Everyone inside and outside of Edmonton is blaming the
goaltending. But maybe just maybe they should be looking at the man behind the
bench, making the decisions for the struggling Edmonton Oilers. Now now….. I’m
not saying fire Dallas Eakins, but at the same time what the hell was he
thinking in the final minute. I flat out don’t buy into the philosophy that your
best players should kill penalties, but for certain not in a one goal lead with
one minute left. The rookie coach decides to put out his number one line out;
Hall, Hemsky and Nugent-Hopkins; on top of that he has rookie blueliner Anton
Belov and Jeff Petry. That selection didn’t work out that well. In 8 seconds;
that’s the amount of offensive zone time the Leafs had; the Oilers turned it
over THREE times; (Belov, Hemsky, Hall.) Before of all this, goaltender Devon
Dubynk decided to leave the puck for Hemsky instead of holding it for a faceoff
(which one can’t blame his for).
No Gordon or
Ference?
Your new captain, and prized blueline acquisition is not
good enough to defend a last minute lead? Guess not, but maybe next time Eakins
will have out Andrew Ference. The most comical thing is this; Nuggent-Hoppkins
won 47% of his faceoffs (takes the draw); compare that number to Boyd Gordon’s
67% (tonight) and over 62% for the season. That to me; for a team that is no
desperate for a win; is unforgivable, plain and simple.
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