*** 2021-22, 2nd Round SC Playoffs: Edmonton Oilers (P2) at Calgary Flames (P1)- (EDM WINS 4-1) ***

[JR Ewing]

Hyman has been so good this playoff. 3-2 now.

 

[JR Ewing]

LOL!

 

Now 3-3 after the Flames score immediately.

 

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Just now, JR Ewing said:

LOL!

 

Now 3-3 after the Flames score immediately.

 

 

I put away the juju seasoning, and Calgary comes back with two....

I'm worse than the officiating...artificially influencing games here! 

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

If this were one of those EA video games you guys talk about, I'd say someone found a cheat code and applied it  

Game just went from sim mode, to bat$#it crazy arcade mode.

 

[SaucyJack]

As I view this Battle of Oilberta as a neutral, my sense is that those living north of Red Deer will go to bed happy.

 

Free-skating contest, offensive zone mostly gained without serious checks and without having to dump and chase…

 

…Edmonton seem to have the skating edge to my eye.  I say 4-1 Oilers.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Game.
Set.
McDavid Match.

Oilers move on.
Will now await the winner of Blues-Avalanche in the West Finals.

Upset Special........ Complete.
Close Red Files.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

The Oilers will be the road team regardless of who wins the StL-Col series, but you think they care?
No. They just know they are in.

They'll happily have bags ready for Missouri or Colorado.

[JR Ewing]

If it's an upset, I think it's a minor one. They went 2-2 against each other this season, and since Tippett was fired, had the exact same number of points. People talked about this matchup like it was the '76 Habs vs the '75 Caps. As ever: there's a reason they make them actually play the games.

 

 

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

1 minute ago, JR Ewing said:

If it's an upset, I think it's a minor one. They went 2-2 against each other this season, and since Tippett was fired, had the exact same number of points. People talked about this matchup like it was the '76 Habs vs the '75 Caps. As ever: there's a reason they make them actually play the games.

 

 

 

Yea, the way the media went about it, Edmonton were heavy underdogs.

I just felt the way the Oilers play....well, they just had more than just a passing chance to win.
Why I picked them.

Don't forget, people bought into Calgary vs Colorado WELL before the playoffs. Even I bought into that a bit.
And had it been LA getting past EDM, I easily pick CGY to beat them and get to the West Finals.

But, as you know, even though hockey is more a team sport than the other major North American sports, I just couldn't discount having the two best producers on the same team....and THIS time, with a much better supporting cast.
The only real question in my mind was, "Will Mike Smith hold up?"  
He did.

[thegx.ca]

Calgary didn't play tough enough...how can there be a Battle of Alberta without beating up a single Edmonton player...guess it hard for Lucic to fight guys he's friends with...and the rest of Calgary followed his lead...Calgary should have been playing with same emotion like against Nashville...

Edited May 27, 2022 by Villella McMeans

[Brewin Flames]

Edmonton Oilers eliminate Calgary Flames in 5 games to advance to Western Conference finals

12:53 AM ET

• 
  Kristen ShiltonESPN NHL reporter

CALGARY, Alberta -- Edmonton Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft thought his team needed a boost.

He had a hunch how to get it.

 

The Oilers were one goal away from closing out a second-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the Calgary Flames in Game 5 on Thursday night. Woodcroft went with his gut and swapped Zach Hyman for Evander Kane on Edmonton's top line with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

 

The gamble paid off. That line ignited and Draisaitl set up McDavid for the overtime game winner that sent Edmonton to its first Western Conference finals appearance since 2006.

 

"I thought we were a little sluggish as a group," Woodcroft said after his team's 5-4 victory. "Not just Connor, but as a group I thought we had more to give. Just flipping Kane and Hyman the way we did, I thought it boosted Connor and Leon a little bit and gave us a little bit of a spark. Doesn't always work like that. Tonight it did."

 

Draisaitl and McDavid fittingly connected on the winner, which came just over 5 minutes into the extra period. They had dominated the series offensively, combining for 29 points in five games.

 

Draisaitl's 17 points are the most ever scored in a playoff series between the Oilers and Flames.

 

In Game 5, McDavid didn't feel his best, but in the end, that didn't matter.

 

"I just tried to get my leg going," McDavid said of scoring the series clincher. "I hadn't been doing that well all night, so just focused on skating, got on the forecheck and got the puck to Leo. Know if I get the puck to [him], something good is going to happen.

 

Tried to get open, and he made a great play as always, and I tried to shoot it on net and find a way."

 

The game included a record-breaking span of goal scoring in the second period and a controversial overturned goal by the Flames' Blake Coleman in the third.

 

Calgary built a 2-0 lead early in the second period, off goals by Andrew Mangiapane and Mikael Backlund. Draisaitl responded by teeing up Darnell Nurse to put Edmonton on the board.

 

And then a messy rebound control from Flames netminder Jacob Markstrom provided an easy tap-in for Jesse Puljujarvi shortly after to even the score at 2.

 

At the midway point of the second, Calgary and Edmonton then reached a mind-boggling new height. Over the span of 1:11, they combined for the fastest four goals ever scored in a playoff game.

 

Hyman's power-play marker started the landslide, giving Edmonton its first lead at 3-2. Johnny Gaudreau responded with an equalizer for the Flames, followed 12 seconds later by Calle Jarnkrok's go-ahead tally. In another 40 seconds, Evan Bouchard had Edmonton tied again at 4.

 

"It was a roller coaster, all right," McDavid said. "To come out of there all square was big for our group. It gave [us] a chance to be one shot away in the third period and overtime."

 

Calgary believed it broke the tie late in the third. Coleman appeared to score the Flames' fifth goal, but it was overturned after an official review determined the puck was kicked in by Coleman as he fell to the ice.

 

Calgary argued that puck was going in regardless, and Coleman didn't have any effect on its trajectory.

 

The NHL situation room ruled Coleman had reached out with his skate to guide the puck.

 

"My understanding is that you can redirect the puck, you just can't kick it," Coleman said. "[I must not] understand the rule."

 

"We thought it was going to be called that way," Woodcroft said. "But you never know, so we're fortunate it did go our way."

 

When the game reached overtime, McDavid needed just over five minutes to light the lamp and send Edmonton home with a victory.

 

All told, Calgary and Edmonton combined for 45 goals through five games. That's not how Woodcroft would have drawn it up, but he never grew nervous that Edmonton couldn't keep its composure.

"I think the calm comes from our leadership group," he said. "I just keep going back to the fact that we have the people in the room that can get through sticky circumstances, whether you play four minutes or 24 minutes, your contribution is valued.

 

You're important on our team. And we've said this before there is room for contribution of greatness from everybody. There's a level of just commitment and grinding and tenacity that's just required in playoff time."

 

That carried Edmonton to victory in the first playoff iteration of the fabled Battle of Alberta in 31 years. The momentum swings were massive. The emotional buy-in was taxing.

 

But the payoff was, unquestionably, worth it.

 

"Right now, we're going to enjoy this," Woodcroft said. "To do this against your archrival and close them out in their building in the fashion that we did, we're going to enjoy it. And we know that whoever comes out of that other series [between Colorado and St. Louis] is going to be a really good opponent."

[Brewin Flames]

Meh, this one sucks....

 

If you had said that Smith would outplay Markstrom i would have laughed...but he did, or did he.

 

The Oil stars were stars, and they needed to be, but the flames Star players all but vanished, and Markstrom was terrible.

 

Oh well, off to next year, now i can watch the rest of the playoffs as an unbiased fan.

[Math]

I just don't understand why Calgary changed its entire roster and make these unknown dudes play with the same uniforms and numbers. Even though they had to go to game #7 against the Stars, the original Flames weren't that bad...

[SaucyJack]

13 hours ago, JR Ewing said:

People talked about this matchup like it was the '76 Habs vs the '75 Caps.

Hey…leave poor Yvon Labre out of this! 

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Gaudreau, Lindholm, Tkachuk.
Three of Calgary's biggest offensive weapons, once again, in crunch playoff time, disappeared.

Gaudreau-- 3G, 11A in 12 games played
Lindholm--  5G, 4A in 12 games played
Tkachuk--   4G, 6A in 12 games played

On the surface, overall (DAL + EDM) decent playoff production numbers...however... in the LAST THREE games vs. Edmonton, when the Flames really could have used their heroics:

A COMBINED 2G, 0A and -11.
That is not clutch.
That is not the way to get it done.

These guys, as good as they are, seem to have a history of not getting it done when they need to lift their teams the most in the post season.
I really don't know what to make of that...

Edited May 27, 2022 by TropicalFruitGirl26

[pilldoc]

12 minutes ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

Three of Calgary's biggest offensive weapons, once again, in crunch playoff time, disappeared.

Gaudreau-- 3G, 11A in 12 games played

 

And yet some in Flyerland want Johnny Hockey in O&B.  This is why I want nothing to do with him .......

[JR Ewing]

9 minutes ago, pilldoc said:

 

And yet some in Flyerland want Johnny Hockey in O&B.  This is why I want nothing to do with him .......

 

 

Gaudreau was right there with Draisaitl, and could have battled him for the puck. Instead of initiating any kind of contact, he peeled away into no-man's land and allowed space for the pass on the winner to go through.

[pilldoc]

38 minutes ago, JR Ewing said:

 

 

Gaudreau was right there with Draisaitl, and could have battled him for the puck. Instead of initiating any kind of contact, he peeled away into no-man's land and allowed space for the pass on the winner to go through.

i rest my case …..

[Math]

1 hour ago, JR Ewing said:

Gaudreau was right there with Draisaitl, and could have battled him for the puck. Instead of initiating any kind of contact, he peeled away into no-man's land and allowed space for the pass on the winner to go through.

 

That's the first thing I noticed. It's like he was hoping for another teammate to get the puck and make him a pass for an eventual breakaway on the other side. 

[JR Ewing]

I think pretty highly of Johnny Gaudreau as a hockey player; maybe more than some others around here. He had a hell of a season, but I wouldn't be so keen on paying what he's likely to want. You're going to get some very strong scoring from a very small guy who shies away from contact, provides absolutely no physicality or shot blocking, and isn't the most dedicated defensive player I've seen. I like the player, but not the price he's surely looking for.

 

I hate to go there, but when the Flames needed him in those last three games, he had 1 assist, went -4, and made a really poor decision on the series-winner. It's a brutal standard to hold people to, but it's part of how we figure out who the best players are.

 

[pilldoc]

35 minutes ago, JR Ewing said:

I hate to go there, but when the Flames needed him in those last three games, he had 1 assist, went -4, and made a really poor decision on the series-winner. It's a brutal standard to hold people to, but it's part of how we figure out who the best players

 

 

and not to beat a dead horse (because I don't) and besides it has been discussed ad nauseam....but the disappearing in the playoffs reminds me of another player.

 

Not debating Johnny Hockey's skill set, but he has a history of disappearing in the playoffs...that is what scares me away from him .....  And as you mentioned the price tag he will command.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Switching gears a bit, so as not to injure poor Johnny who still has to make a living somewhere next season:
The Edmonton Oilers.

What's next for them?
They don't know yet whether they fly to Denver, CO or St. Louis, MO.

What will they do when they get to either? Can anything be guessed based on what they did against the Kings and now the Flames?
Both teams EDM beat were primarily defensive squads, with the Flames obviously having some good offense as well that, as we have all noted, disappeared during their series.

But let's also give credit to the Oiler defenders and Mike Smith who had a hand in helping make the Calgary offense disappear.

I believe, if the Oilers draw St. Louis, another somewhat defensive team with some good offense, they could do the same as they did already to this point....once again though, provided Mike Smith holds up health-wise....because I am not so sure Koskinen can just be plugged in there and "be" Mike Smith.

Now, if the Oilers draw Colorado...wow....I think even I have a hard time seeing  how the Oilers get by a much more intense, complete, and offensively deadly team like the Avs.
Unless, they abuse the HELL out of Darcy Kuemper in net, whom I still feel is the Avs' weak link.

Look up "roll the dice", and I think you'll find a team picture of these Edmonton Oilers.
They have the potential to light up other teams with McD and Drai, and now Mike Smith leading the way.... or the potential to stink up the joint if certain players completely shat the bed, or their depth is compromised in some way.

[thegx.ca]

Can't see Edmonton beating Colorado even after what they did to Calgary...for some reason Calgary wasn't as physical or emotional against Edmonton compared to against Dallas...Colorado won't have that problem against Edmonton...

[NHL HHOF]

That Calgary Flames Blake Coleman goal would have gone in on its own even if it had not touched his skate. It was heading into the net anyway, and it would have been credited to Mikael Backlund, who shot the puck at the net. If I was Blake Coleman I would have just lifted my foot in the air and let the puck go in the net on its own, but I guess he couldn't, and he needed to stop himself from crashing into the net. I don't think he intentionally directed the puck into the net. Because of this controversy, I don't think it would look good if Edmonton won the Cup this season.

 

 

[thegx.ca]

20 minutes ago, NHL HHOF said:

That Calgary Flames Blake Coleman goal would have gone in on its own even if it had not touched his skate. It was heading into the net anyway, and it would have been credited to Mikael Backlund, who shot the puck at the net. If I was Blake Coleman I would have just lifted my foot in the air and let the puck go in the net on its own, but I guess he couldn't, and he needed to stop himself from crashing into the net. I don't think he intentionally directed the puck into the net. Because of this controversy, I don't think it would look good if Edmonton won the Cup this season.

 

 

I agree the goal should have counted as it was called a goal right away and as you said it was going in anyways...as for intent I don't think that matters because there was no distinct kicking motion and Coleman was being pushed into the net while also tripping over goalie pads...pushing the puck in with skates and directing the puck in with skates is allowed and what Coleman did was not a distinct kicking motion especially while falling...I think the key is the distinct kicking motion part and intent matters less because of course Coleman wants to help the puck go in...