That was probably one of the worst offside calls in the history of ice or whistles. Only three more games left. Three. More. Games. Final Score: 2-1
This really has been a strange year. Last summer, we were all flooded with positivity after the hiring of Peter Chiarelli, Todd McLellan, and, very obviously, the luck that landed us Connor McDavid. But now that we’re wrapping up chapter one of Peter Chiarelli’s first year as the Oilers’ GM, the narrative around Edmonton has moved from story of hope to a tail of despair. Now we’re three games away from what could be a total yard sale. I know the day is coming where one, or possibly two, of our first overall picks get(s) traded, but it will still fell odd to process the news when the time comes. I mean, we already know that Nail Yakupov has three more games left to play as an Oiler but that doesn’t make it any less strange.
This summer could possibly (hopefully?) be one of the wildest summers we’ve around here. It’s funny to see how passionate we fans can be about who should stay and who should go, but, in reality, who shouldn’t go when your team is perennially finishing in last place? In reality Connor McDavid probably should be the only untouchable that the Oilers have on the roster, but that doesn’t mean we won’t fight for our favourites to stay. As much as it will be exciting to see what happens I can also see how unbearable Oilers Twitter/Internet will be until next season starts. Trade winds they are a blowin’, and they seem to making their way right through the Nation.
As for tonight’s game, it was definitely frustrating, but not so much because the Oilers played poorly, but more so because they made dumb mistakes that led to goals. Adam Clendening was the goat master general tonight, and he was the direct cause of both of Anaheim’s goals, with the second being the toast to his transformation into Jultz 2.0. Unfortunately, getting down by two goals to the Ducks was too much. That being said, the Oilers did keep up with the Ducks for the most part (MOAR SHOTS!) and could have, once again, taken points away from this game had it not been for a couple mistakes and their power play striking out worse than a mute at phone sex job fair.
I don’t know how many games the power play has cost the Oilers but I’d put money on several. Who would have thought that the power play would be such an issue on this team? Add it to the pile, I guess.
The wrap.
THE BRIGHT SIDE
- Only three games left.
- Connor McDavid is an absolute pleasure to watch and I don’t care if I say it in every Wrap Up for the rest of my life.
- Nail Yakupov scored his seventh goal of the year on an absolute rocket of a snap shot from the slot. After news broke about his trade request there was a big segment of fans that understand and wish him well — myself included. I was happy to see him score tonight and will enjoy watching his last three games as an Oiler.
- Taylor Hall had a solid game, and he was buzzing around the puck all night long. He got an assist on the Yakupov goal and likely should have gotten more. I think he’s played better than his point streak would have some people believe.
- Darnell Nurse was solid and brought the physicality that we’ve come to expect from him. I especially liked when Darryl got in Kesler’s face. I would have loved to see Nurse hurt his face feelings.
- Jordan Eberle had a solid game and likely should have had a couple goals. He got set up a few times on the power play with good looks at the net but John Gibson was able to shut the door.
- Cam Talbot was also solid again, and it’s a relief knowing that the Oilers won’t have to go out looking for a starting goalie this summer. Talbot finished with 23 saves and a .920 save%.
- For as bad as the Oilers power play is, the penalty kill is good. They killed off all four of Anaheim’s chances and the Ducks have a very good power play.
- The Oilers were 57% in the face off circle. Impressive when you consider the amount of experience on the other side.
- Outshot Anaheim 28-25 which would have been a win in lost seasons past.
THE FACE PALMERS
- Moral victories for everybody!
- Anaheim ended the McPoint streak!
- Three more games left in the Yakupov era. I, for one, am bummed out about it. I’ll miss you, Yak. I’m sorry that things didn’t work out between us, but a good chunk of that is our fault. The player is always the one that should look in the mirror first, but I can’t help but wonder about how he was handled along the way.
- Adam Clendening has filled in for Justin Schultz better than anyone could have imagined. He makes the weirdest choices at the weirdest times and it’s not overly surprising when they end up in the net. He was on the hook for two tonight. Amazing how much of an impact he played in 6:27 on the ice.
- You’d have to think that Anton Lander is playing his last games as an Oiler, right?
- Corey Perry scored tonight and he is so annoying for so many reasons.
- Power Play = Garbage Fire Marshmellows
- Does anybody else watch that kind of reffing and think that these guys got the job as a result of a contest? That offside call at the end of the game had to be one of the worst calls in an NHL game in the history of the world.
SCORING SUMMARY
| 1ST PERIOD | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 04:02 | ANA | Corey Perry (31) Slapshot – ASST: Jamie McGinn (16), Rickard Rakell (23) | 1 – 0 ANA |
| 2ND PERIOD | |||
| 12:48 | ANA | Brandon Pirri (13) Wrist shot – ASST: NONE | 2 – 0 ANA |
| 3RD PERIOD | |||
| 11:40 | EDM | Nail Yakupov (7) Snap shot – ASST: Taylor Hall (36), Leon Draisaitl (32) | 2 – 1 ANA |
BEST OF THE TWEETS
@OilersNation Bill for the pre-game meal, I think it’s a sign…. pic.twitter.com/V206n8vBWX
— Ham andBun (@hamandbun) March 29, 2016
@OilersNation I hope the rebuild is over before Cogs retires.
— Rusty Shackleford (@AdmiralRusty) March 29, 2016
@OilersNation I’d love to see Eberle punch Kesler’s face in…far more embarrassing for Kesler, and, therefore, more satisfying
— David Smitten (@DavidSmitten) March 29, 2016
@jsbmbaggedmilk well, the #Oilers are the best at ending streaks in the league. Usually it’s goalless or losing streaks, but whatever.
— Vincent Roth (@oh_shart) March 29, 2016
@jsbmbaggedmilk Like finishing a drink at last call. Going to enjoy it and make it last, and you will feel like shit later.
— TurboT from PB (@EgersundFarmTom) March 29, 2016
This is offside @NHL @POTUS @realDonaldTrump @BernieSanders pic.twitter.com/usxHuhX6YC
— Alex Darby (@AlexDarby14) March 29, 2016
How about a coach’s challenge on that BOTCHED offside call? No wait, it only works one way. Nice work @NHL
— Bruce McMcCurdy (@BruceMcCurdy) March 29, 2016
@AlexDarby14 @OilersNation tonights’ @NHL sanctioned blueline pic.twitter.com/GcyIMXDVHP
— Rip Van Winkle (@bhlazo) March 29, 2016
THE NORTH X NORTHGRETZ PODCAST
It’s a special birthday edition of North By NorthGretz! We celebrate Chris The Intern’s birthday before talking about the Nurse/Haley situation, whether or not the Oilers have a shot at Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and if we’ve seen the last of Nugent-Hopkins in an Oilers jersey. Then it’s time for Chris to embarrass himself playing a movie quotes game before all of life’s mysteries are once again answered in Ask The Idiots!
As always you can follow North x NorthGretz on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes!
PREVIOUS EPISODES
- Episode 11 – Is There A TV Doctor In The House?
- Episode 12 – Making An Interner
- Episode 13 – Guilty Pleasures
- Episode 14 – All Star Weekend
- Episode 15 – Disaster In Jasper
- Episode 16 – Contagious
- Episode 17 – Story time with Pat Hughes
- Episode 18 – The Trade Deadline
- Episode 19 – Clean N’ Jerks
- Episode 20 – Battle of Blogberta
- Episode 21 – Down with the Sickness
It feels weird to be lamenting the inevitable trade of an under performing player from the worst team in the league over the past decade. I can’t help it though. Granted, having a team good enough to push hard for a playoff spot next season will take the sting out of any trades Chiarelli makes this summer. Make it so.
It will probably be good for yak anyways. Gives me a new team to somewhat follow more as well.
I think the oilers problem is more as a group I bet lots of our skilled guys would find more success on different teams with more balance and structure.
This is year ten of the same old thing. Playing out the string, waiting for next year, talking about changes to make the team better, and then sitting through the same thing again. This year, the end is the most agonizing one yet. We have almost two weeks to finish three(!) games, with some of the worst calls I’ve ever seen from both the refs and linesmen. Hey NHL, can we please just finish the year on a positive with no more bad calls?? No way the rest of the league is allowed to complain about the Oilers winning the Lottery again when calls like that go against them.
It’s not year 10. It’s year 6. The rebuild started with the Hall draft, in 2010.
During the 2006-2009 the Oilers were re-tooling, during 2010-2014 the Oiler were rebuilding and now (2015) the Oilers are reconstructing the rebuild.
Whatever word Kevin Lowe and Darryl Katz like to call it, it still equates to a decade of incompetence.
This gives them time to re-tool the rebuild. Austin Matthews is just what management needed to play more verbal gymnastics.
in fairness, the Oilers missed the playoffs by 6 points in 2008. I don’t know if that’s really incompetence. They had a 41 win season.
I am really confused. Are you actually trying to defend the Oilers? Last time I checked, record books don’t show how many points a team misses playoffs by. Fact is the Oilers have missed the playoffs 10 straight seasons 06-10 was Rebuild or retool 1.0, With hall draft it was 2.0, with McDavid its 3.0.
The only thing similar in all these years is that the Oilers still suck. No one in their right mind should defend this team.
i’m just saying it’s factually incorrect to say the Oilers have been incompetent for 10 years. There was one year where they were competitive.
Mactavish held the team together for 3 years as head coach, but that was in spite of of the incompetent management of Kevin Lowe. During the 2007-08 season where you referenced competent management Kevin Lowe was in a public shouting match with Brian Burke over the Penner signing, just about lost 4 first round picks to Buffalo (Hall, RnH, MPS, ____) in respect to the failed Vanek offer sheet, was humiliated by Nylander when he bailed on a contract with the team after the Oilers had announced he had signed.
It is factually incorrect to suggest that Kevin Lowe had success as a GM post the Stanley Cup run.
for the most part, Dustin Penner was a decent player for edmonton. It’s hardly Lowe’s fault that an aging Nylander was told he can’t play for edmonton by his wife. The Vanek offer sheet…yeah, he should never have made that offer, and thankfully, buffalo matched. I’m not saying Lowe was a great GM…i’m just saying that this isn’t really a 10 year rebuild, and there were moments when the Oilers looked competitive. It’s easy to look back and say they shouldn’t have done this or that….but it all got us to McDavid…so it was good.
The Dustin Penner years, can be summarized as liquidating assets at whatever costs to remain in power. How many young guys were developed during these years, how many good draft picks did the organisation have?
Wasn’t that also the season that Buffalo matched the Vanek offer sheet? Imagine Buffalo with Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent Hopkins?
What?????
And now Oiler fans are blaming the NHL for this pathetic display of incompetence?
I mean, I get it that year after year of not just losing, but being utter bottom feeders, carp, is sickening.
But the League could not have done more to compensate for horrific management.
Now, let’s throw the refs under the bus along with the trail of players we ruined or got rid of.
I don’t want to hear “played well but lost” next season. Just tired of it. Love maroon! Give him the “A” next year!
Question
How many MORE games have the Oilers won this year as a result of McDavid, then they would have one without him? Has he really made a difference this year?
You do know that “won” and “one” are two (not too) different words, right?
Or is it write?
Honestly, it is a fair question. Truth is most nights McDavid has made unwatchable games watchable just because of his unbelievable skill set. He is worth the price of admission – and with this team God knows the fans deserve that.
The kid is beyond entertaining – I almost feel sorry for the Flame fans who are deprived of his greatness.
Almost.
Not to mention then and than.
Katz is the Cancer. He picked Yakupov and stole $200 million from Albertan’s. What a little tiny tiny crook.
Strange season?
What a euphemism. Another new coach, more new goalies, another No. 1 pick, more UFA’s, more trades, more blaming the kids (first Eberle, now Yak), more throwing players under the bus, more shipping out the erstwhile saviors….
I don’t call this strange.
It’s a disgrace.
Oh spare us the dramatics will ya?
Spare us your high tolerance for crappy hockey. Will “ya?”
What a “tail of despair” from this “marshmellow” of a team.
Hall looked like he wants to stay and be a contributor to bigger and harder to play against.
More o zone possession and blue paint determination than normal.
He’s finally getting it. He has the physical tools to play that style of game. He just needed the proper coaching to make it happen. Or maybe just more maturity.
Yeah – and I think he could step it up a notch or two.
Puck protection and cycling along the boards is more involved than most think. You have to practice it and gain experience with it, individually and as a 5 man unit – to get any good at it. If you’re not any good at it, there are only marginal benefits – but, much to be gained – if you are.
A nice mix of rush and effective o zone grinding would be the right fit for Hall, to max out his potential. He is built for it – so, why not use all of what you have.
If he can’t see how much more effective he is, as more than just a one and done – it’s going the other way rush guy, I can’t understand.
I think you’re right – McLellan may be getting to him. Make the changes we want to see, or you really may be outta here – even you, Hallsey.
Hope he continues to buy in.
Goodbye Nail!
Sounds like another more important Oiler will be on his way to Anaheim as well-Pouliot . In Journal today Tychkowski quotes McLellan as saying he would like to start Maroon next season on left side of McDavid’s line , as he has lofty plans for him . So it sounds like Pouliot will probably not be an Oiler next year either . Wonder who they were being traded for that fell thru because of injury ?
That’s too bad. I like Pouliot. He has speed and can work the corners. Oh well, as long as they’re better, I don’t care who they trade.
Well….there’s always next year (said while crying in the corner and rocking back and forth)
If I’m paying $100 for dinner for two, there better be 5 Stanley Cup rings painted on the side of the building..
The really unfortunate part is that Nail Yakupov has played the best games of his career in the past couple of weeks. He looks like he’s finally getting it – how to play in the NHL – and … NOW demands a trade.
Great. We watched him be a train-wreck for years, then trade him when we he finally gets it.
And then, Hall looks happy to congratulate Yak on his goal. Weird. This team is bi-polar, or something, but it all really goes to show you how important timing is to how everything unfolds.
Justin Schultz and Nail Yakupov go onto careers elsewhere and become stars? Wouldn’t that be a kick in the pants for this organization to go along with the Cogliano’s and Petry’s of the world? We always knew drafting was important, but maybe development is more important than we realized. But the old adage, “timing is everything,” that’s what has seemed to ail the Oilers more than any other aspect, which is a further indicator of a lack of foresight. Thankfully our new management team seems to have some of that. This still falls on previous regimes, as they tried to get Yak’s game up to par this year, but basically ran out of time because the player got tired of waiting. Timing is everything.
I listened to the Larionov interview yesterday. It seemed to leave the door open a crack. Play him or trade him.
I don’t blame them.
BTW, Schultz sucks just as much in Pittsburgh as he did in Edmonton. Giveaways all over the place. He won’t last long.
Who would have saw that one coming? I am pleased with the season overall just because we no longer have to watch Jultz
OK – then trade him.
Something I think the Oilers need to work on is to get better at cheating. After watching Kesler blatantly interfere with Eberle in the first and no call, then clearly hold\trip Nurse on the power play that had Maroon up in arms. The good teams know how to cheat without being penalized. Not sure is this is a coached skill but it seems (maybe through my homer goggles) that the Oil just do not know how or when to cheat.
This becomes even more valuable in the playoffs when penalties are even tougher to come by. Go back to the Vancouver vs Boston series. If the refs called the games based on the rule book and not as ‘Game Managers” there would have been a constant parade to the box.
*As a side question was the offside call at the end of the game made by the same linesmen that Nurse nailed with the puck earlier?
Only reason hall was happy when Yak scored was because he got a point out of it….
I find it interesting that none of Canada’s sports station can take time to show the horrific offside call, but they do have time to show Maroon’s interview about taking the puck.
The ice is just too crowded. The only excuse that linesman has is that something obscured his vision (so, of course, he shouldn’t have called it). If better calls can be made by everyone in the stands, why are the linesmen on the ice? Why can’t they be in the stands? If they need to go out to break up fights, or drop the puck on a face-off, fine; go do your job. Most of the time there’s no reason why they need to be there. Players are always impeded by them; pucks often hit them. They don’t need to be on the ice.
Nice shot by Yak!
Wish we had seen more of like it through the years.
You guys and your 6 year vs 10 year arguments are all wrong. The Oilers have sucked since 1992-93.
Sure they made the playoffs for 5 straight (96-2000) in the Weight/CuJo years but 3 of those teams were under .500 and the other 2 were barely over .500. None of those would make the playoffs today. Even the magical ’06 run they literally sold the future to barely squeek into the playoffs and luckily rode a crazy hot old goalie who had never been better than a 1B starter before that.
One season had the team leader in points get 48 points. 48 points. No, it was not a lockout shortened season either. 48 points. You think it’s painful to watch the Oilers lately? Try that season.
For us old timers that remember the Cups, it has been a much longer road of misery. Hopefully they get some D and change that sooner than later.
Old timers that remember the cups shouldn’t complain you could be a fan of a team that’s never won like van or only won once like Calgary. Or the leafs and have a 49 year draught.
It was more stating facts than complaining.
Flames have basically sucked for just as long really. They like to think that just missing the playoffs more often than the Oil lately somehow means that they suck less. But really, missing the playoffs means you suck, period.
TRADE YAK AND POULIOT! TRADE THE MALL! I’m guessing those 2 as well as one or two of the 6 million dollar sexy boys will be gone this summer. I hope for 2. TRADE THE MALL!!!! Yak will no longer be welcome in Auston city limits. TRADEEEEE
in Auston we trust!