HOCKEY: In the Box with Brent & Craig
Jets go up & down
Welp, that sucked. After the beautiful high of winning with less than a second left on Sunday, the Oilers let 4 unanswered goals in during a 3rd period collapse on Tuesday.
Who’s to blame for this pile of shit? Is the season over? What the hell do we do now, watch basketball?
The horror.
Craig Douglas
So they pissed it all away. The minimal amount of goodwill that was generated by beating Winnipeg (and their backup goalie) at the last second on Sunday was thrown out the window during the third period of this most recent game. The defense looked like total shit throughout Tuesday’s game, but especially in that awful final frame.
There’s so much blame to go around, and it’s still not enough to cover everyone who deserves some. It’ll be easier to just make a short list of players who are possibly exempt from the blame game. McDavid, Yamamoto, Draisaitl, and, I guess, Kassian, have all played well enough recently to merit an exemption. For the most part though, this has looked like the same listless, heartless team that got their asses handed to them by the fucking Chicago Blackhawks back in the bubble. The team defense is a joke and they have all played like dogshit, with the possible exception of Koekkoek, who was bizarrely benched last night. Nurse, Larsson, Bear, et al have looked like bumbling fools, running around untethered as they miss assignments and bump into each other. The team has one half decent goalie and a shitload of question marks behind him. The offense is comprised of a handful of elite players and two handfuls of stooges who contribute fuck all.
And then there’s the baffling fucking decisions of the coaching staff. Why sit Koekkoek over Larsson, Bear, or Nurse? Why not try reuniting the Nuge-Yamo-Drai line? Why put the third line out there towards the end of the game after the McDavid goal? Why the hell not call a timeout there? All of it inexplicable and inexcusable.
So yeah, they pissed it all away like a bunch of bollocks. They had the momentum from the buzzer beater victory and the chance to hit .500 and start to turn the season around and they pissed it all away. Fucking wankers.
Predicsh
It’s time for Predicsh, brought to you this week by Eggs, delicious eggs. Get cracking.
01/28 vs Toronto – It’s plain to see that I’m not feeling charitable on this occasion, and today’s pointless prognostications shall reflect that. The Maple Leafs come into town and wax the Oilers because they’re not a pack of chumps. Final score 6-3 as Matthews gets himself a hat trick, and forces Brent to eat his words.
01/30 vs Toronto – The Oil endure another ass kicking, this time losing 5-2. Matthews records another three points (2G 1A) and Brent once again enjoys nutritious words for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Brent Oliver
It’s time to talk about Coaching.
Yes, I know the long and rich history we have here in Oil Country and In The Box to shit on every coach – ex-Oilers’ especially – as they bumble their way through asinine line-up combinations and the proverbial dump/ chase/ trap/ push/ 1-4 neutral zone/ whatever fucking system they may implement for a day or two before they abondon it for some other fucking system they abaondon mid-game.
I’m sorry, but it’s time to have a talk about Dave Tippett.
Last night’s pregame decisions are a snapshot into the perplexing way he’s managing this team. Sit Koekkoek, who has been punching above his weight, and bring back Jones, Khaira and history’s greatest monster, Patrick Russell. Not that P-Russ played badly last night, it’s just why would you do all this AFTER A WIN. I’m dumber than a sack of hammers, and even I know that you don’t mess with the line-up after you’ve won your first game in 3.
Besides, the line-up changes, watching the Oilers defensive zone play has been an issue for months. This has been an issue since last year, and certainly is more of an issue now with the core of Larsson, Nurse and Bear being objectively terrible, alongside other “two way forwards” like Kyle Turris who is already a woeful -8 on the season. This team needs a strategy, and something to stick. Somehow I see the axe falling on Assistant coaches Wiseman or Gulutzan before Tippett is held responsible, but for fucks sake – he was handed the keys to this team and two thoroughbreds who are the best players in the league.
Finally, speaking of those sweet hosses, this line juggling is driving me nuts. While I do like Pool Party playing with McDavid, Drai’s revolving cast of idiots with he and Yamamoto is frustrating. Here’s a crazy thought – maybe playing McDavid and Drai together? Remember when that happened and they were Crosby/ Malkin 2.0? The third and fourth line continue to be warm bodies, so why not solidify those too so they’re warm bodies that can familiarize themselves and actually play well together. Nope! Gotta get Patrick Russell in there. Grrr….
I’m not calling for Tippett’s head yet, but it’s time to turn the dimmer switch up a little higher on some of the bizarre decisions he’s made this year.
The Oil head home for some sweet sweet home cookin’ in the dead of winter to host another set of back to backs against the Leafs, who are in first place currently for the north. What could possibly go wrong? Oh right. That.
Pass the bourbon.
See you next time – In the Box.
