Edmonton Oilers: Dave Tippett sounds off on bad hockey games
In the world of professional hockey, a win is a win. For a team like the Edmonton Oilers, it helps bring some positivity and optimism in the grand scheme of things. It’s not easy winning on the road and in a short, 56-game regular season, every team needs to be diligent in doing whatever it takes to win hockey games.
Of course, all eyes were on the Oilers when they faced the Toronto Maple Leafs for the first time this season a few days ago. The Oilers hit the road to Scotiabank Arena and with the odds against them, took care of business and won 3-1. Of course, for those of you who watched or listened to the game, one can’t help but notice it wasn’t exactly a crazy, high-scoring matchup.
This was advertised as potentially being a crazy hockey game featuring two of the best offensive players playing today in Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews. Instead, we got a game that was all about defense and not so much a high-octane back and forth affair.
There’s no such thing as a bad win for the Edmonton Oilers
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That’s okay, ladies and gentlemen. At the end of the day, winning fixes everything and for any team that is destined to push the envelope in the NHL Playoffs, you will easily have boring hockey games like this.
Head coach Dave Tippet recently sounded off on fans that called their win over the Maple Leafs a “bad hockey game” since it was considered a snoozefest. In an article written by Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Sun, here is what Tippett said:
"“If we wanted to just entertain the fans, we might as well just have a shootout and call it who wins and loses,” continued Tippett. “We don’t want a shootout, we want to win a hockey game. Games that are tight like that are closer to playoff style games than the 8-7 games are. I’ll take 2-1 games all day as long as we’re winning them.”"
The truth of the matter is, the Oilers won their first game of the road, they scored a Power Play goal, and are takings things one game at a time. It’s all a recipe for success if everything falls into place as the season progresses. Who cares if it was a slow, boring hockey game? The Oilers won, that’s all that matters.
Hot. Oilers earn exactly what the doctor ordered. light
For now, let’s enjoy the fact that the Oilers are coming off a win and are hoping to replicate the results when they once again face the Maple Leafs on Friday night. Hopefully, the momentum continues and even if it ends up being another bad, boring hockey game, the Oilers will be victorious yet again.