The Edmonton Oilers/All Things McDavid

bapo! · Post by **bapo!** » Thu Mar 30, 2017 8:47 pm

A loooong outlet pass from Talbot to Draisatl, to McDavid, to Maroon for the goal. Minutes later, a McDavid shorthanded goal. This brings me joy.

The Sharks jumping out to a 12-2 shot advantage brought me something other than joy, but things have stabilized. Hope you're enjoying the game, sancarlos.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Thu Mar 30, 2017 9:28 pm

bapo! wrote:A loooong outlet pass from Talbot to Draisatl, to McDavid, to Maroon for the goal. Minutes later, a McDavid shorthanded goal. This brings me joy.

The Sharks jumping out to a 12-2 shot advantage brought me something other than joy, but things have stabilized. Hope you're enjoying the game, sancarlos.

I'm watching. Not necessarily enjoying. McDavid very well may be the best player in the NHL.

Btw, I'm going to the April 6 game between these two, in San Jose.

bapo! · Post by **bapo!** » Thu Mar 30, 2017 9:46 pm

Had to give up on the game because that stream was murdering my computer. It's going to be nice when the playoffs start, and I can watch the games on my television. (Actually, free Center Ice next week, right?)

That April 6 game could be a big deal for playoff positioning. I'm sure that Anaheim and Calgary will have an eye on that game, too. Have fun.

bapo! · Post by **bapo!** » Sun Apr 02, 2017 8:58 am

The Oilers scored a late goal to tie Anaheim last night, then won in overtime. They've won 5 straight, and they're in first place with 4 games remaining.

McDavid factored into all 3 Edmonton goals last night. He now has a goal/assist in 40.7% of Edmonton's goals. That's insane.

Other notable players:
Brad Marchand 37.3
Patrick Kane 36.7
Brent Burns 34.8 (!)
Nicklas Backstrom 33.1
Sidney Crosby 31.9 (missed 6 games)
Auston Matthews 27.7
Dan Girardi 5.6

bapo! · Post by **bapo!** » Sun Apr 02, 2017 9:54 am

I wanted to compare those ^^^ percentages to other eras, when goalies were immobile and scoring was plentiful.

Gretzky from '82-'86 when he was scoring about 200 points per season: 50.8, 46.2, 46.0, 51.9, 50.5. Gretzky's hockey-reference page will make you weep. How were those numbers even possible? 92 goals in a single season?!

Anyway, it's never a good idea to start with Gretzky, because he'll just skew the results. Here are the percentages of the second-leading scorers from those years:

1982: Mike Bossy, 38.2
1983: Peter Stastny, 36.2
1984: Paul Coffey, 28.3
1985: Jari Kurri, 33.7
1986: Mario Lemieux, 45.0

Lemieux's 199-point season in 1989: 57.3!

This all just makes me wish that Gretzky was on television more when I was a kid.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Sun Apr 02, 2017 11:18 am

bapo! wrote:This all just makes me wish that Gretzky was on television more when I was a kid.

Ah, for the days of ESPN hockey. In the 1990s and early 2000s I felt like I knew Bill Clement and Gary Thorne. We saw Gretzky a lot in the early part of that run.

MaxWebster · Post by **MaxWebster** » Sun Apr 02, 2017 4:10 pm

bapo!, i love this post; my 11yr old has almost zero appreciation for anyone today because if/when i say "wow X has 400 career goals" she'll say "that's not any good...Gretzky had over 800" or "wow he might get 40!" it's answered with "um...that stinks. Gretzky got 92 one year."

i definitely feel lucky to have seen as many Oilers games as I did, having gotten CBC/CTV/CHCH all those years growing up pre-cable.

Crosby...McDavid...i (tell myself I) don't really care about individual awards but whoever doesn't win it this year is gonna be a bit hard done-by. not to mention Burns/Karlsson/Bob etc.

bapo! wrote:I wanted to compare those ^^^ percentages to other eras, when goalies were immobile and scoring was plentiful.

Gretzky from '82-'86 when he was scoring about 200 points per season: 50.8, 46.2, 46.0, 51.9, 50.5. Gretzky's hockey-reference page will make you weep. How were those numbers even possible? 92 goals in a single season?!

Anyway, it's never a good idea to start with Gretzky, because he'll just skew the results. Here are the percentages of the second-leading scorers from those years:

1982: Mike Bossy, 38.2
1983: Peter Stastny, 36.2
1984: Paul Coffey, 28.3
1985: Jari Kurri, 33.7
1986: Mario Lemieux, 45.0

Lemieux's 199-point season in 1989: 57.3!

This all just makes me wish that Gretzky was on television more when I was a kid.

rass · Post by **rass** » Mon Apr 03, 2017 11:10 am

rass · Post by **rass** » Thu Apr 06, 2017 4:28 pm

bapo! · Post by **bapo!** » Fri Apr 07, 2017 9:25 am

If I were attending a game, probably the worst result would be watching my team blow a third-period lead by letting Milan Lucic score a hat trick. Sorry, sancarlos.

An Oilers/Sharks first-round series is looking likely. That's probably the best possibility. It should at least resemble hockey. I tried to watch a few minutes of the Ducks/Flames game a few nights ago and had to turn it off. Let those two teams beat each other up in the first round. I'll take the Sharks.

Now we just wait for word on Joe Thornton's knee.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Fri Apr 07, 2017 10:39 am

bapo! wrote:If I were attending a game, probably the worst result would be watching my team blow a third-period lead by letting Milan Lucic score a hat trick. Sorry, sancarlos.

An Oilers/Sharks first-round series is looking likely. That's probably the best possibility. It should at least resemble hockey. I tried to watch a few minutes of the Ducks/Flames game a few nights ago and had to turn it off. Let those two teams beat each other up in the first round. I'll take the Sharks.

Now we just wait for word on Joe Thornton's knee.

Yeah, tough night. The Oilers were the better team all night, really. And seeing McDavid in person is sure worth the price of admission. The guy is everywhere, super fast, nifty playmaker, great shot. Maybe getting Couture and Thornton back will turn the corner for the Sharks, but I'm sure not putting any money on them in the playoffs.

bapo! · Post by **bapo!** » Mon Apr 10, 2017 8:52 am

I was hoping for a division title last night. Division titles don't mean anything to teams like Pittsburgh or Chicago, but they do to teams that go 11 years without making the playoffs. If Edmonton won last night and Anaheim lost, then Edmonton would win the Pacific. And for a while, it looked like it would happen. Alas, the Kings blew a third-period lead, Anaheim won, and the Oilers will have to settle for second place. Oh, well. As I said earlier, I much prefer playing San Jose in the first round of the playoffs anyway.

Edmonton closed out the season on a nice run. Last night's game was fun to watch. Final game before the playoffs, at home, playing well, an easy win vs. Vancouver. Eberle scored a hat trick.

And McDavid had a couple of assists to give him 100 points on the season. Big milestone numbers matter to athletes, and he was obviously pretty happy to reach 100. He finished 11 points clear of Crosby and Kane for the scoring title. (Crosby won the Rocket Richard for most goals. And Kane wasn't indicted for anything, so I guess he won something, too.)

bapo! · Post by **bapo!** » Mon Apr 10, 2017 10:27 am

So, it's going to be Edmonton/San Jose in the first round. I was going to break down the series using advanced metrics, but that's too much work and I don't understand that stuff too much anyway. So I'm just going to compare the two cities based on famous people who were born/grew up there.

Actors

Edmonton: Michael J. Fox, Leslie Nielsen, Tommy Chong. Best known for the 'Naked Gun' movies and other things.

San Jose: Dustin Diamond. Played Screech in 'Saved by the Bell.'

Advantage: Edmonton.

Musicians

Edmonton: kd lang. I almost bought one of her cassettes once. Didn't.

San Jose: Scott Weiland, Nikki Sixx.

Advantage: Tied at the end of regulation. Overtime: Stevie Nicks attended San Jose State University. Advantage: San Jose.

Members of 'The Kids in the Hall'

Edmonton: Bruce McCulloch. Sang a song about Daves.

San Jose: None. It's like San Jose isn't even trying.

Advantage: Edmonton.

Wrestlers

Edmonton: Chris Benoit. Best in-ring worker of all time. Murdered his wife and son before killing himself.

San Jose: Bayley. Drives a Toyota Corolla. Adored by 10-year-old girls and creepy older guys.

Advantage: Tied at the end of regulation. Overtime: Writer/Journalist Dave Meltzer is from San Jose. Advantage: San Jose.

Athletes

Edmonton: Too many hockey players to list.

San Jose: Peggy Fleming, Jim Plunkett, Dave Righetti, Brandi Chastain.

Advantage: Edmonton. It's a hockey series, so the edge goes to the hometown of Mark Messier and Jarome Iginla.

Academics/Intellectuals

Edmonton: Marshall McLuhan. Popularized the academic study of television and mass media. Gave us the line 'The medium is the message.'

San Jose: Dustin Diamond. Beat up the guy who played Horshack on an episode of 'Celebrity Boxing.'

Advantage: Edmonton.

So, there you have it. Looks like the Oilers will win in 6 games.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Wed Apr 26, 2017 11:08 pm

Bapo! You need this shirt.

bapo! · Post by **bapo!** » Wed Nov 29, 2017 6:47 pm

I'm dusting off this thread because I want to talk puck.

For the first few weeks of the season, I shrugged off the Oilers' losses as bad luck. They were out-shooting their opponents by a wide margin and seemed to be doing everything except scoring.

Now 25 games into the season, and they're still in 14th place in the West. Yes, they're only 5 points out of 8th place, but they have to jump over a lot of teams. Along with the usual suspects, Winnipeg is a lot better. Dallas might be better. And Vegas continues to do the unexpected. There are a lot of good teams ahead of the Oilers in the standings, and the playoffs aren't guaranteed.

Leon Draisatl has finally been split from McDavid and has centered his own line the past two games. Noteworthy because the Oilers won both games. Also noteworthy because Coach McLellan said after the most recent game, 'A lot of the time he just skates for Leon. Tonight he skated for his teammates.' I have no idea what's going on here.

I've seen Ryan Nugent-Hopkins' name come up in trade rumors. I'm trying not to think about this.

Hopefully they're all finished battling the flu and can start to stack some wins together.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Wed Nov 29, 2017 7:02 pm

RNH strikes me as a guy they're either going to give away or they're going to get someone to overpay on. I don't know that he has a dollar for dollar equivalent.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Wed Nov 29, 2017 7:11 pm

mister d wrote:RNH strikes me as a guy they're either going to give away or they're going to get someone to overpay on. I don't know that he has a dollar for dollar equivalent.

I think he's a talented guy, but needs to play with a real sniper because he is much better as a complementary player than someone to drive play himself. But if Draisaitl centers the second line, then does RNH move down to the bottom six? I could see why that makes him a possible trade piece because he's not a grinder or defensive specialist.

bapo! · Post by **bapo!** » Wed Nov 29, 2017 7:28 pm

mister d wrote:RNH strikes me as a guy they're either going to give away or they're going to get someone to overpay on. I don't know that he has a dollar for dollar equivalent.

Yeah, it's tough. Too much money for not enough production, which means that a trade is difficult. But McDavid's contract kicks in next year, and Draisaitl is already making big money. Nuge is going to get moved, but I didn't think it would be during this season.

I think he's a talented guy, but needs to play with a real sniper because he is much better as a complementary player than someone to drive play himself. But if Draisaitl centers the second line, then does RNH move down to the bottom six? I could see why that makes him a possible trade piece because he's not a grinder or defensive specialist.

As of now, Nuge is #2 and Draisaitl is #3. There's been a lot of line-shuffling, so who knows how long that will last.

govmentchedda · Post by **govmentchedda** » Thu Nov 30, 2017 10:05 am

@domluczyszyn at the Athletic had a (don't read this Oiler fans) article breaking down the what ifs of Chiarelli not making a few of his trades since arriving in Edmonton. Really sucks for McJesus.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Thu Nov 30, 2017 10:16 am

Speaking of that, the Devils keep collecting guys I like. Vatanen in for Henrique, who can go get fucked in hell.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Thu Nov 30, 2017 10:27 am

(I don't love it for the Devils. Hall and Johansson were steals, Vatanen is a guy I liked a lot more a few years ago. Make this Tyson Barrie and it would have fit the mould.)

bapo! · Post by **bapo!** » Thu Nov 30, 2017 10:36 am

mister d wrote:who can go get fucked in hell.

Not sure if I understand the anger towards Henrique. I'm disappointed that he's going to the Ducks, a team I strongly dislike.

The Devils are suddenly worth watching. A year ago, we were talking about how they were the saddest, most nondescript franchise in sports. Since then, they've added Nico Hischier and Will Butcher and have even won a few games. If they wore their red/green jerseys more often, I would be a fan.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Thu Nov 30, 2017 10:51 am

bapo! wrote:Not sure if I understand the anger towards Henrique.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1539&p=124993&hilit=henrique#p124993

bapo! · Post by **bapo!** » Thu Nov 30, 2017 11:09 am

Ah, so it's sports-hate, not hate-hate. I'll accept that.

govmentchedda · Post by **govmentchedda** » Thu Nov 30, 2017 11:46 am

bapo! wrote:
mister d wrote:who can go get fucked in hell.

Not sure if I understand the anger towards Henrique. I'm disappointed that he's going to the Ducks, a team I strongly dislike.

The Devils are suddenly worth watching. A year ago, we were talking about how they were the saddest, most nondescript franchise in sports. Since then, they've added Nico Hischier and Will Butcher and have even won a few games. If they wore their red/green jerseys more often, I would be a fan.

Agreed. They play fast as hell. They've become this year's Hurricanes, not so much in style of play, but amount of love from the hockey analytics community.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Thu Nov 30, 2017 12:22 pm

bapo! wrote:Ah, so it's sports-hate, not hate-hate. I'll accept that.

Oh, totally. I think he's in the Bozak "not a 2C on a really good team but underrated because a clear 3C is a valuable player" type.

bapo! · Post by **bapo!** » Thu Nov 30, 2017 12:48 pm

Anaheim is dealing with a bunch of injuries now. Henrique might have to center all four lines.

I like him a lot. And seeing him get moved unexpectedly while the Penguins are still getting by with Riley Sheahan and Greg McKegg at 3C and 4C is frustrating.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Thu Nov 30, 2017 1:21 pm

We all know it's "future 8 goals in 18 playoff games" Riley Sheahan.

bapo! · Post by **bapo!** » Thu Nov 30, 2017 1:25 pm

mister d wrote:We all know it's "future 8 goals in 18 playoff games" Riley Sheahan.

If he wants to follow the Nick Bonino model, I would be fine with that. Invisible for 70 games, then huge once March rolls around.

rass · Post by **rass** » Thu Nov 30, 2017 3:22 pm

mister d wrote:
bapo! wrote:Not sure if I understand the anger towards Henrique.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1539&p=124993&hilit=henrique#p124993

https://www.facebook.com/AdamHenrique14 ... 5891535289

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Thu Nov 30, 2017 3:32 pm

No joke, I scrolled up to delete that before realizing it doesn't work that way.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Fri Dec 01, 2017 12:22 am

https://twitter.com/JeffVeillette/statu ... 6676301824

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 3:27 pm

Eberle (11-9-20 in 27) for Strome (healthy scratch) is looking real good right about now.

bapo! · Post by **bapo!** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 4:26 pm

mister d wrote:Eberle (11-9-20 in 27) for Strome (healthy scratch) is looking real good right about now.

Yeah, that was a salary dump that looks worse and worse as the weeks go on. I've been waiting for Ryan Strome to happen for years, but he might be running out of time.

Eberle will probably score a couple of goals against the Penguins tonight, and I'll end up skating for Leon.

The Oilers lost to the struggling Flyers last night. Still in 14th place in the West. I don't know what the answer is.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 4:37 pm

I can't decide which "salary dump" was stupider, him or Stepan. Both were inexplicable.

bapo! · Post by **bapo!** » Wed Dec 05, 2018 2:45 pm

§ Oilers/Blues on NBCSN tonight. Anybody want to watch with me?

The Oilers have had about the year that I've expected. Their coach got fired, I can't tell the centers from the wingers, Lucic is still an albatross, and guys like Alex Chiasson have huge roles. They're a few points out of a playoff spot at the moment.

But McDavid is still worth watching every night.

§ Anaheim/Chicago is the second game of NBCSN's double-header. I'm looking forward to watching Dylan Strome on his new team. Now that Strome, Duclair, and Domi are gone, I am fully off the Coyotes bandwagon. (Well, I would be if it weren't for those sweet Kachina jerseys. Yes, I own one, of course.) Oh, well. It was a nice run. I will always cherish those years when I found them to be mildly interesting.

§ While I'm in the West, I'm enjoying the run that Patrik Laine is on. I think he's a little over-rated. (Other than guys like Ovechkin and Hall, I don't think that wingers should be in the 'best in the league' conversation.) But man, he's fun to watch when he's playing like this. Hard to argue against 11 goals in 4 games.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Wed Dec 05, 2018 4:17 pm

bapo! wrote: ↑Wed Dec 05, 2018 2:45 pm § Oilers/Blues on NBCSN tonight. Anybody want to watch with me?

The Oilers have had about the year that I've expected. Their coach got fired, I can't tell the centers from the wingers, Lucic is still an albatross, and guys like Alex Chiasson have huge roles. They're a few points out of a playoff spot at the moment.

But McDavid is still worth watching every night.

§ Anaheim/Chicago is the second game of NBCSN's double-header. I'm looking forward to watching Dylan Strome on his new team. Now that Strome, Duclair, and Domi are gone, I am fully off the Coyotes bandwagon. (Well, I would be if it weren't for those sweet Kachina jerseys. Yes, I own one, of course.) Oh, well. It was a nice run. I will always cherish those years when I found them to be mildly interesting.

§ While I'm in the West, I'm enjoying the run that Patrik Laine is on. I think he's a little over-rated. (Other than guys like Ovechkin and Hall, I don't think that wingers should be in the 'best in the league' conversation.) But man, he's fun to watch when he's playing like this. Hard to argue against 11 goals in 4 games.

I think you are spot on re the Oilers. I will be watching hockey, but it will be my schizophrenic Sharks tonight. Wonder which Sharks team will show up.

bapo! · Post by **bapo!** » Wed Dec 05, 2018 4:34 pm

Yeah, the Pacific is chock-full of disappointing teams this year. (Yes, Degen, we know that the Flames are good.)

Post by **brian** » Wed Dec 05, 2018 5:50 pm

bapo! wrote: ↑Wed Dec 05, 2018 2:45 pm § Oilers/Blues on NBCSN tonight. Anybody want to watch with me?

The Oilers have had about the year that I've expected. Their coach got fired, I can't tell the centers from the wingers, Lucic is still an albatross, and guys like Alex Chiasson have huge roles. They're a few points out of a playoff spot at the moment.

But McDavid is still worth watching every night.

§ Anaheim/Chicago is the second game of NBCSN's double-header. I'm looking forward to watching Dylan Strome on his new team. Now that Strome, Duclair, and Domi are gone, I am fully off the Coyotes bandwagon. (Well, I would be if it weren't for those sweet Kachina jerseys. Yes, I own one, of course.) Oh, well. It was a nice run. I will always cherish those years when I found them to be mildly interesting.

§ While I'm in the West, I'm enjoying the run that Patrik Laine is on. I think he's a little over-rated. (Other than guys like Ovechkin and Hall, I don't think that wingers should be in the 'best in the league' conversation.) But man, he's fun to watch when he's playing like this. Hard to argue against 11 goals in 4 games.

In STL for work and tried to get the guys to go to the game. Upper bowl tickets are $8 on Stubhub. No takers. Guess we'll just go to the bar.

bapo! · Post by **bapo!** » Wed Dec 05, 2018 5:58 pm

brian wrote: ↑Wed Dec 05, 2018 5:50 pmIn STL for work and tried to get the guys to go to the game. Upper bowl tickets are $8 on Stubhub. No takers. Guess we'll just go to the bar.

This is galling. Galling! Yeah, I know that the Blues are bad this year, but still. McDavid is such a unique player. Every sports fan should watch him when given the opportunity.

I was trying to think of similar athletes, guys who were must-watch because they did things that nobody else could do. I think Barry Sanders is a good comp. And sadly maybe a little too on the nose, because it looks like McDavid is going to spend his best years on a bad team with an inept front office.