Practice Notes - February 3, 2020

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by FlamingHomer

I hope Jankowski picked up a few tips after watching Buddy from the press box.

Jankowski has scored in the last two games he has been in the lineup. Given they are his only two goals of the season and he subsequently got scratched I am not sure what lesson he learned in the press box.

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

I get not wanting to throw down with guys you played with, pretty sure that's exactly what happened.

I get not "wanting" to as well, but thats what he is freakin paid to do, so what he wants, you and I and anyone with the club should not give one iota of a crap about.

He can take his "want" and shove it.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by transplant99

I get not "wanting" to as well, but thats what he is freakin paid to do, so what he wants, you and I and anyone with the club should not give one iota of a crap about.

He can take his "want" and shove it.

He's paid to fight? I think some of you are under the mistaken impression that he's a goon. He's not. He's a lumbering power forward who excels at puck protection, board play and driving the net and screening the goalie.

He most certainly is not an Oliwa, a McGrattan, a Godard, etc, etc.

Do I wish he creamed some more Oilers with some hard checks? Of course. Do I expect him to be fighting all the time? Nope.

I think some people don't seem to understand Lucic's role in the league.

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher

He's paid to fight? I think some of you are under the mistaken impression that he's a goon. He's not. He's a lumbering power forward who excels at puck protection, board play and driving the net and screening the goalie.

He most certainly is not an Oliwa, a McGrattan, a Godard, etc, etc.

Do I wish he creamed some more Oilers with some hard checks? Of course. Do I expect him to be fighting all the time? Nope.

I think some people don't seem to understand Lucic's role in the league.

Yeah thanks tips.....im very aware of what and who he is.

He is the best fighter in the NHL who could play every shift. No that wasn't/isn't his primary role playing at any level, but it most certainly is a part of it, and even more now that his others skills have evaporated.

He did nothing in the two most emotionally charged physical hockey games this club has played in a regular season in the last many years and against the single biggest rival this club has or ever will have. Totally detached by his actions.

A complete no-show.

That's simply not good enough.

Oh, and he excels at absolutely nothing anymore. He just finished proving that as clear as he could.

[868904]

Originally Posted by Aarongavey

Jankowski has scored in the last two games he has been in the lineup. Given they are his only two goals of the season and he subsequently got scratched I am not sure what lesson he learned in the press box.

This is just another example of Ward not cutting it as head coach. A coach’s job is manage and have a feel for players. You have a former 1st round pick who has struggled with confidence all year long and finally sees his game come about and you shut him down? Despite his struggles this year, Jankowski is still a much more important and valuable asset than Toby Rieder. If Janko is feeling it, he should not sit for Rieder. If Janko is feeling it, he should not sit for an ice cold Dube.

This was about as easy a decision for Ward and he messed it up. Janko and Rinaldo should not have sat in favour of Dube and Rieder in those BOA games.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher

He's paid to fight? I think some of you are under the mistaken impression that he's a goon. He's not. He's a lumbering power forward who excels at puck protection, board play and driving the net and screening the goalie.

He most certainly is not an Oliwa, a McGrattan, a Godard, etc, etc.

Do I wish he creamed some more Oilers with some hard checks? Of course. Do I expect him to be fighting all the time? Nope.

I think some people don't seem to understand Lucic's role in the league.

Some people, as in Lucic

[868904]

If Lucic doesn’t understand his role, he should give his buddy Kassian a call to figure it out. Kassian seems to understand his role very clearly. Think about that, Kassian is smarter than you, ouch.

[heep223]

Disappointed Kylington hasn’t yet packed his bags for Stockton. He has been simply dog#### the entire season and drags Andersson to the bottom of the ocean.

[rooster]

Originally Posted by Infinit47

What coach?

Badger Bob.

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by heep223

Disappointed Kylington hasn’t yet packed his bags for Stockton. He has been simply dog#### the entire season and drags Andersson to the bottom of the ocean.

This just isn’t true.

[JJolg]

Originally Posted by 868904

If Lucic doesn’t understand his role, he should give his buddy Kassian a call to figure it out. Kassian seems to understand his role very clearly. Think about that, Kassian is smarter than you, ouch.

Just to be clear we have now done a 180 and are supporting Kassian after many on here thought he needed a major suspension or his actions were assault? he roofed the bad rebound but other than that did he do anything?

I get the loss sucked but the overreaction is a bit much.

[FanIn80]

In Lucic’s defence, I did see him work his way into scrums in the 3rd, and then noticed how quickly all the Oilers peeled out of there.

Would have been nice to see him just grab Gagner and start throwing some shots at him though. I don’t know if he was on the ice against him or not, but it would have been nice for sure.

I guess, also in his defence, it’s not like anyone was hitting him or anything either. Like Tkachuk hammered Dickbagian pretty good twice before Zacho snapped and went further into caveman mode than normal. It’s not like anyone was doing that to Looch though. He kind of has a point. If no one engages him at all, then it’s way worse for him to just randomly grab someone and start beating on them.

The anger should be “how come our best player was forced to fight your goon, but not a single player on your team is willing to fight ours?” How come that isn’t in the media? Where’s the pressure on Kassian to fight someone in his weight class?

Edit: The one thing that pisses me off the most is that our Coach somehow decided that Dube would be more useful in that game than Rinaldo - the one guy that would have absolutely pounded someone 100%.

[heep223]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

This just isn’t true.

Every game he has multiple horrific turnovers/missed covers that lead to beautiful chances against or odd man rushes against. He can’t hit the net from the point and gets very few scoring chances. Maybe one per game if he’s lucky. He is fast, and he’s had some nice rushes that have mostly amounted to nothing. He’s had a few nice hits but generally not physical and gets pushed off the puck. Not great defensive positioning. But he’s fast!

Obviously as a third pairing dman rotating in and out of the lineup he’s not having a big enough impact to have a significant contribution to the team being bad. I just don’t like him as a player one bit. It’s just, like, my opinion, man. You’re entitled to yours.

[rooster]

Originally Posted by Bill Bumface

I'm just still baffled how a guy that scored pretty nice goals in back to back games managed to find himself benched.

That what happens when your head coach should not be a head coach. Same reason his boy Lucic is on the F&^$#ng powerplay when he has much better options in Mangy and Dube. Reeks like the Brouwerplay we endured with Gulatzan.

[TheSquatch]

The anger should be that Gaudreau sucked and Monahan was invisible. Any microscopic analysis of Lucic's play vs expectations really shows how weak this team is.

[rooster]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

The notion lucic was here to be some kind of physical policeman should've left all of our collective heads the moment Reeves blew up kylington with lucic right there next to him.

Lucic is scared of Reaves. There is nobody to be scared of on the oilers!

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

In Lucic’s defence, I did see him work his way into scrums in the 3rd, and then noticed how quickly all the Oilers peeled out of there.

Would have been nice to see him just grab Gagner and start throwing some shots at him though. I don’t know if he was on the ice against him or not, but it would have been nice for sure.

I guess, also in his defence, it’s not like anyone was hitting him or anything either. Like Tkachuk hammered Dickbagian pretty good twice before Zacho snapped and went further into caveman mode than normal. It’s not like anyone was doing that to Looch though. He kind of has a point. If no one engages him at all, then it’s way worse for him to just randomly grab someone and start beating on them.

The anger should be “how come our best player was forced to fight your goon, but not a single player on your team is willing to fight ours?” How come that isn’t in the media? Where’s the pressure on Kassian to fight someone in his weight class?

Edit: The one thing that pisses me off the most is that our Coach somehow decided that Dube would be more useful in that game than Rinaldo - the one guy that would have absolutely pounded someone 100%.

I agree on Lucic. I wondered above if Rinaldo’s little display in the previous game, combined with Parros being there, made the Flames sit him. He’d probably have done something suspension worthy. But it wasn’t a game to throw Dube into, IMO. He’s game, but still a kid.

[shadowlord]

Originally Posted by Aarongavey

Jankowski has scored in the last two games he has been in the lineup. Given they are his only two goals of the season and he subsequently got scratched I am not sure what lesson he learned in the press box.

Lesson: If you score goals as a 4th liner, prepare to eat popcorn next game. That'll teach you whether you're a Rinaldo or a Jankowski.
And if your name is Czarnik, you'll be banished to the AHL for your 3-game point streak before injury. /s

[browna]

Have no problem with Lucic's answer, because it's true. No one on the Oilers wanted a piece of him before the whistle or after the whistle and he is Ina different weight class then most Oilers anyway.

Others think he should be roaming around looking for a goon hit.The refs were extra communicative about nothing in scrums, and outside of Gagner's spear towards Talbot there was not much post whistle even so far as pushing in either game.

And, it doesn't work that way anymore. For all the crying for blood of Tkachuk's, no Oilers did anything, not even Kasssian, when they shared the ice with him after all the hits that same game. If Gios hit on McDavid was even 10% as serious to the players as it is to the idiot fans and press made it out to be, Gio would've had a busy night the rest of that night and on Saturday. But he didn't..and Lucic is supposed to conger up some fake beef with some Oiler, and goon them to get attention? And that would make Flames fans happy?

I hate the Oilers as much as anyone on this board, and to see them lay 8 on us is horrific. Wasting time and analysis on why Lucic didn't randomly try and fight unwilling parties during his 12 minutes on the ice, while giving a pass to the terrible goaltending by Rittich, the invisible 1st and 3rd line, and a fire drill of defense that night, makes the fanbase look as petty, unitelligent and unaware as the Oilers fans who filter all their knowledge through what their press tells them.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by rooster

That what happens when your head coach should not be a head coach. Same reason his boy Lucic is on the F&^$#ng powerplay when he has much better options in Mangy and Dube. Reeks like the Brouwerplay we endured with Gulatzan.

I guess you don't understand the net front role and why having a player screen the goalie and go for tips and rebounds is important eh?

Only Tkachuk and Lucic are capable of it. That's why he's out there. Mangiapane and Dube cannot play that role.