B&J #86 Edmonton Oilers Recap vs Chicago Black Hawks (11/21/09)

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.

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- Who's Out? Who's in? Holy crap it just gets worse for the Oilers.  Khabibulin is out now because he has back problems.  Is this the beginning of the end for Habbi this year?  Let's hope not, that's the last thing this team needs.  However, Torrie Jung from the Oil Kings has been signed to an amateur tryout so he could be the backup for Deslauriers tonight.  That's twice I've seen that now by the Oilers in the last few years.  It looks like Jacques is in after missing quite a few games.  So we have Nilsson, Pisani, Chorney, Grebeshkov, Khabibulin, Stone and Comrie are all out due to injury/illness.

- Deslauriers is looking sharp in his orange and blue retro gear. Even the mask looks old school.  Damn I miss the 80's.

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Pre-Game Records

Edmonton Oilers (9-10-3) vs. Chicago Black Hawks (13-5-2)

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TONIGHT'S STARTING LINES

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

Smid-Visnovsky
Souray-Staios
Strudwick-Gilbert

Deslauriers
Jung

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

1st PERIOD

- Welcome to the #Oilers vs #Hawks LIVE *TweetCast*.
- The boys will have a big game tonight, i can just feel it. #GOILERS
- Waiting for intros, anthems and puck drop.
- Here we go, JFJ throwing hits early.
- JDD, with Orange pads and all, gets the start tonight.
- Khabi is out with a bad back. #getwellsoon
- Quick pace to the start of this game.
- Bickell tries to get a hit on Pens, bickell goes down for the count
- Toews scores off a terrible give away by Smid. 1-0 Hawks 16:10 1st
- Pens SCORES! after getting a whack at it, Barker puts in his own net. 1-1 Tie Game  15:30 1st
- Crowd starts the chant. #LetsGoOilers 15:00 1st
- Brule and Reddox get a nice chance on a 2on1
- Versteeg scores, after getting 2 whacks alone in front. 2-1 Hawks 12:40 1st
- Kane scores on a nice move. 3-1 Hawks on 6 shots. 7:20 1st.
- Oilers have a WHL goalie for a back up tonight, on a tryout contract.
- Oilers runnin around, fans booing, #Hawks with all the pressure.
- JDD makes a save, and with that its 2 min warning time.
- Oilers losing faceoffs on a regular basis now. When is Tambo going to do something about it, he's known about it for a year now.
- Pens is the best we got on the dot at like 48%, thats bad for team best.
- After one, its 3-1 for the #Hawks over the #Oilers.
- I swear I felt the Oilers would be better. Thankfully theres still 2 more periods for them to prove me right.

2nd PERIOD

- 2nd period is underway.
- Souray has been credited with the Oilers 1st period goal.
- Cogs has a nice chance at the side of the net.
- Seabrook goes off for hooking. Oilers PP 16:43
- Oilers PP pass it around a bit. JDD makes nice glove save on Madden
- No shots for the PP, back to even strength.
- Brule goes off for roughing. Oilers PK 13:41 2nd
- Oilers kill it off
- Halfway through a slow and rather boring 2nd, its still 3-1 Hawks.
- Madden scores at the back door, after a nice line rush. 4-1 Hawks 8:52 2nd
- Oilers need something positive to happen soon, or this one is all but done.
- Toews goes off for 2 with 30 sec remaining in 2nd.
- Hemmer SCORES! off a faceoff win, point shot, rebound. With .1 sec in 2nd. 4-2 Hawks.
- Officals looking at goal, making sure it went in before time expired.  Back to 4-1 Hawks
- No Goal, the clock stopped before the puck went in. 4-1 Hawks after two

3rd PERIOD

- Oilers will start the 3rd on the PP, if they can pull themselves together after the no-goal call. #deflatingcall
- 3rd period is underway
- Shots are 23-14 for the Oilers
- Staios blasts one, Pens tips it in front and SCORES!! 4-2 Hawks 18:24 3rd
- Things are heating up now, Oilers back in this game
- Smid gave Eager the puck, hits the post. #morebadgiveaways
- Smid's play tonight is as bad as his 'Movember' stache.
- Moreau takes another BTP for running Huet. Oilers PK 11:23 3rd
- Toews scores topshelf, 17 sec into PP. 5-2 Hawks
- Oilers looking life less, 5 min until this one is over.
- Last min in the game
- Game Over.
- Well that wasn't what i thought was going to happen, Oilers proved me wrong tonight. Maybe next time.
- Toews(1) Kane(2) Pens(3) get the stars tonight
- Thanks for following this Live *TweetCast*. Next up, the #Coyotes on Mon. 7 pm start. #GOILERS
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GAME HIGHLIGHTS



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FINAL SCORE

Chicago Black Hawks - 5


Edmonton Oilers - 2

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BAD TIMING PENALTY

None - Ethan Moreau's penalty would have been a BTP, but in my opinion, that was not his penalty.  He was pushed into Huet and was wrongly put in the box.

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GAME STAT LEADERS

Goals - Penner, Souray (1 each)
Assists - Horcoff, Staios, Penner, Visnovsky (1 each)
Points - Penner (2 points), Horcoff, Staios, Souray, Visnovsky, (1 each)
Best +/- - 8 Players tied with 0
Worst +/- - Smid, Brule, Visnovsky, Reddox, Gagner (-2 each)
Most Penalty Minutes - Brule, Moreau (2 minutes each)
Most Time On The Ice - Penner (22:15 of ice time)
Least Time On The Ice - Stortini (7:37 of ice time)
Most Shots - Penner (6 shots)
Most Hits - JF Jacques (7 hits)
Most Giveaways - Lubomir Visnovsky (4)
Most Takeaways - Lubomir Visnovsky (2)
Most Blocked Shots - 6 Players tied with 2 each
Best Faceoffs - Penner (11W-7L=61%) Gagner (7W-6L=54%)
Worst Faceoffs - O'Sullivan (3W-7L=30%)

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BEERS

Dustin Penner - He was the only Oiler capable of winning a game.  The rest of the guys were so bad it's not even funny.  Penner uses his body so well with the screening that it's helping the team even when he's not rewarded with a point.  But tonight he had a goal and an assist.  The fans couldn't ask for better tonight from Penner.  It's Bud Light Lime time. Cheers!

JF Jacques - 7 hits in 9:01 of ice time.  Why didn't Quinn play him more?  It makes no sense.  I didn't think his game was that great to deserve a beer, but having 7 hits in that little amount of time is definitely beer worthy.  Have a Black Star w/paper bag. Cheers!

HONORABLE MENTION(S): Shawn Horcoff (In the grand scheme of things... he was ok.)

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JEERS

Sheldon Souray - *sigh...* The Big Sexy was the Big Unlucky tonight.  On the second goal he was protecting the net and swiped the puck out of the air and into the Oilers net.  Ouch!  It was just not a good game for him  at all.  Boooo!

Lubomir Visnovsky - Where did the all star go?  He was terrible tonight.  His turnovers were horrendus and his sloppy play rubbed off on Smid.  Four giveaways is brutal and should be subjected to the coaches anger.  The defense corps is the big reason why we lost this game.  Boooo!

Ladislav Smid - He really blew it for the team early with the turnovers (he seemed to have more than the stats give him credit for.) The guy should be a baker instead of a hockey player.  I couldn't believe that this was the same guy that I've seen at every other game.  This guy is terrible.  Boooo!

Sam Gagner - Looked like a junior player out there.  But worse.  At first I was going to blame the guys he played with tonight.  But it wasn't then.  He sucked.  Bad.  Boooo!

HONORABLE MENTION(S):  The rest of the players who sucked (You guys sucked!)

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GOAT WATCH

(Smokin' Ray) Ethan Moreau - I don't know.  He was average but still was called on a late game penalty.  Does that stuff just follow you around or what?

(Paq Twinn) Robert Nilsson - Did Not Play

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OUR GAME SUMMARIES

Smokin' Ray - This was one of those that really was pain full to watch.  Everything that could go wrong, did go worng.  I sure hope that the team can forget about this one quick.  Ugh!  That was a brutal game.  *Other than Penner*

Paq Twinn - That was depressing game to watch. I'm not sure what the worst part is, that the Blackhawks play the way I want the Oil to play, or that the Blackhawks represent another team that has hit bottom and come up faster then the Oil. Why are we always bottom feeders in the standings. Every year Oil fans watch as another team gets better and passes us in the standings. When are the Oilers going to get better, every year we stumble along between 7th and 12th. I and all other Oil fans have been waiting for the Oilers to be better for far toooo looonng. Sometimes I wonder why the Oilers haven't been blown up and rebuilt, now it would be difficult to do that with the salary cap. Anyway, bad game by the Oil tonight, they had nothing going all night. Good game by the Hawks, they made us look exactly like we are. Game grade: D

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POST GAME REACTIONS



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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

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NEXT GAME

Edmonton Oilers (9-11-3) vs. Pheonix Coyotes (12-9-1)

Mon, Nov 23/09
7:00 pm MT
PPV

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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!

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Beers & Jeers #72: Edmonton Oilers vs Vancouver Canucks (10/19/09)

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

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**FEEL FREE TO COMMENT AT THE BOTTOM. NO SIGN UP REQUIRED. YOU CAN POST AS A NAME/URL OR ANONYMOUS**

- Who's Out?  Brule is out (not sure why?) and Hemsky is in (flu gone).  Nilsson also stays in because of Brule being out. Word had it that MacIntyre might play, but he didn't.

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Pre Game Records
Edmonton Oilers (4-2-1) vs. Vancouver Canucks (3-4-0)

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TONIGHT'S STARTING LINES

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

Smid-Visnovsky
Gilbert-Grebeshkov
Strudwick-Chorney

Khabibulin
Deslauriers

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

1st PERIOD

- It looks like Big Mac is in tonight with Brule out along with Hemmer and the others. Too many injuries
- Just found out that Hemsky is in the line up tonight
- Waiting for player intros, anthem and puck drop. GOILERS!
- Here we go, Canucks win the opening draw, good pace to start.
- Comrie gets an 'A' chance but whiffs.
- Storts and Rypien get into a spirited fight. Rypien with the take down.
- Oilers out shooting Canucks early. 3-2 14:30 remaining in the 1st.
- Bernier scores off a Nilsson turnover. 1-0 Canucks 13:27
- Turns out Big Mac isn't playing tonight, but Nilsson is. Ugh he didn't look good throwing that puck up the middle.
- Canucks goal is credited to Bolduc
- With 9:19 left in the 1st, the Canucks lead 1-0, and are out shooting the Oilers 8-5.
- Oilers get a PP and look disjointed. PP ends at 7:17, 1-0 Canucks
- Chorney is having a solid 1st period. Keeps getting better.
- Samuelsson with a rap-around chance but Khabi extends and makes a toe save.
- Oilers picking up the pace in last 5 mins.
- Holding penalty to Comrie.  3:42 1st
- Oilers kill off the penalty. 1-0 Canucks
- Ladi has bee in his bonnet tonight, he's chirping at anyone in a Canucks jersey.
- After the 1st, its 1-0 Canucks. Shots are pretty much even.
- Oilers need to play smarter or this one could go in the loss column
- Canucks goal is given to Bernier.

2nd PERIOD

- Patty-O scores! on a delayed penalty call. 1-1 tie 19:34 remaining in the 2nd
- Horc blocks a shot and goes on a break away. save by Luongo
- Oilers looking better here in the 2nd
- Hemsky goes off for hooking. 14:53 2nd
- Chorney get quality pk time. has Quinn's trust.
- Oilers kill penalty, Hemsky gets puck out of the box and misses
- Grabner takes a penalty for the 'Nucks. Oilers PP
- Comrie kills the PP with a slashing call. 4 on 4
- Stoner injured his left leg in 1st, will not return. Another one bites the dust.
- Halfway through the 2nd shots are tied at 13.
- Back to full strength, no real chances 4 on 4. 1-1 9:00 2nd
- Both Khabi and Luongo have looked solid in this one, not many chances though
- Sedin stopped by Khabi. Quality chance.
- Oilers PK, as Khabi trips Samuelsson on Sedins chance.
- Chorney out the 1st PK unit. 4:00 remaining in 2nd
- Canucks getting some good chances, Khabi with some good saves.
- Oilers kill it off. 1-1
- Oilers getting out played late in the 2nd
- Kesler goes off for 2 mins, 49sec remaining in 2nd #Oilers PP
- Comrie takes another penalty with 2 sec left in the 2nd
- After 2 periods its tied at 1. 3rd period will start 4 on 4
- A better period by the #Oilers but we're taking some dumb penalties at bad times Bad Timing Penalties.

3rd PERIOD

- Hemsky and Gags out to start the 3rd for the Oilers
- Oilers kill off remainder of Comrie's penalty.
- Smid with a blocked shot that surely would have gone in.
- Fast pace here in the 3rd, 5 mins gone already. 1-1 tie
- The game is fiesty but not that rough. Oilers missing Stoners hits
- Mitchell gets away with one, and knows it.
- Gags scores! on scramble in front. after a great shift by Penner 2-1 Oilers
- Gags has been playing good tonight, nice to see him get one.
- Hemsky gets dumped at center ice, no call.
- Oilers having trouble in the face off dot tonight
- Oilers with some good pressure late in the game. Last five minutes.
- Shots are 36-30 Canucks 2-1 Oilers 3:15 3rd
- And the Canucks get some pressure. 1:48 3rd
- Canucks pull Luongo at 1:27 3rd
- Hemsky can't even score on a empty net break.
- Wellwood scores at 0:00. No goal. Oilers win! 2-1
- My stars for tonights game: 1-Khabibulin 2-O'Sullivan 3-Luongo
- Overall the Oilers didn't play as well as they have in past games. but they gutted out a big win tonight.
- Thanks for following this LIVE Oilers **TweetCast** Next up the #BlueJackets on Thur. Oct. 22.
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FINAL SCORE

Vancouver Canucks - 1


Edmonton Oilers - 2




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GAME STATS

- Event Summary Link

- Game Summary Link

- Scoring Chances (MC79) Link

- Oilers Video Post Game Link

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BAD TIMING PENALTY

None -

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GOAT WATCH

(Smokin' Ray) Ethan Moreau - He sucks.  He tries hard, but does nothing.  (NNC)

(Paq Twinn) Robert Nilsson - He did ok.  Better than Moreau.  He didn't have any giveways (amazing).  He played somewhat good but still sucked.  Once again... better than Moreau.

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BEERS

Nikolai Khabibulin - I love this guy.  What more do I have to say?  He was rock solid and played the hell out of Louongo.  He's looking great but I'm wondering when we will see the shutout?  I gues really soon.  Solid effort once again Khabi.  Frosty beer time!  Cheers!

Ladislav Smid - He's part defence, he's part scrapper and apparantly, he's part goalie.  He made a beauty of a save with Bulin out of position and saved the game.  That and he played a heck of a game without making saves.  I am so glad that he is still an Oiler.  He's playing better than most of our higher paid defencemen.  He once again was a +1 this game. He can do no wrong.  Plus add 3 blocked shots. All hail lord Smid.  Beer sir? Cheers!

Sam Gagner - Lil Sam was stellar tonight.  Word had it, his old man was here because he works for the Canucks now.  Sam always finds his A game when he's watching.  He scores the winning goal and played a heck of a game.  He went 8W & 6L for 57% on the faceoffs.  For Sam that's a good game.  He also had 4 shots and was a +2.  Dude!  Score me a high five. *slap* It's Miller time.  Cheers!

Taylor Chorney - Since being called up he's been great.  I can't say enough about Chorney.  He doesn't make huge mistakes and he seems comfortable playing in the NHL.  I'm sure glad we have a little bit of skill in the minors.  With Chorney and Peckham, we look good for the future.  Would you like a beer young man?  Cheers!

Patrick O'Sullivan - He seems like he likes it here now.  He's one awesome player.  He hits, shoots and plays like his bigger than he is.  He scores the 1st Oiler goal and assists on Gagners game winner.  When he isn't shooting the puck, he was also blocking shots and using his smarts on the PK. Sully seems to be a pretty complete player.  Good trade for Tambo.  Enjoy the fans love my friend.  It may not be forever.  Great game.  Frosty beer?  Cheers!

Dustin Penner - This guy is for real.  Team Canada take note.  Dustin Penner is a changed man.  He's playing that power forward bit to a "T" now.  Real Cam Neely like.  Instead of just saying that we can't believe it, we should believe it.  I like this guy, and you should too.  It's beer chuggin' time.  Cheers!

HONORABLE MENTION(S): Ales Hemsky (Maybe he has something to prove now?  He showed a lot of drive and will tonight.  And he fired a ton of shots.  A new Hemsky or just a rested one?)  DUE TO PEOPLE SAYING I'M WRONG, I'LL STRIKE IT OUT. BUT I STAND BY MY THOUGHTS.

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JEERS

Shawn Horcoff - When you have Sam Gagner at 57%, what is your excuse for being 7W 17L for 29%?  You probably don't have one.  Key situations arise in the game and Quinn picks... Gagner.  You know Shawn, if you can't do the little things right like all the people in the world give you credit for (except me), then you wouldn't be so bad in a game when we really needed some leadership.  Instead the old guy goalie and the punk kids, Gagner and O'Sullivan show you up.  Pretty sad.  Booooooooo!

HONORABLE MENTION(S): Robert Nilsson (At times he looked good.  But most of the time he was all over the place.  I really don't see him staying with this club by the end of the year.  Somethings got to give.), Tom Gilbert (4 giveaways?  WTF man?  Gilbert isn't playing his best right now.  He needs to be better.)

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OUR GAME SUMMARIES

Smokin' Ray - I thought that for the most part it was a dry game.  I always expect a good show between these two teams.  But tonight was different.  It seemed tame.  The Oilers didn't really do well in the 1st period but got better as the game went on. Stortini's fight was a good one, but he lost.  Both goalies were really good (which I called a 5-3 Oilers win) and that made it a real low scoring affair. I was super pumped when gagner scored the winning goal and was freaking out when the Canucks almost scored in the last second. I'm getting tired of that.  But, the Oilers win and all is good in the Nation once again.

Paq Twinn - This was a back and forth game that looked like every other game between these two teams for the last couple years. The difference, the Oilers played better then the Canucks. Penner, Gags, Chorney, Patty-O, and Khabi stood out for me, they were the best Oilers tonight. Comrie, Nilsson, and Hemsky stood out for all the wrong reasons, they were simply awful tonight. The Oilers need to do something about face-offs, I hear Horton from Florida may be available. But at least the shot difference was better this game, even if they still let 35+ against, the Oilers did shoot a lot more tonight. I'll give the Oilers a B- for the game.

Graham Martin - John Garrett, if i ever see you in the streets I am gonna punch right in your stupid f*cking moustache and let you know that you are the worst color commentary guy ever! On the plus, D Penner and L Smid were fantastic tonight. and honorable mention to Gags, Sullivan and Chorney!

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NEXT GAME

Oilers vs. Blue Jackets
Thursday, October 22/09
7:30 pm MT
Sportsnet West

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Beers and Jeers #60 (Sept 19/09 vs. Vancouver Canucks)

First off, it's going to be nice to see Brad Lukowich a little more this season (traded to Canucks in the summer) as he has spent a lot of his career in the east. I've known him since Jr. High in Cranbrook and he's a real good person. Never in a million years did I think that he would be in the NHL, never mind winning the cup twice (lucky bugger). But when it's game time vs. the Oilers, he's a piece of trash. ; )

This game was real dry and not very exciting. At times it was painful to watch. There was no fights or hatred on the ice which is weird for a Canucks/Oiler game. I'm sure Quinn wasn't impressed. But going up against Luongo is always going to be difficult. Tonight wasn't any different. He was good. But so was Deslauriers. They had a good goalie duel. Unfortunately, Vancouver came out on top. Damn you Canucks!

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Edmonton Oilers Starting Lineup

Brule— Gagner — Hemsky

Penner — Cogliano — Eberle

Moreau — Pouliot — Nilsson

McDonald — Reddox — MacIntyre

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Smid — Souray

Motin — Grebeshkov

Taylor — Young

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Deslauriers

Dubynk

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FINAL SCORE

Edmonton Oilers - 1

Vancouver Canucks - 3

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Bad Timing Penalty™

Robert Nilsson - Not only did he take a penalty in the 1st period, which the Canucks scored on to start the game off, he took the BTP™ at 7:27 of the 3rd period. The game was in a lull and either team needed some kind of spark to get going. Nilsson goes for tripping and the crowd really gets into the PP. The Canucks can't score but the crowd is involved and loud. A minute and change after the penalty expires, the Canucks ride the crowd momentum and score to make it 2-1. Crap!

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GAME SUMMARY

STAT SHEET

EDMONTONOILERS.com RECAP

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BEERS

Sheldon Souray - Big Sexy does it again. He blasted a beauty past Luongo in the 1st period with 6 seconds left in the frame. He played good tonight. He led the team with 25:45 and didn't look winded. The man is a leader. For doing you best Souray... Have a frosty beer. Cheers!

Jeff Deslauriers - After watching Dubynk play so far, I sort of dismissed JDD as the future of the Oiler goalies. But tonight he was rock solid. He covered the net well and did a good job at controlling his rebounds. The Oilers are going to have a tough decision ahead of them next year. I'm glad I don't have to pick. For a standout game tonight... It's (insert french beer) time. Cheers!

Ladislav Smid - The Spaz sure has changed since last season. He seemed calm and cool out there. He seems confidant in his playing ability. He's the one guy who I have waited to screw up and he hasn't. he's been good. He logged 25:39 of ice time and made a good partner for Souray. Your effort was beer worthy Mr. Smid. Can or Bottle? Oh... Big Bear. Cheers!

Honorable Mention - Johan Motin (He played well again. I can't believe he's only 19.), Jordan Eberle (He sure makes it look easy. He has been good.)

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JEERS

Robert Nilsson - See the BTP™ section above. Nilsson was at fault for this loss. He seems to be playing himself out of a job with the Oilers. Sadly... I don't really care anymore. Boooooooo!

Marc Pouliot - Another guy who needs to shine and doesn't. Ending the night at +1 isn't good enough. Where's the desperation? Where's the fire? The lack of desire to be in the NHL is enough to drive a guy like me mad. Boooooooo!

Gilbert Brule - He wasn't all that bad. It's pretty clear that he suits a more 3rd/4th line type role. I just don't see him as a top six guy. Oh well... accept what you are and develop it. If you want to be in the NHL that is. Booooooo!

The Entire Team - You guys were stuck in a medium pace for the entire game. What a boring game to watch. I was really expecting some more guys trying their butts off to win a job. I guess I was expecting to much. *gasp* I bet the next squad will be fired up after watching that crappy game. Boooooo!

Honorable Mentions - Ales Hemsky (Needs to be better. Maybe he misses Horcoff?), Sam Gagner (Not meshing with Hemsky at all.), Ethan Moreau (Nothing more than a fourth line player now.)

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Who Should Get Sent Down Next?

#57 Colin MacDonald, #81 Jake Taylor, #28 Brian Young

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Oh well... new game tomorrow. Let's Go Oilers!!!

Beers and Jeers #52 (Mar 29/09 vs. Minnesota Wild)

Well folks. This game is just like the rest of them. It's another must win. I mean come on. At this time of year, every game is a must win. Even for the top teams. Detroit and San Jose are 2 points away from each other. The have must wins too. The Oilers should have treated all the games this year as must wins. Maybe then we would be fighting it out with the Wings and Sharks instead of the Ducks and Blues.

Roli starts again...

This is the 1st of six consecutive home games for the Oilers until the end of the season. The Oilers play their last game on the road. They better play well or the fans are going to be quite vocal. Go Oilers!

The Oilers were 8th this morning but are now in 9th thanks to a win by the St. Louis Blues. Hope we move back into a playoff spot after this game is over.

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1st Period

The game has a good pace to it. Penner fires the 1st shot at 3:51 and it was a good one. O'Sullivan to Penner. They end up playing for 4:14 with out a whistle to start the period off. But wouldn't you know it... Moreau takes a tripping penalty by sticking out his leg and trips up Belanger. PP for the Wild. The Oilers do kill it off but the Wild score after it expires. Gaborik whiffs on a shot and Brunette picks it up and puts it by Roli. That was Souray's guy and he was just standing there. WTF?!? *shakes head* 1-0 Wild at 7:01. Not cool guys. The 1st line comes out and has a great shift. The 2nd line comes roaring out and gets hemmed in in their own zone. O'Sullivan gets nailed from behind and there is no call. Gagner takes exception and tries to fight Miettinen and he pusses out. At that second the Wild fire a point shot and score. Damn! 2-0 Wild at 8:52. What is going on here? The defense corps are not looking all that hot right now. At 11:34, John Scott (6'8" 250 lbs) drops the gloves with Stortini. Good fight. Scott lands some hard punches but Storts takes him down. Pretty even. Weller takes down Hemsky and the Oilers go on the PP at 14:06. The Wild kill it off although Gagner had some great chances. He sure is buzzing in the 1st. Smid is also playing good so far. 8-8 are the shots.

2nd period

19 seconds into the 2nd the Oilers get a PP opportunity. O'Sullivan has a great chance. There was a scrum after the whistle and somehow Cogliano gets a roughing penalty at 2:05. The Oilers do a good job and kill it off. Around the 5:30 mark, Smid goes into the boards awkwardly and hurts his left hand. He goes off and into the dressing room for further examination. Hope it isn't to bad. MacT has changed the centers. 21, 89, 83 and 27, 10, 19. The other two lines don't change. There was another non-call as Scott hits Grebeshkov from behind. There sure is some nice hits being thrown around. With 7:45 left the score is still 2-0 Wild. The game play is still flowing well. At 17:26 Hemsky gets a partial break and can't quite stop and runs into Backstrom. Penalty for Hemmer. Come on refs. So the Wild get another PP and the Oilers kill it off again. With the period over the shots are still tied at 17-17.

3rd Period

My wife is predicting Stortini to score here in the 3rd. Yeah! Pisani scores. 2-1 Wild. (Pisani from Moreau and Grebeshkov at 1:04) Moreau takes the puck and goes coast to coast and as he is skating behind the net he throws it out front. Pisani whacks at it and it goes in. The crowd is fired up now. It was announced 3 minutes into the 3rd the Smid broke his left hand. Ouch! Poor guy. *edit: He may require surgery on his wrist* Souray takes a Wild player down and the ref puts up his arm. Damn it Souray. We were gaining momentum. But with the refs arm still up, the Wild have 6 guys out and they (Gaborik) score at 4:13. Damn!!! 3-1 Wild. Booooooo! The 4th line comes out and rocks a good shift and they draw a penalty. PP time for the Oilers. During the PP Hemsky gets into a punching in the face match with Zidlicky and open a cut on his nose at 6:23. He looks pissed about it. But it was nice to see him actually stick up for himself for once. Maybe it will fire him up now? MacT seems to be rolling Horcoff back on the #1 unit as Gagner is getting pushed around a bit and they don't need him and Hemmer as softies on the same line. All 4 lines seem to be getting shifts in the 3rd. Kotalik rips one in. Yeah! 3-2 Wild. (Kotalik from Hemsky and Horcoff at 15:08.) Let's Go Oilers!!! They are really pressing now. The 1st line gets another good chance and crash the net. What an exciting period. With 2 minutes left the 3rd line has great chances but can't score. 1:00 minute left and the Oilers pull Roli. 21, 10, 83, 89, 44, 37 are all out there. The Oilers have 3.1 seconds left to try and it win it after an icing call. Timeout Oilers. The Oilers win the faceoff but it hops out of the zone and the game is over. Boooooooo!

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Tonight's Starting Lines

Kotalik Horcoff Hemsky

Penner Gagner O'Sullivan

Moreau Cogliano Pisani

Jacques Brodziak Stortini

Souray Staios

Grebeshkov Gilbert

Smid Strudwick

Roloson

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FINAL SCORE

Minnesota Wild - 3

Edmonton Oilers - 2

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BEERS

Ales Kotalik - He took 7 shots and did score a nice bomb of a goal. He played a pretty good game but kind of disappeared in the 2nd. But he was back in the 3rd and helped the Oilers charge for a win. For having a great game... Have a frosty. Cheers!

Ales Hemsky - Hemmer had a fine game. He was in a scuffle, he was crashing the net, he was making nice passes (Kotalik goal) and he was trying to make a difference. And he stuck up for himself. That made smile. About time. For a great game and a fantastic effort... It's Miller Time. Cheers!

Zack Stortini - I thought that Storts was great. Sure he didn't score like the wife had wanted him to but he did his job well. He agitated the Wild. He fought. He hit guys. What else can we ask of him? A Budweiser for Storts? Cheers!

Honorable Mentions - Sam Gagner (Sure he was out muscled a few times but he played good. Smart plays but needs to shoot more. I liked how he tried to fight and stick up for O'Sullivan.), Patrick O'Sullivan (He had some great chances and had 5 shots.), Shawn Horcoff (Played well earning an assist and also took a few of shots with 5. He had a good night on the dot as he was 68% on the faceoffs), Kyle Brodziak (Had a great night on the faceoff dot. 6 and 1 for 86%.), Ladislav Smid (He was one of the best guys on defense untill he was hurt. We will miss the Spaz.), Ethan Moreau (He led the team with 4 hits. He played pretty good tonight.)

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JEERS

Sheldon Souray - BTP. Bad Timing Penalties. Him aand Moreau are getting really bad for this. We score and get it to 2-1 and you take a lazy crap penalty. The Wild score before you even get to the box. WTF?!? That was a bad meltdown for Souray. That happens in the playoffs and the game/season will be over. Shape up man. Booooooooo!

The Entire Team - Where is that 3rd period game during the whole game? The playoffs must be over rated huh? Don't really want to get there? Time is running out and there is no "off periods". Chalk up another "must win" in the loss coloum. Booooooooooo!

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We started in 8th and now we are 10th. Great going guys. I guess you all would rather be golfing? Next game is Tuesday against the Ducks. See you all then.

Beers and Jeers #49 (Mar 24/09 vs. Detroit Red Wings)

Hemsky's statement sure caused some feathers to be ruffled. I just can't find a reason to say anything at this moment. Nevermind saying that you are being used as a checker. You don't kill penalties. You barely come into the defensive zone, so who are you kidding? A checker? Really? That's the best you can come up with? If you want more ice time then be good. Every shift. Every time you step out on that ice, score. Make something happen and MacT would have you out there all game. Instead, I have seen you give up in the 1st 5 minutes of the game and not give a crap for the rest of it. This is simply fixed. Play good = play lots.

Roli will be playing his 29th straight game for the Oilers this year. The man never ceases to amaze me. He truly is awesome.

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GAME VIDEO HIGHLITES

GAME SUMMARY

GAME STATS

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Tonight's Starting Lines

O'Sullivan Horcoff Hemsky (Very good line. Lots of quality chances. But were on the ice for 2 goals against. Hemsky and O'Sullivan are ok together. Horcoff seems to be lost lately.)

Nilsson Gagner Kotalik (Had a good game. They were on the ice for a goal for and against. Nilsson didn't register a shot though. Gagner was sharp for most of the game and Kotalik scored a nice one.)

Pouliot Cogliano Pisani (Played pretty good. They didn't get worked over often. Pouliot was a non factor. Cogliano is starting to work well with Pisani. Pisani had 3 shots.)

Moreau Brodziak Penner (Another great game by this line. They are really gelling lately. Plus Penner has been good on the PP and Moreau is playing smart hockey. No penalties.)

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Souray Staios (Not the greatest night for this pair but not all that bad either. Staios was -3. While Souray took a ton of shots.)

Grebeshkov Gilbert (A pretty average game for this pairing. Gilbert had 4 blocked shots and Grebs had a goal and 3 shots. He did have 3 giveaways and that's not good.)

Strudwick Smid (They were good. Strudwick played somewhat smart hockey. Smid seemed to really play above average tonight.)

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Roloson (The MVP was stellar once again (except for a few seconds). The team would be a lot worse without Roli.)

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FINAL SCORE

Detroit Red Wings -3

Edmonton Oilers - 2

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BEERS

Dwayne Roloson - Roli was fantastic for 55 minutes. Then he had a strange goal beat him to tie the game. But regardless, Roli was good just like any other game in the last while. His lateral movement was working well. He was pelted with 44 shots and tried his ass off to win this game on his own. But the team came up short. So for another fine effort... Have a frosty Roli. Cheers!

-

Ales Hemsky - After the statement I was expecting a standout game from Hemmer. He kind of delivered. He did manage one assist and had 2 shots. But he was also -2 at the end of the night. He did display some razzle dazzle that we have not seen in weeks, maybe months. He showed a confidence with the puck that we haven't seen in some time. He hustled, he didn't give up. He had a fairly strong game. That was Hemsky trying to be somebody. That wasn't MacT doing anything different. That was just Hemmer being good. Like I have said before, "Leadership is action... Not position" What we seen tonight was action. Not position. Heineken? Cheers!

Patrick O'Sullivan - I really liked his game today. He played like he is adjusting to this team and his teammates. I love how he shoots from all over the place. He had 2 shots tonight and they were from good area's to shoot from. It's just too bad that he ended up -2. I personally thought that he had a good game. Have a cold one with me Sully. Cheers!

Honorable Mention - Dustin Penner (The Fridge had a good game. He created that 1st goal by drawing two guys to him then he passed it off to Hemsky who passed to Grebs.), Ales Kotalik (Scored a nice goal to bring it back to 3-2.), Andrew Cogliano (He played solid. Bad on faceoffs but played solid.), Ladislav Smid (The Spaz had 4 blocked shots and 2 shots. His defensive game was good too.)

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JEERS

Denis Grebeshkov - I'm on the fence with him tonight. On one hand he scored the Oilers 1st goal. He played pretty good with an average of 1:01of ice time, but he ended up with 3 giveaways on the night. That's just too many for me to ignore. For that alone, here's a little one... Booo!

Steve Staios - Staios has good games and bad one's. Well he was not so good with a bad -3 rating. That just can't happen when you are on the #1 pairing. Maybe all the ice time is wearing him down? Maybe Smid should get a chance with Souray? So for the -3 tonight and a so so game... Booooooooo!

The Entire Team - For losing a game that was attainable... Boooooooooooooooo!

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Well that was the one that got away. We had it in our palms and poof! Gone in 60 seconds.

Next game is Thursday against the Coyotes. A must, must win. See you all then.

Beers and Jeers #41 (Mar 5/09 vs. Ottawa Senators)

Well hello once again folks. Lots has changed since the last Beers and Jeers. Erik Cole is gone now. He went home to Carolina. He will be missed in Oil Country. At least he still has his house there. And we welcome Ales Kotalik and Patrick O'Sullivan. I sure hope these guys work out. As fans, we need them to. I really liked Cole and what he brought to the table. I am shocked that he was the one to go. No Penner? Horcoff? Nilsson? Pouliot? Schremp? Roy? But whatever... I think that this is a good deal for the Oilers in the end. But hey, maybe Cole does resign in Edmonton this summer?

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Before this game starts the Oilers are sitting in 7th. Let get some more points boys...

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1st Period

Before the game is even going, Spezza scores in the first 12 seconds. 1-0 Ottawa. Good grief! Not the best way to start a game. The new guys sure look energized tonight. That's good because so does Hemsky. You know, Jarko Ruutu is a _____. (Go ahead and fill in your own word). I really hate that guy and all that he represents as a player. He taunts Stortini enough to make him drop the gloves. Then the chicken shit skates away. Unbelievable. Smid is really having a good period. Lots of spazzing and hitting. Nice. But the real jem of the period was when the Oiler fans started to boo Comrie when he would touch the puck. It was pretty loud. And the game is in Ottawa. *Stomach hurt type laugh* Kotalik had a pretty solid period as did O'Sullivan. But when Kotalik was getting interviewed by Mean Gene, he was dog tired. He is going to have to improve the cardio if he wants to stay on the #1 line.

2nd Period

The first part of the period, it's all Senators. They are out playing the Oilers at both ends of the rink. Horcoff takes a penalty. But before the Oilers can touch the puck the Senators score. Crap! 2-0 Ottawa. Not good boys. Not good. Shortly after at 4:41, Gagner takes a holding penalty. Ottawa attack again and what? They score. *shakes head* 3-0 Ottawa. Come on Oilers. With 11:39 left to play, the Senators are really working the Oilers over. It's almost embarrassing. But thankfully Comrie sits for 2:00. Gagner gets a nice pass from Grebs and goes in on a breakaway. Scores!!! 3-1 Ottawa. (Gagner from Grebeshkov from Gilbert at 10:45.) Ok Gagner. Nice shift in the momentum dept. Oilers are going now. But as the period winds down the Senators slowly take back the momentum.

3rd Period

This was one of those back and forth periods, yet it was boring. The first 10:00 minutes went by fairly quickly. Time is slipping for the Oilers. Awwww... Senators score again at 11:58. 4-1 Ottawa. Geez. But the Oilers do manage to get a man advantage. Gagner nails the post/crossbar and the puck appears to go in. But after the long review they call it a no goal. Damn. I personally thought that it went in. So they don't score. Too bad. But a little while later at 18:07, Gagner scores again for the Oil. This time it is in. Yeah! 4-2 Ottawa. (Gagner from Staios from Smid) That was all the Oilers could muster as they lose a game that should have been 2 points.

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Tonight's Starting Lines

Kotalik Horcoff Hemsky (This line looked ok. This might just work out. Kotalik is a big dude. He seems very solid and strong. He just needs better cardio. Horcoff was average tonight. Nothing great, nothing bad. Hemsky was finally trying to do something. Maybe this is his spark that he has needed.)

O'Sullivan Gagner Pouliot (This was a pretty good line. Gagner was on fire. He was saying Cole who? Jk. Pouliot was much like Horcoff. Nothing great, nothing bad. Which kind of makes him pretty good. O'Sullivan seems good. He's very fast and good with the puck. But he's just not comfortable yet. He is going to work with Gagner though. They just need a big fast body to play with. Not Penner please.)

Penner Cogliano Pisani (This line was average. They don't really seem to work all that well together. Penner had lots of hits which was good. But that's it. Where does Penner go when Moreau comes back? Cogliano was kind of Horcoff-ish as well. 50/50. Pisani still isn't Pisani yet. But he will.)

Jacques Brodziak Stortini (The 4th line was a hard hitting unit. *He he*. Unit. Jacques was not very good in my opinion. He was slow and not very aware. Brodziak seemed lifeless at times but was good on the face off dot. Stortini was duped into not fighting with Ruutu. But he played solid.)

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FINAL SCORE

Edmonton Oilers - 2

Ottawa Senators - 4

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BEERS

Sam Gagner - This was the guy I was worried the most about when we traded Cole. I guess he will survive huh? Sammy was great tonight. He seemed to be in the right places. Not to many guys deserve a beer tonight. But Sam earned every bottle with his effort. Two goals, almost three. Five shots for the little dude. Team high. Nice. So have a case a beer and help yourself Sam. Cheers!

Ladislav Smid - I don't care if anyone agrees with me. Smid was a force. He was hitting and smack talking. He was a freaking Spaz. I love that. He even managed an assist tonight. Have a big beer Smid. Cheers!

Andrew Cogliano - The man was a beast on faceoffs. Get this. 7 wins, 2 losses for 78%. Wow! For a guy that is around 37% for the season, this is huge. This is colossally massive. This is worth a beer. High five Andrew! But try scoring next time. Cheers!

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JEERS

The Entire Team - What the hell? That is the effort that we (fans) get after a interesting trade day? Totaly not good enough. *shakes head* No one in particular was really worthy off a full out boo. The team just sucked as a whole and Roli could save the day. I don't need to say anything else. We need the wins. Bad dog! *shakes finger* Boooooooo!

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That was a bad loss. The pieces have changed and yet the will to win has not. The Oilers really need to pick up some points on this roadie. It's like free points. Don't pass it up. The next game should be a gimme. Should be.

Beers and Jeers #40 (Mar 3/09 vs. Nashville Predators)

The day before the big day and not much is going on. Miroslav Satan, Brendan Morrison and Gary Roberts are on the waiver wire at the moment. Pretty big names, but I can't see the Oilers taking one of those guys. Is there not a way to claim them as insurance and then try to land a bigger name tomorrow? If you do land the bigger name then can you not the put that person back on waivers and it's no big deal?

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No Nilsson tonight? Why? Is his last game as an Oiler played already? Over Jacques? Over Pouliot? Strange...

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1st Period

Good early start by Oilers but Nashville scores at 6:22. 1-0 Nashville. Still good flow. The 4th line and the 2nd line are sure looking good tonight. Good pressure by the Oilers. Gagner scores! Yeah! 1-1 Tie Game. (Gagner from Smid at 9:55) "See ya Storts", says Gagner. With 7:30 left, Stortini has a great chance as Pekka Rinne sprawls out and loses his blocker. And the play continues. I have never seen that before. I just figured that the whistle would blow. Oilers score out of nowhere. Yeah! 2-1 Oilers. (Pouliot from Gagner and Cole at 14:25) The 2nd line is really buzzing now. Chances all over the place. Just when the game is looking more Oiler than Predator, the Preds score. 2-2 Tie Game. Grebeshkov didn't take the right guy and they scored. The 1st line sure isn't really doing anything. Maybe the change wasn't the right change?

2nd Period

Well it didn't take long for the first penalty of the game. At 3:58, Souray takes a hooking penalty and Nashville scores on the PP at 4:13. 3-2 Nashville. Right after the goal, the Preds take a penalty and now it's the Oilers turn at the PP. But the Preds actually kill theirs off. So much for a momentum change. Oh. It gets worse. Penner takes a penalty at 8:24. Then Staios takes a holding call at 13:22. Oilers kill off both and look rather crappy so far this period. Strudwick and Weber drop the gloves at 18:16 and have a pretty good tilt. With Nashville on the PK, the Oilers have some good pressure. Ler's hope the 3rd is better for the Oilers.

3rd Period

The Oilers start quick with a goal by Cogliano. Yeah! 3-3 Tie Game. (Cogliano from Pisani at 1:43) Now the Oilers have the momentum. As the 4th line comes out and causes some more havoc. Oilers score again. Yeah! 4-3 Oilers. (Jacques from Smid and Stortini at 5:15) That was JF Jacques 1st ever point and goal. He was robbed of an assist a couple of games ago, but he has that elusive point now. Good for him. The Preds have this back and forth passing play that they have been doing all night. It finally worked as they put one past Roli at 7:56. Very nice passing. 4-4 Tie Game. Now the game is in full out mode. Damn! Nashville scores again. 5-4 Nashville. But soon after it's PP time for the Oilers. But they can't really convert. Too bad. They needed a boost. Erik Cole scores! Yeah! 5-5 Tie Game. (Cole from Gagner from Strudwick at 13:52) What an exciting game.

Overtime

The Preds have the most pressure in the overtime period. Strudwick takes a high stick penalty at 1:25 and Nashville scores on the PP. Boooooo! Right before the Preds score, Roli takes a puck in the shoulder/collarbone area and gets hurt. But the play went on and the Preds score at 2:31. Game over. 6-5 Nashville. Crap...

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Tonights Starting Lines

Reddox Horcoff Hemsky (I didn't even know that this line played tonight. They were absolutely invisible. Horcoff played 20:13 and finished -1. Hemsky was not playing well either. He had 2 giveaways and no shots. Reddox was not noticed much. He played 10:36 and really did nothing)

Pouliot Gagner Cole (A real solid line tonight. They had some defensive miscues and some bad giveaways but were all out on the offensive side. Gagner was fantastic today. Well except he was terrible on the faceoffs. (0%) Not good man. Cole looked like he belonged here as an Edmonton Oiler. It makes you wonder if this is it? I hope not. Pouliot did a great job at fitting in with Gags and Cole. He managed a goal playing with them and was good on the draw at 57% *Team High* when he had to.)

Penner Cogliano Pisani (They played well together. Penner was caught a few times being a little slow but managed 4 shots *Team High*. Cogliano was good all around, he had 3 shots and 1 goal. Pisani seemed to be getting back into form with an assist and 3 shots.)

Jacques Brodziak Stortini (This line was a good consistant line tonight. They gave Nashville all kinds of trouble. Jacques scores his first NHL goal. Brodziak played well even though he ended -1. Stortini was also good as he picks up an assist and had 2 shots and 3 hits*Team High*.)

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FINAL SCORE

Edmonton Oilers - 5

Nashville Predators - 6

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BEERS

Sam Gagner - The little dude had one of his best games of the season. He seemed really focused and had a knack for finding the guys around him. He had 2 assists and 1 goal. It sure was fun to watch. I wonder who is going to be with him on Thursday after the deadline? For a great effort, enjoy a nice ice cold beer Gags. Cheers!

Ladislav Smid - People just don't give Smid enough credit for being such a hard working, do anything kind of guy. He has been asked to step up and in my opinion he has done that. Tonight he picked up 2 assists and was +3*Team High* I think that the Spaz deserves a frosty. He did good. Cheers!

Erik Cole - Well if this was his last game as an Oiler than he ended on a high note. He had a goal and an assist with a +2. He sure does play well with Gagner. If only he was here for 3 more years. Gagner would love to play with him for the beginning of his young career. So maybe for the last time... Have a beer with us Erik. Thanks. Cheers! *tear*

Honorable Mention - Zack Stortini (Storts was powerful tonight. He played a real hard nosed game and managed to cause a lot of room on the ice for Jacques and Brodziak), JF Jacques (He scores his first goal. Ever. Yay!) Dwayne Roloson (He really desrves a beer tonight. He was awesome. But he did look tired. And he was hurt in the last few seconds. Good effort Roli.)

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JEERS

Ales Hemsky - What the hell man? Where have you gone? Is it the concusion reapearing becuase you were great when you came back? I miss the old Ales Hemsky. But he proved my point tonight that he is only a wingman, not a team carrier. I hope he gets some help. But for tonight. Boooooooooooo!

Shawn Horcoff - Man o' man. What to do with this guy? He gets the minutes like no other. He gets the praise from the coach that no one else gets. (other than Hemmer) Yet he seems to depend on Hemmer and Hemmer does the same to him. But it's not working anymore. Shawn needs to go to a place and find his inner hard checking, ass kicking Shawn Horcoff that he used to be. And do it soon because if we want to make the playoffs, we need a #1 line. And right now we don't have that. Boooooooooo!

The Entire Team - Take a lesson from the Preds tonight. Steve Sullivan had 2 goals. He also took 6 shots. David Legwand had 2 goals. But he took a whopping 8 shots. Every player on the Preds that scored had at least 3 shots. Tom Drake (coached me in Rossland) said to us one year, "If you don't shoot, you won't score. Shoot from anywhere and anytime. Always take the shot." Cogliano, Cole, Pisani and Penner were the only Oilers with 3 or more shots. Goals win games. Boooooooooo!

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Well that was a very up and down game. I was happy. Then mad. Then happy again. But I ended up mad. At least it was entertaining. But as the roadie continues, the Oilers need more than one point a game.

Everyone knows that tomorow is the big trade day. I'm sure there will be lots of news on OilersNation. That's where I will be. See you all Thursday. We are going to visit the Ottawa Senators. Maybe a new look Oilers team? Maybe not. I'm guessing not.

Beers and Jeers #38 (Feb 26/09 vs. Columbus Blue Jackets)

Hello everyone. Today is a good day for hockey. ***There was something in the air that night. The stars were bright, fernando*** Pisani is back. I took a while but he's playing tonight. Grebeshkov will be back most likely next game. Erik Cole is still an Oiler. And the Oilers are sitting in 9th. Life is looking better.

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Ryan Whitney was traded to the Ducks today for Ryan Kunitz and a prospect. So that officially takes Whitney off the market. I thought that he was going to be an Oiler Eklund? So much for him being right. :)

And another trade was made today. Montreal acquires Doug Janik and Dallas receives Steve Begin. Ahh... who cares right?

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A lot of people sure think that the sky is falling... But is it really? I don't think so. I think that this team is in good shape. The Oilers are sitting in 9th. Tied with 3 other teams. A win here moves us up. A loss won't help the cause. I know. Pretty obvious observation. But the sky is not falling. I hear, "Gagner is not an NHLer and never will be", "Cole sucks", Hemsky doesn't lace his skates right", "Penner eats too many cheeseburgers", "Schremp for Mayor of E-Town". it is starting to drive people mental. If Tambo could just make a deal, it may quiet some people for awhile. Or not. I think mostly people like to hear themselves bitch and complain and see if they can get a rise out of someone. Most of the time it's laughable.

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1st Period

In the 1st minute and a half, Boll runs into Roli. (unbelievably Gilbert sees it, watches it, and forgets about it. Boooooooo!) Hopefully Roli plays mad for the rest of the game. And hopefully someone beats the crap out of Boll tonight or he's going to be a pest all game. Penalty for Stortini at 2:34. *sigh* But Rick Nash takes a penalty at 3:33 to make it 4 on 4 for a bit. Neither team does much other than one post hit by the BJ's. (don't be gross people, it means Blue Jackets) Seven minutes into this game, and it's kinda slow to get started. No real good opportunities for either team yet. (BJ's just took their first shot) Nothing worth screaming at anyways. However at 10:50, Torres and Strudwick drop the gloves. Torres starts swinging but Struds isn't ready yet. Boom, Boom, Boom. Strudwick fires some rabbit punches and takes down Torres. Quick but good fight. At 13:49, Boll takes an intentional shot at Roli after the whistle and infuriates Roli. Souray gives him a good chop and Roli is on his way out to kick his ass. But only Boll gets the penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. And rightfully so. So with the PP the Oilers can't do anything and the crowd let's then know that that is not cool and they get a nice boooooo! The 1st line seems to be the most productive out of all the Oiler lines so far. Just as the seconds were dying, Rick Nash almost scores but Roli comes up HUGE. Yeah... he's pissed off. Thanks Boll. 0-0 Tie Game.

2nd Period

Let's hope the fun factor of this game increases. The 1st was kind of lame. This period doesn't really start out any better. Peckham takes a penalty at 4:22. But the Jackets can't score on Roli. The BJ's are looking like they want to win this game. They have some drive. The Oilers don't. Not much happens until Horcoff takes a penalty at 11:20. Again the BJ's can't score on Roli. I can't believe that here I am, watching the team I love, and I'm bored. Good lord! Just as the period is winding down, Ethan Moreau takes the Oilers 3rd Hooking penalty of the game. But he's lucky as Commodore goes to the box for holding his stick. This was a bad period by the Oilers. They were out played, out shot, out everything. Brutal. Booooooooooo! The highlight other than Roli was Souray as the Oiler shot leader with 4 after two periods. 0-0 Tie Game.

3rd Period

Let's hope the 3rd is somewhat better. Well Souray nails one of the BJ's early in the period. Shortly after that, Nash nails the post and almost makes it a 1-0 game. Thanks Mr. Post. Steve Staios tries to rally the troops with a scuffle after the whistle with Peckham in there as well. Come on Oilers! The momentum is swinging our way now. Ahhhh. Torres scores at 7:45. 1-0 Blue Jackets. Well wouldn't you know it. The Boo Birds are out in full force now (and at my house). They were lingering all game. But damn rights. Those people at that arena deserve to boo them players. They are playing like crap. For the love of god! Moreau takes yet another hooking penalty. Another bad timing penalty. How many more does this guy need to take before something changes? Take that C off of him and give to someone who would represent it better. Like Souray. "LEADERSHIP IS ACTION... NOT POSITION" I live by that rule. If you can't be like that then you have no business being the captain. Back to the game. Cole makes a fancy drop pass to Staios. But Staios isn't there. Huge giveaway. Nash gets a breakaway, but once again Roli is there to save the Oilers ass. That by the way was Roli's 30th save of the game. So there is now 3:00 minutes left and I'm looking for a goal scoring hero. The fans are looking for a hero. Do we have one? Anyone? lol. MacT puts out Reddox. What is he doing out there? Just as time is winding down, MacT pulls the goalie and has (89, 12, 34, 18, 44, 77) out for the final minute. Really? Moreau? Pisani? But Pisani fires off one last blast but can't score. The Blue Jackets win! *shakes head* What a joke.

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Tonight's Starting Lines

Penner Horcoff Hemsky (Terrible. Started good. Ended bad.)

Nilsson Gagner Cole (Terrible. They were on for the BJ goal.)

Moreau Cogliano Pisani (Terrible and slow. Pisani was winded after the 1st.)

Reddox Brodziak Stortini (Didn't get much chance to be terrible)

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FINAL SCORE

Columbus Blue Jackets - 1

Edmonton Oilers - 0

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BEERS

Dwayne Roloson - Gramps was a rock tonight. He did everything he could to give the Oilers a fighting chance to win this game. He knew that this was important. He knew he had to show up and lead this team. (maybe Roli needs the C?) Thank god for Boll pissing him off because we all know when Roli is mad... He's at his best. For another excellent game and for being left to hang out and dry again. Have a few frosty beers. You deserve it! Cheers!

Ladislav Smid - He has really impressed me since the injuries. He has an edge that he plays with. He seems to really play a solid game. He's not the same guy from last year. He played 20:22 and had 4 hits. He also managed to block 3 shots. For a pretty fantastic game, enjoy a brewski Smid. Cheers!

For The Fans in the Oiler Nation - God knows we all need a beer after that. (maybe even two) That was terrible. Cold one anyone? Ok. *holds up beer* "To something better." Cheers!

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JEERS

The Amount of Giveaways - How can we expect to win games with 26 giveaway's? I don't think to many. Tom Gilbert and Ethan Moreau were the worst of the bunch. Although Cole's were bad timming ones. Bottom line... that is BS! 26 *shakes head* Boooooooooo!

Lack of Shots - 32 (CLB) to 19 (EDM) was the final shot total. Out of those 19 shots, how many were actual chances? Not many I would suspect. No shots and a ton of giveaway's. If you guys are going to play like that... do it on the road so you don't waste the ticket holders money. Booooooooo!

Ethan Moreau - I don't really know what else I can say about him. I can't stand him anymore. His bad plays keep hurting this team over and over again. He really has no positives. The fans may be sick of Craig MacTavish... But I'm sick of Ethan Moreau. You need to go. Booooooooo! (In fact I am starting my own FMNF campaign. The NNC campaign. What does it mean? Need New Captain.)

The Entire Team - For one, Roli gets hit again and no one does a thing. Gilbert looked at it and then turns his head and skates away. Wow! Freaking pansy. For two, MacT says you play if you can give more than you give up. We gave up way more this game. No wonder Reddox was out there and NOT Hemsky in the final minutes. What a craptacular game. Thanks for the memories... Boooooooooo!

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That was a sad and pathentic game. I sure hope that the other Oiler squad shows up on Saturday. If not then... then... well I don't know. I don't really want to find out. Oh. And it's against the Wild. I will expect Big Mac to draw back in. See you all then.

Beers and Jeers #36 (Feb 21/09 vs. Calgary Flames)

Well folks... As we sit around our TVs and celebrate Hockey Day in Canada, we are fortunate enough to have that team from the south (the Calgary fLames) playing against us instead of some other Canadian team. Why you ask? Because I love a good Battle of Alberta. Nothing can compare to a game like this. (I hope) I predict a 4-2 Oilers win. Gagner, Cole, Hemsky, Stortini scoring the goals. MacIntyre, Stortini and Peckham all fight tonight. Maybe even Gagner. (Maybe Andre Roy? jk) Let's go out there Oilers and kick some Calgary fLame ass.

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Due to me having company over, I won't be going as hardcore with the period summaries. Sorry, but I need to drink with my friends tonight.

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On a side note: we need to win tonight because the Nucks won in a shoot out (Damn you Sundin!) against the Leafs. The Leafs can't do anything right. :(

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1st Period

Boy the Oilers looked fired up tonight. Sporting the retro jersey's once again. MacT started the game with some line changes. Cole with Horc and Pens. And Hemmer with Gags and Nilsson. They really do look sharp so far here. All 4 lines look good. Smid nails Iginla and gets the crowd roaring. Yay Smid! The 4th Line gets a good chance with Big Mac crashing the net. But... the Oilers take a penalty. Guess who? Moreau for cross checking. But lucky for him the Oil kill it off. At 10:19, Smid drives to the net and draws a penalty. PP time for the Oil. But they can't convert. But shortly after the penalty expires, Erik Cole scores!!! Yeah! 1-0 Oilers. (Cole from Souray and Horcoff at 12:26) This is turning into a great idea by MacT. (about time) The Oilers do get another chance on the PP at 15:29 but once again they can not convert. 0 for 2 on the PP. Roli has made some great saves already in this game. But at 19:02 Gilbert takes a holding penalty. All in all, it was a good period by the Oilers. Let's see how the 2nd transpires.

2nd Period

Oilers get out of the gate quick. Brodziak gets a nice chance in the first few seconds. (We are on the PK still.) Through the first 8:00 minutes of the game there has been good flow with both goalies making some good saves. At 8:14, Hemsky takes a lazy penalty and puts the Oil down by a man. But the Oilers manage to kill it off (fLames are 0 for 3 so far) and next thing you know the fLames get nailed with a Too Many Men penalty. They manage to kill that off but the 4th line comes out again and again causes havoc in the crease. (Why not play them more MacT?) But wouldn't you know it... Iginla scores at to tie it up. Damn! 1-1 Tie Game. MacT now has Cole with Horc and Hemmer and Penner with Gags and Nilsson. For the record... Smid is AWESOME tonight. He is doing everything right. With some exciting play the period ends. Let's Go Oilers!

3rd Period

The Oilers have the peanut butter and jam tonight. The 3rd starts off much like the 2nd ended. Fast and furious. Holy crap! Hemsky scores! 2-1 Oilers. (Hemsky from Horcoff and Strudwick at 1:46) Well this gets everyone fired up. Cole gets a breakaway and Iginla takes a penalty. Not sure how that's not a penalty shot? But whatever... the Oilers are on the PP once again. I'll tell ya! The MacBlender is rolling tonight. Every shift is a little different than the last. Oh MacT... you and your crazy mind. Shortly after the Iggy penalty, Phaneuf takes a penalty. 5 on 3 for the Oil for the next 50 some odd seconds. They manage only one good shot from Souray. Boooooo! Cole sure has been great tonight. (I'm trying to enjoy his last few games with us. I am hoping he doesn't get moved.) With very little time left in the period, Calgary's Boyd and Moss collide in their own zone. The crowd goes wild. So with one minute left, the crowd chanting for the Oil, Mark and Marc mention that the crowd is anticipating an Oiler win tonight. A second later, Lombardi scores to tie it up. 2-2 Tie Game. Why in the hell can't people keep their mouths shut until the game is over? But Lombardi takes a penalty at 19:09. Overtime now with a little bit of a PP. Go Oilers!

Overtime

The fLames kill of the penalty and it's back to 4 on 4. With 2:30 left, Souray nails Adam Pardy and sends him and his helmet flying. Why do these guys have their straps so friggin' low? Are you guys retarded? Are you? So with the time winding down, Cammalleri busts in on a breakaway and Roli makes a HUGE save to keep the game tied. Shootout time.

Shootout

Gagner - loses the puck in the slot area. No goal.

Nilsson - gets poke checked by Kipper

Hemsky - also gets poked checked by Kipper

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Tonight's Starting Lines

Penner Horcoff Cole (Penner was pretty good tonight. Horcoff was great tonight. Cole was great tonight.)

Nilsson Gagner Hemsky (Nilsson was above average. Gagner was pretty good. Hemsky was good.)

Moreau Cogliano Stortini (Moreau was below average. In fact rather stinky. Cogliano was average but fast. Stortini was below average.)

MacIntyre Brodziak Reddox (MacIntyre was limited to 3:25. Brodziak had some good shifts. Reddox was good tonight as he ended up taking Stortini's spot on the 3rd line.)

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FINAL SCORE

Calgary Flames - 3

Edmonton Oilers - 2

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BEERS

Shawn Horcoff - The guy was fantastic tonight. He played 26:07, had 2 assists, 4 shots and 2 hits. He seemed to do everything right. He was 23 wins, 9 loses for 72% on the face off dot. He was on fire. So to put out the fire, have a cold frosty Horc. Great game... Cheers!

Ladislav Smid - The Spaz was good again. He made smart and reliable plays. He was laying the body whenever he could. And he managed to log 19:26 of ice time. He even found time to block 4 shots. Good job Smid. Have a beer with me. Cheers!

Erik Cole - I am missing him already and he hasn't even left yet. He was good tonight. Scored a nice goal to get the game going. He made some good body checks. Heck, he even warranted 22:50 of ice time for all the hard work. Erik Cole... you have been a great Oiler. Enjoy another beer with me. Cheers!

Honerable Mentions

Liam Reddox (He was good tonight. He did what he could to help this team. I know. I feel wierd even saying it.), Dwayne Roloson (Gramps was a force tonight. Even I was chanting Roli, Roli, Roli from home.), Strudwick/Peckham (this was a pretty solid defence group. I liked them a lot tonight.)

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JEERS

To be honest, I don't want to boo anything tonight. We did good. We just had a bad relapse with the time running out in the 3rd. Ok. Just a little one for that. Booooooooo!

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Well what a great game that was. Tons of action and lots of speed. A true Battle of Alberta. It's just to bad that we ended up on the losing side. Damn fLames!

Next game is Tuesday vs. Tampa Bay. Is this Vinny's last game with the Lightning and his first as an Oiler? Stay tuned...