I think what we are seeing, especially from some players, is their Corsi/advanced stats are starting to catch up with them.
In the case of Wideman/Russell, their on ice results seem to echo their possession numbers from last season. I think Russell especially looks over matched. He isn't as quick as he appeared to be last season, and his passing isn't as crisp. Don't look now, but Russell has more minuses (-5) than shots (4) on the season. I've given Wideman a ton of heat on this board since he arrived, but Russell is the one dragging that pairing down.
Last night's game turned on the lack of finish from Backlund. On the same shift, he missed an open net and then failed to make any kind of play at all on a high percentage 2-1 opportunity. A minute or so later, the puck was in the back of Calgary's net and the Oilers were pumped and used that momentum to roll to victory.
Hudler, Backlund, Russell aren't players that are going to get it done for Calgary if the ultimate goal is winning a Stanley cup. Hopefully this start to the season has cooled down contract talks with Russell and Hudler because signing them based off the season's they had last year would be a huge mistake for this organization.
I won't get into Giordano too much because he's earned a bit more leeway, but the early returns for him aren't good for that contract extension. I hope he turns it around.
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