The Copper & Blue - Edmonton Oilers @ Washington Capitals: Game CoverageA site for fans of the Edmonton Oilers. Someday we'll get to write about an Oilers playoff game. Hopefully sooner than later.https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/13253/copper-fave.jpg2015-01-20T21:41:27-07:00http://www.coppernblue.com/rss/stream/46000512015-01-20T21:41:27-07:002015-01-20T21:41:27-07:00Oilers steal second shootout victory in a row
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<figcaption>Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Oilers coach Todd Nelson has snuck one by his mentor, Capitals coach Barry Trotz, as the never-say-die Oilers have now taken two road wins in a row, both in the shootout.</p> <h1 id="Highlights">Highlights</h1>
<p><iframe src="http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/embed?playlist=731780" frameborder="0" width="640" height="395"></iframe></p>
<h1 id="first-period">First period</h1>
<p><strong>19:30</strong> At the whistle, is <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.japersrink.com/">Washington Capitals</a> coach Barry Trotz menacingly/creepily staring down <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.coppernblue.com/">Oilers</a> coach (and Trotz’ former Portland Pirates player) Todd Nelson? <br> <strong>18:12</strong> <strong>Capitals Goal</strong> <span>Alex Ovechkin</span> swoops in front of Victor Fasth with the puck and <span>Nikita Nikitin</span> and <span>Benoit Pouliot</span> both lunge after him, and Alex Ovechkin trips over their sticks. The ref raises his arm looking like Pouliot is about to take the tripping penalty. In that time Alex Ovechkin gets set up in his office, <span>Andre Burakovsky</span> picks up the loose puck on the boards and sends it over to him to bang in. <strong>1-0 Capitals.</strong> <br> <strong>15:25</strong> <span>Nail Yakupov</span> gets in the Capitals’ end, recovers the puck in the circle, protects it with his body waiting for help. Passes it back to Nikitin who misses it and the puck is back in the Oilers’ end. <br> <strong>14:30</strong> <span>Matt Fraser</span> ties up a Caps defenseman and the puck flips over to Lander who patiently waits for an opportunity. He takes it around the net but it is batted away on the other side before he can do anything with it. Still no shots for the Oilers. <br> <strong>13:30</strong> Hall, Nuge, Schultz, Nikitin try to get something going in the Caps end, but Caps not giving them much of a chance to set up. Hall and Schultz have a couple whacks at it but no serious chances. <br> <strong>12:13</strong> Alex Ovechkin shoots it into Fasth’s glove <br> <strong>9:56</strong> Alex Ovechkin goes for a skate with the puck around the the Oilers net for a good six seconds. <span>Mark Fayne</span> stays with him and keeps him to the outside. The puck is poked out of the zone. <br> <strong>8:44 Capitals Penalty</strong> - Interference. <span>Jordan Eberle</span> is driving to the net and is upended on a hip-check by <span>Jack Hillen</span>. Hall wiffs on the puck at the same moment. Interference penalty for Hillen. <br> <strong>7:45</strong> Oilers missing the net a lot so far. <br> <strong>6:49 Oilers Penalty</strong> - Interference. Nail Yakupov goes into the corner to retrieve the puck. <span>Joel Ward</span> goes in after him but Petry makes a smart play and picks Ward, standing in front of him, giving Nail Yakupov the space to skate away with the puck,. Petry gets caught doing it though. Interference penalty for Petry. <br> <strong>6:02 Capitals Goal</strong> Oilers on the penalty kill. Alex Ovechkin is set up in his circle. Mark Fayne looks aware of him but reluctant to leave the box formation in front of the net. <span>Mike Green</span> picks up the puck, passes it over to Alex Ovechkin who bangs in an easy one. Alex Ovechkin playing like he’s promised himself a hat trick today. He has 15 points in last 11 games. <strong>2 - 0 Capitals</strong>. <br> <strong>6:00</strong> Is Barry Trotz doing that staring thing again?! <br> <strong>5:09 Oilers Goal</strong> <span>Taylor Hall</span> does some great battling behind the net to get the puck out to Nail Yakupov. Yakupov shoots and <span>Derek Roy</span> picks up the rebound and pops it in <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/british-open">the open</a> side of the net. 2 - 1 Capitals. <br> <strong>2:26 Capitals Goal</strong> <span>John Carlson</span> pinches in, swats it over to the net, and <span>Jay Beagle</span> tips it in. Capitals applying a lot of pressure, showing strong puck possession, and Oilers really struggling to take break out of their own end. 3 - 1 Capitals. <br> <strong>00:10</strong> <span>Evgeny Kuznetsov</span> all alone gets a shot straight down the middle that seems to startle Victor Fasth</p>
<p>The Capitals have punched the clock and are getting down to business. They look very systematic in the way they maintain puck possession. They are controlling the game and getting set up positionally very quickly and effectively. Not only offensively, but defensively too. When the Oilers cross the blue line into the Caps end, they don’t get very far. The Caps are there to force a turnover every time. It looks like a typical Oilers’ first period - lifeless for their part.</p>
<h1 id="second-period">Second period</h1>
<p><strong>19:25</strong> Hall somehow gets the puck around two Cap defenders behind <span>Braden Holtby</span>’s net. <br> <strong>18:30</strong> Oilers showing a little more spunk in the Capitals end, but the Caps are still too much of a wall in their own end. <br> <strong>16:30</strong> Some back and forth, no great chances for either team. Taylor Hall is the most visible person on the ice. <br> <strong>14:50</strong> Both Mark Fayne and Derek Roy don’t have sticks. But they get the puck out. <br> <strong>14:10</strong> A solid thirty seconds of the Capitals controlling the Oilers’ zone. They only get a couple shots, nothing too dangerous, but the Oilers look helpless against the Capitals’ positioning and strength on the puck. <br> <strong>12:40</strong> <span>Teddy Purcell</span> carries it out but doesn’t know where to take it as everywhere he looks is a red shirt. <br> <strong>12:09 Oilers Penalty</strong> Mark Fayne loses an edge and falls behind Fasth’s net with Chimera floating around. He covers the puck with his hand and pushes it behind him so Chimera doesn’t pick it up. Refs call him for smothering the puck. <br> <strong>9:25</strong> Joel Ward streaks with the puck to the net. Tries to go to the backhand as Nugent-Hopkins gives him a shove from behind. Crashes over Fasth into the net, knocking it off its moorings. <br> <strong>8:02</strong> Victor Fasth makes a pretty cool glove save and gives an emotionless I-can-do-this-all-night look <br> <strong>4:49 Capitals Penalty</strong> <span>Anton Lander</span> pushes his way past <span>Tom Wilson</span>, manages a little deke and gets a shot off on Braden Holtby. Tom Wilson has his stick around him and takes a hooking penalty. <br> <strong>2:15</strong> Oilers get away with one as the puck bounces up to Alex Ovechkin who gets ahead of the Oilers defenseman. Puck rolls off his stick as he tries to shoot right in front of the net. <br> <strong>00:40</strong> Two-on-one Taylor Hall passes to <span>Ryan Nugent-Hopkins</span> who one-times it but Braden Holtby makes the save <br> <strong>00:08 Capitals penalty</strong> <span>Matt Niskanen</span> slew-foots Derek Roy. Roy in a bit of pain and goes straight the dressing room. Niskanen takes a kneeing penalty. Roy later comes back. <br> <strong>00:03</strong> <strong>Oilers goal</strong> Off the faceoff, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to Justin Schultz to Nikita Nikitin, who bombs it into the net. <strong>3 - 2 Capitals</strong></p>
<p>Well done on Nikita Nikitin’s goal off the faceoff. It looks like the only way the Oilers are going to score is from the outside as the Capitals are not giving them any room to make a play. The Capitals appear to keep bringing one forward down to play three men back defensively.</p>
<h1 id="third-period">Third period</h1>
<p><strong>17:32 Capitals penalty</strong> <span>Rob Klinkhammer</span> is in front of Braden Holtby. Matt Niskanen punches him in the back of the head and takes a roughing penalty. <br> <strong>15:30</strong> Derek Roy drops it back for Teddy Purcell who takes way too long to shoot and it is poked away. <br> <strong>13:22</strong> Capitals Goal Karlsson slaps it from the blue line and it is deflected by Backstrom who is right in front of the net. 4 - 2 Capitals. <br> <strong>12:50 Capitals penalty</strong> Nail Yakupov wins a battle on the boards and gets the puck over to Derek Roy but as he does <span>Karl Alzner</span> holds him, and the ref raises an arm. Derek Roy carries it into the Caps end and passes it to a streaking Yakupov who has caught up to the play and gets off a big shot that is deflected by Braden Holtby into the glass. <br> Karl Alzner holding penalty. <br> <strong>11:20</strong> Jay Beagle intercepts an Oilers pass at centre ice and skates directly into the Oilers’ corner and tries to freeze it by pressing the puck into the boards. Kills a good chunk of time. <br> <strong>10:45</strong> Jordan Eberle tries to skate in with the puck at the blue line near the boards and Jack Hillen levels him with a big hit. Eberle takes a few seconds to get up and goes straight to the bench. Eberle returns to the ice later. <br> <strong>8:37 Capitals penalty</strong> Rob Klinkhammer drives to the net and Jay Beagle gives him a little whack. Klinkhammer falls and slides behind the net. Beagle takes a (perhaps undeserved) tripping penalty. <br> <strong>7:10</strong> Ryan Nugent-Hopkins misses a shot that goes around the boards and <span>Justin Schultz</span> gets caught pinching forward on the play. Joel Ward skates up with the puck with Justin Schultz trying to get in his way. Ward makes a nifty move through Schultz’ skates and gets a snap shot off on Victor Fasth who makes a quick save. <br> <strong>6:20</strong> Nail Yakupov is mysteriously hurt and falls to the ice. Is back on the ice at 5:30. <br> <strong>4:11 Oilers goal</strong> Capitals go back into their corner for a casual puck recovery. Matt Fraser and Anton Lander both battle hard behind the net and knock the puck up to Teddy Purcell who wastes no time putting it in the top corner. <strong>4 - 3 Capitals</strong> <br> <strong>1:43</strong> Teddy Purcell blasts one from the blueline. Braden Holtby holds on with Nuge hanging around in front of them. <br> <strong>1:43 Oilers timeout</strong> Oilers pull Victor Fasth. Fasth yells at the team behind the bench again but this time we think it’s "cheering" <br> <strong>1:33</strong> <span>Jeff Petry</span> sends the puck by the blueline over to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins by the blueline who makes a great shot. Braden Holtby stretches across the net for an even better glove save. <br> <strong>1:25</strong> Nikita Nikitin sends in another big slapshot. He’s had a few of those. <br> <strong>1:07 Oilers goal</strong> <span>Benoit Pouliot</span> puts the puck over to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins behind the net. Nuge comes around the other side and seemingly harmlessly wrists it low along the ice, short side. It takes a weird bounce and ends up in the net. <strong>4-4 tie</strong> <br> <strong>00:08</strong> Rob Klinkhammer knows where the puck is going at the faceoff. More like a football defensive end off the snap he skates straight into Alex Ovechkin and prevents a shot.</p>
<h1 id="overtime">Overtime</h1>
<p><strong>4:27</strong> <span>Oscar Klefbom</span> sends one with direct line-of-sight into Braden Holtby from the blueline. <br> <strong>2:58</strong> Taylor Hall passes it across the front of the net to Matt Fraser but he can’t get his stick on it. Amazing battling again by Taylor Hall in their end. <br> <strong>1:42</strong> Jeff Petry yells for the puck at the red line by the boards. Jordan Eberle sends it over. Petry shoots and the pucks drops off Holby into the crease but it is cleared away.</p>
<h1 id="shootout">Shootout</h1>
<p><strong>Capitals: Evgeny Kuznetsoz Score</strong> <br> Oilers: Nail Yakupov Saved <br> Capitals: Nicklas Backstom Saved <br> Oilers: Jordan Eberle Saved <br> Capitals: Alex Ovechkin Saved <br> <strong>Oilers: Derek Roy Score</strong> <br> Capitals: Eric Fehr Saved <br> <strong>Oilers: Teddy Purcell Score</strong></p>
<h1 id="parting-shots">Parting shots</h1>
<p>The Washington Capitals had seven straight wins at home coming into this game and visually they were, by far, the better team.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, the Oilers outshot the Capitals 31 - 24. It would be nice if I could say the Oilers capitalized on the Capitals’ many penalties, but the truth is they didn’t. They scored on one powerplay out of a possible six.</p>
<p>If I were to surmise one thing, though, that made the difference for the Oilers is they won key battles on the boards which transformed into two of their goals. This was especially toward the final minutes of the game. Taylor Hall, Anton Lander, and Matt Fraser all did some good digging. Jeff Petry had a number of very smart defensive plays. He was very heads-up about getting in the way of the Capitals offense and he caught them on line changes at least twice.</p>
<p>Justin Schultz topped the Oilers in TOI, playing over 25 minutes.</p>
<h2 id="coming-up-next">Coming up next…</h2>
<p>The Oilers head home and take the week off for the All-Star Game before the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.hockeywilderness.com/">Minnesota Wild</a> come to town on January 27. Hopefully the Wild play former Oiler goaltender Devan Dubnyk. It’s been about a year since the Oilers moved him to Nashville in exchange for <span>Matt Hendricks</span>.</p>
https://www.coppernblue.com/2015/1/20/7864195/oilers-steal-second-shootout-victory-in-a-rowKen.Price2013-10-15T00:55:47-06:002013-10-15T00:55:47-06:00Three Goal Second Period Powers Caps Past Oilers
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<img alt="You can't stop Ovechkin, you can only hope to contain him. The Oilers didn't." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/9ViaLoj0-U4XVTAG7ZtMVQEvuuk=/270x0:3690x2280/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/21182367/184629240.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>You can't stop Ovechkin, you can only hope to contain him. The Oilers didn't. | Greg Fiume</figcaption>
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<p>The Oilers looked good in the early going tonight, but the wheels came off in the second period, and three goals from the home town Capitals in a four minute stretch was more than they needed en route to a 4-2 win.</p> <p>Just before 5PM Edmonton time, and for the second time in as many nights, I hopped in my car and headed to St. Albert for a Thanksgiving dinner. As a rule, I don't enjoy driving to St. Albert. Once I get there I'm fine, I'm with family and there's food, but getting myself out the door is never easy. Part of that is because I'm lazy. Another much larger part is that the traffic signals in St. Albert seem to have been designed with the primary goal being to drive me insane. You can't go three blocks without hitting a red light, and just for fun every intersection that could be signalized is.</p>
<p>A hidden benefit of these signals is that I can take the time while stopped at so many red lights along the way to explain to my wife how I would fix every intersection. I'm sure that on a normal night she loves this, but having made the trip last night I didn't think she would want to hear all my wonderful ideas for a second night in a row. So that was a big strike against this trip before we even got out the door. And to make things worse the <a href="https://www.coppernblue.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Oilers</a> were playing in Washington tonight, so I'd have to miss the game.</p>
<p>Or at least I would have had to miss the game were it not for a very smart person who invented the PVR, which as you may know allows a person to record live television and watch it later. Modern technology is just amazing. But it isn't always good. Thanks to Twitter mentions which were being pushed to my phone I had a bad feeling about the game before I'd even left my in-laws' house. And then, for some reason, <a href="https://twitter.com/ryan_batty/status/389924248019423232" target="_blank">I tweeted about that apprehension</a>. Your responses did little to help. In fact, they made things worse.</p>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">The Highlights</h4>
<p><iframe src="http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/embed?playlist=459292&site=oilers" frameborder="0" width="640" height="395"></iframe></p>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">The Numbers</h4>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.boysonthebus.com/2013/10/14/game-stats-oilerscapitals-oct-14/">Game stats from Boys on the Bus</a> -- <a target="_blank" href="http://www.extraskater.com/game/2013-10-14-oilers-capitals">Game Stats from Extra Skater</a> -- <a style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" href="http://www.shiftchart.com/" target="_blank">Shift Charts</a></p>
<p>As suggested by a couple of people on Twitter, things went pretty well for the Oilers in the first period. They held the Caps without a shot on goal until the seventh minute of play. And won the first period Corsi battle 17-13. They also scored the first goal of the game when <span>Justin Schultz</span> knocked down (only one replay was shown but it sure looked close to a high stick to me) <span>Mike Green</span>'s pass across the neutral zone to <span>Nicklas Backstrom</span>, then turned the puck up ice creating an odd man rush before passing off to <span>Boyd Gordon</span> who put the puck in off the post.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.japersrink.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Capitals</a> would draw even before the period ended when <span>Brooks Laich</span> scored. Leading up to the goal <span>Ryan Nugent-Hopkins</span> passed the puck to <span>Ales Hemsky</span> who was nearly straight in front of him, making it a tough pass to receive. Looking at the play a few times it almost seems as if Hemsky was surprised by the pass and was expecting Nugent-Hopkins to move the puck to <span>Taylor Hall</span> on the boards. Either way, Hemsky was unable to handle the pass turning the puck over to <span>Steve Oleksy</span> at the Oilers blue line. The turnover in itself probably isn't automatically a problem, but because J. Schultz had left Laich behind to join a rush that didn't materialize, Oleksy was able to simply toss the puck to Laich who beat Jason Labarbera with a wrist shot. Schultz needs to do a better job of picking his spots to be an offensive threat.</p>
<p>In the second period the Caps would score three times in less than four minutes to all but end the game. First Joel Ward scored on a cross crease pass from Backstrom 19 seconds into the Capitals first power play of the night. The goal was technically scored at 5-on-4, but coincidental minors had just expired so the goal was more or less scored during a 4-on-3 situation. Then after a long shift where the Caps top line of <span>Alex Ovechkin</span> - <span>Marcus Johansson</span> - Backstrom kept the Oilers top line skating in circles, Ovechkin finally ended the misery scoring his sixth of the season. And then <span>Troy Brouwer</span> put the game out of reach 14 seconds into the Capitals second power play of the evening. And just like that, the game was pretty close to over.</p>
<p>The Oilers responded by sending out the fourth line following the Caps fourth goal. And Gazdic tried to get the momentum machine working for the Oilers by dropping his gloves with Laich. But it takes two to tango, and Laich had no intention of getting involved with Gazdic at this point of the game with his team up three goals. The fourth line also started the third period for the Oilers which is a very strange choice given the fact that the Capitals had the last change. Gazdic and his running mate, <span>Mike Brown</span>, would eventually get into a bit of a stir after Ovechkin hit Brown in the back sending him into boards. Nothing more than minors came out of the scrum that followed though.</p>
<p><span>Will Acton</span> would score the last goal of the evening with 1:42 remaining. The goal - the first of Acton's career - was a tap in from the side of the net. Following the goal the Oilers played the rest of the game with Labarbera watching from the bench, but were unable to score one more to at least make the last few seconds interesting.</p>
<p>Final score: Washington 4 - Oilers 2. And with that the Oilers fall to 1-4-1. I wouldn't say that the team played terribly tonight, but they weren't very good either, and once again suspect goaltending and defensive breakdowns were big problem. Labarbera had no chance on Ward's goal but could have stopped any (or all of) the other three that got past him. In front of him <span>Ladislav Smid</span>, J. Schultz, <span>Nick Schultz</span>, and <span>Anton Belov</span> all had bad nights. The Oilers need to play a lot better than they did tonight if they hope to win games with any kind of regularity.</p>
https://www.coppernblue.com/2013/10/15/4840002/oilers-capitals-loss-4-2ryan_batty2013-10-14T21:25:08-06:002013-10-14T21:25:08-06:00C&B's Post-Game Questions for Dallas Eakins
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<figcaption>Greg Fiume</figcaption>
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<p>After another incredibly disappointing showing in their loss to the Washington Capitals on Monday night, the staff at Copper & Blue would like some answers.</p> <p>With the game in Washington in the books, and another lack lustre effort from the <a href="https://www.coppernblue.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Oilers</a> in a one-sided loss, the staff here at Copper & Blue have a number of questions. One thing that, to date, Dallas Eakins deserves full credit for as Head Coach of the Oilers is his forthrightness in addressing the media. Unfortunately, the current mainstream media does not see fit to challenge the coach, or really anyone about the decisions that are being made.</p>
<p>Dallas Eakins seems like a stand up guy. I actually believe that if he was posed these questions, he'd be willing to answer them. It's likely that we wouldn't necessarily agree on some of his responses, but we're incredibly curious as to what those answers might be.</p>
<p>If you're reading this, take the time to tweet a link to this post. Please, copy Dallas Eakins (@DallasEakins). Who knows, maybe if he receives it enough times, he'll address some of this stuff publicly, or at least second guess some of things being questioned in future games.</p>
<p>So, without further delay, Copper & Blue presents our post-game questions for Dallas Eakins:</p>
<ol>
<li> <span>For the last few games, the team has appeared to be drastically out of place in the defensive zone on numerous occasions. It's obvious that there is a commitment to applying puck pressure in the defensive zone, but it appears to be coming at the expense of sound full zone coverage. What are your plans for </span><span>addressing the positioning struggles associated with the swarm defence?</span> </li>
<li><span>What is the logic behind coming out of the second intermission, when down 4-1 and start your 4th line? Particularly when on the road and the home side gets last change with a fully rested bench?</span></li>
<li><span>There were multiple occasions when the Gazdic-Acton-Brown line was out against the Ovechkin line in the third period. What was the thought process behind that given the score of the game?</span></li>
<li><span>Despite the lack of success on the penalty kill, the team continues to employ a large number of the forwards, specifically some of the top offensive players on the PK. Has there been any thought given to reducing the number of players being used on the PK and consolidating the responsibilities around a smaller group to see if they can find success?</span></li>
<li><span>There appeared to be a shift in deployment tonight in that <span>Jeff Petry</span>, who is typically employed more in defensive situations, saw his PK time greatly reduced and played much more on the powerplay than he has in previous games. What was the impetus for that decision?</span></li>
<li><span>Given the defensive struggles of <span>Justin Schultz</span> this season, can you explain two consecutive healthy scratches for <span>Nail Yakupov</span> that are being justified by his play away from the puck while Schultz remains in the line-up despite his obvious struggles in that same area?</span></li>
<li><span>You preach accountability and praise <span>Andrew Ference</span> for being a professional who is showing the locker room how to win. How much responsibility does he have to take for the start?</span></li>
<li><span>Was it potentially a mistake to keep as many goaltenders in camp as the team did for a large part of the pre-season given how both of the organization's NHL netminders are struggling early in the season?</span></li>
<li><span>On a night when your top line was consistently losing the possession battle, which, to their credit, is uncharacteristic thus far in the season, did you consider rolling the <span>Mark Arcobello</span> and <span>Boyd Gordon</span> lines more in the third period to try and jump start the offense?</span></li>
<li><span>The Nicklas Backstrom - <span>Alex Ovechkin</span> line controlled much of the play when they were on the ice, but the Gordon line had great success against them. Was that a match-up you were looking for, and if so, how did the <a href="https://www.japersrink.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Capitals</a> avoid it so well?</span></li>
<li>Given that the two lines that were finding success in the most possession battle were the Gordon and Arcobello lines, and the team needed goals to get back in the game, it seems a curious decision to send the 4th line out on five separate occasions in the final 20 minutes, especially when the Caps were able to match them with the Ovechkin line multiple times during that stretch. With the need for immediate offence, why was the 4th line used so heavily?</li>
</ol>
<p>We may add to this list, but in the short time since the game has concluded, these are the ones that come top of mind to our staff.</p>
<p>We would genuinely love to hear responses to these and other questions by Dallas Eakins. There's a lot I like about what he has done thus far in the season, but he is continuing to make some of the egregious errors that Ralph Krueger made last season that contributed to such a disastrous season. It would be very interesting to know why he feels that his team can succeed by using some of the same strategies with which Krueger's team failed?</p>
<p>There are a number of improvements on this team between last year's group at the 2013/14 roster, but by not maximizing the opportunities by deploying the players in optimal situations, the team is re-living some of their past mistakes, and with their current struggles in their own zone, poor choices are something they cannot overcome right now.</p>
https://www.coppernblue.com/2013/10/14/4839430/copper-blues-post-game-questions-for-dallas-eakinsCopper and Blue Staff2013-10-14T16:30:04-06:002013-10-14T16:30:04-06:00Oilers v. Capitals - Deuteronomy 28:49-52
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<figcaption>Elsa</figcaption>
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<p>Yahweh will bring a distant team against you, a people you haven't seen in nearly two years, and they will descend upon you like vultures. It is a team whose strategies you will confound you, a heartless group that shows no respect for veterans and has no pity on rookies. Its top line will score at every opportunity, and you will be utterly destroyed. Even though it will have no impact on their ability to make the playoffs, they won't even let you take a single point in overtime. They will attack relentlessly until both of your goaltenders--the players you trusted to protect you from devastation--are disheartened puddles of tears. Yes, they will make all of the gifts that Yahweh your God has given you seem completely worthless.</p>
<p> </p>
<h4><b><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.coppernblue.com/">Edmonton Oilers</a></span> @ <span class="sbn-auto-link"><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.japersrink.com/">Washington Capitals</a></span></span></span></span></span><span class="sbn-auto-link"> </span></b></h4>
<p><b>Verizon Center, 5:00 p.m. MDT</b><br><b>Television: Sportsnet<br></b></p>
<p><b>Visiting Team Scouting Report: </b>The Capitals and Oilers are both off o a rough start this year, and much like the Oilers, the Capitals have really been struggling to keep pucks out of the net. The Oilers are tied for last in the NHL, allowing 5.0 goals per game, but the Capitals aren't far behind, sitting in a tie for 28th having allowed 4.0 per contest. Most of the problem is goaltending: <span>Braden Holtby</span> and <span>Michal Neuvirth</span> have combined for a lowly .891 even strength save percentage through five games (which is, of course, miles better than Edmonton's .856). The Capitals are almost certainly going to get better goaltending going forward, and when they do, they're probably going to win a lot of games.</p>
<p><b>Expected Lineups:</b></p>
<p><b>Edmonton Oilers (1-3-1):</b></p>
<p>Hall - Nugent-Hopkins - Hemsky<br> Perron - Gordon - Joensuu<br>Smyth - Arcobello - Eberle<br> Gazdic - Acton - Brown</p>
<p>Ference - J Schultz<br>Belov - Petry<br>Smid - N Schultz</p>
<p>LaBarbera</p>
<p><b>Washington Capitals (1-4-0):</b></p>
<p>Johansson - Backstrom - Ovechkin<br> Laich - Grabovski - Brouwer<br> Chimera - Fehr - Ward<br> Erat - Beagle - Wilson</p>
<p>Alzner - Green<br> Urbom - Carlson<br> Schmidt - Oleksy</p>
<p>Holtby</p>
<p><b>By The Numbers:</b></p>
<ul>
<li> <span>Ryan Smyth</span> scored two goals in Edmonton's last game against Toronto after spending the night before that as a healthy scratch. The last time Smyth scored twice in one game? November 10, 2011 in a 6-3 loss to the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com/">Boston Bruins</a>. After that game, Smyth had scored 16 points in his first 15 games of the season. Things haven't been quite so rosy since, so it was great to see Smyth potting a couple at least one more time before he calls it quits.<br>
</li>
<li> Since the trade that sent <span>Martin Erat</span> from Nashville to Washington, the Czech winger has just three points in eighteen regular season and playoff games. It's the kind of thing you might normally attribute to bad luck, but Erat has taken just fourteen shots on goal in those games, and he now finds himself on Washington's fourth line. Had he been a free agent, this would be considered wildly disappointing. That the Capitals gave up <span>Filip Forsberg</span> for him just makes things that much worse.<br>
</li>
<li> On the one hand, I think it's important not to blow Devan Dubnyk's poor performance out of proportion. It's just four games, and everyone plays poorly from time to time. On the other hand, Dubnyk's .829 save percentage over four games is the worst four-game stretch of his career. His previous low of .839 came in the first four games he ever played. I still don't think that makes it time to panic, but it's clear that this level of performance isn't acceptable, even in short stretches. <br>
</li>
</ul>
https://www.coppernblue.com/2013/10/14/4838438/oilers-v-capitals-deuteronomy-28-49-52Scott Reynolds2013-10-14T12:20:37-06:002013-10-14T12:20:37-06:00Oilers @ Caps Preview
<figure>
<img alt="Everybody who's playing tonight, take one step forward. Not so fast, Nail." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/eY_2yEjilr-cZ0f3rNnOO1_H-9w=/0x299:4000x2966/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/21158325/165220230.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Everybody who's playing tonight, take one step forward. Not so fast, Nail. | Perry Nelson</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Nail Yakupov is banished to the press box for the second straight game as the Oilers look for their first road win of the year. </p> <p><a href="https://www.coppernblue.com/" class="sbn-auto-link"></a></p>
<center>
<table border="2" align="center" style="text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr>
<td><center> <img width="96" height="125" src="http://cdn2.sbnation.com/assets/2140285/Nuggets.gif" class="photo" alt="Nuggets"><br id="1381721786029">
</center></td>
<td><center> <b></b>
<h1 align="center">@</h1>
</center></td>
<td><center> <a href="http://cdn1.sbnation.com/imported_assets/1857061/Washington_lions_1943.png"><img width="125" height="126" src="http://cdn2.sbnation.com/imported_assets/1857061/Washington_lions_1943_medium.png" class="photo" alt="Washington_lions_1943_medium"></a> </center></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"><b>1-3-1, 0.6 p/g<br></b></td>
<td>Ranks</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><b>1-4-0, .4 p/g</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">Western Conf: 14th</td>
<td></td>
<td style="text-align: center;">Eastern Conf: T-13th</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">25th</td>
<td>P/G</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">T-27th</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">16th</td>
<td>ST</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">3rd</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">16th</td>
<td>ES</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">21st</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">29th</td>
<td>Goal</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">25th</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
</center>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br><b><b>5:00 p.m. MDT</b><b> | Sportsnet<br></b></b>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><b>Verizon Center</b></b><br><a href="http://www.tiqiq.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers-tickets/?brandid=sbnation_coppernblue" target="_blank">Tickets</a><br>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><br></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>The opposing view</b>: <a href="http://japersrink.com/" target="_blank">Japers Rink</a>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><br></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"></div>
<h3><b>Top Story:</b></h3>
<p><span>Jason LaBarbera</span> will get the start tonight for the Oilers in relief of <span>Devan Dubnyk</span>. Wheels have all but fallen off for Dubnyk, who has had an abysmal start. Dubnyk has yet to win a game this season, going 0-3-1 with a 5.43 GAA and an astonishingly bad .829 SV%. The Oilers generated five goals against the Leafs on Saturday night. Can they get a solid night from LaBarbera and two points in the standings?</p>
<p><span></span></p>
<p><b>Yak Attack</b>: <span>Nail Yakupov</span> was scratched last game. Not surprisingly, Nail Yakupov wasn't happy about being scratched last game. Fast forward to the present, and now Nail Yakupov is bolting for Russia. <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/IgorEronko/status/389718068881944576">Wait, what?</a></p>
<p>Igor Larionov (Yakupov's agent) says there's "not a single one (thought)" about that. We'll wait and see if the media machine has already set sail.</p>
<h3>
<b>The Oilers are saying</b>:</h3>
<blockquote>
<p>"I really liked our group of forwards last game. We'll stick with the same group"</p>
</blockquote>
<p>That's Oilers coach Dallas Eakins, <a href="https://twitter.com/EdmontonOilers/status/389768553466826752" target="_blank">on keeping Nail Yakupov out for a second consecutive game.</a></p>
<p>I, uh. Well then.</p>
<p>Without going into thirty paragraphs about how playing the same fourth line is a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad idea, let's just say that keeping one of the more electrifying players out of your lineup isn't my idea.</p>
<p>Who am I kidding? Sitting one of your electrifying players while icing a fourth line of Gazdic-Acton-Brown is stupid and contains carcinogens known to cause cancer in the state of Caifornia. It's game six, and a team that had some serious trouble scoring Thursday against <span>Peter Budaj</span> and the rest of Montréal is sitting one of their best players. I hope Coach has something up his sleeve.</p>
<h3>
<b>The Opponent is saying</b>:</h3>
<blockquote>
<p>"We're not big statistical people because sometimes the numbers are skewed"</p>
</blockquote>
<p>-- <a href="http://dumpnchase.monumentalnetwork.com/2013/10/13/caps-host-oilers-hope-to-halt-three-game-skid" target="_blank">Capitals coach Adam Oates</a></p>
<p>Numbers are bad, guys. Numbers can get skewed, especially if you've watched whatever the hell we've been watching over the past near-decade.</p>
<p><b>Key matchup:</b> <span>Mikhail Grabovski</span> against anyone on the Oilers. Grabovski has five points so far in this young season. At 3M cap, he would've sure looked good in an Oil-oh, who am I kidding, our centre situation is awesome.</p>
<h3><b>Expected Lines & Pairings:</b></h3>
<p align="center"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span>Taylor Hall</span></span></span> - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - <span class="sbn-auto-link"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span>Ales Hemsky</span></span></span><br><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span>Ryan Smyth</span></span></span> - <span class="sbn-auto-link"><span>Mark Arcobello</span></span> - <span>Jordan Eberle</span><br><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span>Jesse Joensuu</span></span> - <span class="sbn-auto-link"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span>Boyd Gordon</span></span></span> - <span class="sbn-auto-link"><span>David Perron</span></span><br><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span>Luke Gazdic</span></span></span> - <span class="sbn-auto-link"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span>Will Acton</span></span></span> - <span class="sbn-auto-link"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span>Mike Brown</span></span></span><br><br><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span>Ladislav Smid</span></span></span> - <span class="sbn-auto-link"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span>Jeff Petry</span></span></span> <br><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span>Andrew Ference</span></span> - <span class="sbn-auto-link"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span>Justin Schultz</span></span></span> <br><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span>Nick Schultz</span></span> - <span class="sbn-auto-link"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span>Anton Belov</span></span></span> <br><br><span class="sbn-auto-link">Jason LaBarbera</span><br><br>Scratches: Nail Yakupov, Phillip Larsen</p>
<p>The <span class="sbn-auto-link"><a href="https://www.japersrink.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Capitals</a></span> expected lineup based on recent practices and updates:</p>
<p align="center"><span>Marcus Johansson</span>- <span class="sbn-auto-link"><span>Nicklas Backstrom</span></span> - <span class="sbn-auto-link"><span>Alex Ovechkin</span></span><br><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span>Brooks Laich</span></span> - Mikhail Grabovski - <span class="sbn-auto-link"><span>Troy Brouwer</span></span><br><span>Jason Chimera</span> - <span class="sbn-auto-link"><span>Eric Fehr</span></span> - <span class="sbn-auto-link"><span>Joel Ward</span></span><br><span>Martin Erat</span>- <span class="sbn-auto-link"><span>Jay Beagle</span></span> - <span>Tom Wilson</span></p>
<p align="center"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span>Karl Alzner</span></span> - <span class="sbn-auto-link"><span>Mike Green</span></span><br><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span>Alexander Urbom</span></span> - <span>John Carlson</span><br><span>Nate Schmidt</span> - Steven Oleksy</p>
<p align="center"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span>Braden Holtby</span></span></p>
<p align="center" style="text-align: left;">A victory tonight will hush the masses if ever so slightly. Heck, Jason LaBarbera might play two in a row if he cleans house tonight.</p>
<p align="center" style="text-align: left;">If the Oilers lay an egg, look out.</p>
<p><iframe width="325" height="200" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/9AlH2oYedfk" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
https://www.coppernblue.com/2013/10/14/4835976/edmonton-oilers-washington-capitals-game-6-previewJeff Chapman2013-10-14T09:00:04-06:002013-10-14T09:00:04-06:00On Scratching Nail Yakupov
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/rAGDnrTKo1f1ZW4pQ6Fph1PL_vo=/30x97:3167x2188/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/21146709/20130228_lbm_an4_175.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>How can we best alienate an extremely gifted young talent?</p> <p>On Saturday night, Edmonton head coach Dallas Eakins decided that it was a good idea to make <span>Nail Yakupov</span> a healthy scratch. It seems obvious to me that this was a terrible idea. Not only is Nail Yakupov miles better at playing hockey than several <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.coppernblue.com/">Oilers</a> who did play Saturday, it's also difficult to understand how this might pay dividends longer term. <a href="http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/hockey/edmonton-oilers/Yakupov+fumes+under+coach+rules/9033031/story.html">Joanne Ireland grabbed some quotes from each of the parties yesterday</a>, so let's see if looking at those helps this to make some sense.</p>
<p>First, let's look at what Eakins had to say about what he hoped to achieve with the scratch:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The kid's passion is to score and he was just going to take it all on himself to do that. I don’t care how good you are, you can’t produce by yourself in this league. You have to use your linemates, so it was more of a reset button for him. He can come in fresh with a new perspective.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Sounds possibly constructive if Yakupov buys in. Of course, it's tough to see how Yakupov is going to look at things that way when you know that...</p>
<blockquote>
<p>he takes it real personally when things aren’t going his way.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Shockingly, Yakupov seems to have taken it personally, and this "opportunity" to hit the reset button had him venting about some of the things that the new coaching staff has asked him to do:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’m not happy about it. I just want to play every game. I’m going to play my game. I’m not going to change but maybe play better without the puck, or forecheck more, but I love playing with the puck. I really don’t like skating all the time, and forechecking, and <a href="http://www.mc79hockey.com/?p=6363">hitting somebody every shift</a>. I don’t think it’s my game.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Doesn't exactly sound like a man who's loving his relationship with the new coaching staff. And now today we've got <a href="http://lowetide.ca/blog/2013/10/oilers-at-capitals-g6-13-14.html">Lowetide pointing out some Twitter quotes from a legit Russian journalist about Yakupov potentially heading home</a>. With an IIHF suspension on the way if he leaves before his entry-level contract comes to an end, I can't imagine Yakupov leaving Edmonton anytime soon, but that kind of sentiment in the air is exactly what you don't want to have happen.</p>
<p>Nail Yakupov is a tremendously gifted hockey player, and I'm sure that Dallas Eakins wants him to be great. Sending Yakupov to the press-box seems like a terrible way to approach that goal.</p>
https://www.coppernblue.com/2013/10/14/4836998/nail-yakupov-healthy-scratch-back-to-russiaScott Reynolds2013-10-14T08:30:00-06:002013-10-14T08:30:00-06:00Devan Dubnyk's Start
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/9AX_pRDSjlU-LQep7tUncahctzg=/73x0:3926x2569/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/21146647/184239724.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Abelimages</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Chart, chart and more charts!</p> <p><span>Devan Dubnyk</span>'s poor start has unleashed a torrent of reactions among fans, ranging from asinine to vitriolic and every highly charged emotion in between. Calls to sign <span>Ilya Bryzgalov</span> and <span>Mathieu Garon</span>, trade for <span>Brian Elliott</span>, trade for <span>Robin Lehner</span>, and a number of other crazy ideas have come from all corners of the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.coppernblue.com/">Oilers</a>' fanbase.</p>
<p>However, odds are that a goaltender of Dubnyk's talent level will suffer through a period of .833 goaltending at even strength over 84 shots*. It's not a likely event, but it's not improbable, either. Below is a detailing the probability of Dubnyk's performance thus far if we establish his real talent level to be ~.913 at even strength. The x axis shows save percentage over 84 shots, while the y axis details the probability of Dubnyk's save percentage over that sample.</p>
<p><i>Click on the image for a full-sized chart.</i></p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://cdn1.sbnation.com/assets/3387363/Dubnyk_s_probability.png"><img alt="Dubnyk_s_probability" class="photo" src="http://cdn1.sbnation.com/assets/3387363/Dubnyk_s_probability.png" height="346" width="559"></a></p>
<p>Note that for a goalie of his talent level, the probability that he would perform at .833 or worse is 1.3%. On the other hand, the probability that Dubnyk would perform at .988 or better is .4%. <b>This means Dubnyk was more likely to give up 14 goals on 84 shots than he was to give up just 1 or no goals on 84 shots.</b></p>
<p>As poorly as he's played, there remains the issue of tipped goals. Dubnyk's been victimized 3 times by his own teammates, Jason Labarbera has been victimized once in one game. I'd be surprised if tipped goals were anything but pure luck, so they're bound to happen to all goalies (ask the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.japersrink.com/">Capitals</a> goaltenders), but if Dubnyk's 3 tipped goals in 3 games were to happen in January rather than the start of the season, the conversation would be much different. Edmonton might have two wins and though Dubnyk's .870 save percentage would still be a topic for discussion, the "end of the world as we know it" approach to the discussion might have a different tone.</p>
<p><i>*There's something very interesting about a 4 game stretch where a goalie has a better short-handed save percentage (.840) than his even strength save percentage (.833), which Dubnyk has so far this season.</i></p>
https://www.coppernblue.com/2013/10/14/4836946/devan-dubnyks-start-unexpected-but-not-improbableDerek Zona