News & Notes Jan 29th Some Good & Some Really Bad

Last nights game vs the Leafs did not go as planned. At first I was very mad at this team for not executing and basically shooting themselves in the foot. Here are some examples of me being mad:

So ya I wasn't too happy. I think some of it may have been warranted. For example the PK. They went 2-4 which, sure, isn't horrible. What was horrible was Adam Larsson leaving two guys wide open in front of the net. William Nylander ended up scoring which wasn't considered a PP goal for the Leafs but it should've been. The penalty to Turris was at 16:22 and the goal came at 18:22? So really the PK went 1-4. Not great!!! It seemed like any time the Oilers got some momentum, they turned around and took a really dumb penalty! It just seemed like they took a one step forward and 2 steps back.

Koskinen had an ok game, I know he probably wants the Mathews game winner back. He wasn't screened and it slipped under his glove. I also KNOW he wants to have the first goal back where he went full Mike Smith and was stripped of the puck and didn't get back in his net on time. I can deal with the other goals and he actually made some very good saves down the stretch.

Some Good:

Like I said, it wasn't that bad of a game for the Oilers. They didn't really compete very well in the 1st period despite outshooting the Leafs. After that, they had a bunch of good chances and had it tied multiple times. The only players who were bad as far as Corsi goes were Adam Larsson(46.7), Slater Koekkoek (26.7), Devin Shore (16.7), Josh Archibald (7.1) & Joakim Nygard (0.0) All of those guys are bottom 6/bottom 4 players. Hell Even James Neal was 21-7 in team shot attempts when on the ice. I can't complain about that. The chances are coming, you just have to score on them.

The Bad:

Does it seem like the Oilers have no compete level on certain shifts? Especially on the power play, you should never be outworked on a power play. You have more players than they do! Somebody get in and fish the puck out! The Oilers had 7 opportunities and only scored twice, you have to be more efficient than that. I sent out a text to our Oilers group chat and said "Why does Tyson Barrie not move on the power play?" He literally stands there and watches the play happen or when he has the puck, takes FOREVER to make a play. He was brought in to make the power play better or at the very least make it comparable to when Klefbom was here. All I am asking for is a little compete in the team. I just feel like that is not too much to ask for.

The Really Bad:

The Oilers are 3-6 to start the game. Mikko Koskinen has started all 9 games and looks primed to start his 10th straight. The bottom six consists of slow players, older players and players who haven't done anything in this league. The defense seems like it needs a full Oil Change. Ken Holland needs to figure this out!! He brought in Kyle Turris to be the 3rd line centre and to help on the PK. At this rate he is for sure worse than Riley Sheahan and hasn't been what was promised. He also brought in Tyson Barrie on a "prove it" contract. So far he has proven that he can be a liability on the defensive end and cannot QB the power play like we thought.

What does it all mean?

I was very hard in the team after last nights loss. Yes some of it was warranted and some was not. I think this team is good enough on paper to be a playoff team. This team just needs some new bodies on the back end and some compete level in their game. Because right now, this team does not have it. This is a team with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. This team should not be 27th in the league. Figure it out, or this team will be living in mediocracy again.

What does this team need? A trade? Better goaltending?