1 win in the last 7 games. Forget the focus on Ottawa, bring the spotlight over here! I was finally forced to log on to YouTube to remind myself what a powerplay goal looked like. 1 in the last 5 games for the Oilers.
EDIT: Ales Hemsky and Marc-Andre Bergeron were both benched for most of the 3rd period. Craig MacTavish's post-game comment on Ales Hemsky was that he "is treating turnovers like donuts. And tonight he had a dozen."
It’s time for a powerplay quarterback. The powerplay was non-existent again tonight and is now in a drought of 18 in a row without scoring. Not only did they not score tonight, but I’m not sure they had a shot in 6 opportunities….oh, and they gave up a shorty. It’s disorganized, there isn’t any chemistry and they’ve apparently become vulnerable against pressure from the opposition. A solid, patient presence on the back end that can make good plays and solid passes would work wonders I think.
I’m not sure what’s out there as far as trades go, but I’m sure somebody could use a Top 9 forward, 5/6 defenseman and/or a prospect. I’m starting to warm to the idea of giving up a Top 9 forward and Bergeron or a prospect for a Top 4 defenseman who can quarterback the powerplay. Sheldon Souray available?
That having been said, you can’t just point at special teams as the reason they lost the game. How could you? What about not registering their first shot on goal until the 2nd period? I didn’t envy Dwayne Roloson tonight. How about being terrible in face-offs, particularly in the defensive zone?
I thought Jan Hejda looked great tonight…he’s fit in quite nicely after sitting out the first 10 or so games. I didn’t like Ladislav Smid too much tonight, -2 with a couple huge turnovers…if it was up to me, I might take him out and put Daniel Tjarnqvist back in against Columbus on Friday and see how that goes.
There were a few positives tonight. They continued the physical play from last night in Montreal. They delivered numerous thunderous checks to Red Wing players. That’s one aspect that they absolutely need to incorporate into their game every night. They also blocked over 20 shots…that’s great, too. Last but not least, their giveaways were minimal tonight; I think probably the fewest giveaways they’ve had all year.
Concerning the Raffi Torres hit on Jason Williams…there was no doubt about the fact that it was a clean hit. He didn’t leave his feet, didn’t charge into him and caught him clean with the shoulder. I hope Jason is OK, and it’s bad luck that he got injured, but he deserved to get cranked. He came around the net with the wrap-around and got caught admiring his shot; if you have your head down in the NHL after you just played the puck…look out.
Columbus and St. Louis up next. Both teams are lower than the Oilers in the standings...4 points are required if they want to salvage the trip.
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