Oilers Quarter Report

We have reached the quarter-mark of the NHL season and pretty soon everyone can stop using the phrase: "It's still early in the season." Time is ticking for teams to "figure things out" and "work out the kinks." The Edmonton Oilers season is quickly unfolding and needless to say its somewhat obvious where this season is heading based on the first quarter of the season.

The Oilers stormed out of the gate on opening night with the 4-0 win over the Flames. But since then, there has been little to cheer about as the team as hit a wall. Although preseason expectations were low, the margin of the Oilers' losses have been somewhat surprising. Everyone, myself included, are guilty of overhyping the influx of youth to the team. Their inexperience have come to the forefront and its evident that Hall, Eberle, and Paajarvi are prodigies that will need time to carve out their game in the big leagues. Here's a quick evaluation of Oilers thus far.

FORWARDS

The same story goes for the Oilers forwards: tons of talent but lack in size. Outside of Dustin Penner, the Oilers top 6 forwards don't have the bulk to win crucial battles. Oilers have had trouble sustaining pressure in the offensive zone due largely to their inability to win one-on-one battles in the corner and outmuscling opponents off the puck. In defence of the rookies, they are young and eventually will fill out their frames. The return of a healthy Ales Hemsky significantly boosts the offensive threat of this team but the forward has yet to find his stride. After a breakout year, Dustin Penner is already facing scrutiny in the media over his effort and desire to use his size to his advantage. Other Oilers such as Andrew Cogliano and Gilbert Brule have yet to make any positive impact on the team and may be on the trading block sooner or later. First year captain Shawn Horcoff has taken Hall and Eberle under his wing and form the first line. At times they are the most effective offensive line but with plus-minuses of -2, -7, and -8 more emphasis on two-way hockey needs to be instilled in the young Oilers. Paajarvi has shown flashes of maturity but has bounced around the lineup as of late. Unfortunately, it its of no fault of his own - the lack of size in the lineup has forced Tom Renney to downgrade Paajarvi to the 4th line in favor of the bigger and tougher Ryan Jones. It seems like in-game line juggling occurs as frequently as the Oilers let in powerplay goals. Until they can find the right combination of players and sustain some stability, they will be hard pressed to develop chemistry and offence. 

DEFENCE

Outside of Ryan Whitney, the defensive corps has been abysmal so far. At the forefront of media scrutiny is Tom Gilbert. After receiving the big contract in 2008, Gilbert has struggled to live up to expectations and deliver on both ends of the ice. With $11.5 million left on virtually an immoveable deal, Gilbert needs to find his game for the Oilers to turn this season around. Whitney has been the lone bright spot thus far. In his first full season in copper and blue, Whitney leads the team in scoring and logs huge minutes with his play on PP and PK. Even better, he has already taken a leadership role on the team and was named an alternative captain. Offseason pick-up Jim Vandermeer has been a disappointment. Brought in to be the "sandpaper" on the back end, Vandermeer has been a soft, defensive liability which has made him a healthy scratch as of late. Ladislav Smid and Theo Peckham have played a stay-at-home style and it was nice to see Peckham coming to the aid of Smid after the brawl in New York.

GOALTENDING

Although the stats show that the Oilers goaltending is a significant issue, the numbers don't tell the story. The Oilers have given up the most goals (79) and and the 4th most shots (711) which averages to about 36 shots a game. The lack of defense infront of Khabibulin and Dubnyk has really forced these two to stand on their heads and outperform the opposing goalie to give the Oilers any chance of winning. With the youth movement in full swing, one has to wonder when it is time to hand the starting job to Dubnyk. Khabibulin is the high-priced goalkeeper, but with the playoffs being a long shot this season, it may be time to let Dubs experience the highs and lows of a NHL starting goalie. 

Oilers' Stand

Another tough road game for the Edmonton Oilers where they were hammered on the scoreboard in an 8-2 loss to the New York Rangers. This ends a tough road trip for the copper and blue. But the buzz is not about the Oilers shortcomings on the road, or on the PK. Sunday's game saw a brawl between the two teams after Sean Avery sucker-punched Oilers Ladislav Smid. Watch the sequence of events.



No disciplinary action was handed out to Avery... no surprise. But without a doubt, Avery's gutless act was frowned upon around the league. He's developed a reputation for committing dishonorable acts that even his own teammates are ashamed of.

If Oilers fans can take one positive out of this situation is how Smid's teammates reacted. As Avery is being escorted off the ice, Ryan Whitney continues to give him an earful which leads to an on-ice brawl. Fraser fought. Peckham fought. Stortini fought. In years past, the Oilers have been criticized of not sticking up for one another and allowing their superstars to be bullied by other team's goons. It's refreshing to see that there is a strong sense of pride in the Oilers locker room when one teammate goes down it is an obligation for another to defend his honor. As the Oilers continue to rebuild and establish the proper culture, this element needs to be on the forefront and enforced with the right character players.

"I definitely made a little bit of a mistake and went a little wonky there, but we're a family and sometimes you just have to make a stand for yourself." - Theo Peckham

Raptors Roundup

Following a remarkable victory over the Orlando Magic and previous franchise player Vince Carter, The Toronto Raptors are getting prepared to go against their most recent departed all-star. The player formerly known as CB4 will face-off against his old teammates after leaving T.O to chase championships in Miami.

Franchise player leaves under negative circumstances, Raptors forced to rebuild, new season with very low expectations. Sound familiar? The Raptors entered 2010-2011 with possibly the lowest expectations since their inaugural season. They will hit the 10 game mark tonight and the forecast for this season is very black and white.

In terms of skill, this team severely lacks an uber-talented player who can take over games (and win them) single-handedly. It's assumed that Andrea Bargnani will take over the team and he the cornerstone for years to come. Labelled as being the next Dirk Nowitzki during his draft year, Bargnani has not come close to resembling Disco Dirk as he continues to find consistency in his game. Will he ever average 8+ rebounds in a season?

The PG platoon of Jarret Jack and Jose Calderon has been frustrating at times so far. Neither player has seized the opportunity to become the primary PG due to inconsistent play and turnover issues. Having two quality PGs is never a bad thing, however, but more efficient games from those two will go along away in making the Raptors competitive and preventing them from getting blown out every night.Since Coach Jay Triano has taken over the team, he has been preaching a defence-first mentality that has never materialized to on-court performance. The team currently gives up the 10th most points and, with a roster like the Raptors, that just won't cut it. Turnovers has been a major issue so far as they give up the 7th most turnovers and forces the Raps to play from behind on most given nights. The offence can usually manage to carve out 100-point games but more consistency on the defensive-end could swing games in their favor.

The youth movement is in full swing and with that comes with a roster full of athletic players. The likes of DeMar DeRozen, Sonny Weems and Amir Johnson gives the Raptors a lot of speed to play their up-tempo style. So far, Double D has shown glimpses of his potential as he has put together some solid games, such as the Orlando game (26pts, 7rebs), and may be the player the Raptors build around in the next few years. New additions Leandro Barbosa and Linus Kleiza have made minimal impacts so far. Barbosa is hampered with an wrist injury that is destined for surgery but his injury has given extra minutes to Weems and Julian Wright to show what they can do.

The Raptors firmly know that they won't win because of style, skill or talent for this season. Triano has made the team buy into his hard-nosed, bang-it-out, win-dirty game plan. To put it plain and simple, the Raps will win from working a lot harder than the other team. No player has embodied that more than Reggie Evans, the doppleganger of rapper Freeway. Significantly undersized at 6'8, Evans has managed be a top 5 rebounder that has given the Raps numerous second chance opportunities in games. His level of effort is something to admire and as a fan, you can only hope it is contagious amongst his teammates.

With the team facing Chris Bosh for the first time, there are a lot fo questions surrounding his departure and how it was handled. CB1 has been accused of not being a true leader, mentally checking out, and having negative opinions about Toronto and Canada. A lot of this criticism has come from the Raptors front office especially GM Bryan Colangelo. Bosh has been defending his reputation and saying there is no truth behind those claims. Either way, the path that the Raptors management took in bashing their former all-star has nothing but bad consequences attached to it. We have seen Cavaliers GM Dan Gilbert send out a public hate letter after LeBron left town. Although it was accepted by Clevelanders, the public image of Gilbert and the Cavs organization took a hit. The Raptors cannot afford to go down the same route. The team already faces a disadvantage in luring in free agents and selling them on the team, city, and culture of playing in Canada. Their biggest recruiting resource has left town and publicly bashing him, whether the facts are true or not, does not paint a better picture of the franchise in the eyes of others.

If I can summarize this Raptors season in one word or phrase it would be: Grind It Out. Grind it out in those games when you have games where you aren't suppose to have no chance of winning. Grind it out when you face injuries. Grind it out when you are in a slump. Grind it out through the long 82 game season and see what's the next step to put this team back to having to meet high expectations.