Since the first post-season battle at Alberta was to start tomorrow night, I felt it would be the perfect time to unload my brain on some of the thoughts that revolve as we move on to this series.
BIG BOY HOCKEY
No matter how rough and physical the series of the first round against the Kings may be, this upcoming BOA against the Flames will take things to another level and will depend on each player on our side to embrace the madness that is to come. I don’t care if you’re Connor McDavid, Ryan Newgent-Hopkins, Zack Cassian or any of them, this series will be a challenge for any Edmonton Oilers to raise their level of play and how much they want it. One of the things I liked about the way the Oilers finished their series in the first round was the buy-in of everyone in the squad to not only throw the body, but also make the sacrifices needed to win. For my part on the television screen, I thought the Oilers had kept their best hockey for the sixth and seventh games, but they would have to find another show before opening on Wednesday night. As we have seen against Dallas, the Flames will shoot from everywhere and the Oilers will have to make sure they are ready to deal with that pressure, be it with a big block, a clean puck in front of the net or make sure they don’t. too early.
REVIEW THE MENTALITY OF CHEAP
If you’re browsing the internet right now, there aren’t many people outside of Edmonton who expect Oilers to win this series, and I hope the lack of faith puts a chip on our boys’ shoulders. As we’ve seen against Los Angeles, lowering expectations about what you’ll be able to achieve may actually be to our advantage, as most non-Alberta fans, sports bookmakers and experts seem to think the Flames are over. before some hockey. it’s even played. If the Oilers can embrace the mentality of outsiders, then maybe they can give themselves a little mental advantage over the Flames team, which seems to be putting all the pressure on them to deal with this thing. Just look at the contract negotiations that Calgary has to handle during this off-season. They have Tkachuk, Gaudreau and Mangiapane in need of new deals and this suggests to me that one of these guys will probably have to leave when it’s all over, which adds even more pressure on this team to win this series. . And when I saw that they were fighting the Stars – I know that Oettinger was without lights throughout the series and that was a big part of those problems – I’m very curious to see what Euler’s team, which has more depth, will do. on goals, they will play a much more physical game and will have a significant part of their fan base, which will take over the rink in their hometown. Although many people say that this thing ended before it started, I’m not so sure. This series was extremely even in the regular season, and while I know it doesn’t necessarily mean anything now, I’d be hesitant to be a Flames fan who counts chickens before something hatches.
EYE FOR EYE
One concern I have is that the Flames have some dirty, cheap players on their list who will be happy to run against players they know are injured. In other words, would it be surprising to see Matthew Tkachuk hacking into Leon Dreissile’s ankles, knowing full well that he is battling lower body injuries? Would not. Point. That’s why the Oilers must be prepared to respond with blows to the experienced Calgary boys with clean hits if this is the game the Flames want to play. I think if the turtles in the world are going to run to Leon, then the Oilers must be ready to crush Johnny Godreau into a small ball and stuff him in a locker. If the Flames want to run against our players, then the Oilers will have to be prepared to do the same. Make it clean, but make it count.
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KEEP DISCIPLINED
Although I know this will be easier said than done, the Oilers must limit their travel to the penalty area as much as possible to avoid giving Flames extra chances to score, especially since we know that there will be a lot of jokes after that whistle that will test everyone’s ability to stay focused. Although I don’t know exactly what that means, Oilers will have to find a way to push the boundaries of physical and annoying behavior without putting themselves in the box. Although the PC was very good against the Kings, I don’t think a rocket scientist is needed to understand that limiting Calgary’s time in the offensive zone will be crucial to winning this series.
MAKE A LIFE ON MARKSTROM
After watching a few games between Stars and Flames, one thing that quickly occurred to me was that Dallas wasn’t doing very well to make Markstrom’s life difficult, and that’s something the Oilers will need to make sure will cope. . They have to enter Markström’s kitchen as often as possible with the intention of creating some chaos in the fold, because if he can see the shots coming, then he will be able to stop them all day. Just as we saw against Quick and Kings, making the goalkeeper’s life difficult and not expecting every goal to be beautiful is part of the plan the Oilers are desperate to have.
DON’T BE AN IDIOT
As much as it is a lot of fun, endlessly stressful and physically charged, can we all agree that any violence should stay on the ice and not in the stands or on the streets? I mean, I’m not talking about tweeting and sharing business on social media, I’m talking about actually getting into real battles, because your hockey team has won / won / anything. Although there is no doubt that this series will be spicy and that the two fan bases will be coming back and forth every night, I would prefer this to be a positive moment for both clubs, helping to grow the game instead of making us look like North Florida. Let’s have fun for the next two weeks, but let’s not pretend to be fools while we do. It seems fair, doesn’t it?
BETTER LIVING THAN EVER
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In the last episode of Better Lait Than Never, I went through the amazing environment of Rogers Place during Game 7 and saw how excited I was about the battle of Alberta. Subscribe to Better Lait Than Never for FREE on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and where else you get your podcasts!
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