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Will the Oilers fire anyone else as well?
The Edmonton Oilers have won only two games in 12 games. In no small part due to Edmonton not keeping pace with the NHL, ruin is rapidly descending on the club.
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They are the Park the Bus League’s fire truck team. And the Oilers can’t seem to change that even if they want to.
Firewagon refers to the flashy and reckless attacking style of hockey made famous by the Montreal Canadiens. Parking the bus is something defensive-minded teams do in European soccer, where they place all their players in and around the penalty area in front of the goalkeeper to prevent a goal.
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The Oilers thrive on pressing and attacking, pressing and attacking. They like to use their supernatural speed and skill to carve out a space for their opponents. However, the prevailing tactic in the NHL today is to crowd defenders into the defensive frame, keep opponents on the outside, and prevent open shots in front of the goalie at all costs.
Edmonton continues to aggressively crash into parked buses, but if a bus crashes and pushes too hard, the team becomes susceptible to counterattacks.
Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft tried to implement more of a park-the-bus style of play this season, but the Oilers were either unable or unwilling to learn this style of play quickly. In fact, Edmonton’s players generally play the kind of careful, disciplined defensive game that other teams employ, the same strategy that Las Vegas used so effectively to defeat Edmonton in the 2023 playoffs. It is not suitable for tactics.
Edmonton’s players worked like crazy to break through their defensive shell, but in doing so they pressed too much, made mistakes at the offensive blueline and backchecks, and allowed too many odd rushing opportunities. ing.
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So far this year, Edmonton has allowed 23 points against the Rush, but only seven points. Edmonton allowed just 31 goals in total. His rushing point percentage of 74 is astounding. The Oilers seem to have forgotten how to play hockey.
Shot quality alarm: +177, +50, +16, -10, -12
The shot metrics also tell a story. The team takes a lot of shots on and off the net, but the most dangerous shots are not that many.
The notable numbers here are +177, +50, +16, -10, -12, which is the difference in Edmonton’s shots from most dangerous to most dangerous.
Edmonton has had 639 shots on net while their opponents have had 462 shots on Edmonton’s net for a +177 shots on net differential.
Edmonton has 318 shots compared to just 268 for a net differential of +50.
But when you look at Grade A shots, which are successful about 25 per cent of the time, Edmonton takes 170 and their opponent takes 154, a difference of just +16.
Digging deeper and looking at the most dangerous subset of Grade A shots, the 5-alarm shots that come in 33 percent of the time, Edmonton has 74 and their opponent has 84, a difference of -10 for Edmonton.
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In terms of actual goals scored, Edmonton has 19 points, their opponent has 31 points and the Oilers have -12 points.
Edmonton can and is allowed to take all kinds of outside shots, but is thwarted when it comes to missing the deadliest of them all. Oilers players take too many risks trying to score and allow many of the most dangerous shots on the counterattack.
This is not a great recipe. It stinks.
Of course, Edmonton’s goalie hasn’t been of much help. Rarely have I seen a game where Stuart Skinner or Jack Campbell were the best goalkeepers in the game. But it’s not all their fault.
This meltdown is a team-wide meltdown.
Injuries also played a role. Mattias Ekholm, Connor McDavid, Brett Kulak, Mattias Janmark and Connor Brown are all injured and either missed games or played injured. McDavid is finally starting to look more like his old self, but he’s not quite there yet.
Woodcroft out?
What does that mean for head coach Jay Woodcroft?
When a team loses, it’s almost always the goalie and coach’s fault. Campbell has already been sent to the AHL.
Looks like the coach is coming next. I’m no insider, but like most long-time fans, I can read hockey signals well enough.
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Talk of Woodcroft’s firing has escalated rapidly over the past 10 days. The game against San Jose looked like a must-win, and Edmonton had to win for Woodcroft to keep his job. But on Thursday night, Edmonton decisively outscored the Sharks in a 3-2 loss, although both teams had the same number of most dangerous chances, six. And early in the game, when San Jose built a lead, the Sharks had five of the most dangerous shots, compared to just two for the Oilers. They didn’t come out hot for the win, they were rather calm, not physical or desperate. The Sharks outplayed them.
The Oilers are only 12 games into the season, so the organization doesn’t want to give up hope just yet. This is not a roster packed with such scoring talent or a team that many expected to be a Stanley Cup contender.
Why not roll the dice on a new coach? I think that’s what we’re going to see.
One question is whether the Oilers will hire more fire truck coaches or coaches who specialize in bus parking tactics. That would be an interesting metric.
But will others go the same way? GM Ken Holland is in the final year of his contract. Jeff Jackson has been named the new hockey coach.
Woodcroft may not be the only one leaving. That’s because Jackson will have to think hard about the next few years and whether the team should part with a key asset to salvage this season.
That’s a decision the team’s leader has to make this year and for years to come, not the outgoing GM. There’s a good chance Holland will be shuffled into a more advisory role.
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