{"id":286778,"date":"2026-04-26T12:09:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T12:09:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/286778\/"},"modified":"2026-04-26T12:09:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T12:09:11","slug":"oilers-need-to-fix-these-tactics-to-be-successful-against-ducks-in-game-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/286778\/","title":{"rendered":"Oilers need to fix these tactics to be successful against Ducks in Game 4"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I turn on an analytical coach\u2019s mind to deconstruct the Edmonton Oilers<\/a> in the playoffs, something truly weird happens. Time slows down, but it also speeds up.<\/p>\n

Time has no meaning. We\u2019re all just bags of meat.<\/p>\n

What I think I mean is that chunks of the game blend together. Every moment has meaning, so because my mind is engaged, the play slows down.<\/p>\n

But then, all of a sudden, it\u2019s the second period, and everything has happened. I\u2019m trying to watch for key moments that will define an entire game, and with your 2026 Edmonton Oilers, this is futile. You don\u2019t know what\u2019s going to happen three shifts from now, and the coaching staff hardly knows. So in this sense, the game flies by. The ebbs and flows with this team are dizzying, but the game in the playoffs is all about momentum and how you respond to it.<\/p>\n

A coach mentor of mine, Gardiner MacDougall<\/a>, refers to momentum as Lady Mo \u2014 Lady Momentum \u2014 and the thing about momentum is that it\u2019s a lot easier to lose than it is to gain.Watch this goal from a few playoffs ago. Edmonton vs. L.A., of course. Watch how determined Connor McDavid<\/a> is on this play. And watch how many opportunities Kings players had to stop him. There\u2019s probably a penalty in there somewhere, and instead of trying to catch Connor, Sean Durzi is complaining to the referee. This goal has a lot less to do with skill than it does with pure will. Connor is the hardest-working player on the ice, and his skill takes over. It\u2019s a one-on-four! The most skilled player on earth and the most determined player on earth? Unstoppable.<\/p>\n

This is the clip I\u2019d show the team before Game 4. It doesn\u2019t have to be McDavid either.<\/p>\n

Flow of the Game<\/p>\n

So if we establish that the first five minutes of the first period can\u2019t predict what will happen in the game, then we need to contribute to the flow of the game. Improve the condition of the puck. When you don\u2019t have it, defend as fast as you can with your stick on the ice to get it back. When you get it, support each other and attack quick.<\/p>\n

Here are the main beats of Game 3<\/a> for me, weighted heavily at the start of the game.Ducks 1-2-2 Neutral Zone ForecheckI was on\u00a0Oilersnation Everyday<\/a> after Game 1 yammering on about being surprised by how much the Ducks sat back. With the benefit of hindsight, it\u2019s clear that the Ducks respected the Oilers\u2019 puck-moving defencemen more than I did. They\u2019re content to sit back in a hard 1-2-2 neutral zone forecheck.<\/p>\n

So the Oilers don\u2019t need to figure out the neutral zone, just chip it in. Their offensive zone forecheck is also fine, but it\u2019s their offensive zone play that needs work. The coaches will be telling players who don\u2019t have the puck to work harder to get open \u2014 their off puck play hasn\u2019t been good enough. That\u2019s why McDavid and others have looked so alone all the time.<\/p>\n

Win the Middle of the Ice<\/p>\n

When the Oilers are able to enter the zone because of a bad Anaheim gap, this is how they have to do it. Drive the middle of the ice, and right on cue, Podkolzin scores because Kasperi Kapanen drives the middle.<\/p>\n

Ducks power play<\/p>\n

I know what\u2019s going to happen on the Ducks\u2019 power play, you know, my friend Travis knows it, my mom knows it. And they still do it, and it works.<\/p>\n

Predictability on your own team is vital. This isn\u2019t how the Oilers operate because they have more natural skill than your average bear. Anaheim keeps it simple, and they operate by the law of averages \u2013 keep getting chances and eventually one will go in. They\u2019re mostly stationary, just like the Washington Capitals with Backstrom, Ovechkin, Oshie, and who? Oh, John Carlsson back in the day. This has nothing to do with the Oilers, but as a coach I\u2019d sooner steal the Ducks\u2019 power play than the Oilers\u2019.<\/p>\n

Third Man In<\/p>\n

\u201cThis could get away from me,\u201d he said forlornly. At this point I\u2019ve created the intro to this post, that anything can and will happen. So is the game that random? What is the point of the coaching staff then? What is the point of anything?<\/p>\n

Because we are wired to compete. With that in mind, if I were reviewing this game for the team, I would want to give them one concept so that everything else becomes easier as a result. In these situations, it\u2019s easier to over-coach than it is to find the right amount of information to deliver.<\/p>\n

Third man in is usually an automatic penalty, but not in this case. What became clear as the Oilers lost the plot in Game 3<\/a> was how often they failed to come up with the puck. If a puck is in dispute, it\u2019s not the first player or the second that usually dictates who\u2019s going to gain possession, it\u2019s the third. That\u2019s why Propagandhi wrote a song about playing the man and not the puck. The Oilers need to finish their checks, of course (every single one of them), and then they need to have a second player in quick to help, or the third man overall<\/a>. Make sense? Here are a couple examples.<\/p>\n

So that\u2019s what I\u2019m looking for in this series. Support your teammates in puck battles, fight like hell to get it back, and for Gord\u2019s sake, leave it all out on the ice. If you lose the city will still be behind you. If you have nothing left to give, then that\u2019s ok. But make sure you have nothing left to lose.<\/p>\n

Go Oilers.<\/p>\n

THE SAUCE PLAYOFF WATCH PARTIES WITH RYDER AND LISA\"TheEdmonton, it\u2019s time to dust off your best game fits\u2014playoff season is here. And for every away game, The Sauce is taking over Greta Bar YEG<\/a> as the official playoff headquarters. There ain\u2019t no party like a Nation playoff party. Expect food and drink specials you can\u2019t beat, t-shirt tosses, giveaways, games, and a few surprises we\u2019ve been saving just for the Nation Citizens. Whether you\u2019re coming for the game, the atmosphere, or just to get a little saucy with the crew, this is where you want to be when the team hits the road. Secure your table by texting Greta\u2019s hotline at 1-587-418-8507.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When I turn on an analytical coach\u2019s mind to deconstruct the Edmonton Oilers in the playoffs, something truly…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":286779,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,165,164],"class_list":["post-286778","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-anaheim","tag-anaheim","tag-anaheim-headlines","tag-anaheim-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286778","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=286778"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286778\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/286779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=286778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=286778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=286778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}