Wanna blog? Start your own hockey blog with My HockeyBuzz. Register for free today!
 

G34: Blues @ Oilers - Enough With The Non Calls

December 18, 2018, 4:24 PM ET [199 Comments]
Sean Maloughney
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
It was going to happen eventually. After playing some strong hockey over the past month, with hiccups during some periods, the Oilers played their first real stinker against Vancouver. The Canucks looked like the better team throughout the game, and the Oilers struggled to generate anything; most notably the McDavid line did not look sharp.

Part of the reason McDavid may have struggled to produce could have been because having to skate with 2-3 Canucks players on him at any given time. Luckily Edmonton was able to capitalize on all the powerplays they had.



Makes perfect sense.

Yes I am being glib, and yes the Oilers were not good enough, especially on the penalty kill, but it’s embarrassing how many calls go unnoticed against Connor McDavid. This isn’t simply about #97 either; the NHL is the only league in professional sports that doesn’t go out of it’s way to protect it’s star players. I’ve heard the comment before like “what are the refs supposed to do, call every hold and trip?”

Absolutely.

Call the game as the rules are written, don’t change the rules depending on who is playing who, or whether or not it is playoffs, or if it’s just “one of those game.” A hold, is a hold, is a hold.

“Obviously Connor is probably the fastest guy in the league, so sometimes you need to hold, grab him a bit. Sometimes it’s tough because you gotta slow him down a bit…. If I’m out there against him I’m gonna try to hold him”


That first quote is from Patrick Maroon, who will return to Rogers Place for the first time since signing with the St. Louis Blues. Maroon is an absolute beauty, and he was joking (mostly) around with the reporters with that last line, but the rest of the message resounds clear; players around the league know the only way to slow McDavid down is to hold and hook him... and most of the time they are going to get away with it.

“He’s not allowed to play give-and-go. It’s give-and-hold. So we’re going to have to figure out a way to fight through it. We’ll just play toughness with him and figure it out from there.”


That was what Ken Hitchcock had to say after the game and I have no issue with it, and vehemently disagree with anyone who thought he should be fined. Hitchcock stood up for his own player, he made a simple factual statement without condescending the refs, while drawing league attention to the issue. Whether or not it made a difference will be something to watch tonight.

---

LINEUPS

OILERS


Chiasson-McDavid-Draisaitl
Rieder-Nuge-Rattie
Lucic-Brodziak-Kassian
Caggiula-Khaira-Puljujarvi

Nurse-Larsson
Gravel-Jones
Garrison-Benning

Talbot

- A bit of a shuffle with Rieder and Rattie starting on the wing with Nuge. Rattie has been out a few games and gets a vote of confidence from his old/new coach by pairing him with RNH who he has shown chemistry with.
- I’m not wild about seeing Khaira and Puljujarvi on the fourth line, as I think the second line of those two and RNH were starting to hit their stride. It will be curious to see how the ice time plays out.
- Garrison plays again, which goes to show how much Hitchcock must hate Wideman.

BLUES

Schwartz-Schenn-Tarasenko
Steen-O’Reilly-Perron
Maroon-Bozak-Thomas
Nolan-Barbashev-Sundqvist

Edmundson-Parayko
Bouwmeester-Bortozzo
Dunn-Butler

Allen

Steen and Schwartz, who did not play last time these two teams met, will be back in the lineup for the Blues.

4 KEYS TO VICTORY

1) Something Different On The Penalty Kill. Glen Gulutzan is running the Oilers penalty killing unit to the tune of 25th in the league at 76.36%. Koskinen did not play like his usual self against the Canucks and let in some bad goals, but the team in front of him did not help. Edmonton has allowed 5 goals on the PK in their last 20, and are averaging 4 penalties a game. They need to be better.

2) Rattie Returns. Ty Rattie must have been groaning thinking, "here we go again," as he was once again the odd man out under Ken Hitchcock. Tonight, Rattie returns to the lineup and gets one of the big gigs on the second line. Hitch has said all the right things about Rattie, and how he believes he can be a top 6 guy. Now it is up to the player to show his coach he is right.

3) Some Shopping Time. That is what the Oilers players are getting this year for Christmas. Tonight marks the beginning of a 5 game homestand, over a 14 day period. Edmonton plays tonight, has three days off before playing Tampa, then four days off before playing Vancouver again. The extra breaks should give the players a much needed rest, but the staff needs to ensure players are ready for games as soon as the puck drops.

4) Make Parayko Look Foolish.
Plenty of rumours out there right now about the Oilers being interested in Colton Parayko. First off; so are 29 other teams in the league, and second if McDavid makes Parayko look like a pylon a few times tonight, maybe it becomes easier to acquire him.

---

FILM OF THE DAY


Too many times the refs have looked the other way when Connor McDavid gets hooked and tripped. I am not saying that refs who have done this are the same as dirty cops who let criminals run amok.... but it gives me a reason to pick a scene from Training Day. NSFW

Join the Discussion: » 199 Comments » Post New Comment
More from Sean Maloughney
» Oilers vs Kings - Round 1, Round 3?
» Oilers vs Jets - A WAY TOO EARLY Discussion about Trading Draisaitl
» Oilers Recent Floundering Show Failure To Address Real Issues
» Oilers vs Canadiens - Sorting Out The Blueline
» Oilers vs Caps - Blink and You'll Miss It