How can the Edmonton Oilers fix those ugly starts to games?

Article content

This in from Bob Stauffer of the Edmonton Oilers, news that for tonight’s game against the Wild of Minnesota, the Oilers are sticking with their recent lines, a signal that Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch is getting closer to finding four functional lines and three functional d-man pairings.

Article content

The question now is how to get these groups of players to execute at a high level early in the game.

Article content

Article content

Article content

RNH-McDavid-Hyman
Podkolzin-Draisaitl-Kapanen
Savoie-Samanski-Roslovic
Janmark-Lazar-Frederic
Mangiapane

Article content

Article content

Ekholm-Bouchard
Nurse-Walman
Stastney-Emberson
Regula

Article content

Jarry
Ingram
Pickard

Article content

My take

Article content

1. These lines have all shown enough to keep them together. Indeed the top two lines now present a major, splitting headache for opposing defences. The fourth line also has some jump, led by Hockey’s Tasmanian Devil, Curtis Lazar. The third line with big Josh Samanski at centre also makes sense and could well be a solid line in the playoffs. But what about those rancid starts? How to fix them?

Article content

2. Bob Stauffer asked me about those bad starts on Oilers Now last night. I wasn’t prepared for that question, other than to point out the obvious, that the Oilers weren’t making physical errors to start the game, but were making mental errors, such as bad line changes, over-ambitious passes getting picked off, poor reads on defence, that kind of thing. In other words, I identified the symptoms of the problems, but not the disease and gave no suggestion on how to fix it.

Article content

Article content

3. After that talk with Bob, I kept thinking about the issue. Here’s what I came up with. The main issue comes from what the Oilers do best — which is to play a fast, precision puck moving, possession game — and just how difficult that game is to play right out of the game.

Article content

The Oilers know that to dominate they have to play their puck possession game, but the problem is the complexity of that game.

Article content

This kind of acrobatic, high-wire puck possession game is hard to play unless you are fully warmed up and activated. That’s not easy to do on first few shifts, right?

Article content

But it’s so much part of the Edmonton Oilers’ identity that the players still try to bring that excellence and master that degree of difficulty as early as the first shift. But they’re not yet ready for that, so they’re brains and bodies overload and they make mistakes.

Article content

How fix it? Back off this kind of complexity early on. Make a few rules early on: safe passes only, do not force it, focus on defensive position, taking the man, pucks in deep, hard forecheck.