Defense wins Championships...how many Cups did Gretzky win after the glorious fire bandwagon era of the post expansion/WHL merger ('67-'91) was over.

ZERO

If defense wins then they need to flush out Klefbom Nurse etc

Defense comes from great coaching and capable goaltending. That's where the Oilers need to start.

I agree

The two of them had a bad four game stretch after a four month delay. Making any decision akin to trading Klefbom or Nurse on a sample size this small would be silly. Even Nashville's elite blueline was bested by the Coyotes. Should they look to get rid of their defenders because they got beaten by a lower seed?

If Tippett hand't tried to out galaxy-brain the Blackhawks in game 1 and just started Koskinen, Edmonton is much more likely to be moving on. That kind of a knee-jerk response isn't warranted.

And it's been well established that McDavid has a contract, and is an Oiler at least until it expires. Most people had the Oilers pegged to finish bottom-10 in the league this year (I was one of them). The minimal improvements they made were enough to vault them to 2nd place in the Pacific. There was no feasible way that Ken Holland was going to turn Chiarelli's steaming pile of dog ass into a championship team overnight. They'll be better next year, no doubt about it.

Blackhawks dominated 5 on 5 play. Without the PP, the Oilers, the Hawks would have moved in 4 games.

No Stanley Cup Champion (from 67 - 91) needed to score 10 goals and win 10-9 to claim the cup. Defence wins championships in any sport, in any era.