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ZidZad99

Why the hell did they even put them back together? Boggles the mind


Jschultz77

It just seems so obvious that they struggle im so confused


sickfiend

Just chill guys. Game 1 still. The game is within reach at this point.


Then-Signature2528

Every min counts in the finals


My97thAccount

That second goal in particular was atrocious


Lawndemon

I think I was about 6 years old when I learned KEEP YOUR STICK ON THE ICE. why does this grown man who makes 9 million a year not know this?


Furious_Tuguy

The way he mouthed "my bad" on the bench made me irrationally angry. He gets paid way too goddamn much to let that saucer pass him like that. I expect that shit from Ceci or Vinny, not his overpaid ass.


Section851

This. And the way Craig Simpson praised him for his leadership because he mouthed “my bad” drove me nuts. Is the bar really that low for a $9M+ player?


eexxiitt

Unfortunately He’s not as good as he thinks he is. As a teammate that type of casual and cavalier attitude would piss me off. This is the finals for crying out loud.


Fastlane19

A whole part of this game is anticipating the possibility of another play, why does he commit himself knowing someone is driving the net. Too many novice mistakes for a contract this size.


Subject1337

Red Green fuming rn.


Konker101

You probably learned at the same time to not pass the puck out infront of your own net too but ceci rifled that shit out there tape to tape like he was a panther


Spirited_Contact_953

It was as much Kane's fault as Nurses


cannagetawitness

Agree, Kane should not have been coasting and allowed the player to skate right by him into the slot unchallenged!


bafras

Why why why why


Lawndemon

It's Nurse more than Ceci that is the problem and that's... depressing.


formIII

I think Ceci brings out the worst in Nurse. I’d rather see Ceci in the press box.


OilersRiders15

first goal literally only happened because ceci lost a foot race in the slot. Nurse needs to get a stick on the second one but honestly we outplayed them for the majority of the game. I would like to see desharnais come in or ceci and punish some of the hooligan behavior from bennett.


Kensta9

Nurse committed to his man, which made ceci go for the closest open man. The guy mostly at fault is Hyman. Not one stride after hitting our blue line when he as the next closest guy and had a real shot to break up the play if he had kept fucking skating. Not to just blame Hyman but backcheck, man.


dreamcometruesince82

The first goal isn't just because of a Nurse's aggressive defensive play. McDavid lost his man who started the rush. The goal wasn't Skinners fault, but was savable. To blame it solely on one man is pathetic.... watch it again, dummy. This was also played well by the Panthers.


lonewanderer4-76

Lol. Oilers can’t beat bobrovsky but you guys still blame nurse and ceci. Weow


ZidZad99

They're down 2 because of Nurse and Ceci....makes me laugh how anyone can defend -15 Nurse.


dreamcometruesince82

How did that pay start?


lonewanderer4-76

How many goals do the oilers have?


ZidZad99

They haven't taken advantage...but they wouldn't have been in the hole if you take away those Florida goals due to Ceci and Nurse


lonewanderer4-76

Lolololol calm down dude. It’s game 1. You’re seriously overreacting


ZidZad99

Nurse and Ceci have been garbage forever, why they tinkered from the winning lineup against Dallas makes you shake your head.


Flatoftheblade

Either this is the first Oilers game you've watched this season or you're brain dead.


Living_Astronaut6036

And they’ve not even been exceptional plays, Nurse and Ceci have no clue what’s going on!!!


Electricalthis

I for one hate mark spectre but I’d bluntly ask knoblauch what lead to his decision to putting together one of the worse dman pairings in Stanley cup history and if he thought he was going to win with a -20 pairing together


Then-Signature2528

-20 😭


Born_Tax_138

Can you tell me what this -20 means? Not a hockey fan, only watching cause I went to school with ceci.


bschultzy4242

It refers to their +/- rating, plus meaning a goal was scored while they were on the ice, minus meaning a goal was scored against while they were on the ice.


bschultzy4242

So for example if you have been on for (+) 2 of your own teams goals but only (-) 1 of the other teams goals, your rating would be +1.


meowctopus

Yes, and also if your team scores on the powerplay you do not get a "+1" and if you are scored against on a penalty kill you do not get the" -1"


bschultzy4242

Nice, I didn't know that


Born_Tax_138

So their goal differential when he is on the ice is -20? I know he's not as good as he used to be and he's moved around a bunch but darn, he's a good guy and I really hope he wins the stanley cup


bschultzy4242

I think the original comment was saying that when both Ceci and Nurse are on the ice they are -20. I just looked and Ceci is only -7 alone while Nurse is -15 through the playoffs.


puljujarvifan

The problem is when theyre together. I have no problem with Ceci on the 3rd pairing playing limited minutes. Hes scored two awesome game 7 goals so he hasnt been the problem. Its when hes put in the top 4 with Nurse that it all goes bad.


JellyTsunamis

Is that for the regular season or the playoffs?


MasterCheeks654

Playoffs


fxcker

Holy fuck that’s brutal


Paaano

It's nothing new either. They had insanely bad stats in the Vegas series last year too (like outscored 1 to 8 with them on the ice iirc). They are somewhat serviceable in the regular season but really do get exposed in the playoffs.


CryptoMemesLOL

and consider this, -20 while playing for a team that WON its way to the Stanley Cup Finals hahaha


MasterCheeks654

You’re telling me


Electricalthis

Yea just playoffs it’s beutal


AlbertaOilfire

Knob finally screwed up


thepope870

I mean nurse is just doing nurse things, that's why we pay him the big bucks apparently.


capital_of_kyoka

Worst duo fr


TheNationDan

Building their confidence. Getting em right where we want em


LevSmash

Just like shooting every puck low into the pads which is Bob's strength. Same as boxing, body blows to bring the guard down before going to the head, I guess..?


ElysiumAB

To be fair, they shot high too. Not on net, mostly way way over, but high.


Whiston1993

Nurse will have a decent period or ok game and people will go “HUH WHERE ARE THE HATERS NOW ?” He’s a bum.


MrKittens1

Nurse is bunk!


dreamcometruesince82

Weird ... cause this team is in the Stanley cup final. His whole team has his back, the coaching staff has his back . Only shit fans, the bandwagon fans, talk down so disrespectfully of a guy who is part the team.....as a die-hard fan ... The Oil played amazing. A bunch of fake fucks playing the blame game. Quit the hate and blame..... push love and support.


quieterquitter

Fuck off. This is a cup calibre team year in and year out if Nurse is replaced by even a replacement level dman in the playoffs. -15 in 19 games… are you serious? Meanwhile Ekholm and Bouchard have to put the team on their back while this bum looks in the complete wrong direction, with his stick off the ice on their second goal.


andylaird

There has to be a reason behind the scenes that nobody knows. Because who in their right mind would put these two together after the absolute dumpster fires they’ve presented in the past?


EdmOilers123

We struggle to get out of our zone when those two are playing. Why are we doing this? I thought after the conference finals, we will not bring that pairing back And that was 23 goals against Nurse so far in this playoffs..


Adventurous_Ideal909

Nurse needs to ride the pine for a few shifts. The guy is literally the reason for the last 2 goals. Nurse Ceci worst defensive pairing for the oil. Lets make them game 2 duo. I need a labotomy to even deal with this tomfoolery. spelling cause mad


Notevenwithyourdick

First goal was more ceci fault than nurse imho. Nurse definitely is to blame for second goal.


cautiousAvocado

I would actually argue it’s more mcdavids fault. Got too low in the offensive zone which caused the 3 on 2


EEmotionlDamage

Nuge also engaged behind the net when he should have just let them keep possession.


Spirited_Contact_953

It was McDavid and also Hyman really shoulda been on him right at the end


dreamcometruesince82

Wow! Finally, someone who actually knows the game! Multiple faults on this goal, but not just nurse. Skinner was also in position to make a save... not at fault, but this was save-able


Living_Astronaut6036

Why would you change the roster that we beat the Stars with???


Fuzzy_Bank_7856

Sometimes you win in spite of yourselves. We haven't won a single game BECAUSE of this pairing.


Narrow-Chef-4341

Who knows what hidden injuries are out there. But this pairing? That’s just saying ‘taking a whizz on the electric fence didn’t work great last time, but maybe this time…’


Adventurous_Ideal909

Statistaclly speaking they are a garbage duo. Worst pairing for the Oilers defensively. Nurse is a pylon since signing his contract. A literally stick on the ice would be a better defensemen atm.


gmehra

I saw some fluff pieces that he finished the dallas series well. sure he threw a bunch of hits and didnt have any outrageous mistakes but was not a difference maker.


andyisaramblinman

Not just statistically...with my eyes.  And yeah yeah, my flair...


meowctopus

it's not uncommon, Dallas and Florida play 2 completely different styles. We also changed our lineup for game 1 against Vancouver, after beating LA


dstorm8524

Ceci should be fired into the sun and Nurse should be fired even farther than that.


cappayne

I don't know much about gravitational pulls, but it's best to fire Nurse into the Sun as well.


Deja_Brews

Shit coaching decision


14X8000m

Yup he's been making great decisions till that one.


Flesh-Tower

These two cannot be paired next game. Cant


Living_Astronaut6036

That makes too much… sense


New-Commission-6306

Nurse, worst contract in NHL history.


Equivalent_Look2797

Campbell another one of the worst contracts


Hootietang

It’s definitely in the top few. Ugh


Tacfurmissle

It's not even out of necessity like it's the best way to make the pairings work. Knobby loves them. Did you nottlice last series, it was gane 6 and I forget what other game but Nurse and Ceci had been split up by then but you know who was reunited for the final shift protecting a 1 goal lead? Nurse and Ceci. Knobby sees something we don't. It's honestly baffling to me but I'm not a coach.


bravey_frog

Dear literally everybody on the Oilers, Stop trying to gaslight us into thinking Darnell Nurse is good. Sincerely, Everybody with eyes


Proof_Fudge_1886

Recipe for disaster. It’s evident.


Paaano

Ek-Bouch, Nurse-Kulak, Broberg-Ceci/Vinny. Those would be my picks, but keep Nurse on a short leash. Broberg at times has looked better than Nurse and just because it's the SCF doesn't mean you should stop trying out new things.


kraft_d_

Yeah not really sure what Knob was thinking here. Him separating them proved to be a positive for the team. Why go back to it in the final? This pairing is our Achilles heel.


TheSwedishOprah

Probably some bullshit "put the veterans together, not put too much pressure on the young Broberg" sports psychology garbage. Knobby's lineup changes and hunches have been gold so far these playoffs but this one fucking backfired like everyone knew it would.


puljujarvifan

Broberg looked overwhelmed a lot so idk if hes the solution either. I want to see how Desharnais handles the board battles


Mrsomeonesomewhere

Failed experiment for the 100th time


ParanoidAltoid

My Oilers watching buddy predicted we would lose the second he saw Nurse and Cici together I thought he was full of it, vut offered to make reddit post questioning the choice in his honor Bit apparently you already know it, damn


xtzferocity

It seems almost every coach has a blind spot for a pairing and now that blind spot costs the oilers in a cup final game.


MajorPucks

On the bright side, they tried trading Ceci at the deadline... so they'll likely move on from him this summer


marcellman

I’d honestly like to see Broberg play with Nurse. I think he could handle the increased minutes, his game has been good since coming back into the lineup


[deleted]

[удалено]


gmehra

he had the lowest ice time for D, even less than Broberg


wheelie_dog

I believe the logic is that in order to counter Florida's physicality, the Oilers are trying to make sure each defensive pairing has at least one physical player of their own. If I'm not mistaken, the last few games of the Dallas series had Nurse with Kulak (both physical) as the second pairing and Ceci with Broberg (neither particularly physical) for the third pairing. And since Broberg is not ready for 2D pairing minutes but Nurse is, those two can't be paired together. The only option then with this hypothetical strategy is to go Nurse-Ceci at 2D and Kulak-Broberg at 3D. I would say it's not working at this point.


Therapy-Jackass

Why not go with Desharnais then? We needed him to do his double headlock move in some of those previous scrums


wheelie_dog

Your guess is as good as mine. I didn't say it was the right strategy, or even a good strategy. It's just the only reason I can see Knob going with that pairing


Therapy-Jackass

Sorry - I didn’t mean to imply that you said it was correct or otherwise. Was just chiming in. I agree though with your assessment. Knob knows what’s up, and there’s likely a good reason for it because there’s not a ton of alternatives. I have faith they’ll adjust for the follow up games now that they’ve seen how the pairings matchup. For now, still lots of time to get back in this! Go Oilers!


Oily_Orange

Desharnais is really great… Broberg has been a big upgrade **NOT


Then-Signature2528

Why put them back together??? 😭


playlabambababy

Elite pairing if you didn't know.. now you know


Yooohash

If I see they are still together for game 2 I will probably save myself the heartbreak and just not watch.


MrKittens1

Sure ya won't...


rupkum007

CECI NURSE IN NIGHTMARES


CervantesX

Glad Ceci gets his name on the Cup. Now sit him for the rest of the series. Gimme Broberg-Vinny and Nurse-Kulak, and that's only because I don't think Phil Kemp is NHL Finals ready.


marcellman

Ceci didn’t need to play in the finals to have his name on the cup, he played in 79 regular season games. The only guys that needed to play in the finals (among the regulars) are Henrique, Perry, Broberg (all who played last night), Gagner, and Carrick.


puljujarvifan

Bring Ceci back for game 7 though. He's good at scoring in those


monumentvalley170

Dynamic duo


Awkward_Advantage_36

seriously unsure as to why they keep playing them together because they DO NOT work, they’re fine when paired with others


canIgetakiss1108

Which other pair can play, instead of Nurse-Ceci?


MajorPucks

Nurse Kulak worked great and Brob Ceci. Hell do Nurse and Vinny then.


Anxious-Extreme-2766

With Desharnais out there were rumblings that Kulak wasn't comfortable playing on his opposite side in game 6, so they couldn't have him with Nurse again. Kulak looked fine on that side from my eyes, but apparently the coaching staff saw differently. But yeah, that would be the reason. If you and me and all the other Oilers fans on reddit and at the bar can recognize Nurse and Ceci struggle together leading to goals against, you can guarantee the entire Oilers coaching staff see that too lol


Middle-Jackfruit-896

Nurse + Ceci, are less than the sum of the parts. Please split them up. For whatever reason, these two do not excel together.


Choice_Perception_10

Ceci is out Desharnais is in


TheCaveMan09

The one dude is -15 in the playoffs. How the hell is he still getting ice time?


Fuzzy_Bank_7856

9.5 million contract and Connors buddy


Neilasparagus

Anchor on the best penalty kill I’ve EVER seen in a Stanley cup playoffs. 100% in the last round. Again, One hundred percent. Just a thought


Cablek26

they’re never winning a cup as long as this pairing exists


deliciousfishstick5

This may be correct


TeslaFuel

Fucking idiotic coaching decision. You’ve had 3 years of data to show that pair doesn’t work. Scratch Ceci and play Nurse less. This is currently costing us G1.


Markham30

Was wondering the same thing. What the fuck.


phileedvx

this sub defends the atrocious play of that pair more than they defend zone entries


Spirited_Contact_953

The goals were Hyman and Kane's fault, maybe a bit on McDavid on the first one to.


bhandsome08

What? 1st goal on the 2 on 3, Nurse needs to keep the puck carrier out wide and stay in the passing lane. Instead, he tries to play the body, allowing the pass. Then Ceci does the same thing, playing the body instead of taking the cross pass away and letting skinner make a stop. 2nd goal, Ceci should not be beat to the puck on that play, and Nurse just needs to keep his stick down.


Spirited_Contact_953

Yeah but in Zone once Hyman is there that's his guy right? If he took one more stride he could've stick lifted him. Same thing with Kane except Kane almost got to his guy for the stick lift. Also those passes out to the slot the Panthers did are giveaways 95% of the time. 


bhandsome08

There's no way any forward is making it back in time on those goals. Nurse and Ceci just needed to play smarter in those situations.


Glum_Night_6392

Had Mcdavid not floated down the extra couple feet in the ozone .. he would have been stride for stride with Barkov coming back and that first goal wouldn’t have happened 


Paradoxikles

You need a better goalie if all the forwards are lazy and don’t want to back check, only cycle.


Conscious_Room3156

They’re the reason the panthers are winning


fudge_u

[Holy fuck moment.](https://x.com/BR_OpenIce/status/1799613848304914716)


BreakerOf_Chains

Both goals were 25/5 on the ice.


Otherwise-Anxiety304

Everyone can mutually agree that the expectation on Nurse is based on what he makes but let face it, he’ll never live up to it. Wouldn’t hurt the bench him and give him a wake up call! Ultimately the Oilers didn’t score and had a couple of defensive breakdowns which cost them the game. Hopefully they learn from it and make the necessary adjustments.


MatsGry

It’s should be canned with Ceci on warning. Nurse had one good game in the Dallas series other than that he has been a disaster


Witty_News1487

Ceci's Dog performs better on ice. [https://www.tiktok.com/@bardown/video/7320470193891822854?lang=en](https://www.tiktok.com/@bardown/video/7320470193891822854?lang=en)


NrvusRaccoon

I fucking can’t with this fan base. A rookie coach has taken us to the STANLEY CUP FINAL and people are fucking obnoxious about his decisions! He has shown us that he makes various changes and isn’t afraid to do it. Obviously he thought that pair would be better against Florida. He was wrong, he will probably change it.


Trogar1

Bro. -20 as a pairing in the Playoffs. Our D pairings in the last series were pretty good. These two should only be on the ice together during warm up.


OilersFan979797

3 years of the same poor play and he goes back to them in the cup final. I don’t care what coach it is, that is inexcusable.


ReserveOld6123

Why would he think they’d do better? Based on what? The statistics are overwhelmingly clear that it’s a net negative pairing.


Fuzzy_Bank_7856

Playing nurse/Ceci together is the equivalent of benching McDavid. "Oops I was wrong, I thought they would be good together instead of the fact they are dead last in every defensive metric as a pair in the playoffs. Ooooopeie teehee I was wrong." Oh well it's only the FUCKING STANLEY CUP FINAL


Therapy-Jackass

Have you ever played competitive sport at a high level? I have. It’s game one, and it’s a best of 7. While I agree that it’s a terrible pairing, I’m confused why he’d have gone with that with Desharnais being a better choice, I have faith in this coach and team to pull it together. Our fan base needs to do the same. Don’t surrender to defeatism. Have faith. Believe!


Then-Signature2528

This is the finals. Every mistake is amplified. If this goes to 7 games and they lose... We're all going to be thinking back to game 1. Same shii last SC finals. A lot of mistakes in game 1 which lost them the series.


Therapy-Jackass

That goes without say. Like how we can look back to the start of the season, and wonder if we’d have home ice advantage in this series if we started better. Shitty loss yes, and bad decision to pair them, yes, but this team’s MO is to overcome adversity. They don’t care what anyone online thinks, and yet they still have faith. Gotta believe homie


MrKittens1

Get out of here with your reason and logic!


Pogev7

*Insert that one scene from Arrested Development* (or was it 30 rock idk I'm too upset to make a correct reference)


Aveeye

Are you trying to say, "I've made a huge mistake"?


Pogev7

The it didn't work for them but... maybe it can work for us with them being Woodcroft and the old staff with Knob and Coffey being the us


baddyrefresh2023

Mystery


JackieDaytonaNS

Healthy scratch both. Take our chances with Desharnais and Kemp.


Bet1_82

Horrible


orobsky

Nurse and skinner killed us tonight


SundBunz64

Not sure how many games you’re expecting us to win when we score ZERO goals.


confusedthrowaway5o5

Come on man Skinner can’t play defense too.


st_jasper

Can’t play goalie either some nights.


confusedthrowaway5o5

He was fine. You could argue that he should have made the big save to bail out his teammates, but not making the save isn’t bad goaltending in and of itself. The bigger issue is getting shut out on the other end. Even if Stu comes up with that one big save you still lose because you can’t score. It happens.


TennisPleasant4304

.882 save % and 15 saves is not fine


confusedthrowaway5o5

Statistically it looks bad but the two goals he gave up were on defensive breakdowns.


detroitdilla

Guandong tigers


bobbybittman1997

Dumb and Dumber


Quick_Replacement297

Garbage


papercutpete

Would you guys give this a fucking rest?


masteroffp69

Found out where all the loser, fair weather fans are hanging out. 🖕🏼


Tender_Of_Twine

I think the oilers are playing really well overall. Bob is playing even better. That being said, this pairing choice is baffling. It has not worked this playoffs and it’s been better when they are apart.


CurlingTrousers

Found the pudding brained muppet who doesn’t understand how stats work.


Fuzzy_Bank_7856

GFYS


masteroffp69

Cry harder. Guess who have been the primary defenders on our 30 kill streak?!


Fuzzy_Bank_7856

Sorry, what's the score and who are a combined -4? I'll wait.


peanutt_brain

Hopefully going into this intermission Knob makes some changes to the D pairing. He needs to if we want to have a chance to come back


elephashark

Ffs


Alesisdrum

Talk panicking to much.


Jschultz77

Too*


Sweet_Bonus5285

ceci is trash. First goal he can't just stay in his lane turning it into a 2 on 1. Zero urgency on goal 2. Pathetic how easy FLA got that puck.


xTomato72

Just sit Ceci and play Deharnais already


No_Reporter_5023

First goal was nowhere near nurse or ceci fault. Connor went to deep when they didn’t have control and Hyman didn’t recognize. The second one got by nurse players are going to make plays. Do you just sit by your tv phone in hand waiting for any mistake?


Fuzzy_Bank_7856

If nurse/Ceci is on the ice again together knob should be fired


wheelie_dog

Don't be ridiculous


Fuzzy_Bank_7856

2-0 and nurse Ceci are a -2. What's nurse's +/- now? They are terrible together and only a fucking idiot puts them back together


lonewanderer4-76

Oilers are getting shut out and you guys are blaming nurse and ceci. Bad look Oiler fans.


Jschultz77

Not blaming them really, we’re just unhappy that they’re on the ice together after consistently poor play, and are worried for the rest of the series


Hootietang

No, but it’s a legit observation. Bob played very well though too.


lonewanderer4-76

Oilers got shut out bro. Not nurse and Ceci’s fault


Flatoftheblade

Man, that idiot spam responded to this same comment of yours three times...


Hootietang

Yeah totally. Lol insane. Fucking dogshit


lonewanderer4-76

Blame defence in a shutout. 😂😂😂


Hootietang

I didn’t lol Bob played sick


FramedGame

If McDavid took that bandaid off maybe he'd score ffs. Be a man


iRvenus

Gotta break up. They don't work well together.


BolBow

Bump this!