GDB 67.0: Creating a competitive culture
By Jason Gregor
8 years ago
The Oilers have finally created a competitive culture. Todd McLellan didn’t mince his words after an uninspired effort vs. 4-1 loss to Ottawa on February 23rd. He was disappointed. He was concerned about the spirit of his group, but he was also very blunt when I asked how they eliminate the major errors, “Maybe we get rid of some players,” he said.
Within 72 hours Justin Schultz, Teddy Purcell and Anders Nilsson were traded, and two days later they acquired Patrick Maroon and picked up Adam Pardy and Adam Cracknell on waivers. General Manager Peter Chiarelli didn’t make a blockbuster deal, but the moves he made continued his transformation of the Oilers and it grabbed the attention of his team.
The Oilers competitiveness during the last five games has been the most consistent and highest I have seen in years. It is a welcome change.
They lost the first two games to Anaheim and Los Angeles, but they were in those game. They didn’t make egregious mistakes that cost them the game. They simply lost to better teams. The Oilers still need to add a few more pieces to their puzzle before they can beat the top teams in the Pacific division, but they weren’t outclassed. They matched the work ethic and desire of the Kings and Ducks, and if it wasn’t for some great saves from Jonathan Quick in the first period of the Kings game, they might have won.
Most importantly they showed their coach and themselves that if they work hard, and smart, they can be competitive.
They played a solid game versus the Islanders on Sunday, defeated the Sabres on Tuesday and shutout the Flyers last night for their third three-game winning streak of the season. They only had two win streaks of three+ games last year.
The wins are a bonus. I was more impressed with their overall effort, attention to detail and battle level. The Oilers are simply a tougher team to play against right now for a variety of reasons.
Connor McDavid’s skill is a handful for opposing teams. He creates plays all over the ice. Taylor Hall, Leon Draisailt and Jordan Eberle are also high-end skill players. They Oilers have skill, but Chiarelli has surrounded them with some complementary players with size.
Zack Kassian, Patrick Maroon, Darnell Nurse, Matt Hendricks, Pardy and Cracknell are big, and play regular shifts — Kassian and Maroon can even play in the top-six, which means the Oilers won’t get pushed around anymore.
The Oilers are standing up for one another, they are unified, and it’s great to see. On multiple occasions last night we saw them not back down from the Flyers. When Wayne Simmonds knocked Hall down on a line change, Maroon jumped right in, as did Adam Pardy and the other guys on the ice. Late in the game Kassian thought Gudas was trying to take liberties with Hall and quickly went after Gudas.
The Oilers had the game in control, but they didn’t back down from the Flyers. I loved watching Kassian. He starts the melee, losses his helmet, his eyes wide open looking crazed, and he just kept searching for someone to grab or push. It was so refreshing, an attitude the Oilers haven’t had for years. And his teammates were right in the mix. He wasn’t a freedom fighter. Good teams stand up for one another.
The other benefit of the new beefed up lineup is the Oilers can now attack teams in different ways. McDavid and Hall scare them with speed on the rush, but Maroon and Kassian can create chances off the boards or down low. Midway through the first period, Maroon held of Flyers defenders, controlled the puck down low and eventually bulled his way to the net. Having different skill sets, and different sized players, makes the Oilers more difficult to defend.
Eberle and Draisailt can beat teams with their stickhandling, Yakupov is unique because he has skill, but he also isn’t afraid to agitate and doesn’t back down. They possess different dimensions and that makes them harder to defend.
After watching this team lose the same way year after year, the past five games have been a refreshing change. Chiarelli has changed the dynamic of the team. Schultz did not compete hard enough, and when he lost his confidence he was a giveaway machine. He needed a change, but so did the Oilers. I’m not blaming the past woes on one player, but this team needed to alter the make up of their team. You don’t win with just skilled players. You need players who possess different types of skills and Chiarelli has done that.
There is still lots of work to do before they become a playoff team, but it’s nice to see them finally moving in a direction which makes you believe becoming a contender is possible. The attitude of this group is slowly changing and it’s great to see.
LINEUPS…
Matt Hendricks will be a game time decision. He blocked a few shots and is questionable. I think Pakarinen will play regardless, so if Hendricks can’t go, I’d guess Cracknell comes out. Adam Clendening struggled, so there is a chance we could see Nikita Nikitin.
Laurent Brossoit gets his third NHL start. He is 0-1-1 with a 1.45 GAA and .964sv%. The Oilers have only scored one goal in each of his two starts. He needs some goal support tonight.
QUICK HITS…
- I was incorrect in stating Jordan Eberle missed a shift after the Cal O’Reilly goal versus Buffalo. He didn’t. The reason why, I suspect, is because his wasn’t the only mistake on the play. McLellan spoke about the responsibility for the forwards on the backcheck. The first guy back is supposed to take trailer, not follow puck carrier. Yakupov was first back and went to the puck carrier. This doesn’t excuse Eberle — he still could have got to O’Reilly. Someone from the team reached out to me to point out there was no missed shift and that is likely why. My dumb error for suggesting he missed a shift.
- The Oilers’ competitiveness has been great the past few games, but they will need to cut down on their shots against. Cam Talbot has been incredible the past five games, and his pad save on Giroux on the PP early in the second was a game changer. If the Flyers scored then, it could have completely changed the game. The Flyers dominated the first 12 minutes of the second, but they couldn’t score and then Hall and Maroon scored to give them the 3-0 lead. Talbot has been lights out lately, which is great, but it also a reminder this team still needs to improve their defensive zone play.
- Talbot has faced 174 shots the last five games (34.8/game) and he’s only allowed six goals. You can’t expect him to maintain a .965sv%, but it is good to know he can play that well. I liked his contract extension when he signed it, and it is looking better all the time. He is the 24th highest paid goalie in the league, but playing much better than many getting paid more.
- The Blue Jackets are 7-2-3 since the Oilers spanked them 5-1 on February 2nd. Joonas Korpisalo will get the start for the 13th time in their last 14 games. The 21-year-old has made the most of his opportunity since Bobrovsky was injured. Bobrovsky is out another 2-3 weeks. He’s suffered three different groin injuries this season.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING…
Players to watch…Who else, really?Keep your eyes on McDavid – and that’s not an easy task when talking about a player with such game-breaking speed.The 6-foot-1, 190 pound center has scored 12 goals and added 19 assists for 31 points in 28 games played this season. After missing three months with a broken clavicle, McDavid has gotten back up to speed quickly and is becoming a must-watch player every single night.In his first game back since the injury, he posted a three-point night (one goal, two assists) in the aforementioned game on Feb. 2 against the Blue Jackets. In his last five games, he’s tallied three points (two goals, one assist), with both goals coming earlier this week in Buffalo.
TONIGHT….
GAME DAY PREDICTION: The Blue Jackets haven’t played since Monday, while this is the Oilers fourth game in six nights. Fatigue becomes a factor, but the Oilers gut out a 4-3 victory.
OBVIOUS GAME DAY PREDICTION: Eberle scores a goal. He has eight goals in 15 career games versus the Blue Jackets.
NOT-SO-OBVIOUS GAME DAY PREDICTION: ***Clendening is scratched so we had to change our NSODGP.** Mark Fayne is the only R shot Dman in the lineup. He sees this as a glorious opportunity to stand out and he registers his first road assist of the season.
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