February 18, 2022 by Heavy Hockey Network

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What do you see as the main differences between Jay Woodcroft and Dave Tippett’s coaching style?

Dash (@DashInThePark)
Jay Woodcroft’s ability to read & react within the game. Dave Tippett seemed staunch and stubborn, whereas Woodcroft is making changes to systems and personnel on the fly that are making a positive difference. Also, having the 3rd forward high on the 2-1-2 forecheck has helped plug the neutral zone, protect our defense, AND cut down on the amount of odd man rushes against.

Mike Dirsa (@MikeDirsa)
I have noticed when a defenceman pinches to hold a puck in the offensive zone a forward is quickly retreating to cover them up. I’ve also noticed conceding the blue line has stopped from our D.

Surveyor Brett (@Bluchanski)
The main difference I have noticed is that Jay Woodcroft likes to stand during his press availabilities whereas Tippett always sat. I feel the standing vibes are really helping the team right now.

Spencer Pomoty (@SPProspects)
Main thing I notice is the gap is much smaller in the neutral zone between the forwards and the defencemen. The attention to detail has increased immensely, for example leading players to only one side of the ice and ultimately forcing a dump in.

Josh Boulton (@ToughCallPod)
He so far seems to stick to a game plan for 60 minutes. Things might change from game to game (line combos, using 11 and 7, eg) but from puck drop to final horn, ahead or behind, he’s shown a trust in his own process which I think has been the calming force the Oilers have needed to settle into a game.

Ryan Lotsberg (@lotsryan)
This is a drastically different team under Woodcroft. He’s got 2 forwards aggressively forechecking by attacking the other team’s D. He’s got a forward high in the offensive zone for support. The forwards are finding ways to get to the middle of the offensive zone. They’re doing a much better job of defending the blue line, especially on the PK. The ice time is much more even rather than top heavy. He’s playing guys more when they’re buzzing, and he’s benching veterans when they make mistakes. He’s actively communicating on the bench.

What do you think has happened to the Edmonton Oilers power play? What needs to change?

Dash (@DashInThePark)
They seem to be trying to force the middle forward in the 1-3-1 to play a bumper as apposed to Tippett parking a James Neal/Alex Chiasson-type in the crease. So far this has mostly been Ryan Nugent-Hopkins who generally plays the half-wall. Throw in a few changes and rotations of PPQB on the and it’s created some hiccups. Give them time.

Mike Dirsa (@MikeDirsa)
Other teams have adjusted to our tendencies and have keyed on Leon Draisaitl’s one timer. Other players will need to start shooting more to open up Leon’s shot again.

Surveyor Brett (@Bluchanski)
One of the major problems with PP lately is the fact that they are not scoring as much as they were before. I would simply score more goals on the PP.

Spencer Pomoty (@SPProspects)
Teams are taking away the deadly seam pass by loading up the slot. The bumper position also hasn’t been getting a lot of touches, letting teams forget about him and focus on the lateral pass. A fun change I would like to see is Evan Bouchard and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins swap spots. Nuge hasn’t scored on the PP and putting Bouch there creates a one time threat we haven’t had since Oilers legend Mark Letestu.

Josh Boulton (@ToughCallPod)
We used to have our Alex Ovechkin one timer from Draisaitl, but the difference is if you focus on Ovi now you’ve had Evgeny Kuznetsov, TJ Oshie, Nicklas Backstrom, Tom Wilson and others playing tic tac toe on the other side for quick shots. You can’t watch them both. The Oilers need their own “automatic” setup on the opposite side to spread the box out. It’s one more area where they’ve needed and still need to put trust in players other than 97 and 29, a common theme.

Ryan Lotsberg (@lotsryan)
Other teams have figured out how to defend the cross seam pass against Connor and Leon. They collapse low and have one defender in the slot watching for that pass. They need to stop forcing that pass so often. They’re taking too long to make plays with the puck. They need to get back to what made them successful, which was constant movement of the puck and skaters, and creating chaos by winning races to loose pucks and outworking the PK.

Is Stuart Skinner going to be a legitimate starter in this league? Is he already there?

Dash (@DashInThePark)
In my humble opinion, Stuart Skinner is a 1B at best right now. That may also be his future ceiling too. That said, he is still only 23 years old, and has about 3-5 years to hit the prime age when goaltenders usually peak.

Mike Dirsa (@MikeDirsa)
I think Skinner is a couple years away from being a legitimate starter in this league but next year he belongs with the big club full time.

Surveyor Brett (@Bluchanski)
Skinner is definitely a starter for the Oilers. Not sure what that says about the Oilers current goaltending situation though (yikes). They just sent down the goalie with the best numbers to the AHL, so there’s always that….(oof)

Spencer Pomoty (@SPProspects)
Stuart Skinner will be an NHL goalie and at the moment according to the stats he is our best goalie. I don’t see him putting up a .915 while starting 50-60 games, but I like him as a 1B for 30-40 games. His footwork has come a long way and now he needs to improve his lateral movement. He’s big and tracks pucks extremely well. 

Josh Boulton (@ToughCallPod)
Yes he’s there. He can be a starter now. But there is a difference between someone simply capable of starting games and a bona fide 60-70 game starting staple. I think that’s still a few years away. 

Ryan Lotsberg (@lotsryan)
His numbers would suggest that he is, but the issue is that he hasn’t faced the rigours of an NHL starting goalie. The workload in the AHL is lower. The travel isn’t as long. He’s got the talent, but he needs to prove that he can handle those aspects. It’s good that he’s getting ample playing time on Bakersfield this season.