Devan Dubnyk April Wallpaper by @SAVEMEX29

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For 2011/12, Remove Jacques and Fraser, Insert VandeVelde and Hartikainen

Just watching VandeVelde and Hartikainen these last few games, they have been really making Fraser and Jacques look like stumps. Holy hell those two stink!

Fraser has been pitiful this season and he never really did improve at all. I waited for it, but it never happened. In 67 games played he only has 5 freaking points?!?

Jacques... well... he's just not very good. At all. And to think that Stortini was shafted by being placed on waivers for this slug. Good grief!

Enter VandeVelde and Hartikainen. Both guys have made strong cases for themselves to be here next season. They play with hustle, heart and grit. They back down for nothing. They are beyond hungry for an NHL job and they are proving themselves to us with each passing game.

VandeVelde has been playing tough and he's been great in the faceoff dot. The last 5 games he went, 52.9%, 68.2%, 85.7%, 44.4% and 50%. That's damn good compared to the other Oilers players who played most of the year. Sure O'Marra has some wicked games on the dot too, but VV has been pretty consistent so far. Either way, O'Marra or VV is a huge upgrade over a disappointing Colin Fraser. I'm OK with either.

Teemu Hartikainen had a little hype when he was called up and so far he's impressed. He uses his big frame to pound guys and he even scored a nice goal the other night. As each game is played he's far more comfortable with the puck. I hope he plays out the year with the Oilers. Sorry OKC. I want to see more of Hartikainen.

Maybe it's just me, but that's how I feel.

-WRITTEN BY SMOKIN' RAY-

Viktor Fasth Future Oilers Goalie?

Bob Stauffer said today on Oilers Lunch that there is a good possibility that the Oilers send Nik Khabibulin down to the minors (OKC Barons) next season. Who will replace him with the big club? Viktor Fasth is the name he said.

Who in the hell is Viktor Fasth? No idea...



Apparently he won goalie of the year (Honken Trophy) in the Elitserien league this season. In the this years playoffs he has a 1.78 GAA and a .945 SVS. Not bad numbers at all. What did he do in the regular season? In 42 Games Played he's earned a 2.26 GAA and a .925 SVS. Again, really decent numbers.

He's 28 years old and was born in Kalix Sweden. He's listed as 6'0" and 198lbs.

Tambellini was there watching him not long ago and maybe Stauffer is right. Maybe this will happen? But you never know as Fasth is signed to play one more season with AIK. Read it here.

Stay tuned...

-WRITTEN BY SMOKIN' RAY-

A Hair Love Affair / The Two Ryan's

If you follow Ryan Jones on twitter, it's no secret the guy loves his "flow". Since the first day of tweeting, he's been talking non stop about his and other peoples hair. Last night versus the LA Kings, he had a short conversation with former Oilers player Ryan Smyth during a faceoff.

This is what Jones said today on twitter, "Ryan Smyth told me I had to sick hair at a faceoff yesterday. I told him I was trying to copy him from the old days. He said "Its better!"".

Haha! How awesome! Two dudes lovin'the flow during a game.

While I think it's cool that Jones has that wicked long flocks hanging out of his lid, nothing compares to the rockin' mullet that Ryan Smyth used to sport with the Oil. The mullet is classic.

I miss the mullet.

-WRITTEN BY SMOKIN' RAY-

Watch the Rod Phillips Retirement Ceremony at Oilers Jambalaya

Story Lines For Tonight / Oilers vs Kings

Los Angeles Kings (43-26-6) at Edmonton Oilers (23-41-11)

- As we all know, Dustin Penner is facing the Oilers tonight in what should be an emotional game for Penner. He went through a lot with the Oilers and while no doubt going to the Kings was refreshing for him, this game should bring back the memoriesm (good and bad) that he's had with this hockey club. It will be interesting to see him in a Kings jersey.

- Rod Phillips is calling it a career after tonight's game. This will be his last game ever for the Oilers. After 37 years he's finally walking off into the Arizona sunset. I'm going to miss Rod and the way he calls games. He truly is a classic element of the Edmonton Oilers organization. Good luck in the future Rod, Oil Country loves you!



- Nik Khabibulin will get the start in net tonight. Not sure why. Dubnyk needs the development time so why waste 60 minutes on a drunk bag of bones? Pfft! WE WANT DUBNYK!

- The same lines as last game are expected to be iced tonight.

- Watch for the Kings Jarret Stoll to score the game winning goal tonight. He's scored 2 out of 3 goals in this season series so far. Can he go 3 for 4?

GOILERS!!!

-WRITTEN BY SMOKIN' RAY-

If There Was A Bed To Poop In... The Oilers Found It

Despite destroying the Flames in the first 40 minutes, the Oilers laid an egg and lost in the the shootout. Here are the highlights of the game.

BEERS

Devan Dubnyk
Magnus Paajarvi
Linus Omark
Teemu Hartikainen
Ryan Jones
Ryan O'Marra
Ladislav Smid
Jeff Petry

JEERS

Steve MacIntyre (His dumb interference penalty got the Flames ball rolling and eventually was the root cause of the loss)

A Kids 1st NHL Game (Oilers vs Flames)

A friend from work asked me if it was possible to find 2 tickets for tonights game so he could take his 9 year old son to his 1st ever NHL game. I remember mine clearly (in Vancouver vs the classic Gretzky Oilers) so I thought what the hell. I can find him some. Sure enough, Marsha (Scarlett) Boyd gave some up so they could go. Such a nice thing she did. I'm sending her good karma for it. She deserves it.

I hope Joe and his son really take in everything that tonight has to offer. I told him to show up early so they could see the warm ups and grab some shirts and sub par food from Rexall. I told him to even grab one of those heroin beers.

So here's to hoping the Oilers at least put up a fight with the southern rivals. Make this game fun to watch for them. I'll let you know how they made out tomorrow. GOILERS!!!

-WRITTEN BY SMOKIN' RAY-

What The??? I'm Back!!! / A LIVE TweetCast / Oilers vs Blues

Welcome to the LIVE TweetCast of

the Edmonton Oilers vs the St. Louis Blues 

GOILERS!!!

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TV: Sportsnet West

RADIO: 630 CHED & Oilers Radio Network

PUCK DROP: 6:08 p.m. MDT

OILERS.com GAME PREVIEW

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Last 10: Edmonton 3-5-2 vs St. Louis 4-6-0

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Edmonton Oilers (23-40-10) at St. Louis Blues (32-32-9)

This LIVE TweetCast is brought to you

by the good people of 

OilersJambalaya.com.

The Force on Thunder's Side

Tonight the Stockton Thunder held their first "Star Wars Night". The 501st Legion, Central California Garrison greeted fans for photo opportunities with Chewbacca, Princess Leia and others in the King's Room at Stockton Arena before the game. Storm Troopers made special appearances around the arena throughout the night. Darth Vader even dropped the ceremonial puck.

The Force was definitely with the Thunder, who hosted the Idaho Steelheads in the second game of a three game weekend series. The Stockton Thunder defeated the Steelheads 5-1.

Some highlights:

• Stockton Thunder started out strong in minute 1 of the game, and played that way until the very last second. It was the best game they've played all season, a "complete" game
• 11 different Thunder players got on the score sheet
• Stockton's Jordan Foreman scored a short-handed goal, his 5th of the season, in second period
• Johan Motin, recently sent down to Stockton from the Oklahoma City Barons, scored his first Thunder point, the primary assist on Jim McKenzie's power play goal
• The Thunder got a standing ovation in the middle of the game, not after scoring a goal, but after managing to keep the puck and sustained pressure in their offensive zone for several minutes, frustrating Idaho's defense. The crowd appreciated the immense effort it took to force turnovers, keep the pucks inside the blue line, the shots on goal and going after rebounds
• Thunder's Ryan Constant and Steelheads' Kyle Reed had a scary collision in 2nd period, and Constant was assessed for a kneeing minor
• Fraser Clair was the only one on the Thunder to have a multi-point game-1 goal, 1 assist
• Thunder goalie Tyson Sexsmith made 23 saves. Not just 23 saves, 23 amazing saves. The Steelheads had 5 power plays and Sexsmith was very strong in net when needed the most
• Steelheads goalie Dusty Carlson made 28 saves out of 33 shots on goal in Idaho's loss
• Stockton scored on 1 of 3 power plays
• Steelheads Coach Hardy Sauter received a bench minor for unsportsmanlike conduct

Three stars of the game:

1. Jordan Foreman
2. Fraser Clair
3. Tyson Sexsmith

Gilbert Brule... Hard Luck Or injury Prone?

Wonder when Brule is going to make it through an entire season without getting injured? Good question. Is it his style of play that is the main cause to his injuries? I`d have to say that`s a factor for sure. He was a junior star who never lived up to the hype that followed him. He just couldn`t be the same player he was in the WHL (1st line guy) as he needs to be in the NHL. With the Oilers for example, he`s trying to fit the mold of a 3rd line player. He`s required to hit the opposition more than if he was on the 2nd or 1st line. He just can`t be the superstar puck handler like he was, he needs to be a grinder. A disturber. He`s also been used on the PK and sometimes blocking shots comes with that job. Injuries happen then too. So as another year passes by, you have to look and wonder, why is he here? Why do we need a player who`s injured this often? Why force him be something he`s not? Potential or not, he`s no good watching the games from the press box. - WRITTEN BY SMOKIN` RAY -

An OKC Barons loss... An Oilers Gain

The Edmonton Oilers have recalled 3 players from the Oklahoma City Barons. Chris VandeVelde, Alex Giroux and Ryan O`Marra were chosen. While Giroux and O`Marra have been here before, this will be my first time seeing VandeVelde in action. As far as I know, all three are slated to play tonight. GOILERS!!! -WRITTEN BY SMOKIN` RAY-

Teemu Hartikainen Getting Called Up?

One of my favorite websites www.copperandblue.com is reporting that Hartikainen will be called up before Thursday`s game versus the Coyotes. While this isn`t yet official, I trust C&B with thier info. This will happen and we will finally get to see Hartikainen in some NHL action. Just another piece of the puzzle for the future. Let`s see what he can do. GOILERS!!! -WRITTEN BY SMOKIN` RAY-

Taylor Hall and Ryan Whitney On Twitter? You Betcha!

Joining Jim Vandermeer (@Jim_Vandermeer), Ryan Jones (@jonesry28), Linus Omark (@limpanomark), Jeff Petry (@petryj), are two new Oilers to join the twitter craze.

Welcome to Taylor Hall (@Hallsy04) and Ryan Whitney (@RyanWhitney6). If you haven`t joined twitter yet, well you should. This is a very cool way to interact with your favorite Oilers players.

While your at it, follow me too for all the Edmonton Oilers updates and news. @OilersJambalaya.

-WRITTEN BY SMOKIN` RAY-

Jeff Petry Recalled, Alex Plante Sent Back

The Edmonton Oilers have recalled defenceman Jeff Petry and he will join the team ASAP. With the call up, that means that Alex Plante has been sent back down to the OKC Barons. No surprise there. Plante hasn`t been very good during his short stint with the Oilers. -WRITTEN BY SMOKIN` RAY-

I Don`t Give A Damn! Former Players? Who Cares

Since the Dustin Penner trade happened fans have been asking me about the trade and what happened and how much I cared. Honestly... when a player leaves, they are dead to me. If your not with the Oilers then I don`t care. Take Ryan Smyth for example. I love him as a player. One of my fav Oilers of all time. But if you asked me how he`s doing this year, I don`t know. Or care. He`s with the Kings. I only focus on the Oil and the players that are here now. I`m an Oiler guy through and through. No waivering. So when I`m asked about Penner and how`s he doing... I answer "Who gives a damn, but I hear that Taylor Hall kid is going to be special." :) GOILERS!!! -WRITTEN BY SMOKIN` RAY-

Oilers Sign D Taylor Fedun

The Edmonton Oilers announced today that they signed 6'1", 210 lb. defenseman Taylor Fedun to a 2-year deal. Fedun was coming out of Princeton University as a senior and free agent. In four years on the team, he amassed 20 goals, 48 assists and 154 PIM. His last season he scored his highest college goal total, with 10 goals, 7 of those coming on the Power Play. Prior to entering college, he played a season with the Spruce Grove Saints of the AJHL, scoring 10 goals, 33 assists, and 103 PIM. The Oilers announced that he will report to the Oklahoma City Barons.

-Written by Eric Rodgers-

The Next 4 Oilers Games

Oh how I wish I could watch these next 4 games. The Oilers take on 4 teams who I like to watch but never get to see very often. The Oil are in Philly tonight (game time is 5pm MT). I love the way the Flyers play and no doubt will be hitting the Oilers hard. Should be a good game. Tomorrow the Oilers face the mighty Capitals. Always love to watch Ovechkin play. Very exciting player. I see some of #8 in Taylor Hall. Friday the Oil head to Detroit to take on the Wings. Tough game as always for the young Oilers but perhaps they can pull off a win. Game time is 5:30pm MT. The last game I`d like to watch is on Sunday at 1pm MT. The Oilers play the Penguins in what should be a hard fought afternoon game. Can the Oilers shut down the offence and win? I think so. So if your around a tv for the next week, make sure to watch these games, we don`t get to see these guys often. -WRITTEN BY SMOKIN` RAY-

Teemu Hartikainen To Play With Edmonton Oilers?

Today local scribe Rob Tychkowski tweeted that the Edmonton Oilers want to call Hartikainen up to the show before the seasons end to get a glimpse of him in the NHL. Hartikainen has 62GP 16G 22A 38P & 27PM while playing with the Oklahoma City Barons this season. He`s been turning heads down there and I`d like to see him for a game or two too up here. He`s a left wing who`s 6`1" and weighs 215lbs. The native from Finland was selected by the Oilers 163rd overall in the 2008 NHL entry draft. -WRITTEN BY SMOKIN` RAY-

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Oklahoma City Barons: Happy Clear Day

March 7th was the set deadline by the AHL for each team to submit it's 22 man playoff roster. From the AHL:

"Only those players listed on a team’s Clear Day roster are eligible to compete in the remainder of the AHL regular season and in the 2011 Calder Cup Playoffs, unless emergency conditions arise as a result of recall, injury or suspension.

Teams may also add signed junior players or players on amateur tryout contracts after Clear Day, but only once their respective junior or college seasons are complete."

Ryan Aber of the Oklahoman reported earlier today that Alexandre Giroux, Linus Omark, and Alex Plante would be included on the Clear Day roster, with Phillipe Cornet, Matt Marquardt, and Anthony Aiello being left off.

The Barons forwards are Giroux, Brad Moran, Colin McDonald, Omark, Ryan O'Marra, Teemu Hartikainen, Andrew Lord, Zack Stortini, Milan Kytnar, Greg Stewart, Ben Ondrus, Chris VandeVelde and Mark Arcobello.

The defensemen are Plante, Richard Petiot, Jake Taylor, Colten Teubert, Kevin Montgomery, Bryan Helmer, and Jeff Petry.

And the goalies are Martin Gerber and Jeff Deslauriers.

As the Junior seasons roll on and come to an end, I'm sure we'll be seeing some of those prospects as the playoffs come closer. The Barons currently sit in a tie for 6th with San Antonio, 1 point out of the 5th place crossover spot. The Barons and Rampage both have played 62 games, and have games in hand to all the teams in front of them. The Barons take on the Manitoba Moose on Tuesday night.

-Written by Eric Rodgers-

Sam Gagner... Can He Surpass 50 Points?

At this point in the season I always seem to track Gagner`s progress. He`s yet to play an entire 82 games and it`s either because he`s been benched at some point or he`s been injured. I always hope for a player to play all 82 games so it`s fair to judge him to the rest of the NHL. Sure you can figure out a players points per game average and do the math, but in some cases, would that said player really keep that pace? Probably not. But for the sake of Gagner, it`s the only way to judge him. His 1st season he played 79GP 13G 36A 49P -21 for an average of .620 PPG. His 2nd season he had 76GP 16G 25A 41P -15 for an average of .539 PPG. His 3rd season he was 68GP 15G 26A 41P -8 for .602 PPG. So far this year he has 66GP 15G 27A 42P -15 for an average of .636 PPG. This season Gagner is on pace to have his best season yet. If he continues this pace he could get 52 points beating his high of 49 points. The big question now.... can he do it? -WRITTEN BY SMOKIN` RAY-

Colten Teubert Hero?

The OKC Barons had a game last night versus the Abbotsford Heat and the game wasn`t short of dramatics. The Barons were down by one goal late in the 3rd period and it was newcomer Colten Teubert who provided the dramatics. He scores the game tying goal with only 17.1 seconds left on the clock to send the game to overtime. Brad Moran eventually scored the winner to win the game for the Barons. Teubert just isn`t a big guy who can play. It turns out he can score sometimes too. WoOoOOoOo! Did the Oilers find a keeper? Check out www.okcbarons.com for more of the game highlights. -WRITTEN BY SMOKIN` RAY-

Alex Giroux Has Been Recalled By Oilers

With the season ending injury to Taylor Hall, the Oilers have recalled Alex Giroux from the OKC Barons. Good for Giroux. He`s had a decent season in OKC and if fully deserving of the call. Can`t wait to see him in an Oilers jersey. -WRITTEN BY SMOKIN` RAY-

The Future Of The Edmonton Oilers

I`m working today and I`m a little bored. I started thinking this morning about the Oilers and what lies ahead. The more I thought, the more I got fired up. Forget last year and even this year. The future is where it`s at. I know... that has been promised for the last 10 years. But the future is close. Last night watching the Taylor Hall revelation, I couldn`t help but think he`s finally arrived. It`s been a long time since I was sold on a young player so quickly. But how can you not embrace what he represents? The kid wants to be a winner and you know what? I believe him. Combine Hall with the other young players and you get a gnarly young core group to lead this team to Lord Stanley`s cup. Want to know the future? Here it is. Hall, Eberle, Paajarvi, Lander, Dubnyk, Peckham, Teubert, Petry, Vande Velde, Hartikainen, Omark (plus other players not named) and the two 1st round draft picks from 2011. Now if that doesn`t set this team up for years to come, then really.... nothing will.

-WRITTEN BY SMOKIN' RAY-

The Awesome Taylor Hall

If you watched the game last night then you seen Hall`s 1st ever Gordie Howe hat trick. It was a thing of beauty. Not so much the fight itself, but the fact that he dropped the gloves in the first place and took charge. Gotta love his gumption and his will to be the best. I can see why he was chosen 1st overall. Maybe it`s just me... but can`t you just see Taylor as the next Edmonton Oilers captain? There is a couple of good articles posted at OilersNation.com by Gregor and Lowetide that I agree with 100%. Go read them. -WRITTEN BY SMOKIN RAY-

New March Wallpaper by @SAVEMEX29 (Kurtis Foster)



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