Ekholm goes a long way towards filling the glaring gap on defence the oilers have had for years and years. And Kane made their biggest strength even stronger.
This is the first year where they’ve actually been “good”.
I’m not terribly worried about them winning the cup, because “good” doesn’t usually cut it.
The only way they go deep is if the referees keep giving them power plays at the most convenient possible times.
That’s not impossible, the refs did that for Vancouver in 2011 right up until the finals. But as soon as the games start getting called as playoff games (or even just called fairly), the Oilers are going to be out.
Calgary is out of the playoffs because of poor goaltending, and to a lesser extent because of Sutter’s lineup decisions in overtime. And that’s despite a lot of key players underperforming.
I think a change in goaltending (either by Markstrom returning to form or getting replaced as starter) is all this team needs to be on equal footing to the Oilers.
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I am a lunatic whose world revolves around hockey and Oilers hate.
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