[OOT] November 24, just three games.

[ForeverFlameFan]

It's not Neal. 10/14 of his goals are on the PP.

It's more Draisaitl taking his game to another level... However, I am sure that many all star players in the league would be putting up an almost 2 PPG if they had the minutes that Draisaitl and McDavid get.

[OldSam]

The next time Greaser fans whine about not getting calls, show them that OT where their super players committed several fouls of hooking and holding and didn't get called. Absolutely hilarious.

I see non-toxic player Neal didn't get used in the shootout. Oh right, they had to use the only real two players they have.

This is quite comical.

[flamingred89]

That overtime was ridiculous. Draisatl played over 4 minutes and had the legs to break the zone at the buzzer. Maybe he should pee in a cup sooner or later(kidding, but not really...).

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by dino7c

What are you even going on about? What does this have to do with us hoping the Flames get the pick?

Oh you done justifying the trade? Lol

[3rd liner]

I think a lot of credit goes to Tippet for Edmonton’s 180. He is used to working with very little in Arizona. Play the holy hell out of your two stars (who are admittedly ridiculously good this year) and lock down the the AHL roster with lots of structure.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by Weitz

Oh you done justifying the trade? Lol

You done trolling? Because I didn't justify anything nor do I need to.

The deal is done...Neal scoring 21 this season is good for the Flames

/

Get a life pal...you know how much time I spent on Oiler boards last season? None

[stang]

I’m definitely not an insider, but I’ve heard that Smith and Neal have really helped the team. Mcdavid and Drai aren’t the most vocal type of leaders. The swagger that Neal and Smith have brought has really helped. Not to mention getting rid of Lucic who just needed to go.

[KootenayFlamesFan]

It's a crazy strategy to just play 2 players as much as you can and hope they keep producing and don't get hurt. Working so far for the Oilers, what can you say. That's still a bad hockey team, if their play drops off or one of them gets hurt things will be much different. But if you're an Oilers fan all you can do is cross your fingers they play the entire season and keep producing at this crazy clip. Might as well enjoy it.

[direwolf]

Goddammit, I hate this season so much. The timeline couldn't be darker right now.

[Kovaz]

On the topic of Neal:

Using Evolving Hockey's GAR (Goals Above Replacement) stat, which quantifies a player's overall impact across all situations, James Neal has been:

1) The worst player on the Oilers this season at -2.4 GAR
2) Even worse than last year on the Flames (-0.59 GAR / 60, compared with -0.25 last year)
3) Worse than Milan Lucic (+0.2 GAR)

Being the designated guy for McDavid and Draisaitl to bank the puck off of is a good way to inflate your goal stats without actually contributing value. The Oilers score 38% of the goals with him on the ice, mostly because he's been the 7th-worst player in the NHL at 5v5 offense this year (-3.2 GAR from that alone).

[3rd liner]

Originally Posted by stang

I’m definitely not an insider, but I’ve heard that Smith and Neal have really helped the team. Mcdavid and Drai aren’t the most vocal type of leaders. The swagger that Neal and Smith have brought has really helped. Not to mention getting rid of Lucic who just needed to go.

I could see that- maybe the oil needed that swagger. McDavid’s interviews aren’t what I’d call fiery...I can’t picture him being too vocal in the room. Add in a strong personality like Smitty and maybe there is a bit more confidence.
That was the likely the plan for Neal and smitty for us in Calgary but that obviously didn’t work out...

[Macho0978]

Originally Posted by ForeverFlameFan

It's not Neal. 10/14 of his goals are on the PP.

It's more Draisaitl taking his game to another level... However, I am sure that many all star players in the league would be putting up an almost 2 PPG if they had the minutes that Draisaitl and McDavid get.

I'm more than ok with Tippett playing Leon 29 minutes and Mcdavid 25+ in November. It's a long season and playoffs are even harder on a player. Let them wear then out now, I'm sure that it will comeback to burn them later in the year

[kevman]

Yeah he stinks.

But Pittsburg, Nashville, Vegas, Calgary and now Edmonton have enjoyed the Neal lucky charm despite his best effort at being useless.

[flamingred89]

They’ve also all run him out of town after a couple of seasons. So the James Neal Schtick runs old very quickly.

[Bend it like Bourgeois]

Originally Posted by Kovaz

On the topic of Neal:

Using Evolving Hockey's GAR (Goals Above Replacement) stat, which quantifies a player's overall impact across all situations, James Neal has been:

1) The worst player on the Oilers this season at -2.4 GAR
2) Even worse than last year on the Flames (-0.59 GAR / 60, compared with -0.25 last year)
3) Worse than Milan Lucic (+0.2 GAR)

Being the designated guy for McDavid and Draisaitl to bank the puck off of is a good way to inflate your goal stats without actually contributing value. The Oilers score 38% of the goals with him on the ice, mostly because he's been the 7th-worst player in the NHL at 5v5 offense this year (-3.2 GAR from that alone).

If a model suggests a 20-30 goal player is worse than a 0-1 goal player, said model is horse####. Goals are more valuable than any made up stat. Neal has them this season and is adding to his totals. Lucic is an even bet to ever score an NHL goal again in his life.

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by KootenayFlamesFan

It's a crazy strategy to just play 2 players as much as you can and hope they keep producing and don't get hurt. Working so far for the Oilers, what can you say. That's still a bad hockey team, if their play drops off or one of them gets hurt things will be much different. But if you're an Oilers fan all you can do is cross your fingers they play the entire season and keep producing at this crazy clip. Might as well enjoy it.

If you're an Oilers fan you get to look forward to a playoffs where your all but exhausted 2 player team has to play against good old fashioned clutch and grab hockey teams, I'm guessing out in 5 or 6 games

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by afc wimbledon

If you're an Oilers fan you get to look forward to a playoffs where your all but exhausted 2 player team has to play against good old fashioned clutch and grab hockey teams, I'm guessing out in 5 or 6 games

Remember all last season and summer when Oiler fans told us regular season stats didn't matter?

Now they plan parades in October, go figure

[Geeoff]

Originally Posted by Kovaz

On the topic of Neal:

Using Evolving Hockey's GAR (Goals Above Replacement) stat, which quantifies a player's overall impact across all situations, James Neal has been:

1) The worst player on the Oilers this season at -2.4 GAR
2) Even worse than last year on the Flames (-0.59 GAR / 60, compared with -0.25 last year)
3) Worse than Milan Lucic (+0.2 GAR)

Being the designated guy for McDavid and Draisaitl to bank the puck off of is a good way to inflate your goal stats without actually contributing value. The Oilers score 38% of the goals with him on the ice, mostly because he's been the 7th-worst player in the NHL at 5v5 offense this year (-3.2 GAR from that alone).

How does a player with 0 goals have a positive GAR?

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by Geeoff

How does a player with 0 goals have a positive GAR?

I have a different Lucic stat, it is Points Above Lucic (PAL). This stat is based on the difference between the Lucic based Alberta team and the other Alberta team.

Last year the Flames has a positive PAL. They were 28 point ahead of the other Alberta based team that had Lucic.

This year the Flames have a negative PAL. The Flames are on pace to finish 32 points behind the Oilers. This would be a PAL record in Alberta history, but such is the effect of an aging Lucic.

[flames4lifeboys]

Originally Posted by 3rd liner

I think a lot of credit goes to Tippet for Edmonton’s 180. He is used to working with very little in Arizona. Play the holy hell out of your two stars (who are admittedly ridiculously good this year) and lock down the the AHL roster with lots of structure.

Thing is they are both averaging less ice time then last year lol.