Chapter 1: What is the focus of the Edmonton Oilers' playoff journey?
Hey, it's Bob Stauffer. I just wanted to let you know that you can listen to Oilers Now ad-free on Amazon Music, included with Prime. Well, we're hoping the Lunatic Fringe is in the house tonight. Rogers Place game two. Playoff round number one, the Edmonton Oilers and the Anaheim Ducks.
The Oilers coming off of a 4-3 come-from-behind victory on Monday night that saw Kasperi Kapanen and Jason Dickinson each score two goals in that game. This is Oilers Now Road to the Cup. It's presented by Sentinel Storage. Bob Stauffer here in Ford Hall, joined by Adam Gatton. Technical producer back in the 880 Chet Studios is Jeff Walker. Max Reed is our engineer.
Coming up in the next half hour, we'll hear some comments from Chris Knobloch, Josh Szymanski, and Jake Wallman. We'll have interviews coming up with former NHL or longtime Washington Capitals broadcaster Alan May and former Edmonton Oiler Mike Kruschnitzky. once involved in one of the biggest trades in NHL history. Road to the Cup is brought to you by Sentinel Storage. Try four weeks free.
Visit sentinelsstorage.ca for more details. Let's go quickly into the audio vault and hear from Chris Knobloch. Is that a one-second clip on Jason Dickinson? Yes, it is. A one-second clip. Quick update. Quick update, here we go on Jason Dickinson who did not take the morning skate today. He'll be a game time decision. There you go, he'll be a game time decision.
Josh Szymanski appears to be drawn in based on today's morning skate. Here's Chris Knobloch.
We've been very happy with him all year. You know, we anticipate him being a... an oiler in the future, we weren't really expecting it to be so fast. You know, more down the road, maybe next year. But since he came to training camp, he had an outstanding camp and caught our attentions immediately.
And then he went down to Bakersfield, played some American League games, obviously, and played very well down there in more of a defensive role. And, you know, when we needed a...
players and we called them up i believe that was in january and came up and played a few games and fit it right in and the offensive wasn't there but um just somebody that the coaching staff felt really comfortable on the ice and i think a lot of it is just he's wired to play good defensive hockey and you know he was never going to hurt us when he was on the ice now
as he's played more games and had more responsibilities. He's felt more comfortable with the puck and making more plays. And I know he really took off during a stretch when he was playing with Savvy and Roslovec. And that line was really good. And yeah, and then at the end of the year, got in some more games and playing more with Doc and Freddie.
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Chapter 2: Who are the key players discussed for the Oilers and Ducks?
Connor Ingram starts in goal. And speaking of Jake Wallman, he had these thoughts on focusing on game two.
Every game is something to build on and reflect back on it. Got to be tighter and some of those parts in the game there, especially the second. And, yeah, I mean, no series is going to be easy. So, I mean, it's going to be ups and downs, so we expect it.
All right, there we go. That is Jake Wallman of the Edmonton Oilers. For the Anaheim Ducks, so obviously Henrique is out for Edmonton due to injury. Szymanski is in. Ducks captain Radko Gudis will not play. Drew Helleson out of Boston College has played just about 120 games in the NHL, will play his first playoff game.
The Ducks expected to go with Leo Carlson along with Chris Kreider and Troy Terry. That line was terrific the other night. Michael Granlund. with Alex Killorn and Bennett Seneca. Ryan Poehling with Mason McTavish and Cutter Gauthier. Gauthier only played 13-0-2. He'd been playing with a little bit of an injury tweak down the stretch. Tim Washi along with Jeffrey Vial and Ian Moore.
Lacombe and Trouba. Both played over 25 minutes in game number one. Minchikov, along with John Carlson. Carlson played 24-0-2. Tyson Hines and Drew Ellison. Lukasz Dostal will start in goal. 882 save percentage so far in the series. And the Oilers getting the victory the other night. by a score of 4-3. They look to take two games to nothing leading the series tonight.
Some quick thoughts on last night's game. Montreal and Tampa Bay went at it. Some nasty hockey. You've got to love it. The Lightning, man, they were one goalpost away in the third period of blowing a game and dropping both games at home in that series when Scott Sabrin in the lineup cross-checked
josh anderson from behind canadians got in the power play final two and a half minutes hit the post and then eventually tampa bay ended up winning the game in a sequence uh with uh kirby dock where he uh iced the puck and then they ran a little bit of a pick off a play and created an open look and moser with a good shot frankly i think surprised uh jacob dobish the goaltender for the montreal canadians so that series is tied 1-1
The LA Kings had a 1-0 lead with about six minutes left in the game in Denver, Colorado, but they couldn't close it. And the Avalanche ultimately, Nicolo Waugh, his second career playoff overtime goal. It's kind of crazy when you think about the fact that, you know, who never had an overtime playoff game-winning goal? How about Gordie Howe and Mark Messier, to name a couple?
And Nicolo was, too, in his career. But the Avalanche up 2-0 over the... Los Angeles Kings. Not a surprise, but a surprise that both games were 2-1 scores. I think that's fair. Boston rallied after losing Game 1, taking a 2-0 lead in the third period and getting beaten by the Buffalo Savers in Game 1. Well, last night it was all Boston, a 4-2 victory there.
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Chapter 3: What insights does Al May provide about the Capitals' recent trades?
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Friesen Brothers, their in-store butchers are grinding fresh Alberta beef daily. Perfect for those playoff burgers because every great game, Knight deserves a top-shelf meal. We welcome back to the show. He willed himself to a lengthy NHL career. He's been working forever on the Washington Capitals broadcast. He knows the league. We welcome back Al May. How are you doing, Al?
I'm doing great, Bob. Not covering any playoffs, but I've been watching every single game, so it's been a blast once again watching all these great rivalries take place here in the most important time of the year.
All right, well, let's start with the fact that the team, you've got a special relationship with Alexander Ovechkin, the Washington Capitals. They had a mammoth step forward year last year. Maybe some of that, you know, fortune and you need fortune in hockey maybe didn't go quite their way this year.
And we got John Carlson in this series, but was that maybe a tell that the Capitals didn't think they necessarily had the juice this season when they make a move like that, move out both Carlson and Dowd out to the Western Conference?
I think with the way things were going, you have to be very honest with your team. Whether you're looking at money puck or whether you're just gauging where you think your team's at. The Caps were very inconsistent this year. And, you know, trending, you know, the inconsistencies, you know, favored the downside of not making the playoffs more.
And I thought they did, you know, hedge their bets and, you know, getting a haul of what they did for Carly at his age. And, you know, he's the best defenseman the Caps have ever had. And he leads in every single category. He was still, in my opinion, the best defenseman this year.
And, you know, to get a first and a third and then for doubt a second and a third, you know, an aging fourth liner, you know, they did what they had to to worry about the future and, you know, let the chips fall where they may. So I thought it showed Chris Patrick.
really showed for the first time, and I'm not taking a shot at him, but he had to make hard decisions for the very first time in his career as a general manager, and I thought he came out of that on the better side of the hockey trade. So you look at it, hopefully they don't screw up the trades, but just the numbers alone show that he did a pretty good job.
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Chapter 4: How does Al May evaluate the performance of the Oilers' new acquisitions?
We're joined by Alan May, who was scared of nobody back when he played. and the National Hockey League, longtime Capitals broadcaster, and briefly an Edmonton Oiler, and a guy that has a great affinity for this city. Al, I've got to tell you this. You talk about a team that can bully, the Minnesota Wild can bully. They've got the two Flannels and McCarron on one line.
They've got Trennan on another line. They've got Middleton on the fence. You know, Erickson Eck and Brodine can shut you down. That's a big, tough, talented team. I know a lot of people think it's like it's Colorado and nobody else in the West. I think Minnesota will beat Dallas, but I think Minnesota is going to be a tough out in the central side, don't you?
Oh, absolutely. And, you know, you never know in that series because Dallas still has some, like, wicked firepower. But, you know, they're banged up. And so, you know, you got to be healthy to go in the playoffs. And I think maybe if Minnesota has a weakness, it's in the middle of the ice at the top tier guys. Like, you know, who is the number one center there? And that's...
You don't have a legit gunner there, but at the same time I'm saying that, they've got a very complete hockey team. You're seeing what the LA Kings are. They've lost, but they've been right in it every minute of the game against Colorado. They're showing teams what they may need to do to have success against Colorado. Colorado will win that series, but L.A.
's playing them pretty damn tough, and there's no comparison in the skill level of those two teams, in the speed, but right now they're coming together as a team, they're playing their hearts out, but they don't have the legit lethal snipers that you have on the Colorado Avalanche, and I think the L.A. Kings, if they can find a way to get this series to five or six, hell, seven games,
They're going to take a lot of pounds of flesh off the Colorado Avalanche, and that will be for other teams to look at and say, that's how we have to play against the Avalanche and play heavy and physical and defensive.
The Oilers went out at the deadline and grabbed three guys. Everybody's focused on two, but three guys from the Chicago Blackhawks. First, they got Connor Murphy to settle down their D and to have a guy to play with Darnell Nurse. And he's done that.
And then they went and got Jason Dickinson, and everybody saw Colton Dock as being a throw-in in that trade, except Dock's averaging about seven hits a game when he's in there, providing some physicality. What do you see with the Oilers right now?
Well, I think, you know, you talk about those players. They've been, I think, really good for the Oilers. And the best thing about them is they have good size. And, you know, Connor Murphy is a veteran D-man. He understands how to play defensively. Unfortunately, he was, you know, locked with Chicago for all those years.
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Chapter 5: What challenges do the Oilers face in the playoffs according to Al May?
Who do you see winning the Central? Who do you see winning the Metro? And you got it, the Northeast, the Atlantic.
Well, I don't think I've ever seen it where it's that tough to call. And when you're looking at the teams out there, I love what Vegas has done under John Tortorella.
And I know that they lost, but I'm still thinking, I think if the Oilers can corral their game and their style of play, and there was a lot of things I didn't like in their game the other night, but there's a lot of things that I loved. And I think they get so... caught up in trying to score goals, which is the name of the game. You've got to score more. You've got to get the GWG.
But I think sometimes they press so hard that they're reckless and they create odd man rushes against and holes in their defense. I think they need to play the game with a little more offensive control. They've got players that can grind and play physical. But I'm going to lean towards the Oilers coming out of the Pacific.
And because the other teams are going to, you know, they're going to lose a pound of flesh. And I don't think the Oilers, you know, coming out of this series, you know, if in fact they do beat Anaheim, I don't think they're going to get beat up. And I think they got the team that can play more physical, what they were able to do the other night.
And I think they'll, you know, draw into their system how they need to play. So I'm going to lean with the Oilers there. And then it's just tough. You said Minnesota. I'm kind of leaning that way for them. I think they can beat Colorado. Yeah.
And then, you know, I look over and, you know, I'm looking at the Atlantic guys and there's just something about the Boston Bruins defensive system and the goaltending that they're getting right now. And yeah, I don't know. They still have to prove that they can beat them, but I love how they've been playing without the puck.
The team that's really surprising everybody and the way they've played since the Olympics, since the Olympic break, is Philadelphia Flyers are playing this incredible defensive system that's making people look bad, but they've got a buy-in. When you have a young team and you've got everyone buying in the way they are, it's been incredibly... Goal tending has been excellent.
But they're all dialed in. And the system they're using, it looks like the Capitals from 2018. And they're all in. They're checking the puck very well. They're not getting caught up in heavy four checks.
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