Kevin Lowe Defends Katz / MacTavish

A couple points:

1. The Oilers are not in the middle of a playoff race. That was a week and a half ago. The St. Louis Blues passed the Oilers a long time ago.
2. Kevin Lowe, you were disappointed with how that one game went. The fans are disappointed with how the whole season has been: characterized by inconsistency.

Yes, there is a lot of negativity on the Oilogosphere. Some of it isn't warranted. A lot of it is.

15 indications that your team is in trouble:

You know your team is in trouble when ...

1. Ladislav Smid is considered one of your veteran D-men.
2. You have to start your 39 year old goalie in 33 straight games and for 60 or more games in a season - even IF he is your best player.
3. You're in the middle of a playoff race and the 39 year old goalie is your best player. No offense to Roli though, he's been great this season.
4. Jason Strudwick is the guy you pair with Theo Peckham.
5. MacTavish gives the nod of confidence to Zach Stortini in the final minutes over everyone else who couldn't deliver. Good goal Zach my boy, good goal.
6. You have less 2 million cap space and your team cannot compete.
7. You're 77 games into the season and you can't afford to play your backup goalie even though your starter is dead tired.
8. Your team flatlines after the 1st period in a must-win game.
9. You run out of scapegoats. Can't blame 'em if they're sitting in the pressbox.
10. The team needs more defensive grit and you call up Taylor Chorney. Doesn't make any sense to me when Roy, Young, and Taylor waiting to go.
11. You can win all the games except the must-win games.
12. MacTavish has lost the room and the administration are willing to hang him out to dry.
13. Ryan Stone is the second best player on your farm team and he was the sweetener in a goalie dump deal.
14. Your farm team is in last place in the entire league.
15. Kelly Buchberger is next in line for the head coaching position - and he took the Falcons to a stellar non-playoff finish in his AHL stint.

The Oilers should just pack it in because the way they are playing it looks like it anyway. Sure, we'll here some chivalrous response about "playing until the bitter end" of the season regardless of the fact that they called it quits a long time ago. I harken back to the 5 game losing streak that followed the 4 game winning streak back in October. The lack of consistency this season is glaring.

So now is not the time to boast about the values of the professional hockey player because frankly, if you're not going to make the playoffs, it would be nice at least to get a decent draft position in the upcoming draft. Spots 1-7 are all great players. Hell, the Oilers should call up Jordan Eberle and Rob Schremp and let them play out the season with a team not called the Falcons. Schremp is most likely trade bait this summer and it might be a fit farewell for a highly touted prospect who pouted about not getting his chance. And who knows, Eberle might have some of that magical spark left over from the World Juniors that the Oilers need. Plus, with the Falcons in last place, it might serve Eberle and Schremp better to play 5 games with a team where the games matter than spend the next week with a team that hasn't done anything well consistently all year.

Am I talking about the Falcons or the Oilers ... you ask?

Sorry, I'm not sure which team I'm talking about anymore. But the point is, however slim the chances - the Oilers can still make the playoffs. If the 4th line is the only line that looks like it gives a shit though, then the Oilers have nobody to blame but themselves. That "the fans are the 7th man on the ice" crap was horrible and it almost seemed like they were blaming the fans for not enough support. Fan support has been disproportionately high, I would argue, for a team that hasn't earned it. We've supported this circus for a few seasons now and our promises have not been delivered upon.

The fans aren't asking for a Stanley Cup. We just want to see a team that competes. Is that so much to ask for?

Oilers ask for more support from fans

What do you think of this? It sounds almost desperate.

I don't mind supporting the team: I've done it all year for every season I've followed them. But the Oilers should show the desperation on the ice - not on the internet. Best of luck to the Oilers.

It's that time of year ... or is it?

The playoff spot is no longer the Oilers to lose ... it's there's to earn and defend. They're not playing like a team trying to solidify their grounding in late March, they're playing like a team ready to get out the golf clubs for early April. Their lack of intensity is disgusting.

Where have my Oilers gone?

Puck Battles

Now that's what I call battling for the puck.

What the Edmonton Oilers need to start doing is winning those puck battles - along the boards, in open ice, in front of the net, or behind the net. With a little more intensity in game situations, the Oilers would avoid a lot of the problems they have right off the bat. If they attack the zone of movement (and I'm not suggesting a left-wing lock or puck-side attack here) depending on the team they're playing, they wouldn't be chasing the puck so much.

Examples:

Problem: Detroit is a passing team that likes to set up the one-timer or the tip-in on-the-go during the offensive rush. The only time they really shoot from the point is if they can get a screen in front of the goalie.
Solution: This won't always work, but it will make Detroit's life a living hell - send two forecheckers in to flush out the puck, cover the passing lane for the other two and keep the defense fairly deep to cover the dump-ins. If all else fails, tie up the puck along the boards, instead of trying to ring it around the boards like some have tried ...

Problem: Minnesota has a short-handed chance that has promise. What do you do?
Solution: It doesn't matter that Sam Gagner is out of it and still in the offensive zone. Your numbers advantage on the PP means that you will attack the puck carrier head on because his passing options are limited. Standing pat with your stick waving around as if you were a NHL 09 video game character reveals the lack of intensity.

Sure, you can look at the example I gave about Minnesorta and you can say it was a nice pass and nice shot - but the real honest truth is that the Oilers were flat-footed on the powerplay. When you see a short-handed chance and the other team's individual players outworks your team's individual players, you have to commend them. But if two of the other team's individual players outworks your entire PP unit you have an accurate measure of their intensity, desire, and perhaps that's a good measure of how the Oilers coaching staff prepares them for these kinds of important situations.

Now that's a Captain

I take it back, Ethan:

“We didn’t have the urgency to score goals we needed and it was obvious,” said Moreau. “It’s really frustrating. I thought we’d respond better, but we didn’t. It’s not everybody. There were guys who worked really hard, but we didn’t have enough. It wasn’t enough. I’m not going to make excuses. That wasn’t good enough. We need more through our line-up.”

You heard him Tambellini, make it happen.

The Desire Element

So the team and its depth is supposedly the most solid at all positions that it's been in years. Probably at the defensive and goaltending situations, though we could improve our goaltending by moving a guy. But all these questions about intensity, consistency and desire. Was it a good move letting Smyth walk and taking Nilsson, O'Marra, and Plante in return? Did we ever replace that grit and desire element that Smytty brought to this team?

The only players truly answering the bell in the intensity department: Hemsky, Penner (at times), Visnovsky, Souray, Gilbert, Grebeshkov, Smid, Cogliano, Moreau, Roloson

We've seen starts and spurts from the other players but its coupled neither with offensive production or prolonged consistency, injury or otherwise.

And furthermore - don't you think its time to make this JDD's team? We have two starters playing like backups. They might as well be backups.

And damn, what happened to the bull in a china shop we were supposed to be getting in Erik Cole? He showed up for half a game against the Vancouver Canucks in October and that was it.

Disgusting

This is Mike Ricci. The only thing uglier than Mike Ricci, in the entire game of hockey, past, present or future, is this Oilers squad and their poor excuse for what would normally be called puck control. A perfect example was this ridiculously disgusting 9-2 loss to Chicago.

This wasn't a hockey game. This was the Oilers - a highly paid bunch of skilled players parading around on a 60 minute penalty kill with no consistency, intensity, or desire.

The Oilers came off of a 3-0 win against Vancouver, the Northwest division leaders, on Saturday night. Craig MacTavish called it the Oilers best game of the season.

I recommend he get his eyes checked.

Let's keep it in perspective here. The Vancouver Canucks very blatantly went on air and called it their worst game of the season. I think they're right. They have been handing our asses to us so far this season and they will continue to do so the next time we meet them. Roberto Luongo is still injured. Two of the goals against Curtis Sanford were somewhat flukey. The Dustin Penner goal was the result of hard work but easily could have been a routine save 99% of the time. The Robert Nilsson goal was a classic cherry pick and even he admits (TSN) that he had no idea what he was doing back there.

No offense to Bobby Nilsson, but the Canucks passed the puck right to him.

Subtracting those two flukey goals, we're sitting at a 1-0 win without Roberto Luongo in net. What's the score if he's in net? 0-0 going into a shootout?

Furthermore, if we can't outscore the Canucks by more than 1 legitimate goal with the Saviour Luongo himself out of the lineup, there's no way we will win games when we play a team with their #1 goalie in net and playing on top of their game.

We saw that tonight against Chicago.

What's the difference you ask?

Let's see here...

needless panic - sometimes the safe play is the easiest play

wayward passes: if your passes don't go to someone, they're not going anywhere except the other way as an odd-man rush into your own goddamn zone

we're chasing the puck, not playing the man

we're going where the puck is - not where the puck is going to be

the penalty kill continues to be atrocious

no intensity, no desire, no anything

we're not skating - just watching Sam Gagner and Ethan Moreau turn the puck over inside our own blue line makes me sick to my stomach

not challenging passing lanes: we're not only screening Garon and Roloson, we're also letting people pass the puck in circles around us

hitting to hit - not hitting to gain possession of the puck: if you're playing physical without using it as a means to the end (acquiring the puck) you're just wasting energy and time

we're not utilizing our team mates well: guys are chasing their own dump-ins, and their linemates are trailing badly and not providing any puck support whatsoever leading to clumping and odd-man rushes in the opposite direction

and why are guys beating us to loose pucks in our own D-zone?

Trust me. We did not beat the Canucks because we played well nor did we lose to the Blackhawks because of their stellar play. Let's be honest here. The Oilers have no puck control, no puck support, panic more often than they should, and make outlet passes to nobody. We played bad against the Blackhawks and the Canucks played worse on Saturday.

Nor is the team using common sense. MacTavish sat Penner for parts of the third and opted to play Cole on the 1st line again.

Remember? That experiment failed miserably. It's not like it's Penners fault that the Oilers suck. You can't put him back in the pressbox and expect the whole team to haul ass.

The same goes with putting Gagner back on the 2nd line. Last time I checked, people get benched for lack of performance. But no, on this Oilers team, you split up lines that play well in favour of the poster boy Gagner. We had a line which was producing - the Schremp-Cogliano-Pouliot line - remember them? Gagner couldn't keep up with the Cogliano's and Nilsson's if his life depended on it. When MacTavish started playing the kid line against tougher competition this season it became clear which component on that 3-piece line was underperforming: Sam Gagner. Cogliano and Nilsson have both seen time on other lines and performed. Gagner hasn't performed anywhere this season. Bench his ass.

But hey, if we're gonna play like this for the rest of the season, let's just trade away our pending UFAs and sit tight until Jonathan Tavares is ours. Otherwise, fire this whole defunct administration which has no clue when it's time to pull the trigger, starting with Kevin Lowe and Craig MacTavish.

That is, unless you want to watch more peewee crap like this for the rest of the season, because I'm sick of watching the Craig MacTavish's, Kelly Buchbergers, and Kevin Lowes get promotions for mediocrity.

P.S. I'm sorry I had to do that Oilers, but it had to be said. Fire your coach and move on.
P.P.S. Ales Hemsky, Lubomir Visnovsky, and Ladislav Smid played well tonight, on a night that will go down as the worst game the Oilers played in recent history.



"It was the 125th consecutive regular season game to sell out in Edmonton."

How much longer?

Intensity

Gagner crashing the net - now that's intense.

There's a couple of players who need a little more intensity on this team:

Gagner

Brodziak

Strudwick

Penner

Penner was playing very well after MacTavish called him out. He scored a goal against Vancouver, but for the most part has been a bit sluggish with the puck. Strudwick's fighting is a plus but as a forward he needs to get in on the forecheck and frustrate his opponents. Often times I see him hanging back when he should be pressing. But I also noticed this of Smid when he was playing F. A natural consequence of filling dual roles of F and D, I guess.

What happened to the Gagner of 2007? If he can't find his scoring game right now I would suggest he should do more of the little things to get back on track:

throw the body to frustrate his opponent

crash the net

score on the empty net

That last one is a bit cheesey - I know it depends on MacT putting him out there to defend a lead in the dying minutes, which probably wouldn't happen.

Gagner's no Esa Tikkanen, but just because he's not producing on the scoreboard doesn't mean he should get frustrated - he should take it out on the other team.

And good things come to those who crash the net. Rebounds. Deflections.

And perhaps, with some confidence, we can see the same Gagner who was deking out opponents last year.

Maybe.