[PGT] Oilers 7, Flames 4 -- Nadir

[Strange Brew]

You do have to wonder if the Wideman issue with the referees is going to be a storyline all season.

Flames were one of the last penalized teams in the league last year. Won't be hard to see if that changes.

[the_professsor]

I can excuse sloppy play from Elliott and many of the players as it's just the first game, the coaching though is worrisome.

"Rust" isn't an excuse for the line combinations or game management that was on display in that game. Wideman out there for 4 v 4 hockey?? C'mon man

[ClubFlames]

A good coach should know how to match lines at home and on the road. Just because we played on the road doesn't excuse Gulutzan for not doing his job. Awful D pairing was another one that should have been so painfully obvious, I don't know why he thought it was a good idea to have a slow defenseman on each pairing. I didn't have much of a problem with Wideman, thought he was decent but he's strictly a 3rd pairing/PP specialist now.

Elliot channeled his inner Hiller, hopefully it was just to remind us what we went through last year and starting game 2 he will show us what he is truly capable of.

Ferland needs to be the agitator that we thought he would be watching him in the playoffs against Vancouver. I know he can't do that every game but I don't know if he needed more of a reason to crush the Oilers in their new barn on opening night.

Grossman. Puke.

All in all, I'm waiting to see what game the team responds with and what type of game Gulutzan coaches on Friday. Hopefully this awful dmen experiment ends.

[BigFlameDog]

Looked exactly how you would expect a game where there is a 45 minute delay due to back patting for the home team. Home team gets a lift from the crowd, visiting team looks like they hit snooze 5 times before getting up.

But....Wideman is done, can't keep up anymore, at all. Agree that that would have been a Kevin and Kulak game.

[Wiggum_PI]

Originally Posted by calgaryblood

Monahan isn't good enough defensively to be going up against other teams top lines. He might have said it but he better learn to adapt and not be stubborn or we will be in a hole we can't dig ourselves out of very soon.

He was pretty good in the face off circle though, 10 for 16, 62%

[DuffMan]

Elliot, Grossman, refs. hoping things improve from here on in.
Also seems McDavid is a bit of a diver the way he flopped himself into the net, when Hamilton nudged him, either that or he is incredibly weak on his skates.

[Sainters7]

Another big takeaway that I'm sure has already been mentioned is Wideman is definitely going to be a target for refs all year. Man that penalty shot call was soft

[JerryUnderscore]

Obviously the D pairs were terrible, but as have been mentioned there were some positives to the game. The special teams looked really great. We outshot the Oilers considerably (although some of that could have been due to the Oilers trying to lock it down in the third period).

The first line obviously needs to rebuild chemistry. Mony one got into a single pre-season, Johnny none, Versteeg didn't play with the team. Give them some time to start gelling and it will happen.

Hopefully we see better D pairings tomorrow night.

[skudr248]

Well I just woke up super hungover.

Thought last night was just a bad dream. ####.

[ClubFlames]

Another thing, one day McDavid will get laid out on the ice so bad. All that speed, someone will catch him with his head down.

[Hot_Flatus]

Originally Posted by the_professsor

I can excuse sloppy play from Elliott and many of the players as it's just the first game, the coaching though is worrisome.

"Rust" isn't an excuse for the line combinations or game management that was on display in that game. Wideman out there for 4 v 4 hockey?? C'mon man

Fans have to remember that players take time to round into form. We saw it all the time with top players like Iginla, Kipprusoff etc. The fact that Monohan and Guadreau essentially both had zero camp time just further magnifies this.

The coaching staff needs to get over the new combinations idea and it may take some time....last night was essentially square peg in a round hole with the horrible combinations they were trying to use. If they don't learn from this and make some adjustments I will be concerned for sure.

[Galakanokis]

Originally Posted by ClubFlames

Another thing, one day McDavid will get laid out on the ice so bad. All that speed, someone will catch him with his head down.

I was thinking the same thing watching the game. Incredible speed but very reckless while doing it. He cuts into the middle on the wrong guy waiting for it he is done for. If he wasn't the Golden child I thought he could have been lit up a few times last night.

Side note, I loved Engelland egging on Lucic all night. Big bad Lucic wanted no part of him after he smirked through that first fight. Lucic is going to hate playing with McDavid if that continues to happen.

[Hot_Flatus]

Originally Posted by ClubFlames

Another thing, one day McDavid will get laid out on the ice so bad. All that speed, someone will catch him with his head down.

Isn't that what everyone else says about Guadreau - mainly Oiler fans? Don't see it happening.

[tvp2003]

Looking forward to a bounceback game from Elliott; I'm a little concerned that so many goals came on the blocker/stick side. I wonder if that was scouted or just (bad) luck.

I can live with the Gaudreau non-call but the McDavid penalty shot (which was a direct result from the non-call) was a joke. I really hope it isn't a Wideman thing because there is no excuse for that kind of call. Brutal.

The top line needs a few more practices together -- Johnny can't do it all by himself.

As for the D-pairings, I don't think you'll see massive changes just yet -- Gulutzan needs to save a little face. Grossmann to the press-box is obvious; the smart thing to do would be to reunite Gio/Brodie but I wouldn't be surprised if we see Gio/Wideman for another game. This leaves Brodie/Hamilton and then Jokipakka/Engelland to start game two.

[keeper34]

Both AB teams looked terrible, non playoff teams for sure.

[Bandwagon In Flames]

Yeah it's hard to find an Oiler fan who would argue about the biased reffing last night. The discussion is less about his nice penalty shot and more about the dumb penalty.

But reffing aside, it was coaching that really hampered us. I get that we're in the midst of learning a new system. Guy Boucher is in the same position and mentioned that a team truly doesn't start fully executing a new system until about 1.5 months into the season. That's well and good. What I don't get is why we are messing with proven chemistry and pairings?

I'll wait for the results on Friday before going into full panic mode though.

[DuffMan]

Originally Posted by keeper34

Both AB teams looked terrible, non playoff teams for sure.

Leafs fan?

[Oling_Roachinen]

Originally Posted by Karl

Wideman's best moment was lifting Eberle's stick to prevent another goal, and he scored on the PP.

Still doesn't make up for how utterly overmatched he was for pretty much the entire rest of the game. The NHL game is passing Wideman by.

And Grossmann? GTFO...just GTFO, now!

I don't have much issue with Wideman (hockey wise) or really even Grossman.

They both are what they are. Wideman should be a sheltered defensemen who gets PP time. Wideman already opened up the season with a PPG, he should have exceeded expectations at this point.

Grossman is a veteran defenseman for depth and injury callups. He should be playing if a defender is slumping or they need a warm body.

The problem is that the coach played Wideman for 24 minutes, more than Giordano, often times against the top line including a 4 on 4 vs McDavid. He had away ice, but it was quite clear that Glutzman had no issue playing him against McDavid...which is just baffling decision making.

Same with Grossman. He probably shouldn't have been in the game at all. This is on the coach, not on the players. In my opinion.

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by Bandwagon In Flames

Yeah it's hard to find an Oiler fan who would argue about the biased reffing last night. The discussion is less about his nice penalty shot and more about the dumb penalty.

But reffing aside, it was coaching that really hampered us. I get that we're in the midst of learning a new system. Guy Boucher is in the same position and mentioned that a team truly doesn't start fully executing a new system until about 1.5 months into the season. That's well and good. What I don't get is why we are messing with proven chemistry and pairings?

I'll wait for the results on Friday before going into full panic mode though.

Reasonable. But if you go full panic after two games, what can you escalate to after that?

[GirlySports]

fuller panic