Oilers Lose To Wild in a Shootout; I've Seen Worse
by ryanbatty on Dec 1, 2011 1:33 AM MST
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As a season ticket holder I can tell you that one of the first things I do when the schedule comes out is look for the must see games. I look for Saturday nights, games against Calgary, or rare visits from an Eastern opponent. What I do not look for are games versus the Wild. It's not that they're bad, it's that they're usually bad to the point of actually inducing sleep. And, while I can't speak for the fans as a group, I think I'm safe in saying that I'm not the only one with that opinion.
My preferences aside though Gary Bettman has decided that the Oilers will host the Wild three times each season. And while Mr. Bettman's ignoring of my wants doesn't exactly make me happy, tonight's game was much better than most that I've seen in this divisional match up, which should be seen as some sort of positive. There was a useless fight involving the most useless player in the Oilers lineup; a couple of nice goals by the home team; a blown two goal lead that included a goal from an ex-Oiler; and a six round shootout that ended with that same ex-Oiler scoring and the Wild winning by a score of 3-2.
I said it was better than most, I never said it was great.
Scoring Chances - Fenwick/Corsi - Head-to-Head Ice Time - Shift Charts
Box Score - Event Summary - Faceoff Report - Shot Report - Shootout Summary
From Hockey Wilderness - Minnesota Regressors vs. Edmonton Oilers: Game Recap
The first period started with the fight we all knew was coming - Darcy Hordichuk vs Brad Staubitz. I would tell you more about the fight itself but I tend to tune out fights that have zero point in the game that's being played. It took Hordichuk only 13 seconds of ice time to get into that fight which is good in that it means he didn't spend much time having to actually play hockey. After the fight Hordichuk played only three shifts the rest of the night, bringing his work for the evening to a total of 2:26, or as I like to look at it, less than half of the time he spent in the penalty box.
The Oilers got the first goal of the game when Andy Sutton fed a beautiful cross crease pass to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for his eleventh goal of the season. With a pass that good and Jordan Eberle in the area I just assumed that that the pass had come from him; imagine how surprised I was when I saw the replay. If you watch the replay even Eberle tells Sutton just how good the pass was.
The Eberle/Nugent-Hopkins combinations struck again in the second period, this time sans Sutton. Like the first goal the pass was a cross ice pass but this time Eberle was on the receiving end and that the goal game on the powerplay. Also different was how Eberle scored, rather that banging home a quick goal, Eberle went to the backhand beating Niklas Backstrom with a fantastic shot high to the blocker side. But it was all downhill from here.
Devin Setoguchi got the Wild on the board at the 11:31 mark of the second period when he knocked home a puck from the top of Nikolai Khabibulin's crease. Mikko Koivu and Dany Heatley, who is for some reason still getting booed by fans in Edmonton, got the assists on the goal. Just over three minutes later Kyle Brodziak pulled the Wild even when he crashed the Oilers net, forcing a puck past Khabibulin. The goal was reviewed to determine if Brodziak knocked it in with his arm, but was deemed good by Toronto.
The third period saw the quality scoring chances disappear as both teams seemed to play for overtime and the Gary Bettman point. With only one penalty called in the third period, a Theo Peckham roughing penalty, it was easy for both teams to get their single point wish. Overtime likewise produced no goals although the Wild had a number of good chances during the power play that resulted from a Ryan Smyth triping call.
In overtime Eberle and Sam Gagner each scored for the Oilers in their first three shooters. For Gagner it was his first shooutout goal since the 2008/09 season but it still wasn't enough to get the Oilers the extra point as the Wild countered with two goals of their own. The fourth shooters - Nugent-Hopkins and Setoguchi - both missed, followed by goals from Shawn Horcoff and Heatley forcing the shootout to a sixth round. After a Smyth miss, Brodziak had the chance to end the game against his former team. You know he won't pass that chance up; final score Wild 3 - Oilers 2.
News and Notes:
- Ryan Whitney caught Cal Clutterbuck with what I think was an intentional knee-on-knee hit in the first period. I would expect Bredan Shanahan to be on the phone to Whitney tomorrow, doubtful that would result in anything more than a game suspension though.
- Also best wishes to Darroll Powe who hit the Oilers open gate in the second period. It wasn't a play that was any ones fault but Powe didn't come back from the play although he did stay on the bench for a while. Hopefully his injury isn't too serious.
- With his goal tonight Brodziak now has eight points - four goals and four assists - against the Oilers in 16 games. If you think that his production seems slightly better against us than for us, you're right. In 175 games with the Oilers he scored only 57 points.
- Eberle had another great game for the Oilers tonight. I just can't say enough about him right now, his play is really impressive night after night. With two more points tonight he nows has 26 points on the season, good enough for a seventh place tie overall.
- And speaking of points, Nugent-Hopkins is one ahead of Eberle with 27 and is tied with Thomas Vanek for fourth in the league. That total now has him ten points clear of Craig Smith for the rookie lead.
- Lastly, just for fun, check out Hockey Wilderness' post game report. Good content but I have no idea why they're so preoccupied with this blog. If we were in the third grade I'd think they were in love with us.
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And I just noticed the Copper and Blue’s new slogan. I wish I could rec that.
Everyone knows rock attained perfection in 1974. It's a scientific fact.
Writer for The Copper & Blue and a frequenter of the time waster that is Twitter.
by ryanbatty on Dec 1, 2011 1:39 AM MST reply actions 1 recs
Wow…you weren’t kidding about their blog’s preoccupation. Looks like even some of the comments are taking swipes. But I regress, errr, digress. In other news…Boudreau is the new local coach. He’s gonna be hard to miss driving around the OC.
by SoCalOil on Dec 1, 2011 8:01 AM MST via mobile reply actions
Does anybody else hear that grinding noise?
by melancholyculkin on Dec 1, 2011 8:22 AM MST reply actions
RNH
Ryan, have you had a chance yet to admit you were wrong in your staunch position, and subsequent justification, of sending RNH back to Red Deer? CLEARLY he belongs in the NHL:)
A Side Note
Is there any way to block those insufferable Twit-esota fans from that last few days. I’m not always completely on board with the intense sarcasm of C&B but holy shit are those guys a bunch of human-donkey hybrids.
I know Ryan personally, he will never admit that he was wrong. Just the way he is. I bug him about this all the time. Not to mention that he wanted to draft Larsson 1st overall. And if Ryan was to chose a centre, he would have taken Couturier 1st. RNH wasn’t even an option for Ryan.
Since my argument wasn’t based on whether he could play at this level, which I said he could at the time, but rather the economic benefit of sending him back to Red Deer for a year I’m not wrong.
Everyone knows rock attained perfection in 1974. It's a scientific fact.
Writer for The Copper & Blue and a frequenter of the time waster that is Twitter.
by ryanbatty on Dec 1, 2011 9:09 AM MST up reply actions 1 recs
No, I stand behind my reasoning. I thought the exact thing about Hall last year. I’d rather have a controllable window through 26 than 25. RNH could win the Calder (damn I hope he does) and it won’t change my mind.
Everyone knows rock attained perfection in 1974. It's a scientific fact.
Writer for The Copper & Blue and a frequenter of the time waster that is Twitter.
I vote for c) wrong AND misguided. :)
I’d rather have a window through 36 than 26. Treat the guy fair and he’ll stick around. Treat him like money is more important than he is, and he’ll learn that lesson and stick it to you.
The “economic benefit” is a big stick – not a brilliant plan to use it to whack your future star.
But maybe we would be better off if Eberle and Hall were using this development year to develop chemistry with Belanger, eh.
Oilers fan through thick, thin and anorexic. Writer for The Cult of Hockey.
by Bruce McCurdy on Dec 1, 2011 9:41 AM MST up reply actions
I’d rather have a window through 36 than 26. Treat the guy fair and he’ll stick around. Treat him like money is more important than he is, and he’ll learn that lesson and stick it to you.
When his ELC expires exactly one team can offer him a six or seven year contract that sets him up for life. I really can’t imagine he’d turn it down just to stick it to us.
Everyone knows rock attained perfection in 1974. It's a scientific fact.
Writer for The Copper & Blue and a frequenter of the time waster that is Twitter.
by ryanbatty on Dec 1, 2011 10:04 AM MST up reply actions 1 recs
I completely agree. If he’s capable of playing in the NHL, and he clearly is, then it would be unfair of the Oilers to prevent him from doing so. Edmonton’s had problems in the past with star players not wanting to be here; making a decision that would make the team worse and hurt your future star for no reason beyond wanting an extra year of control over him is counter-productive.
Loyal fan of the Edmonton Oilers. Don't you judge me.
Jeff Petry was sent to OKC this season when it was clear he could play at the NHL level and was a better option than Barker, Peckham, and probably Sutton as well. How is that any different than sending RNH back to Red Deer?
Everyone knows rock attained perfection in 1974. It's a scientific fact.
Writer for The Copper & Blue and a frequenter of the time waster that is Twitter.
It’s not. I was against Petry going down to OKC and thought it was a stupid move.
I assume that the Oilers decided to do it because Petry wouldn’t have to clear waivers, but one hopes that if/when the entire defensive corps is healty again, it’ll be Peckham leaving before Petry.
Loyal fan of the Edmonton Oilers. Don't you judge me.
And in your mind, did it hurt Petry’s chances of staying in Edmonton long term?
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Obviously, there’s no way to know. Not really, would be my guess.
On the other hand, if everyone had stayed healthy (fat chance), and Petry spent the entire season in the AHL (which would be the equivalent to sending RNH back to junior for a year)? I’d think that would hurt the chances of Petry sticking around long term.
I think you pointed out a few months back that players are human beings, not just quantities to be traded back and forth. You were right, and a corollary of that is that a team needs to treat its players fairly.
Loyal fan of the Edmonton Oilers. Don't you judge me.
So which sort of player is more likely to stay – the one that gets his early and often but loses, like say, Ilya Kovalchuk, OR the one who has to wait a season or two and wins and wins and wins, like say, Pavel Datsyuk?
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
I think every player is different and it’s impossible to predict the specifics of a team’s needs and a given player’s development 6-7 years in the future. The only thing a team’s management can do is go out of its way to be as fair and consistent as possible in all its dealings with players, and hope for the best.
Loyal fan of the Edmonton Oilers. Don't you judge me.
by Ben Johnston on Dec 1, 2011 10:29 PM MST up reply actions
I don’t see how your view clashes with Ryan’s.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
I don’t want to speak for Ryan, but I think the only point we differ on is that I think the Oilers sending RNH down to junior when he’s able to compete at an NHL level would be unfair, and Ryan doesn’t.
Loyal fan of the Edmonton Oilers. Don't you judge me.
by Ben Johnston on Dec 2, 2011 10:49 AM MST up reply actions
Hockey is a business, fair doesn’t always apply.
Everyone knows rock attained perfection in 1974. It's a scientific fact.
Writer for The Copper & Blue and a frequenter of the time waster that is Twitter.
Well, Petry is a 2nd round pick 5 years out from his draft year trying to find his way. Due respect to him – I think he’s going to be a good player – but he’s at that part of his career where he’s clawing his way up through the ranks. He’s a very long way from a sure thing. And a decision to send him out can last a couple games – as it did – not an entire season. And to take a different decision at that time may well have cost the Oilers a player.
They are very different situations.
Oilers fan through thick, thin and anorexic. Writer for The Cult of Hockey.
by Bruce McCurdy on Dec 2, 2011 10:14 AM MST up reply actions
That’s kind of the point though.
Being good enough isn’t always a good enough reason.
In theory, there is little difference between practice and theory, but in practice there is!
Tactical contributor to the Copper & Blue and just as boring on the twitters... @dawgbone98
Being good enough isn’t always a good enough reason.
Well put.
Petry might not be the best comparable but what about another #1 in Fleury. The Pens sent him to the minors so they didn’t have to pay bonuses and it didn’t seem to turn him sour on the franchise.
Everyone knows rock attained perfection in 1974. It's a scientific fact.
Writer for The Copper & Blue and a frequenter of the time waster that is Twitter.
There’s a mighty big difference between an 18-year-old forward and an 18-year-old goalie. The only way to shelter the latter is to leave him on the bench.
Oilers fan through thick, thin and anorexic. Writer for The Cult of Hockey.
by Bruce McCurdy on Dec 2, 2011 10:49 AM MST up reply actions
His return to junior had little to do with sheltering him and everything to do with not paying him a $3M bonus. They damn near took money out of his pocket and yet when they put a long term deal in front of him he signed on the dotted line. I find it hard to believe anything different would have happened with RNH had he spent this season in Red Deer.
Everyone knows rock attained perfection in 1974. It's a scientific fact.
Writer for The Copper & Blue and a frequenter of the time waster that is Twitter.
Well, I’m glad you’re not GM of the Oilers, is all I can say. The team is much more exciting to watch with RNH in the line-up. They’re much more competitive. At 18 he’s already a strong favourite for the Calder. I cannot imagine he would be developing at a similar pace if he were in Red Deer. The best players belong in the NHL, and he has proven he belongs to say the least.
We gotta agree to disagree on this one, Ryan, our priorities are almost 180 degrees opposed. The whole purpose of the 18-year-old draft was that the best ones were both good enough on the ice, and old enough by law to play professional hockey for a living. There is 30 years of precedent of top 18-year-olds making the league, every single year. Yet you would deny this one?
Oilers fan through thick, thin and anorexic. Writer for The Cult of Hockey.
by Bruce McCurdy on Dec 3, 2011 1:57 PM MST up reply actions
It wouldn’t be a stretch to think admittance of fault would make this a more accessible place, lead to more hits, more followers and more advertising revenue would it not? Content wise C&B hit it out of the ball park on a regular basis but some of the occasional complaints about the… demeanor… of some writers may have basis. I’m not saying sell out all together but C&B could be huge(er). If this is not the goal I completely understand.
Wrong is a relative term.
Ryan based it completely on economics. If the Oilers fail to make the playoffs, that’s a cheap year of a contract gone off RNH’s rookie year. Hard to argue that, economically speaking, keeping him was a good move.
In terms of Larsson or Couturier, I think it’s important to recognize that both of them are having pretty good seasons as well, albeit in different circumstances.
For instance, Couturier is being used in a complete opposite manner to Hopkins. He doesn’t get PP time but he gets loads of PK time (Hopkins is the other way around). The majority of his starts happen in his own end (his Off-zone% is 36% while Hopkins is 71.3). This isn’t the type of role trusted to most 18 year olds.
Larsson meanwhile has played the role of Tom GIlbert in New Jersey (minus the PK). 1st pairing responsibilities including the best opposition.
Wrong is a subjective term. I was pretty wrong at one point last year when I said there’s a reasonable chance Seguin might overtake Hall at some point. This was when Hall had as many goals as Seguin had points.
This year though, that doesn’t sound so crazy. Lot’s can happen in terms of development.
In theory, there is little difference between practice and theory, but in practice there is!
Tactical contributor to the Copper & Blue and just as boring on the twitters... @dawgbone98
by dawgbone98 on Dec 1, 2011 9:26 AM MST up reply actions 1 recs
To be fair, I’m sure Ryan feels New Jersey and Philly should have sent their hot shots back too, irregardless :) of actual performance.
To me if an 18-year-old player is good enough, you have to give him that chance. The CBA model is broken, so fix it, but don’t take it out on the game’s young stars.
Oilers fan through thick, thin and anorexic. Writer for The Cult of Hockey.
by Bruce McCurdy on Dec 1, 2011 9:42 AM MST up reply actions
To be fair, I’m sure Ryan feels New Jersey and Philly should have sent their hot shots back too, irregardless :) of actual performance.
I do
To me if an 18-year-old player is good enough, you have to give him that chance. The CBA model is broken, so fix it, but don’t take it out on the game’s young stars.
Whether the CBA is broken or not (and I think it is) is beside the point. The teams that exploit the CBA to their benefit give themselves the best chance to be successful. That’s why GMs are in love with contracts that front end money and include seasons that will never be played to drop the cap hit, because they exploit the CBA to their advantage
Everyone knows rock attained perfection in 1974. It's a scientific fact.
Writer for The Copper & Blue and a frequenter of the time waster that is Twitter.
by ryanbatty on Dec 1, 2011 10:11 AM MST up reply actions 1 recs
To me the principle of growing the cluster is much more important than exploiting the CBA. This is a hugely important development year not just for the new kid, but for the kids that were already here. They are learning how to play together, and that will pay benefits down the line. In fact it’s paying benefits right now.
Oilers fan through thick, thin and anorexic. Writer for The Cult of Hockey.
by Bruce McCurdy on Dec 2, 2011 10:52 AM MST up reply actions
The Oilers are in 11th place and have lost 8 of their last 11 games.
I don’t know what the benefit to that is.
In theory, there is little difference between practice and theory, but in practice there is!
Tactical contributor to the Copper & Blue and just as boring on the twitters... @dawgbone98
by dawgbone98 on Dec 2, 2011 3:09 PM MST up reply actions 1 recs
I don’t think the poster’s talking about RNH, but the tone of the discussion in the last post-game thread.
SNN Sports - A theoretical Oilers blog (i.e. theoretically, I write stuff there). Link now 100% less broken.
Robertson's Rants - Exceedingly occasional, lengthy ramblings on hockey topics, hosted at Puck Podcast. And no, my name's not Doug.
I’m not sure what I want to see more at this point:
-A wholesale Minnesota collapse, resulting in like a 13th-place finish
-A Minnesota loss on the last day of the season to secure a 9th-place finish
-A first-place finish followed by a hilarious 5-game loss at the hands of, like, Colorado or some shit
by Passive Voice on Dec 1, 2011 9:37 AM MST reply actions 2 recs
A first-place finish followed by a hilarious 5-game loss at the hands of, like, Colorado or some shit
Close but I’d replace Colorado with Edmonton.
Everyone knows rock attained perfection in 1974. It's a scientific fact.
Writer for The Copper & Blue and a frequenter of the time waster that is Twitter.
by ryanbatty on Dec 1, 2011 10:12 AM MST up reply actions 1 recs
…and I’d replace 5-game loss with 4-game loss. ;)
Oilers fan through thick, thin and anorexic. Writer for The Cult of Hockey.
by Bruce McCurdy on Dec 2, 2011 10:09 AM MST up reply actions
it’s the hope. you have to give them a smidgen of hope, and then yank it away. it hurts more.
by Passive Voice on Dec 2, 2011 10:50 AM MST up reply actions
I’m not sure what I want to see more at this point:
All of the above. My disdain for all things Minnesota has grown exponentially over the last few days. I can’t imaging the rage I’d feel if it were I who had been trying to drill simple concepts into their thick skulls and deaf ears.
http://twitter.com/Tan976/status/142146893881937920
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Huh?
Everyone knows rock attained perfection in 1974. It's a scientific fact.
Writer for The Copper & Blue and a frequenter of the time waster that is Twitter.
What happened with secondary scoring? That’s a huge problem now. Oilers need at least 18 points in December (45 points by January 1, 2012) to stay in the race for the post-season spot. And that means winning 9 of 12 during this month.
Good thing Omark was sent to OKC and Paajarvi is spending time in the box, those guys couldn’t have provided any offensive help.
Everyone knows rock attained perfection in 1974. It's a scientific fact.
Writer for The Copper & Blue and a frequenter of the time waster that is Twitter.
Although they keep drafting Swedes I think it’s pretty clear they don’t actually like any except Lander. But that’s only because his name is Anton and they think he’s a Czech ;)
or black.
In theory, there is little difference between practice and theory, but in practice there is!
Tactical contributor to the Copper & Blue and just as boring on the twitters... @dawgbone98
Just perused through the Hockey Wilderness, and it’s incredible how their arguments are exactly the same as the one the Avalanche fans were using to argue Gabe. Just change the names and you would never be able to tell the difference.
A shame they don’t want to read back and learn a thing or two.
by DarrenV on Dec 1, 2011 2:13 PM MST reply actions 1 recs
It’s the same set of arguments Gabe faces on a regular basis. Look at his archives and the stuff he did on the Canadiens in the playoffs.
I wonder if Avs fans are going to bristle when we rave about the possession numbers for the Landeskog-O`Reilly-Winnik line? Are they going to tell us to watch the games?
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
It seems to me that they think we’re being negative just because it’s the Wild and that if the Oilers were in the same position we’d write endless stories how great the team is and that we will never be beat regardless of what the numbers say.
Everyone knows rock attained perfection in 1974. It's a scientific fact.
Writer for The Copper & Blue and a frequenter of the time waster that is Twitter.
But seriously I couldn’t help but read through a bunch of their threads as well and there are the odd few that seem to see the forest for the trees but the loudest/fastest typers are the ones dragging it out and throwing mud like this is a school yard fight. Be pissed off, fine, but it’s taken over half of their comments/articles to a point where whatever content they may have been presenting just seems tainted and pointless.
“the BEST team in the west” – by the standings
“the WORST team in the west” – by the possesion stats
I don’t see the problem with the title as it’s based but I would likely not enjoy reading it about the Oilers on a Flames blog.
I said I think stats are generally a better predictor of final position than early season point totals. That doesn’t mean I think the Wild couldn’t get the third seed in the West, it just means I think the stats will also be good if they do.
I read the one written by Xenai and this part stuck out as my exact thoughts on the whole thing.
I raved about them in my preview of the Devils-Avs game on Wednesday. I didn’t get any bristling and I would be confused ay any I would receive since it was praising the team. But then, who knows if any Avs fans read it.
As far as the Wild fanbase goes, well, their team will eventually fade. If Lundqvist can’t maintain a 94% save percentage at evens, then Backstrom isn’t (and neither of them ever did).
Devils in my heart! Devils in my mind! Devils in my eyes! Devils until I die!
In Lou We Trust - The New Jersey Devils SBN Blog
I raved about them in my preview of the Devils-Avs game on Wednesday. I didn’t get any bristling and I would be confused ay any I would receive since it was praising the team. But then, who knows if any Avs fans read it.
That was my point :)
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
That line is so fun to watch. When their shooting percentage comes around, they’re going to be silly.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Trying
I’m trying to pick up Winnik or O’Reilly cheap in a dyansty-esque fantasy league. Looking to flip them for a quick return either @ trade deadline or during off-season.
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