Perhaps, in hindsight, they should’ve started Pickard but Skinner had played pretty well in his last few starts. They can’t win every game and you are going to lose some that you’ve played well enough to win. Even if they win 5 out of every 8 games for the rest of the season, they’re in the playoffs. Not the end of the world! Chin up!
I get why everyone is mad, that was a frustrating game to lose. But we were 8 wins in a row, we were gonna have to lose one at some point. Yes we need goalie issues addressed, but skinner was playing relatively decent for quite a few games there. I don’t get the sudden flip to flaming the guy so hard in every comment section. He’s still a young goalie and yes he can’t shoulder the burden of being our main starter, but people need to pump the brakes on the hate they’re throwing his way. It isn’t his fault management has hung him out to dry and put the pressure of being the main goalie on a newbie, ken Holland has not provided a solution for the goalie problem
the boys did an amazing job with the shots and the effort in my books! 54 shots is nothing to frown upon at all. unfortunately, Tampa and Vasilevskiy got lucky. I don't fault the boys at all. Agree that the second period was the best period in the season so far, had them runnning in circles.lol
The biggest difference in this game was the goaltending. Vasilevskiy was HOT as he stopped 53 out of 57 shots (.930 GAA), many of which were Grade A opportunities. Skinner was NOT as he stopped a meagre 19 out of 24 shots (.771 GAA). So, from the Oilers point of view, even though Stu Skinner and Jack Campbell are very personable and popular goalies with their team-mates and who try their very best, if the Oilers are going to be true contenders for the Stanley Cup they absolutely need to find a solid, reliable and consistent Grade A goaltender as soon as possible. Mind you, that's far easier said than done.
oilers let in 7 on 27 shots, so ~25% which is pretty good, but I was more impressed w all the offensive action. a lot of action made it a fun game. could Ceci have been better, well yes – he seemed to focus on being just behind the plays – so he can consider if he want's to continue this style. Drais arrived a bit late to the game but keeps his energy real cool. wasn't a fan of Bouch pass to Tampa when game was 5-4, quickly making it 6-4 & over, but biggest learning is likely for the GM to be taught how goalie is the impt posn, esp to CupRun … GM got owner to force M.Smith out of league etc so he had oppty to rush to a 5yr surprise bag – and be done w hiring vs give the city a really good goalie for 3 yrs cup runs w McD… was fun and impulsive but takes away oppty for City to try a run w a top goalie.
I go to bed it is 4-3 oilers and they were all over the bolts. I wake up to 7-4 bolts, never saw any highlights but I am going to say skinner probably wet the bed for us again , play picky and sit skinner a couple games wake him up and fire that garbage goalie coach asap
It was again an early game looking in Germany and supporting my team, so I got up at 2:45am . The first period starts with a silly foul from Leon and we got the first goal. I think you could see what the problem of Skinner is that he gets so many goals against him, his working with the gloves. He isn't able to move them quick. Stamkos shot wasn't so good but our goalie did no move with his stick hand, goal. Then we became better in the game. But passing at this point of time was horrible. So we got the second goal. Also is our offense shooting a pitty. So many good chances but no result. Second period we played for the first time like a champion candidate. Aggressive and strong at defense, quick with good passing at offense, so we made a 3:2 out of 0:2! Best period I have seen this season. Great hockey. After the break always gone. Too much space at defense for Tampa, goalie no comment, offense still creating chances but missed everyone. The story of the game had one name. VASELOWSKI, number 88, destroyed every chance with terrific saves. Here we could see what a very good goaltender was able to do for his team. Save the win! Win Championship! And that is my summary of this game, offense is for show, defense for win and a good goalie for championship ! 50 saves by one of the best offenses in NHL was a statement from the number 88! We didn't have someone like him, that's our problem. So go on Oilers, new beginning, try your best to reach the playoffs and than our hope has to do the rest…
One and only one thing will keep the Oilers from winning the cup. Goal tending is the issue. If Vasi was an Oiler the Oilers win everything. Skinner is ok but not good enough on his own.
Long post follows with base game statistics including some for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Read, don't read, up to you. These are BASE stats not detailed ones provided to give a foundation (takes 3 sites to do it). My comments and observations at the end.
Statistics for Tampa Bay Lightning at Edmonton Oilers December 14, 2023
Tampa Bay's Faceoff Breakdown: (provided for comparison only)
Won Lost Percent
Paul 12 8 60.0
Glendening 7 8 46.7
Point 4 7 36.4
Hagel 4 1 80.0
Stamkos 2 4 33.3
Motte 1 0 100.0
Jeannot 0 2 0.00
Cirelli 0 5 0.00
Could only catch the highlights but tale of 2 goalies or what. Vasilevskiy was stellar, Skinner was awful. Two empty net goals, look when you team is down 2 with like a minute to play DON'T BOTHER PULLING THE GOALIE. You might get one, maybe, but the Oilers pulling their goalie haven't done very well this season so maybe just don't do it. Looking strictly at the numbers (base stats), the Oilers shot more than double the shots TB did, had more hits, won more faceoffs, took 1/2 the penalties (and scored on 1/2 the PP goals), had fewer giveaways, more takeaways and slightly less blocks. By the numbers ONLY they should have won the game. Then reality sets in and you know that numbers lie. Vasi was great. Stamkos got as many goals as the entire Oilers TEAM did. The Lightning had 12 players (of 19 including the goalie) contribute to scoring (the Oilers had 6). First period, TB all the way. Second Period Oilers come back and take the lead. Third Period TB slaughtered us, I mean they got 5 goals in that period to the Oilers 1. Yes, both Connor McDavid and Evan Bouchard extended their personal streaks. I know both of them would much prefer two points (even one point at this stage). Take care all.
The winning team have a better goalie. Until the oilers get one this will happen again. Drai took a lazy penalty in the first and did not cover Stamos on his second goal. Time to dust this one off and get ready for the Panthers. The effort was there and despite the loss the oilers played a great game.
I was at this game. Oilers played amazing. Skinner is the future but he need help now. He’s too young to carry this team. When Vas first come in with TB he had years with Ben Bishop carrying the load of the team. That make the difference
Pickard should have got this start to see what we have in him he needs more games to find out. When got the game to 4-5 we needed to put our goalie back in
21 Comments
Perhaps, in hindsight, they should’ve started Pickard but Skinner had played pretty well in his last few starts. They can’t win every game and you are going to lose some that you’ve played well enough to win. Even if they win 5 out of every 8 games for the rest of the season, they’re in the playoffs. Not the end of the world! Chin up!
I get why everyone is mad, that was a frustrating game to lose. But we were 8 wins in a row, we were gonna have to lose one at some point. Yes we need goalie issues addressed, but skinner was playing relatively decent for quite a few games there. I don’t get the sudden flip to flaming the guy so hard in every comment section. He’s still a young goalie and yes he can’t shoulder the burden of being our main starter, but people need to pump the brakes on the hate they’re throwing his way. It isn’t his fault management has hung him out to dry and put the pressure of being the main goalie on a newbie, ken Holland has not provided a solution for the goalie problem
the boys did an amazing job with the shots and the effort in my books! 54 shots is nothing to frown upon at all. unfortunately, Tampa and Vasilevskiy got lucky. I don't fault the boys at all. Agree that the second period was the best period in the season so far, had them runnning in circles.lol
They got Skinnered
Skinner is great when the prime chances are limited to 1 or 2 per game. When we need him, he isn’t the guy.
Shows what a good goalie can do for a team that doesn't have it
The biggest difference in this game was the goaltending. Vasilevskiy was HOT as he stopped 53 out of 57 shots (.930 GAA), many of which were Grade A opportunities. Skinner was NOT as he stopped a meagre 19 out of 24 shots (.771 GAA). So, from the Oilers point of view, even though Stu Skinner and Jack Campbell are very personable and popular goalies with their team-mates and who try their very best, if the Oilers are going to be true contenders for the Stanley Cup they absolutely need to find a solid, reliable and consistent Grade A goaltender as soon as possible. Mind you, that's far easier said than done.
oilers let in 7 on 27 shots, so ~25% which is pretty good, but I was more impressed w all the offensive action. a lot of action made it a fun game. could Ceci have been better, well yes – he seemed to focus on being just behind the plays – so he can consider if he want's to continue this style. Drais arrived a bit late to the game but keeps his energy real cool. wasn't a fan of Bouch pass to Tampa when game was 5-4, quickly making it 6-4 & over, but biggest learning is likely for the GM to be taught how goalie is the impt posn, esp to CupRun … GM got owner to force M.Smith out of league etc so he had oppty to rush to a 5yr surprise bag – and be done w hiring vs give the city a really good goalie for 3 yrs cup runs w McD… was fun and impulsive but takes away oppty for City to try a run w a top goalie.
Not their fault, Vasi is just not human
Backup goalie all he could do for you
I go to bed it is 4-3 oilers and they were all over the bolts. I wake up to 7-4 bolts, never saw any highlights but I am going to say skinner probably wet the bed for us again , play picky and sit skinner a couple games wake him up and fire that garbage goalie coach asap
It was again an early game looking in Germany and supporting my team, so I got up at 2:45am . The first period starts with a silly foul from Leon and we got the first goal. I think you could see what the problem of Skinner is that he gets so many goals against him, his working with the gloves. He isn't able to move them quick. Stamkos shot wasn't so good but our goalie did no move with his stick hand, goal. Then we became better in the game. But passing at this point of time was horrible. So we got the second goal. Also is our offense shooting a pitty. So many good chances but no result.
Second period we played for the first time like a champion candidate. Aggressive and strong at defense, quick with good passing at offense, so we made a 3:2 out of 0:2! Best period I have seen this season. Great hockey.
After the break always gone. Too much space at defense for Tampa, goalie no comment, offense still creating chances but missed everyone. The story of the game had one name. VASELOWSKI, number 88, destroyed every chance with terrific saves. Here we could see what a very good goaltender was able to do for his team. Save the win! Win Championship! And that is my summary of this game, offense is for show, defense for win and a good goalie for championship ! 50 saves by one of the best offenses in NHL was a statement from the number 88! We didn't have someone like him, that's our problem. So go on Oilers, new beginning, try your best to reach the playoffs and than our hope has to do the rest…
One and only one thing will keep the Oilers from winning the cup. Goal tending is the issue. If Vasi was an Oiler the Oilers win everything. Skinner is ok but not good enough on his own.
Well it’s a good loss cause at least we know we still need a goaltender.
Long post follows with base game statistics including some for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Read, don't read, up to you. These are BASE stats not detailed ones provided to give a foundation (takes 3 sites to do it). My comments and observations at the end.
Statistics for Tampa Bay Lightning at Edmonton Oilers December 14, 2023
Edmonton Oilers:
Nuge 1 Goal, 1 Primary Assist (Shortie), 1 Secondary Assist (PP)
McDavid 1 Goal (PP, Unassisted), 1 Secondary Assist
Bouchard 2 Primary Assists (1 on PP)
Hyman 1 Goal (PP)
Ryan 1 Secondary Assist (Shortie)
Nurse 1 Goal (Shortie)
Skinner 17 Saves on 22 Shots = .773 Save %age (really bad) (played 55 mins)
Tampa Bay:
Stamkos 4 Goals (1 on PP, 1 Empty Netter)
Motte 1 Goal
Kucherov 1 Goal, 1 Secondary Assist (PP), 1 Primary Assist (Empty Netter #2)
Cirelli 1 Goal (Empty Netter #1, Unassisted)
Paul 1 Primary Assist (PP Goal)
Raddysh 1 Primary Assist
Eyssimont 1 Secondary Assist
Fleury 1 Primary Assist
Sheary 1 Primary Assist, 1 Secondary Assist
Point 1 Primary Assist
Sergachev 1 Secondary Assist
de Haan 1 Secondary Assist (Empty Netter #2)
Vasilevskiy 53 Saves on 57 Shots = .930 Save %age (exceptional)
Lightning Oilers
Shots on Goal 24 57
Hits 20 25
Faceoffs Won 30 35
PP 1/2 2/4
Giveaways 19 (16 by NST Count) 15 (14 by NST Count)
Takeaways 12 (11 by NST Count) 17 (14 by NST Count)
Blocked Shots 19 16
3 Stars: 3-Nuge (1G, 2A), 2-Stamkos (4G), 1-Vasilevskiy (53 saves on 57 shots = .930 Save %age)
Player TOI SOG +/- PIM Hits Blocks Giveaways Takeaways
Bouchard 25:48 5 -1 0 2 2 0 1
Nurse 22:54 4 -2 0 2 6 1 0
Ekholm 22:19 1 -1 0 4 0 0 1
Ceci 22:20 1 -1 0 1 0 0 1
Desharnais 15:17 1 -1 0 0 2 1 2
Kulak 13:40 2 -2 0 2 1 0 1
McDavid 22:55 7 -1 0 1 0 2 2
Hyman 22:49 6 -1 0 1 0 1 0
Nuge 22:42 6 0 0 0 0 1 0
Draisaitl 21:58 7 -2 2 0 1 2 3
Kane 17:37 3 -2 0 5 1 0 0
Janmark 15:18 3 -2 0 0 0 1 1
Brown 14:05 3 -2 0 0 1 2 1
Foegele 13:03 6 -1 2 0 0 1 0
McLeod 12:36 0 -1 0 2 0 0 0
Gagner 9:09 1 -1 0 3 1 0 0
Ryan 8:04 1 0 0 1 0 1 1
Hamblin 7:43 3 -1 0 1 1 1 0
Oilers Faceoff Breakdown:
Won Lost Percent
Draisaitl 16 7 69.6
McLeod 8 5 61.5
McDavid 3 11 21.4
Ryan 2 1 66.7
Hamblin 2 2 50.0
Kane 1 0 100.0
Janmark 1 1 50.0
Gagner 1 0 100.0
Brown 1 0 100.0
Nuge 0 3 0.00
Tampa Bay's Faceoff Breakdown: (provided for comparison only)
Won Lost Percent
Paul 12 8 60.0
Glendening 7 8 46.7
Point 4 7 36.4
Hagel 4 1 80.0
Stamkos 2 4 33.3
Motte 1 0 100.0
Jeannot 0 2 0.00
Cirelli 0 5 0.00
Could only catch the highlights but tale of 2 goalies or what. Vasilevskiy was stellar, Skinner was awful. Two empty net goals, look when you team is down 2 with like a minute to play DON'T BOTHER PULLING THE GOALIE. You might get one, maybe, but the Oilers pulling their goalie haven't done very well this season so maybe just don't do it. Looking strictly at the numbers (base stats), the Oilers shot more than double the shots TB did, had more hits, won more faceoffs, took 1/2 the penalties (and scored on 1/2 the PP goals), had fewer giveaways, more takeaways and slightly less blocks. By the numbers ONLY they should have won the game. Then reality sets in and you know that numbers lie. Vasi was great. Stamkos got as many goals as the entire Oilers TEAM did. The Lightning had 12 players (of 19 including the goalie) contribute to scoring (the Oilers had 6). First period, TB all the way. Second Period Oilers come back and take the lead. Third Period TB slaughtered us, I mean they got 5 goals in that period to the Oilers 1. Yes, both Connor McDavid and Evan Bouchard extended their personal streaks. I know both of them would much prefer two points (even one point at this stage). Take care all.
What are we paying Connor brown for again….? Lol
The winning team have a better goalie. Until the oilers get one this will happen again. Drai took a lazy penalty in the first and did not cover Stamos on his second goal. Time to dust this one off and get ready for the Panthers. The effort was there and despite the loss the oilers played a great game.
That was a fun game to watch, but ughhhh… Cant believe they lost. So frustrating
I was at this game. Oilers played amazing. Skinner is the future but he need help now. He’s too young to carry this team. When Vas first come in with TB he had years with Ben Bishop carrying the load of the team. That make the difference
Pickard should have got this start to see what we have in him he needs more games to find out. When got the game to 4-5 we needed to put our goalie back in
Wake up management ..need a goalie 😮