GDT ***LA Kings @ Edmonton Oilers GDT 1/10/26 7:00pm on FanDuel***

[emsomaso]

Insanity: Doughty, possibly the slowest guy in the NHL, on a 3x3 assigned to McDavid. Kings very lucky not to lose yet another OT.

That’s innovative coaching!!!

 

[Statue4Deano]

Rewatch the game. Byfield held him to 1 point, which he got on the 2 man advantage when Byfield was in the box.

If he adds bulk, then he can’t hang with his speed.

Yes, I know this completely contradicts my view of played and size, but somebody has to try and keep him in check.

Correct. OP complaining about Byfield’s play against McDavid near the end of regulation doesn’t realize Byfield played him the best anyone can.

On McDavid’s final rush/shot, Byfield eliminated McDavid’s ability to shoot on the forehand/short side and even though McDavid got a shot off in the slot Forsberg was able to track where it was coming from and knew it would be on the backhand.

That’s as much as any defender can do against the best forward in the game.

I think some folks have lost a bit of the plot about Byfield this year and I certainly get that he’s frustrating but we just saw him play his most effective game of the season. He generated chances, played excellent 5 on 5 defense and even got a point. That’s about all we can expect out of him while playing Hiller hockey.

 

[DarkLeftHand]

Rewatch the game. Byfield held him to 1 point, which he got on the 2 man advantage when Byfield was in the box.

If he adds bulk, then he can’t hang with his speed.

Yes, I know this completely contradicts my view of played and size, but somebody has to try and keep him in check.

Let me clarify, yes, Byfield was relatively decent shadowing him throughout most of the game, but he still got tossed aside like a ragdoll on a couple of occasions. My point is, there’s only one Connor McDavid, but Byfield has to play 82 games in a regular season. He gets pushed around a lot, and it’s disturbing to watch, because, if not for his size, then why didn’t we just draft the f***ing German, who actually has NHL skill?

 

[DarkLeftHand]

Correct. OP complaining about Byfield’s play against McDavid near the end of regulation doesn’t realize Byfield played him the best anyone can.

On McDavid’s final rush/shot, Byfield eliminated McDavid’s ability to shoot on the forehand/short side and even though McDavid got a shot off in the slot Forsberg was able to track where it was coming from and knew it would be on the backhand.

That’s as much as any defender can do against the best forward in the game.

I think some folks have lost a bit of the plot about Byfield this year and I certainly get that he’s frustrating but we just saw him play his most effective game of the season. He generated chances, played excellent 5 on 5 defense and even got a point. That’s about all we can expect out of him while playing Hiller hockey.

Nonsense, I normally agree with you, but read my rebuttal to Birdman above. Theres no ‘losing the plot’ here. Theres 300 games of viewing material as of now, to see it for yourself. We don’t play Connor McDavid 82 games a season. Having a dominant #1 center who doesn’t get pushed around and lose board battles all night, every night.. that’s the plot.

 

[Clif]

I’m not anti-Hoven because I consume too much of his material still - I admit it. I am anti-Specter however - exemplifies what’s wrong with Oilers media. This exchange though - ouch. Spec’s right and it’s not close.

 

[DryKing]

Let me clarify, yes, Byfield was relatively decent shadowing him throughout most of the game, but he still got tossed aside like a ragdoll on a couple of occasions. My point is, there’s only one Connor McDavid, but Byfield has to play 82 games in a regular season. He gets pushed around a lot, and it’s disturbing to watch, because, if not for his size, then why didn’t we just draft the f***ing German, who actually has NHL skill?

I agree with you on two points: 1) Byfield gets pushed off the puck too easily - I think this is due to the fact that he, and the team, have him focused on the speed game as well as still being young and not yet having mature muscle 2) Byfield does not, at least yet, have a mean streak in him. Personally I am ok with that and it has worked well for Kopi as typically we want our 1C on the ice and not in the penalty box, but it is something to watch come playoff time.

Speaking of the German, did you see him get owned by someone far smaller than him in a fight? I have a lot of respect for Stutzle and his game but instigating against the smallest player on another team and losing is definitely not being "tough". Not trying to shade him as he is a great player, but these kids need time to mature and grow.

 

[ICE24]

I love these pacific division games. Most of the teams are equal so they are good games. Playing great teams like Colorado not much fun.

 

[DarkLeftHand]

I agree with you on two points: 1) Byfield gets pushed off the puck too easily - I think this is due to the fact that he, and the team, have him focused on the speed game as well as still being young and not yet having mature muscle 2) Byfield does not, at least yet, have a mean streak in him. Personally I am ok with that and it has worked well for Kopi as typically we want our 1C on the ice and not in the penalty box, but it is something to watch come playoff time.

Speaking of the German, did you see him get owned by someone far smaller than him in a fight? I have a lot of respect for Stutzle and his game but instigating against the smallest player on another team and losing is definitely not being "tough". Not trying to shade him as he is a great player, but these kids need time to mature and grow.

I never said stutzle was tough.. where did that get insinuated? My point was, the Kings obviously drafted byfield because of his skill PLUS size. But if his size is irrelevant because he plays charmin soft, we might as well have drafted the -actual- skilled player. Obviously hindsight is a bitch here, but I’m just saying, ostensibly Byfields -projected- advantage was his size. That said, I don’t want to see QB in a fight either, because he would get embarrassed. Hopefully he eventually finds his man strength, so he’s not losing 75% of the physical contests and board battles anymore.