B&J #84 Edmonton Oilers Recap vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (11/16/09)

Welcome to Oilers Jambalaya - An Edmonton Oilers Hockey Blog. Beers & Jeers is a dual collaboration between Smokin' Ray and Paq Twinn. We hope you enjoy our Edmonton Oilers full game recap.

------------------

- Who's Out? Who's in? It just gets worse.  Sam Gagner is out with a lower body injury.  Not sure what however.  This team is dropping like flies.  But, Dean Arsene it going to play in his 1st ever NHL game.  It's been 9 years of plugging away in the minors and now he gets his shot.  Good for him.  So Gagner, Pisani, Chorney, Grebeshkov, Jacques, Stone and Pouliot are all not playing due to injury.

------------------

Pre-Game Records

Edmonton Oilers (8-10-1) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (10-6-2)

------------------

TONIGHT'S STARTING LINES

Penner-Horcoff-Hemsky
Comrie-O'Sullivan-Strudwick
Moreau-Cogliano-Stortini
Reddox-Potulny-Brule

Souray-Staios
Smid-Visnovsky
Arsene-Gilbert

Khabibulin
Deslauriers

------------------

**These are Re-Tweets of Paq Twinn's LIVE TweetCast© at www.Twitter.com/PaqTwinn **

1st PERIOD

- We are 10 minutes away from the puck drop. I'm excited for this game... is anyone else?
- I know it's tough... but we're a tough nation. An OilersNation. GOILERS! #itsnotovertillitsover RT @OilersNation I *want* to be excited...
- Lower Body Injury RT @NHL_Oilers Just confirmed: Sam Gagner will not play in tonight's #Oilers game at #CBJ.
- Ok Folks... it's GAME TIME!!! The puck has been dropped.
- Good pace to start this game. 17:30 left in the 1st period. Stortini and Sestitio are having words.
- FIGHT!!! Stortini vs Blunden. Storts kicked his ass. WOOooOooO!!!
- Another FIGHT!!! Tom Sestito vs Jason Strudwick. Great fight on seconds after the Storts Blunden fight.
- This business in this game picked up. The pace is going fast now after those fights.
- PP Oilers. Nash goes for 2 mins.
- CBJ killed off that penalty. Nash steps out of the box and gets a breakaway. He missed the net.
- Brule off to a good start. It's like he has something to prove in this game. Oh wait... he does. #formerCBJ
- Cogliano gets a few chances then starts a scrum. #emotioninthisgame
- The Oilers are bustin' their humps out there. Oilers are fiesty tonight. Staios and Umberger are mixing it up now.
- 6:00 mins left in the 1st and this is the best I have seen this team in a looooong time.
- Why are PPV games not this good? #gofigure
- Once again a Oiler PP. Blunden for Hooking
- On a side note: if your not following @OilersJambalaya then you should. He's cool.
- Oilers can't score on the PP and Stortini heads to the box for his own penalty.
- PP for the Blue Jackets
- 1:30 left in the CBJ PP and 2:10 left in the 1st Period
- One Minute Left in the 1st Period
- Storts is back out of the box. Chances are happening all over the place
- The 1st Period is over and I hope this emotion carries over to the 2nd Period. GOILERS!

2nd PERIOD

- The puck was dropped, Hemsky gets a spin with 91/19 and Staios takes a penalty.
- Moreau takes a penalty with Staios in the box. A 5on3 for the #CBJ
- BlueJackets score the 1st goal of the game. 1-0 BlueJackets
- 12:00 mins left in the 2nd period.
- Even strength for both teams now.
- Moreau should name his kids: Bad, Timing & Penalty
- @marshaboyd He IS consistent. Consistently bad.
- That can be the daughters name. lol. #goodone RT @ONronaldo His fourth should be 200ftawayfrommyownnetpenaltytime.
- PP Oilers. 8:34 left in the 2nd Period
- Horcoff rings one of the post.
- YEAH! FINALLY! Hemsky scores at 13:13 with a screen by Penner 1-1 Tie Game
- 6:00 mins left in the 2nd Period
- 17-12 are the shots in favour of the Blue Jackets
- Well that's the 2nd period. Oilers look hungry and we can hope it carries over to the 3rd

3rd PERIOD

- The puck has been dropped for the 3rd period
- As good as O'Sullivan has been this year, he needs to shoot the puck with more conviction. #Oilers had a good chance with 17:30 left
- Oiler get a PP. Now's the time to score!!!
- Yeah!!! Visnovsky scores at 5:48 2-1 Oilers
- Visnovsky from Souray and Horcoff
- With 12:01 left in the 3rd, the shots are 23-19 for the Blue Jackets
- Oilers get a PP
- With 8:16 the Blue Jackets will go on the PP now. The Oilers couldn't score on thier chance, let's hope the Jackets can't either.
- Ummmm. Why is Moreau on this ice?
- Awww Crap! #CBJ scores. 2-2 Tie Game
- Vermette at 12:23
- 5:59 left in the 3rd and the shots are 25-22 for the CBJ 2-2 Tie Game
- Moreau rocks Chimera
- Three Minutes Left
- 1 min to go and the game is exciting and the crowd is fired up
- The 3rd period is over and just as time is winding down, Brule passes it to... no one. He's lucky nothing happened.
- Getting ready for Overtime. #Oilers vs #CBJ 2-2 Tie Game 29-22 are the shots in favour for the CBJ

OVERTIME

- GAME ON!!!
- 10, 83, 24, 5 are the Oilers to start
- 67, 16, 71, 44 are out now.
- Two Minutes Left in OT
- Great Overtime period. Back and forth action
- SHOOTOUT! What a game.

SHOOTOUT

- CBJ have Huselius as their 1st shooter - no goal
- O'Sullivan is the 1st Oiler Shooter... Also no goal
- Tyutin for the BJ's scores.
- Penner is next for the #Oilers... loses it and gets no shot
- Nash shoots now... Habbi makes the save
- Oilers need to score now. Hemsky SCORES!
- Voracek scores.
- Brule... can't score and it's game over. 3-2 Blue Jackets
- 3 stars: 1)Khabibulin 2)Garon 3)Nash
- Thanks for following along. http://www.oilersjambalaya.blogspot.com/ for the Recap later
------------------

GAME HIGHLIGHTS



------------------

FINAL SCORE

Edmonton Oilers - 2

Columbus Blue Jackets - 3

------------------

BAD TIMING PENALTY

Ethan Moreau - This may come as a shock to you, but it was the Captain once again taking the BTP honors tonight.  It was bad enough that Staios was sitting for two already, so Moreau didn't want to be outdone and decided to sit in there with him.  Well guess what?  The Jackets scored to take the 1-0 lead.  Nice job Captain.

------------------

GAME STAT LEADERS

Goals - Visnovsky, Hemsky (1 each)
Assists - Souray (2), Visnovsky (1), Horcoff (1)
Points - Souray (2), Visnovsky (2), Hemsky (1), Horcoff (1)
Best +/- - All Tied at 0
Worst +/- - All Tied at 0
Most Penalty Minutes - Stortini (7 mins)
Most Time On The Ice - Souray (26:56)
Least Time On The Ice - Arsene (6:24)
Most Shots - Gilbert, Hemsky, Penner (3 each)
Most Hits - Smid (5 hits)
Most Giveaways - Hemsky, Moreau, Horcoff (1 each)
Most Takeaways - 7 Players Tied with 1
Most Blocked Shots - Reddox, Gilbert, Strudwick, Smid (2 each)
Best Faceoffs - Horcoff (6W-4L=60%), Cogliano (3W-2L=60%)
Worst Faceoffs - Potulny (2W-4L=33%)

------------------

BEERS

Ales Hemsky - You could see it in his play that he was ready for this game.  He played pretty darn good and it was nice to see.  He played 23:00 minutes and had 3 shots.  His puck movement was spot on and he seemed to try for the whole game.  See what happens when you try... you score.  How about a Frosty Black Label?  Cheers!

Nikolai Khabibulin - Once again he was a stud.  He did what he could and the game went to a shootout.  I don't know what else he could have done.  He was great. Miller Time? You betcha. Cheers!

Lubomir Visnovsky - Holy crap he's on fire tonight.  He is one of the best skating defencemen that I have seen in a long time.  He scores a goal and nets an assist.  What else des he need tonight? A beer of course. Cheers!

Sheldon Souray - He looked like he was back to normal.  He was doing the usual Big Sexy stuff like hitting people and taking shots.  He had 2 assists tonight and played the most out of all the Oilers once again.  I'm just glad he's back.  Great game Souray.  Pilsner in a glass? Cheers!

HONORABLE MENTION(S): Gilbert Brule ( He played one of his best games for the Oilers this year.  He was motivated to beat these guys.), Shawn Horcoff (He's playing well with the hurt shoulder.  But if it hurts too much to take a faceoff, then why is Quinn playing you so much?), Dustin Penner (He should have had an official assist for his screen on the Hemsky goal (but won't). He played a good game.), Ladi Smid (The Spaz was solid yet again. He had 5 hits and didn't make very many mistakes.)

------------------

JEERS

Ethan Moreau - BOOOOOOOO!

Liam Reddox - Your penalty was the root cause for the 2nd PP goal by the Blue Jackets.  Not a great way to end a game. Booooo!

-------------------

GOAT WATCH

(Smokin' Ray) Ethan Moreau - He sucks. Trade him now! Need New Captain

(Paq Twinn) Robert Nilsson - Didn't Play

-------------------

OUR GAME SUMMARIES

Smokin' Ray - That was a disheartening game to watch.  Just when the Oilers were looking like they could do well in this game, Moreau takes the BTP in the 2nd period. STUPID GUY! So with Staios and now Moreau in the box, the Jackets score to open the game and it eventually goes to Overtime and then the Shootout.  And we lose.  I'm getting sick of talking about Moreau.  He needs to go.  He drags the team down with stupid penalties and he takes no responsibility for his actions.  I've never heard he say he screwed up.  Never.  He just blames the guys around him in a round about way.  Pathetic. 

As far as this team goes, they really need to buckle down and stick to the basics.  You know... Hit, shoot, score.  That type of thing.  This isn't a bad team.  It just has a bad leader.  Leadership is action... not position.  See you all Wednesday.  GOILERS!

Paq Twinn - *cloud of funky smoke rises* What? What's going on? Who's there? *cough* fLamers suck! *lies down on couch and goes back to sleep*

-------------------

POST GAME REACTIONS



-------------------

GAME STATS

- Game Summary

- Event Summary

- Scoring Chances (MC79)

- David Staples Player Grades (Cult of Hockey)

- Full NHL Play By Play

- Oilers Time On The Ice

- Opponents Time On The Ice

- Faceoff Reports

- Shots Report

- Shootout Details
-------------------

NEXT GAME

Edmonton Oilers (8-10-3) vs. Colorado Avalanche (12-5-3)

Wed, Nov 18/09

7:00 pm MT

TSN

-------------------

Thanks for stopping by and reading the Edmonton Oilers Full Game Recap. Don't forget that you can agree or disagree with us on Facebook and Twitter. Just look for Smokin' Ray Burnt and Paq Twinn. We will see you all next game. GOILERS!

-------------------

You can comment below without signing up! Pick Name/Url or Anonymous

B&J #83 Edmonton Oilers Recap vs. Thrashers (11/15/09)

Welcome to Oilers Jambalaya - An Edmonton Oilers Hockey Blog. Beers & Jeers is a dual collaboration between Smokin' Ray and Paq Twinn. We hope you enjoy our Edmonton Oilers full game recap.

------------------

- Souray, Horcoff and Reddox all draw back in tonight.  It looks like Dean Arsene isn't going to play now that Souray is going to play.  Let's hope his headaches don't come back because of rushing into playing so quick.  He's barely practiced.

- I still cannot believe how many PPV games there are this month. It's going to kill my wallet next month when the bills come in.

------------------

Pre-Game Records

Edmonton Oilers (8-9-2) vs. Atlanta Thrashers (9-6-1)

------------------

TONIGHT'S STARTING LINES

Penner-Horcoff-Hemsky
Comrie-Gagner-O'Sullivan
Moreau-Cogliano-Stortini
Potulny-Brule-Reddox


Smid-Visnovsky
Gilbert-Strudwick
Souray-Staios

Khabibulin
Deslauriers

------------------

**These are Re-Tweets of Paq Twinn's LIVE TweetCast© at www.Twitter.com/PaqTwinn **

1st PERIOD

- Just minutes away from #Oilers vs #Thrashers It's another Oilers PPV. Stay around for the full game LIVE *TweetCast*
- GOILERS!!!
- Anthems are being sung and we are awaiting the puck drop.
- Khabibulin is getting the start tonight.
- Souray is back!!!
- GAME ON!!! Oilers vs Thrashers
- There is an entire section "= to Oilers Gold Section" is completely empty. #WOW
- Staios takes the games 1st penalty. PP Thrashers
- Thrashers score! Bogosian from Kovalchuk at 4:37 of the 1st period. 1-0 Thrashers
- Another Thrashers PP coming up. Visnovsky for Boarding at 5:20
- Allright... Oilers killed it off. But there is a hooking penalty coming up to the Thrashers.
- PP Oilers.
- Oilers look bad on the PP. 10:25 left in the 1st
- Shots are 5-1 for the Thrashers 9:00 minutes left
- 5:00 minutes left and this game is lacking some intensity. The Oilers need some life.
- Not one of the Oiler players are looking spectacular yet. Who's going to be the guy? Hemsky? Penner? Souray? Horcoff? Comrie? Gagner? Habbi?
- Ok. Here we go. Oilers PP Kozlov for Tripping at 15:20
- Oilers get a PP late in the 3rd.
- 2nd Period is over and the Oilers will have a bit of PP time to start it off. Let's hope they come out guns a blazin'
- RT @buck75 Stortini playing NHL10. Good interview. #serious

2nd PERIOD

- GAME ON!!! 2nd Period is underway. 6 seconds left in the PP. GOILERS!
- YEAH! Oilers score 1-1 Tie Game. Horcoff from Staios at 39 seconds
- Oilers looking better now. #sweetemotion
- 11-9 are the shots in favour for the Oilers. 15:00 left in the 2nd period.
- Habbi is on fire!!! Big saves with 12:30 left iin the 2nd
- 5:32 left in the 2nd and the 2nd line, Brule and Habbi are looking the best on the Oilers this period.
- YEAH! Penner scores from Cogliano at 15:13 2-1 Oilers
- Penner should not be left off of Team Canada #2010 #oilers
- Shots are 23-17 for the Oilers. 3:47 left in the 2nd
- Ethan Moreau knows how to suck the life out of a period. PP Thrashers Bad Timing Penalty
- Potulny and O'Sullivan kill a good chunk of the PP.
- *insert swear word* Breakaway for Afinogenov and he scores. 2-2 Tie Game. It was a PP goal. The Oilers dominated that PK... until then.
- That's the end of the 2nd period. It was all Oilers but the Thrashers manage to tie it up at 2. 24-18 are the Shots in favour of the the Oil
- This LIVE *TweetCast* brought to you by http://www.oilersjambalaya.blogspot.com/  #oilers #nhl #thrashers

3rd PERIOD

- The puck is dropped and the 3rd is underway. GOILERS!
- Good Story Indeed RT @buck75 Good story about Tanner Hubbs. Good on the community fouindation for the #oilers.
- Great back and forth action to start the 3rd period. 28-21 are the shots in favour for the #Oilers. 2-2 Tie Game 13:28 left.
- PP Oilers Salmela for Hooking. at 7:59
- @BenThrashers Not to sound like a wise guy, but is your arena always that empty? Are those expensive seats?
- Agreed! RT @marshaboyd What a sh*tty powerplay. Some things never change.
- DAmN! The Thrashers Kozlov scored. 3-2 Thrashers at 11:59
- Ok. Makes sense now. Just strange to see. RT @BenThrashers When we're head-to-head with the Falcons it's tough. This is football country.
- 7:10 to go in the 3rd period
- 30-30 are the shots with 5:11 left in the 3rd Period
- Great pressure by the Oilers and the Thrashers take a penalty. PP Oilers 4:50 left in 3rd
- LET'S GO OILERS, LET'S GO!!!
- Two Minute Warning
- Reasoner hits the post
- Timeout Oilers 3-2 Thrashers
- Habbi goes to the bench #emptynet
- 50 seconds left
- Whistle. 29 seconds left in the 3rd. Oilers need a big one now.
- Game Over. #Oilers lose to the Atlanta #Thrashers. Great game by the Thrashers.The Oilers need to change things. Poor effort level from all.
- 3-2 Final Score. 36-30 were the shots in favour for the Oilers.
- I second that. RT @buck75 Weak...I'm getting tired of paying to watch #oilers games on tv.
- @AToilfan83 Moreau is a sad excuse for a leader. This team is getting into some serious trouble. Flu schmo. The effort level sucks
- Brule, Khabibulin and Visnovsky all played good for the Oilers. The 3rd Line, Strudwick and the 1st line for most of the game SUCKED!
- Please Eskies!!! Give me something to be happy about today.
- Have a good day everyone. I'm out! http://www.oilersjambalaya.blogspot.com/

------------------

GAME HIGHLIGHTS



------------------

FINAL SCORE

Edmonton Oilers - 2

Atlanta Thrashers - 3

------------------

BAD TIMING PENALTY

Ethan Moreau - I usually won't tack a BTP on a guy in the 2nd period, but in this case it's fully worthy. The Oilers just scored to make it a 2-1 Oiler lead. Captain Dumb Ass takes a lazy Hooking penalty and gives the Thrashers the man advantage. What happens? They score and tie the game at 2. Way to be a leader.

------------------

GAME STAT LEADERS

Goals - Horcoff, Penner (1 each)
Assists - Cogliano, Staios, Stortini, Hemsky (1 each)
Points - 6 Players tied at 1 each
Best +/- - Cogliano, Staios, Penner, Souray, Hemsky (+1 each)
Worst +/- - 13 Players tied a 0
Most Penalty Minutes - Moreau, Staios, Visnovsky (2 Mins each)
Most Time On The Ice -Souray (25:10)
Least Time On The Ice - Stortini (9:39)
Most Shots - Gilbert, O'Sullivan, Moreau (5 each)
Most Hits - Reddox (3 hits)
Most Giveaways - Smid, Horcoff, Moreau (1 each)
Most Takeaways - Moreau (2)
Most Blocked Shots - Strudwick (2)
Best Faceoffs - Gagner (5W-4L=56%)
Worst faceoffs - Potulny (2W-5L=29%), Penner (6W-11L=35%)

------------------

BEERS

Nikolai Khabibulin - Once again Habbi stands up and delevers for the Oilers.  It's just too bad his team stinks.  He did his best and you can't ask for much more than that. Good job.  Frosty beer? Cheers!

Gilbert Brule - By far the hardest working Oiler tonight.  He tried his ass of and did everything he could to help this team win.  Is Quinn going to finally see what we see in this guy?  He was solid.  Have a drink on me. Cheers!

Lubomir Visnovsky - Perhaps he's been quietly our best player all season.  I can only remember one bad game by him and it wasn't tonight.  He's beer worthy today. Cheers!

HONORABLE MENTION(S): Laddy Smid (He played well, just not good enough for a beer.), The 2nd Line (They played well but never scored. The three of them sure can pass/cycle the puck.), Tom Gilbert (He was good. Too bad he's stuck with Strudwick.), Sheldon Souray (He seemed off tonight but played a ton. he just needs a game or two and he'll be back at the beer table with me slamming Buds.

------------------

JEERS

Ethan Moreau - I wish Tambo would do something with you. You do nothing but drag this team down and pass the blame to whatever you don't contribute to.  It's time to man up and be a leader.  20 games into the season and you have done NOTHING to make this team a better hockey club.  I'm tired of it and I'm sure everyone else is (never mind your teammates).  Take a hike loser. Boooooo!

Jason Strudwick - He's a funny and classy guy, but he sucks at hockey. He's another guy the Oilers could do without.  Booooo!

HONORABLE MENTION(S): The Moreau/Cogliano/Stortini Line (For a "bigger" line they sure looked slow and not tough.  I'd split these guys up by removing Moreau.),

-------------------

GOAT WATCH

(Smokin' Ray) Ethan Moreau - Holds up middle finger.

(Paq Twinn) Robert Nilsson - Did not play. (concussion)

-------------------

OUR GAME SUMMARIES

Smokin' Ray - Talk about another sh*tty PPV game brodcast by the Edmonton Oilers.  I heard one of the reps (can't remember who?) talk about the PPV's last week on the radio. Let me say this whoever you are, THIS IS NOT ON A LEVEL OF CBC/TSN/SPORTSNET. Quit trying to pull a fast one on us.  We are not stupid fans and we know when we are getting quality. The segements during the 1st and 2nd intermission were good.  It's the rest of the content that sucked. 

Ok. Actualy hockey talk now. This team sucks.  This team has no heart.  This team can't fight their way out of a paper box.  This team is in serious trouble now. It's the 20 game mark and with a record of 8-10-2, that's pretty bad.  The Oilers forgot to show up for the 1st period and then when they did decide to appear, the Captain took the BTP and allowed the Thrashers to tie it up.  After that it just seemed like the Oilers were good, but just a slight step behind.  I can only expect Quinn to roll some heads tonight and I'm expecting a better showing tommorow night.  F*^% $#%@!!! There... I feel better.

Paq Twinn - He missed the game.

-------------------

POST GAME REACTIONS

**Check Back Later**

-------------------

GAME STATS

- Game Summary

- Event Summary

- Scoring Chances (MC79) COMING SOON

- David Staples Player Grades (Cult of Hockey)

- Full NHL Play By Play

- Oilers Time On The Ice

- Opponents Time On The Ice

- Faceoff Reports

- Shots Report

- Roster Reports

-------------------

NEXT GAME

Edmonton Oilers (8-10-2) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (10-6-2)

Monday, Nov 16/09
5:00 pm MT
Sportsnet West

-------------------

Thanks for stopping by and reading the Edmonton Oilers Full Game Recap. Don't forget that you can agree or disagree with us on Facebook and Twitter. Just look for Smokin' Ray Burnt and Paq Twinn. We will see you all next game. GOILERS!

-------------------

You can comment below without signing up! Pick Name/Url or Anonymous

B&J #81 Edmonton Oilers Recap vs Ottawa Senators (11/10/09)

Welcome to Oilers Jambalaya - An Edmonton Oilers Hockey Blog. Beers & Jeers is a dual collaboration between Smokin' Ray and Paq Twinn. We hope you enjoy our Edmonton Oilers full game recap.

------------------

- Who's Out? Who's in? The revolving door keeps spinning as Robert Nilsson is out tonight.  So the Oilers had to call up Ryan O'Marra for his 1st ever NHL game.  O'Marra was called up because Steve MacIntyre was claimed by the Florida Panthers (the place we claimed him from originally).  Hemsky, Horcoff, Jacques, Chorney, Souray, Pouliot and now Nilsson are all hurt still and will not play tonight. 

- Is anyone else sick of hearing about the whole trade with Ottawa that never happened? I sure am. Who cares? It didn't happen and I'm sure those three guys are happy it didn't happen.

- Jeff Deslauriers finally gets his 3rd start of the season.  It's about time.  I've been saying it for a few games now.  Maybe Quinn has been reading the Beers & Jeers and decided I was right? Or maybe it's because there's back to back games and Quinn's a good coach and I'm a crappy writer. Sounds about right.

------------------

Pre-Game Records

Edmonton Oilers (8-8-1) vs Ottawa Senators (7-5-2)

------------------

TONIGHT'S STARTING LINES

Penner-Gagner-O'Sullivan
Comrie-Brule-O'Marra
Reddox-Potulny-Pisani
Moreau-Cogliano-Stortini

Smid-Visnovsky
Grebeshkov-Gilbert
Strudwick-Staios

Deslauriers
Khabibulin

------------------

**These are Re-Tweets of Paq Twinn's LIVE TweetCast© at www.Twitter.com/PaqTwinn **

1st PERIOD

- Well folks... Just waiting for the suck to drop. #Oilers vs #Senators
- The suck to drop? *shrugs shoulders* Maybe I'm not wrong. But I meant puck.
- Anthem is being sung
- Game on! OILERS VS SENATORS
- Good pace to start the game. Nothing really news worthy yet.
- 13:16 left and I'd give the edge to Ottawa
- Oilers score!!!
- The 1st line was on the ice. Penner's goal. 1-0 Oilers
- The Refs are calling it a Staios goal at 7:33
- 2nd line is trapped in the Oilers zone
- Senators nail the post with 9:00 mins
- Jason Smith says he doesn't miss hockey. #meangeneinterview
- This TweetCast brought to you by http://www.oilersjambalaya.blogspot.com/
- 6:45 left in the 1st and it's a good game so far.
- Awww.. #Senators score. Cheechoo scores. 1-1 Tie Game
- Visnovsky was pushed off the puck by Kovalev and he passed it to Cheechoo for the goal.
- Moreau scores!!! 2-1 Oilers. Yes you read that right. Moreau scored.
- 3:33 left in the 1st period
- Staios and Moreau have scored tonight. Who's next? Smid?
- Two minute warning. Oiler lines 27 89 19 - 91 67 42 - 85 16 34 - 18 13 46 - 5 71 - 37 77 - 43 24 - 38
- 1st Period is over. Staios from O'Sullivan and Penner on the 1st goal and the 2nd was Moreau unassisted.
- This is Ryan O'Marra's 1st NHL game according to Mean Gene.
- During the intermission break they are showing the slo-pitch game from earlier this year. Man are NHL guys bad at ball. #dontquitthedayjob
- Kevin Lowe talking about Team Canada. Gene asked him about Penner. He tried not to answer. #pennershouldbeonthatteamifhestayshot

2nd PERIOD

- WOOoooOOooO! It's Game On! 3rd line to start.
- They changed the 1st goal to Penner from Staios and O'Sullivan
- Another post shot for the Sens. Strudwick with the giveaway
- The Oilers still can't make an easy pass. #needtoworkonit
- I think that "A" should stay on Penner. He plays well with it
- Damn! Nick Foligno scores for the Sens. 2-2 Tie Game
- 16:35 left in the 2nd Period
- Senators are really gaining momentum.
- Visnovsky is playing very sloppy tonight. I wonder what's up?
- Grebeshkov has a great chance and then the Sens some back the other way with a chance of their own. 10:30 left in the 2nd Period
- The Oilers shots are 16, the Senators shots are 11
- The Oilers go on the PP at 7:38. The 1st PP of the game. (Alfredsson for Hooking)
- Slick passing by the Oilers. They generate a chance.
- Good PP but can't score
- This has been a good game to watch so far.
- Two Minutes Left
- The 2nd Period is over and it's a 2-2 Tie Game. I'm sure the 3rd will be a great period. Stay tuned.
- Souray said that Iginla left him a voice message of apology. #thisisntover #fLamessuck #oilers

3rd PERIOD

- Game On!!! The puck has been dropped.
- Deslauriers almost gave the puck away. Lucky that the Sens didn't convert
- Good action so far. Cogs had a break away. 12:14 left.
- Grebs has a great chance but could not score. Great back and forth pace.
- Oilers are out shooting the Sens 29 to 15. #isntthatdifferent
- 9:58 is left in the 3rd Period.
- 2-2 Tie Game
- The Sens have a few real good chances but can't score.
- *insert swear words* The Sens score. 3-2 Senators Then a scrum ensues.
- They may go upstairs to review it.
- Nope. Neil scores. 3-2 Sens
- Stortini and Carkner sit for two. 6:40 left in the 3rd
- Spezza gets a whack from JDD and then Kovalev sweeps his stick towards center ice. #poorsportsmanship
- YEAH!!! Brule scores. 3-3 Tie Game. 4:43 left in the 3rd
- @ryan_batty @PaqTwinn I'm liking this game so far. We haven't been great but all things considered I think we're playing pretty good.
- Agreed. RT @buck75 Kovalev = Douche move tossing JDD's stick
- Two Minutes left
- Oilers came close to scoring. :39 seconds left in the 3rd. 3-3 Tie Game
- I guess it's time for a little overtime. GOILERS!!!
- The Oilers 3rd goal was Brule from Grebeshkov and Staios. Yes... I said Staios. Again. #crazyworld

OVERTIME

- Cogs gets taken down and no call.
- 3:25 left in the OT period
- Great action during this whole game.
- 1:00 left in OT. Great chances by both teams. Great game.
- Shoot Out!!! Oilers vs Senators 3-3 Tie Game. 34 shots for Oilers and 25 shots for the Sens

SHOOTOUT

- O'Sullivan Scores!
- Kovalev Scores. Boooooo!
- Penner can't score. Leclaire gets a pad on it.
- Alfredsson is denied by JDD. Big glove save.
- Comrie shots it right at Leclaire and it's a no goal
- Spezza scores and that's game over. Sens win 4-3
- Tough loss for the Oilers. I'm hate losing like that. I really do not like the shootout. Especially with only going with 3 shooters.
- I've never understood why ther isn't 5 shooters in the shootout. There's 5 skaters per team during the game right? #commonsenseunderacheives
- Tune in to tomorrow's game for the full LIVE *TweetCast* It's been a pleasure. http://www.oilersjambalaya.blogspot.com/
------------------

GAME HIGHLIGHTS



------------------

FINAL SCORE

Edmonton Oilers - 3

Ottawa Senators - 4

------------------

BAD TIMING PENALTY

None -

------------------

GAME STAT LEADERS

Goals - Moreau, Penner, Brule (1 each)
Assists - Staios (2), O'Sullivan (1), Grebeshkov (1)
Points - Staios (2), Moreau (1), Brule (1), Penner (1), O'Sullivan (1), Grebeshkov (1)
Best +/- - Steve Staios (+3)
Worst +/- - Gilbert, O'Marra, Smid (-1 each)
Most Penalty Minutes - Stortini (2 mins)
Most Time On The Ice - 23:05 Denis Grebeshkov
Least Time On The Ice - 6:00 Ryan O'Marra
Most Shots - Reddox and Moreau (5 each)
Most Hits - Reddox, Pisani, Moreau (3 each)
Most Giveaways - Jason Strudwick (2)
Most Takeaways - 9 Players tied with 1 each
Most Blocked Shots - Steve Staios (5)
Best Faceoffs - (8W-5L for 62%) Andrew Cogliano
Worst faceoffs - (6W-9L for 40%) Ryan Potulny
------------------

BEERS

Andrew Cogliano - I really liked his play tonight.  He was buzzing everywhere and generated lots of opportunities when ever he was out.  Maybe just maybe, this was his "see what your missing" type of game to the Sens?  He went 8W-5L for 62% on the faceoff dot.  Where did that come from?  I just thought that overall he had a great game despite no points. Cool, cold Bud Cogs? Cheers!

Steve Staios - What? Does it feel like hell froze over to you too?  Steady Steve was awesome tonight.  I couldn't believe what I was watching.  He picked up 2 assists and was a +3 on the night.  He even had 3 shots on net and 5 blocked shots.  I liked this guy.  He's much better than that other guy that was wearing the #24.  How about a gigantic frosty schooner of Canadian? Cheers!

Ethan Moreau - Yup.  Hell did freeze over.  It pains me to have him in the beers section, but it is what it is.  He was freaking pretty good.  *scratches head*  I just don't get it.  It's funny because Paq Twinn and I were making fun of him this afternoon.  But what the hell do we know?  Chopper had a goal and 5 hits.  He was, as Pierre MacGuire says, a monster.  Beer Bong time! Cheers!

HONORABLE MENTION(S): Dustin Penner (The big guy scores and plays great again.  Maybe Pens was the one that started the whole hell freezing over thing?), Sam Gagner (He has stepped up since the other guys have been injured.  It's nice to see him improve this season. 50% faceoffs), Liam Reddox (He had 5 shots and 3 hits.  Quinn's new go to guy?), Ryan O'Marra (For his 1st ever NHL game he did pretty good.  Much better than I expected.  He's the 2nd piece in the Ryan Smyth deal. It's kind of ironic that he gets called up to replace Nilsson.), Denis Grebeshkov (He did pretty good.  One of his better games but still scary to watch when he has the puck in the Oilers zone.  He had 1 goal and 3 shots.), Patrick O'Sullivan (he didn't do anything special, he just played well. He had 1 assist.), Gilbert Brule (Great effort to produce his goal.  His game is getting better game by game.)

------------------

JEERS

Lubomir Visnovsky - Holy crap that was a bad game for Lubo.  He was losing the puck all over the place and falling down.  It was such a mess for him.  He even took a nasty face wash which hurt him a bit.  I'm sure he will rebound back and play a solid game tomorrow night.  But for tonight... Booooo!

Jason Strudwick - This guy was 100% pure bad.  He lost the puck at one point and didn't even know it.  He just looked out of place all game.  Let's hope Chorney or Souray come back soon.  Bad night Struds.  Boooo!

HONORABLE MENTION(S): Jeff Deslauriers (He was rusty right from the start and didn't really look good till halfway through the third.  I can't really blame him for sub par play when this was his 3rd game of the year.  You should have seen him handle the puck.  Scary.)

-------------------

GOAT WATCH

(Smokin' Ray) Ethan Moreau - You read the Beers. *shrugs shoulders* Anyone want to bet he won't do that again tomorrow?

(Paq Twinn) Robert Nilsson - He was a scratch.  What's to be mad at?  It's a good thing. :)
-------------------

OUR GAME SUMMARIES

Smokin' Ray - I enjoyed this game.  It was fun to watch but I really hate to lose in the shootout.  It just drives me crazy and I don't know why.  It was nice to see O'Marra play his 1st ever game.  He did well.  It was a strange game where we saw Visnovsky poop in the bed, while we had Staios and Moreau rocking it up.  But whatever, it was worth the money.  I'm excited that we play Buffalo tomorrow.  *squee* I can hardly wait. PS: I thought that the stick throwing/swiping incident was total crap for Kovalev to do.  Someone should have smacked him in the mouth.

Paq Twinn - He missed the game.

-------------------

POST GAME REACTIONS



-------------------

GAME STATS

- Game Summary

- Event Summary

- Shootout Details

- Scoring Chances (MC79)

- Mike's Blawg Player Grades

- Full NHL Play By Play

- Oilers Time On The Ice

- Opponents Time On The Ice

- Faceoff Reports

- Shots Report

-------------------

NEXT GAME

Edmonton Oilers vs. Buffalo Sabres

Wed, Nov 11/09
5:00 pm MT
TSN

-------------------

Thanks for stopping by and reading the Edmonton Oilers Full Game Recap. Don't forget that you can agree or disagree with us on Facebook and Twitter. Just look for Smokin' Ray Burnt and Paq Twinn. We will see you all next game. GOILERS!

-------------------

You can comment below without signing up! Pick Name/Url or Anonymous

Beers and Jeers #65 (Oct 3/09 vs. Calgary fLames)

Well we waited all summer for this moment.  It's finally here.  The Oilers are back.  GOILERS!

-----------

1st Period

- I seen a glimpse of Deslauriers new pads.  They are a beautiful orange.  Can't wait to see him play.
- The fLames score right off the bat.  Glencross at 1:52.  Why does this guy haunt us?
- Oilers look nervous and shaky out there.  Nothing like opening night jitters.
- At 6:14, Penner scores from O'Sullivan and Comrie.  Nice work to get the 1st Oiler goal of the year.
- I just hate former goalies that get into broadcasting.  Kevin Weeks is the new Captain Obvious. Good Grief. *throws Charlie Brown a quarter*
- fLames score again on the PP at 12:09.
- The Oilers had two PP chances and didn't score on either.

2nd Period

- Stortini tries to get the Oilers going by fighting with Prust at 2:38.  A pretty even fight.  It was kind of boring.
- The 1st half of the period the Oilers look flat and lifeless. 
- Just as the team was gaining some momentum, Staios takes a reckless holding call.  Bad Timing Penalty™
- The fLames score on the PP and go up 3-1.  Once again, thanks Staios.
- Good thing for guys like Sam Gagner.  He drops the gloves with Craig Conroy at 13:23.  Great fight as Gagner takes one on the face and then nails Conroy a few times.  Gagner wins the fight, wins the crowds attention and wins a little respect from Quinn. 
- But not to be out done, we have another Bad Timing Penalty™ from my beloved goat, Ethan Moreau.  It was a real lazy penalty that could have been avoided.  God he makes me angry.
- Brule scores on a hard shot with the assists going to Penner and Visnovsky.  He's doing what he can to stay here with the big club.  You gotta like that. 3-2 fLames
- The Oilers were back in it after 2 periods.  Can they carry it into the 3rd?

3rd Period

- The crowd was ready for some action and action we got. 
- There was good flow to the game at the 1/2 way point.  Back and forth they went.
- No penalties were taken in the 3rd.
- Gagner jumps all over a loose puck and slides it past Kipper for an unassisted goal.  Yeah!!! 3-3 game.
- In the dying seconds (:49 left), the Bulin Wall absolutely craps the bed and mis-plays the puck and Moss pokes it in. Doh! 4-3 fLames win

--------------

Tonight's Starting Lines

Jacques-Horcoff-Hemsky
O'Sullivan-Comrie-Stone
Penner-Brule-Cogliano
Moreau-Gagner-Stortini

Souray-Visnovsky
Grebeshkov-Gilbert
Smid-Staios

Khabibulin
Deslauriers

-------------

FINAL SCORE

Calgary fLames - 4
Edmonton Oilers - 3

-------------

Bad Timing Penalty™

Steve Staios - The guy knows how to wreck a party.  He picked a real bad time to take an aggressive holding penalty.  He crossed the line and was caught.  1st BTP of the season.  Not sure if I'd brag about it.

Ethan Moreau - Lazy penalty by the Captain.  Even worse than Steve's.  Yours was out of sheer carelessness. 

-------------

GOAT WATCH

Ethan Moreau - He's my goat.  What else do I need to say?  He's baaaaad!

-------------

BEERS

Sam Gagner - The little big guy drops the gloves with Conroy and does well.  He scores the tying goal in the 3rd and earns himself the 2nd star of the game.  I thought he played hard and deserved better guys to play with.  He may just get that shot next game.  Awesome way to show Quinn your worth.  It's Miller time Gags!!!  Frosty beer?  Cheers!

Dustin Penner - The skinny fat guy busted out a stellar 1st period and then caps it off with a classic interview with Scott Oake.  He did fade a little in the 2nd but was rollin' again in the 3rd.  I actually though he should have been 3rd star instead of Kipper, but I'm not the picker.  Excellent way to start the season Penner.  Cold beer?  Cheers!

Patrick O'Sullivan - I really believe that he may only finish 2nd to Ovechkin in shots taken this year.  He fires them from all over.  I love that.  My old coach used to say, "You can't score without a shot".  It's true.  Expect a few goals from O'Sullivan this year.  He's gonna be dynamite.  Great game Sully.  Need a glass for the beer?  Cheers!

Honorable Mentions - Mike Comrie (He played well.  He's great with O'Sullivan.  He had 1 assist and was 75% on the faceoff dot.), Ladislav Smid (The Spaz played well.  He finished the night +2 and didn't make any huge mistakes), Gilbert Brule (He showed us why he made the team this year.  He played hard and did what he had to.  Plus he scored.), Lubomir Visnovsky (He started out not so good but ended strong.  He still seems slow to me.  Nonetheless he finished +2).

-------------

JEERS

Nikolai Khabibulin - PSFTTF!  That's you pooping in your bed.  Terrible man.   Let's hope that's not you at your best.  The fans instantly cried out for Roli when you did that.  ~Nice debut!~  Booooooooooo!

Ales Hemsky - Where was this guy tonight?  Mr. Iwantotbetheman.  You need to show up in order to be the man.  The 1st line didn't look like a 1st line.  Hemsky was to blame for a lot of that.  He needed to get his nose dirty more.  Where's the crust?  He did once and shied away after that.  Man up and giv'er.  I hope it's a different Hemmer next game.  Booooooooo!

Shawn Horcoff - Same goes to Horcoff.  He sucked as well.  Well, he did do pretty good on the faceoff dots.  67% on the night was his only crowning achievement.  Other than that he did squat.  Nice 1st day on the $7 million dollar punch clock.  Booooooooo!

Ethan Moreau - For all the reasons listed above... Boooooooo!

Denis Grebeshkov - Grebs wasn't so good either tonight.  He was having troubles with the puck all night.  Sure some were bad bounces, but a lot was just him in panic mode.  I may just chauk this one up as opening night jitters, but geez Grebs.  That was a terrible game for you.  Boooooooo!

------------

Well what a crap way to end a Saturday night.  Now I'm going to have to hear it from people at work for a week that the Coilers lost to the Mighty Flames.  *puts face in hands*

Put Up Your Dukes #1 (Gagner/Schremp)

Welcome to Put Up Your Dukes.  This is a segment where we have a verbal fight about whatever floats our boats.  Today we fight about Gagner and Schremp.

---------------

Round 1

GAGNER ON THE 4TH LINE

Smokin' Ray Burnt - Hey Guy. Not sure if you know, but Gagner is on the 4th line to start the season. *sends text*

Paq Twinn - It is what it is, but I don't like Gags playing with some less talented guys like that.  That is Bullsh*t  in my opinion. Being demoted to the 3rd line would have been sufficient enough.  But this is nuts.

SRB - Yeah, but I thought that the 3rd line was more of a 1c, not an actual 3rd line.  The more I think of it, I'm cool with Gagner on the 4th line.  You get what you give.  So far this year... that's not much.

PT - For the record, I'm not cool with it.  Gags needs someone else on a line with him and it doesn't matter if it's the 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th line.  He needs someone with skill to play with.  What good is it doing him playing with Stortini and Moreau?

SRB - I agree to a point.  But there is a real answer to this problem.  Be better Gagner.  Be better and this wouldn't be an issue right now.  It's his fault.  Although, I bet this lasts only two games tops and he'll be back with Penner and Cogs where he belongs.

PT - I don't know man.  If this was the plan all along, then letting Schremp go was a mistake.  The Captain should have been put on waivers.  But I doubt anyone would take him. *shakes head in disgust*  How is he supposed to succeed playing with Moreau and Stortini?  Hey, maybe Storts will score more than Gags this year?  I reckon Quinn and Co. just made their 1st mistake.

SRB - You doubt the Mighty Quinn?  Pfft.  But I'm with you on Moreau.  Not sure why Nilsson isn't getting a shot with Gagner/Stortini.  Four lines of cream puffs and a side of crust.  Wait a minute.  Did you mention Schremp?  Time for round 2.  Ding, ding!

-------------------------------

Round 2

THE SCHREMP DEBATE

Paq Twinn - So long Schremp, if it was up to me you'd have gotten your chance here two years ago. Good luck in your home state.

Graham Martin - The thing is I don't think that he ever deserved a chance to crack the lineup in any of his years at training camp except maybe this year, and that is another reason (previous conversation) why I didn't like the Comrie signing cause I thought it spelt the end for Schremp. And if you don't show up in camp, you can't make the team, it is that simple.

PT - I agree that he didn't show enough in camp to make the teams past, I just think he should have got more then 7 games in the time he was here. He should have got 7 consecutive games, the year he got 76 points in Springfield, to show something. I just think the Oilers/MacT didn't give him a fair chance, especially when scoring was so sorely needed.

GM - Again, I have to go back to the whole defense thing (another previous conversation), and if you don't play it in the NHL, you are a serious liability. and after watching two of his preseason games, he is absolutely awful without the puck.

PT - I can't disagree with that, but you could possibly counter balance he liabilities by playing him with more defensively aware linemates. MacT just couldn't think outside of the box, or box+1, or diamond etc. he was too single minded as a coach. That's why Reddox and Peterson got so much ice time, just because they knew where to be without the puck. We had way too many players that knew what to do without the puck and not enough that knew what to do with the puck.

Smokin' Ray Burnt - *shows up late to the party*  On one hand, Graham is right. A guy needs to play defense first in order to be good in this league. Schremp can't do that.

However... Last year when Schremp had 3 points in 3 games (the 4th game doesn't count because he sat on the bench the whole game), How much better does a guy have to be? That's a point per game. That alone should have given him a better chance with the Oilers. But MacT wouldn't have any of that. Instead, Schremp goes back down and MacT rode the Red Ox for all he's worth.  Schremp and Nilsson were dynamite together in the AHL. Why were these two not paired together in the NHL?

SRB - On a side note: Dan Barnes said that Schremp's Dad sells Schremp Dogs outside the arena in Rochester. Too friggin' funny. Hmmm.. A hot dog player and a hot dog seller. #theworldisgettingmuchclearer

GM - You can put him with defensive minded players, but that takes away from his offensive flair. he needed to be with other scorers. But I do agree with last year, I thought he was better and deserved more games. But without the puck he has no idea what to do.

PT - Hypothetically I would have put him with Smyth and Horcoff back in the day, and put Hemsky with Stoll and Torres. I don't think they (94+10) would have stifled his offense and they could help out defensively. Hemsky would have still been with capable if not equal talents. The more I think about it, MacT was a bad coach, he couldn't even get the best line-up out there never mind getting the best out of HIS line-up. Could of had a 1a and 1b two to three years ago.

SRB - What? Hypothetically, I have no idea what your talking about. Are we still talking about Schremp? This year or then? What?

Way to wreck a good conversation Paq. *walks off into sunset shaking head*

GM -Hahahahahahah. agreed! *rides off on his Harley with a chick on the back*

PT - I never once made any references to this year. I was always talking about past blunders. My whole focus was Schremp and that we never gave him a chance.  This year hasn't officially begun, so I could have only really ever been talking about past years. We don't have the same kind of team now that we had then. I guess my point is that today's waiving and subsequent loss of Rob Schremp could have been avoided if he was given half a chance, with players that would work, when we had said players. But if you guys can't follow me I'll try not to confuse you anymore, besides what's done is done and ain't no amount of debating chances and abilities is going to change it.

I guess we'll disagree to disagree on this one. Guys?  *just realizes no one is here anymore*

------------

Do you want in on this "secret" meeting?  We have them all the time and we could use more than two rounds.  Be friends with me on facebook and join the fun.  www.facebook.com/smokinrayburnt

No More BS. Gagner's on the 4th Line.

You read the title right.  According to Jason Gregor of OilersNation.com,  Gagner is on the 4th line to start the season.  Wow!  Quinn means business here.  Gone is the MacT reign and gone is the "that's ok, you can do it" attitude that we had the last few years.   I am a little stunned that Quinn is doing this, yet very happy about it.

Here is the projected lineup for the 1st game of the year against the fLames on Saturday.

Jacques — Horcoff — Hemsky
O’Sullivan — Comrie — Stone
Penner — Brule — Cogliano
Moreau — Gagner — Stortini

Gagner had two years to do whatever he wants and now it's Quinn's time.  He's in charge around here and he's letting everyone know it. 

He's made it known that Pisani and Moreau were on the bubble in training camp.  He's expressed his displeasure of the way the vets "handle" this team.  And now he's making sure guys like Gagner take this year seriously. 

Way to go Quinn.  I'm liking the cut of your jib.  You might just be a Jib Cutter after all.

Oh yeah... Rob Schremp is an Islander.  Like you didn't know already. #idontknowhowimsupposedtofeel

Official Jambalaya Predictions

Official Jambalaya Predictions

Well here we go folks. We are leaving it all out on the ice. These are our picks for this season.

Hope we are relatively close considering more moves may happen. Oh well... it's go time!

--------------------------------------------------------

Who's in the 2009-10 Stanley Cup Finals?

Smokin' Ray - Chicago vs. Washington

Paq Twinn - San Jose vs. Washington

--------------------------------------------------------

Last year on OilersNation.com we picked our Hero's and Goat's.

Here at OJ, we picked some for this season.

Smokin' Ray HERO Sam Gagner GOAT Ethan Moreau

Paq Twinn HERO Lubo Visnovsky GOAT Robert Nilsson

--------------------------------------------------------

There you have it folks. What/who are you picking?

Oilers Jambalaya #4 (Random Thoughts)

Wow!

A lot has changed in the last week or so. MacT is gone. Tambo steps up. Rumors start swirling. Who's leaving next? Oilers have 10th pick overall at this years NHL draft.

Absolute crazy I tell you.

Everyone is talking about who is going to be the next coach here in Oil Country. At this point of the season, who cares? There is a lot of months before the next season starts and the playoffs are just starting. Why are we getting all worked up about nothing? I don't know? Do you?

All I do know... I DON'T WANT MIKE CRAWFORD! Oops. Did I screw up your name Marc? No big deal right? I'll get Alex Hemsky to sign a shirt for you to make up for it. Can you imagine what Hemmer would do if he taps him on the pads and says, "Ok Alex. Your turn." And Hemmer looks at him and cracks him over the head with his stick. "Help me Rolofson", Crawford yells as Roli turns his back and skates away. OMG! That could be terrible for the team. BBMT (Bring Back MacT) jk. Calm down.

-------------

I guess the next "big thing" for the Oilers is the 2009 NHL Draft. The Oilers pick 10th this year for the first time ever. If we picked up Hemsky at 13th, then we should be able to find a guy that is decent. *fingers crossed* I am a believer of picking the best available player for the first two rounds anyways. After that, whatever. Go random. Pick with your gut. There just may be a Zetterberg out there for us.

Here is a look at the top 15 players available from TSN. Anyone of these kids could be an Oiler by next year. Who do you like the best? Don't say Tavares either.

-------------

If the Oilers are going to move forward then I suppose we look at leadership. I am a strong believer that we also need a change in out Captain department. Moreau has done a decent job but this team needs a new direction. Now all season I have said how I would like to see Souray as our C. I still do feel that way, but I have been thinking about this a lot lately. Why not be like Chicago and name Gagner the Captain? It seems to be working for them and if anything we can look at Vancouver and Detroit as examples. They are teams that made a young guy a Captain and built around them for years. Yzerman and Linden. Why not the Oilers? Clearly, Gagner was the one that was most bothered by not making the playoffs. (Souray as well as he wasn't available for comment after the last day.) Give Gagner a shot with the C. I won't make us worse. NNC.

Beers and Jeers #56 (Apr 8/09 vs. Los Angeles Kings)

Well it's hard to want to sit down and talk about that game. I'm sad, frustrated, shocked and a little bit in denial. I can not believe it's all over.

Roli started what maybe his last game this year and possibly as an Oiler. Thanks Roli. We do like you here in Edmonton. But MacT, please let him play the last game of the year. Don't let it end like that for him and you.

-------------

1st Period

The 2nd line starts the game for the Oilers. The have a great 35 seconds as they are in the LA zone. But LA gets out and hems that line back in their own zone. Son of a... The Kings score a soft one on Roli at 0:55. Damn! 1-0 Kings. The crowd all at once let out a collective Awwww. A little while later Ethan Moreau drills a guy. Holy Crap! The Kings score again. 2-0 Kings. Once again it was the 2nd line that gets burned at 3:46. The crowd is stunned. I am stunned. After this this game is pretty boring. No real action, just safe hockey by both teams. At 8:51 the Oilers get their first PP. Not much really happens except for Hemsky whiffing on a pass. He looks at his stick blade like WTF? A few seconds later the camera shows him sitting on the bench pouting about it. At that moment both the wife and I said cya to Hemsky for the night. When he gets frustrated early, he disappears for the rest of the game. Probably he only real weak part of his game. Anyways, a fight breaks out. Peckham vs. Brian Boyle (6'7" 250lbs). Peckham kills him. He lands a few good left punches to the face/head. That was good. Crowd responds to it. MacT seems to have the blender on medium speed now. That means MacT is in panic mode. Not yet MacT. Jack Johnson nails Gagner from behind. Penner was right there when it happened and he took exception to it. Penner vs. Johnson. He handles Johnson ok and takes him down. Good on Penner. Will the emotion carry over to the 2nd? That was an intense last few minutes.

2nd Period

34 seconds into the 2nd, the Oilers go on their 2nd PP of the night. The PP still looks crappy. They don't score. Good first 5 minutes was all Oilers. 6 shots Oilers. Kings zero. Gagner the crazy fool skates out of his way to lay a body check on Brian Boyle. Brian Boyle! 6'7" 250lbs. Gags has a big set of nuts. How many Vets would have done that? That is why this kid is going to be a great all around player for the Oilers for years to come. A short while later, Brodziak grabs a flying puck and drops it in front of his stick. He has a wide open net and misses. Unbelievable! With 10 minutes played, the Oilers seem to be trying to get something done. Nothing is seeming to work though as it's still 2-0. Fight! Stortini vs. Ivanans. Good tilt. Storts even gets reversed jerseyed and still manages to get in some more shots to the head of Ivanans. After the fight Stortini's face looks like a half beaten bag of tomatoes. The 2nd line has been good this period. Good chances. Yeah! Oilers score. 2-1 Kings. (Pisani from Grebeshkov and Gilbert at 16:29.) Alright boys. Back in this one. Roli is taken down right in front of the ref and there is no call. The crowd is back in this game now too. Let's Go Oilers! Roli gets tripped up yet again and again, there is no call. Roli covers the puck and then freaks out. He throws the puck into the corner. Even when he's crappy, he still entertaining. Good period by the Oilers.

3rd Period

Good start by the Oilers. MacT is rolling all four lines. They are all playing good so why not? Nothing really news worthy in the first 10 minutes. Good flow but no excitement. With 9 minutes left, Gagner is nailed once again. And he just gets back up. Soon after Moreau has a great chance and almost scores. Nice passing on that play. Well there is 4:30 left and the Oilers are really turning up the heat now. The crowd is fired up and it seems to be helping the team. This game is Oilers vs. Quick. He is robbing the Oilers left and right. He's LA's Roli tonight. Oilers call a timeout at 18:21. Oilers can't mount much of an attack. With 32 seconds left, Grebeshkov has the puck taken from him as he is casually skating in front of Roli. He was lucky there as he stole it back. But the game ends. It's over. We lose.

--------------

Tonight's Starting Lines

Kotalik Horcoff Hemsky

O'Sullivan Gagner Nilsson

Moreau Cogliano Pisani

Penner Brodziak Stortini

Souray Staios

Grebeshkov Gilbert

Strudwick Peckham

Roloson

-------------

FINAL SCORE

Los Angeles Kings - 2

Edmonton Oilers - 1

-------------

BEERS

Sam Gagner - This kid wanted this win more than any other Oiler. Well it appeared that way to me. He was hitting guys twice his size, he was shooting. He had a couple of takeaways. He was trying to do what ever. In fact it makes me wonder if the Oilers should be like Chicago and bank their future on a young guy like Gagner by giving him the C? For a great game other than the 2 goals against, have a frosty beer. Cheers!

Theo Peckham - He has been impressing me quite a bit. He is tougher than I imagined. He plays pretty decent hockey. In fact, he keeps up the progress and he could easily replace Staios. His fight was good. He even manged a shot and a blocked shot. Solid game Theo. Have a cold one on me. Cheers!

Ethan Moreau - The Captain played pretty good. He did not do anything stupid. He played a sound game. He led the team with 4 hits and they were good ones to. He did his job and that deserves a beer. Cheers!

The Fans - There isn't enough beer in the world to numb the pain. But we shall try. Chug!

Honorable Mentions - Fernando Pisani (He scores the Oilers only goal. Played well.), Patrick O'Sullivan (The guy shoots from anywhere. 7 shots.)

--------------

JEERS

Ales Hemsky - WTF? Why is it that when you can't get anything going in the first 5 minutes you disappear for the rest of the game? You showed up a little near the end but it was too late. You let a lot of Oiler fans down playing like that in this game. We needed you. And you ignored us. Booooooo!

Shawn Horcoff - Ok. Your faceoffs were good. But when you are the #1 anything, you need to produce. Not just this game, but every game. You didn't and the season is over. Peoples brains are going to explode next year with that contract of yours. You think people are harsh now. lol. Wait. Boooooooooo!

89 12 19 37 77 35 - All six of these guys were on the ice for both LA goals. All six were guilty on the 2nd goal. Roli more so on the 1st goal. -2 for the 2nd line. You guys may have played well, but at those two moments you were pretty awful. Boooooooooo!

The Entire Team - Playoffs... Missed... 3 years in a row... WTF?!? BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

------------------

Now what?

Beers and Jeers # 55 (Apr 4/09 vs. Vancouver Canucks)

*EDIT*

Roli is the oldest goalie to play more than 60 games in a season. Sweet. A record is a record.

----------------

1st Period

Right off the hop Kotalik scores. Yeah! 1-0 Oilers. (Kotalik from Horcoff and Souray at 0:27) Nice start. At 2:03 Peckham has to go sit for 2:00. Oilers kill it off and start to get into the game more. The flow is great, barely any whistles in the first 7 minutes. Roli sure is looking sharp. Somehow Hemsky is the 1st man back and he trips up Burrows and he gets a penalty. WTF?!? First man back? Wow. Lucky for Hemmer the Oilers kill that one off. A short while later Hemsky tries to redeem himself by busting in and stick handling through a crowd and gets hooked by Edler. Oilers PP. They looked crappy. Terrible PP. But the Oilers get another PP at 15:28 and this unit looks a little better. They can't score on this one either, but like I said, they looked better. Just as the period is winding down, Rypien and Stortini want to go. Rypien pops Storts in the face on the first punch. Ouch! They have a good tilt but Storts gets beat pretty good. Oilers come out of the 1st with a goal and a decent start in front of the home crowd.

2nd Period

52 seconds in, Grebeshkov takes a hooking penalty. Not the best way to start a period. Never mind that it's the 2nd and we all know how crap ass the Oilers are in the 2nd. Good thing the Oilers kill that off. The first 7 minutes is good hockey. Great action. Gooooaaaaallll Oilers! Yeah! 2-0 Oilers. (Grebeshkov from Gagner and O'Sullivan at 8:14.) Oh Yeah! Grebs pinched down low and stuck it past Bobby Lou. The Oiler crowd is going crazy and so am I. The Canucks keep pressing with shots on the Oil, but Roli has been great so far stopping everything. At 19:10, Staios takes a borderline BTP late in the 2nd. He was just being over aggressive. Oilers kill off a bit of that penalty and will have to finish it off in the 3rd. Canucks shots so far are 32. Oilers have 16. At least the Oilers didn't get destroyed in this period. That was a first.

3rd Period

With a minute something left on the Staios penalty, the Oilers kill it off. At 1:27, Kesler trips up Grebs and will have to sit in the box. The Oilers can't score but they do have some good chances. Kotalik hits the post. Sundin out powers Staios and for some reason, Staios stops playing just a 1/2 second to adjust his helmet. Just then, Sundin fires it past him and finds Raymond and he scores at 6:51. 2-1 Oilers. WTF Staios?!? Canuck fans at the game are sure loving that. I can't believe how many there are. Gagner grabs the puck in the Oilers zone. He gets to Vancouver's blue line and burns Mitchell with a nice move. He jukes and jives all the way in and slides it past Luongo. Yeah! 3-1 Oilers. (Gagner unassisted at 10:28) How sweet was that move? That was classic al' a Hemsky. Gagner is going to be a really good player in the near future. Wow! Well Souray and Staios were too busy looking at the play in front of them that they forgot to look back. Burrows gets a long pass and breaks in on Roli. Scores. Damn! 3-2 Oilers. Getting scary now. Shortly after that goal, Burrows runs over Roli and takes a penalty. What a moron. If that isn't a BTP for Vancouver then nothing is. Wow! Idiot! Boom!!! Souray fires one into the net. 4-2 Oilers. (Souray from Hemsky and Gagner at 14:49 on the PP) Crazy folks. This game is getting intense. Moreau takes a BTP late in the 3rd. He goes off for slashing at 16:32. Surprised? Not really. Awwww... The Canucks pile into Roli's crease and jam a PP goal home. Dammit Moreau! 4-3 Oilers. Way to go Captain. So the Canucks pull Luongo and somehow the puck pops out of the neutral zone and Hemsky is free and scores on the empty net. Yay! 5-3 Oilers. (Hemsky unassisted at 18:58) That is the game folks. And it was a good one too.

GAME SUMMARY

EVENT SUMMARY

-------------------

Tonight's Starting Lines

Kotalik Horcoff Hemsky

Nilsson Gagner O'Sullivan

Moreau Cogliano Pisani

Penner Brodziak Stortini

Souray Staios

Grebeshkov Gilbert

Strudwick Peckham

Roloson

--------------

FINAL SCORE

Vancouver Canucks - 3

Edmonton Oilers - 5

--------------

BEERS

Sam Gagner - Gags was great. He was doing everything out there. It did take him a while to get going but once that hapened he was a force. He scores a goal and picks up 2 assists. Good for him. He seems to be fitting with O'Sullivan nicely. His defensive play is good but he still needs to work on his faceoffs (27% tonight). For playing such a great game, enjoy a frosty beer. Cheers!

Dwayne Roloson - Roli the goalie broke a record tonight for being the oldest goalie to play in 60 or more games in a season. He also broke his own personal best for wins in a season. Roli faced a ton of shots (46) and played to the best of his ability tonight. He deserves a nice cold Budweiser. Cheers!

Ales Hemsky - Hemmer had a great game as well. His passing was pretty spot on. He found Kotalik a few times that made me need to see the replay becuase I couldn't figure out how he did it. He scores the empty netter and picks up an assist on the Souray goal. I thought that his gamesmenship was way better tonight. For a fantabulas game... Have a drink on me. Cheers!

Honorable Mentions - Craig MacTavish (He gets win #300 with this win. That's a great milestone to achieve.), Denis Grebeshkov (Had a solid outing and managed a nice goal.), Ales Kotalik (He had a solid game and a nice quick goal. I liked that Hemsky is starting to work with him.), Patrick O'Sullivan (I thought that he did good. Picked up an assist and had 4 shots.) Kyle Brodziak (He played a nice all around game. Did well on the PK.), Shawn Horcoff (He also played fairly well. At least he was shooting this game.)

--------------

JEERS

There is none rally, other than Ethan Moreau's late BTP in the 3rd. Good god man. Boooooo!

--------------

2 games in a row we take a good/hot team to the limits. Where the hell was that all year?