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Originally Posted by GioforPM
But the Oilers were tiiiiiiiired
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jaybo
Maybe don’t give McAvi Pronger-esque minutes every game?
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Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch
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Originally Posted by FlamingHomer
Some teams would use that for motivation.
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CHED talking tonight about how the NHL might have considered that the Celebration of Life for Colby Cave occurred today and that the NHL should not have scheduled this game tonight.
Actually, I totally agree--I did not realize that this ceremony occurred today. As a guy who has had three teammates pass during my affiliation with (amateur) adult sports teams, I know how impactful these situations are. Total respect for the players wanting to pay homage to their fallen brother.
Having said this, I have to imagine that the Oilers organization ultimately agreed to the rescheduling and that the players had time to reconcile this reality.
Since the game DID occur, from strictly a game-management perspective, you'd think the Oilers coaches would share the emotional load by spreading ice time more throughout the lineup.
This did not occur.
McDavey: -2, 20:56 TOI, PP TOI 3:23
He played fewer minutes than only Nurse, Larsson and Russell.
DraiLiath had 19:22 TOI, Yamamoto had 18:06 and the next closest was Archibald with 14:34. The rest were in the 13 minute range or less.
The PP TOI was monopolized by four guys (McDavey, DraiLiath, Yamamoto, Neal) who all played over three minutes each. (Incidentally, I think that this will be their undoing in the playoffs. While their PP can be deadly, when you play the same guys almost the full two minutes every time, you aren't giving others the chance to be effective. Good teams will shut this down when things get tighter and tougher.)
So, in a game where they were tired from their schedule, where the (very legitimate) emotional impact may have affected their players, they changed absolutely nothing in terms of their overall strategy--they even put McDavey and DraiLiath together to start the third period, which is always the strategy when they need goals.
I have trouble being sympathetic to a coaching staff that continues to make these decisions.
(EDIT: FWIW--Nurse was interviewed on the CHED postgame and he said that the events of the day were "no excuse" for their performance tonight. Full credit here.)
(Post Script: PullMyRV: -3, 13:25 TOI)
