t 30 teams that can compete every year for the cup is that there isn’t enough of these key pieces to go around!
Furthermore the ones that are out there are very hard to acquire. What would it take to get a Shea Weber here? If the asking price was Nuge or Hall I wouldn’t be surprised. But that just creates a bigger problem somewhere else.
I’m not going to argue that management gets an A+ grade but there has been some definite improvement in the on-ice product this year. I’m happy with baby steps.
It would be nice if management would be able to check just one.
And is the team really much better than last year? Their refs thusfar would indicate that it isn’t.
Should the Oilers be interested in 29 year old Mike Richards ? Mackenzie says L.A. might be interested in moving him early , seeing as he is now doing time mainly on fourth line . He creates a cap crunch for L.A. going into next season . He has a cap hit of $5.4M season for next 5-6 years . He has a disputable NTContract . I think you could get him if he were wanting to come here , for not an awful lot because of his contract .
I would get Mike Richards here in a heartbeat. I would love to see him in Blue and Orange. I think he would be a great fit at Centre right now, and brings a ton of experience. He has accomplished a lot.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Richards
This is exactly the kind of thinking that’s gotten us into the mess for this long.
1. If he’s playing 4th line minutes mostly, that’s NOT the kind of vet we need! We need a veteran player who can hold his own on a top-2 line. If we’re just trying to replace our not-good-enough guys with someone else’s not good enough guys, we’re going to continue to be….you guessed it, NOT GOOD ENOUGH
2. Why on earth would ANY player, any player at all, want to come here? I mean honestly, short of a player who might be out of the NHL otherwise, I can’t think of a single player who would want to or willingly come to EDM.
You want to get a vet to help the team? Be prepared for it to hurt for what we have to give up. You can get a vet for less, but they won’t make a difference on this team, and at that point you’re better off doing nothing.
You want players to want to come here? Going to take a mgmt house-cleaning, top to bottom, and probably a trade of a core player to make the message clear that we’re not screwing around anymore, and that you wont be asked to be a scapegoat for the chosen stars when they can’t turn the team around
@madjam And I forgot to add–a 5-6yr contract for 5.4M!? For 90% of the cost of Hallsy, but we get a player on the down-slope of his career, who will only be harder and harder to move as time goes on, and he’ll be getting worse than he is today?
It was designed as a question for discussion . However you choose to take a negative view of M. Richards that I feel is wrong , so i’ll present some of his positives . He is working 4th line minutes because of the strong emergence of some of L.A.’s youth movement . It appears Richards may be moved so as L.A. can resign the youngsters at end of year as they appear to have cap problems .
M. Richards is still a very good talent and probably would be a top 1-2 center on most teams . 29 is not over the hill . On our team he would be top 2 for sure , and maybe top dog . His defence is also better than anyone we got and adapt at specialty teams . Now the coup de grace : How bad is his salary if the team now makes the playoffs ? Playoffs worth a lot to owners and team .
Whom might we lose ? Guessing of course , but L.A. looks like they need a young defenseman to lower the missing of Voynov . Perhaps a Marincin or Klefbom plus a draft choice ( beyond first of course) might suffice as they would not want to take on much salary in return . That’s my guess for compensation .
and it looks like Conner the saviour has a serious hand injury.
Amazing what a player will do in order to not get drafted in the top three over-all, damn you Conner damn you all to hell
Problem: Oilers cannot handle fast hard forchecking teams, that bring a five man team into the rush. Defense is totally overwhelmed by the attack. The forwards coming back cannot stop the play in the neutral zone, more often then not arrive on the back check on the afternoon bus.
Brain cramp after brain cramp by the D is what we see game after game, consequently stuck in their own end ,creating chaos. ” one and out” is not in their game.
When was the last time one of these clowns cleared a player or puck out from in front of their own net.
Goal tending is not great but the defense is even worse.Send Nikitin somewhere and keep him there for starters.
Let’s all be clear here. No player with a NTC/NMC is going to come here. Full stop. Not for many years, until we can prove we can win. So we should stop wondering about if “X” veteran player would be a good fit, if they’re NT/NM–they’re not going to be here.
The “what if” player options need to be limited to players that don’t have NTC/NMC, aren’t playing 4th line minutes/3rd pairing D/backup goalie positions, aren’t older players saddled with LT, $$$ contracts, etc.
Which leads us to–no trades are going to happen, at least none of importance. We can’t afford anything that we truly need (a genuine 1st pairing D, a true center, a good goalie). We’re left trying to shuffle deck chairs on the Titanic, with our misfits and the misfits we can get off of other teams.
And for those of you who think Petry would stay in this mess–HAHAHA. Not unless we massively overpay him, basically “hazard pay” for having to be on the Oilers
New age Sys. Go smash yourself in the balls repeatedly wih a hammer.
Mike Richards is definitely not the answer, Brodziak would look great back in Oilers silks though. Leon needs to be properly developed, but of course we don’t ever do that with forwards. No one should bail LA out of that contract, make them buy him out and have him on the books for the next 10 years.
Of course the goal is to miss the playoffs for a ninth straight season, so Brodziak won’t be persued.
You really think Brodziak can be difference maker and help us make the playoff? Are we talking about the same Kyle Brodziak? A career 4C who has never score more than 25 points and he is difference maker? I hope you are just kidding my friend.
He’s a step up from Draisaitl currently and would allow Leon the chance to develop properly. Brodziak has scored 44 points at the NHL level and is in the last year of his contract, check your facts before you post.
Problem: Oilers cannot handle fast hard forchecking teams, that bring a five man team into the rush. Defense is totally overwhelmed by the attack. The forwards coming back cannot stop the play in the neutral zone, more often then not arrive on the back check on the afternoon bus.
Brain cramp after brain cramp by the D is what we see game after game, consequently stuck in their own end ,creating chaos. ” one and out” is not in their game.
When was the last time one of these clowns cleared a player or puck out from in front of their own net.
Goal tending is not great but the defense is even worse.Send Nikitin somewhere and keep him there for starters.
But he’s a Norris candidate!
I fell asleep by the the time I got around to watching the 2nd period. I had the wierdest dream that I was being attacked by a swarm of mutant bumblebees. Any ideas.
Damn Nashville is a fast team!!
Damn Draisaityl is not a fast skater. This guy should NOT be in the NHL right now!
CMON Mac find us a center STAT!