Well it looks like Bobby Nilsson is going to sit out this game and Pouliot is getting the nod. Is this really the best plan? Pouliot? on the 2nd line? Really? I wonder what Towel Boy has to say about that?
I hope the crowd can get into this one. They really need to get chanting. Come on folks. The team needs the help.
No Bogeyman... no Big Mac. Too bad. I wanted to see a gooder tonight. Maybe next time. I guess we can always count on Gagner to fight someone.
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1st Period
To start the game the Oilers had a contest (not tonight) and the winner was given a chance to sing the anthem before the game starts. The kid (Justin Wack) came out and did a heck of a job. He seemed pretty thrilled by the experience. Good flow in the game until Pisani takes a tripping penalty at 5:19. As the Oilers are killing the penalty off, Mark and Marc (M&M) start talking about how great the Oilers have been lately on the PK. Why talk about it guys? Seconds later the Wild score at 6:14. Thanks M&M. 1-0 Wild. Let's go Oilers! At the 10:00 minute mark this game is way better than the last one by a long shot. A little while later, Grebeshkov nails Brunette and he gets hurt. The whistle should have been blown but it wasn't. Gilbert takes it and passes to Horcoff who finds Hemsky. Scoooorrreeeessss! 1-1 Tie Game. (Hemsky from Horcoff from Gilbert at 12:47) That was a lucky break for the Oilers. Finally at the 14:00 minute mark the crowd starts to chant. Bout time folks. At 15:42 Smid hits the puck into the netting and sits for 2:00 for delay of game. A short while later at 17:46, Staios takes a penalty and the Wild score on the man advantage at 19:25. 2-1 Wild. Crap. Not the best way to end a period. But it isn't like last game. We actually look good tonight.
2nd Period
The period starts off once again with good flow. But the Wild get careless and take a penalty. Good time for the Oil to score a PP goal. But... they don't. Good passing but they can't capitalize. But the 4th line comes out and puts on some great pressure. Stortini scores!!! 2-2 Tie Game. (Stortini from Reddox at 5:03) Yeah!!! The 4th line does it again. And that's #5 for Storts. **knock, knock. Hello? Storts is catching Gagner** This game really is not bad considering we are playing the Wild (a trap team). With 6:00 minutes left, MacT is rolling a Hemsky/Horcoff/Reddox line. It's tied MacT. No need to panic yet. So with the Oilers buzzing, the Oilers have some slick passing going on. Gilbert scores! Yeah! 3-2 Oilers. (Gilbert from Reddox and Grebeshkov at 15:22) Now we are looking like we want to see some ice in the spring. With Reddox on the 1st line now, Penner is rolling with Brodziak and Stortini on the 4th. As the period winds down, it's great to see some real life in this Oilers squad. The Wild take a penalty with only 32 seconds left and that will give even more life to the Oilers when they start the 3rd with a PP. The shots are tied at the end of two periods with 27 each.
3rd Period
The 3rd sure started with some jump. Minny had some chances. Oilers had some chances. Roli has had to be sharp tonight. Twice in the first 7:00 minutes, Roli has had to make some HUGE saves. The crowd gets fired up and the Roli, Roli, Roli chants break out. Roli really has been the MVP of this team this year. Hemmer is close... but Roli is king. Wow the action is all out now. It seems weird that the Wild are playing this way, but they are. Real back and forth action. The crowd is really into this one now. Chants keep popping up. Horcoff has a real bad stinker of a giveaway and the Wild ring it of the post. Your lucky Horcoff. Lucky. The play continues to be fast paced and exciting. Hemsky takes a tripping penalty and Zidlicky goes for diving. 4 on 4 for two minutes. With 20 seconds left, Miettinen sticks Moreau in the eye *ouch!* and takes a double minor. (That didn't look good for Chopper) So much for the Wild comeback. That's the game folks. Oilers win!!!
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Tonight's Starting Lines
Penner Horcoff Hemsky (The 1st line was average in the first half. Reddox replaced Penner and they seemed to play a little better. Did you really need to eat that extra chicken breast at lunch Penner?)
Pouliot Gagner Cole (The 2nd line was a real solid unit tonight. Lots of grade A chances. They seemed like they were trying hard, but faded near the end of the 3rd.)
Moreau Cogliano Pisani (Moreau and Pisani played well. Cogliano just wasn't quite the same as he has been playing as of late. This line needs all three to be rolling or it just isn't going to be a shutdown type line. But still, all in all they were good.)
Reddox Brodziak Stortini (This line was smokin' when it was still this line before Penner was switched. Stortini seems to be on a streak lately. Good for him.)
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FINAL SCORE
Minnesota Wild - 2
Edmonton Oilers - 3
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BEERS
Dwayne Roloson - Gramps was stellar once again. The Oilers MVP was doing it all tonight. (other than score) He was making those acrobat style saves all while being that silent leader for the team. Again. You deserve a nice cold one Roli. Cheers!
Tom Gilbert - The guy that has been making mistakes the last few games, was really good tonight. He seemed to do a lot while looking like he wasn't. He had 1 goal and 1 assist with a +2 rating. A pretty solid night for Gibby. Have a beer? Cheers!
Denis Grebeshkov - For not playing in a while he sure was good. He had a huge hit, an assist and was +2. His only real knock was his giveaway's. But his effort was good enough to deserve a beer. Frosty beer? Cheers!
Honorable Mention - Liam Reddox (He played a good game tonight. He even managed to sneak back up to the 1st line. A 2 assist night for Liam.), Ales Hemsky (He scored and was ok. Still not back to normal), Zack Stortini (His momentum changing goal was huge for the team to get going. He's been very good for the past few weeks.)
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JEERS
A win is a win and I don't have much of a reason to jeer tonight. Penner was questionable but I still think that MacT just needed to bench someone. The Hamburglar was the one today.
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Well that was a good action packed game. Not like the boring crap of a game we had to watch last game. The Oilers pick up the almighty 2 points and move up to seventh tied with the Ducks. Who's next? The Predators of Nashville. We need two wins on this 4 game roadie. If we can come home with 4 points the team will still be in it. If we don't than it's only going to get harder from here on out.
See you all next time... Until then. GO OILERS!!!
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Keep it nice, keep it civil. GOILERS!