Showing posts with label Nashville Predators. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nashville Predators. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Questions & more Questions in "Oilerland" pt 2 LADISLAV SMID

As mentioned in pt 1,  between the MSM of TV and Radio, along with all our Oiler bloggers on the Internet and fans on twitter and Facebook, the world of hockey has some real crazy talk happening out there. Sure some stuff sounds quite interesting and plausible but some stuff does not even make sense. Sometimes it is simple deduction in figuring out what is ludicrous or what has possibility.

When trying to wade through the mud of the dirty waters of rumours and speculation, all you have to do is consider the few facts in front of you.When a team is over the cap, very low % of a chance that a team in that standing will trade for a player who has a high salary. It is unlikely a team will trade for a player unless they believe they can help their organization especially at the cost it takes. All those small details need to be figured out.

The great insiders of the game don't just have a GUY, they have people who know or have heard that people are talking. They then do simple deduction of what are the different possibilities and demise from that conversation. After all that is done, they throw out that rumour possibility and then check out the reaction from the players, agents and the NHL clubs. Depending on what they hear, they either move forward or pull back off of the rumour. Very seldom, the great insiders know actual facts from directly within until it looks like it is almost all but over and the contract is all but signed.

Ladislav Smid;

Smid has been speculated to be traded several times since he arrived in the Chris Pronger trade to Anaheim. He was considered a 'gem' yet Smid has always been what he is today with the exception he is bigger, stronger, and more mature.Smid is what every team is looking for. The truth is, he fits perfect into that #4 slot on the second defence pairing for even the best of teams. Don't believe me, just ask some GM's, coaches, players and  play by play or colour broadcasters. 

Awhile back the team that sought him out the hardest that was confirmed was Nashville. What was the best being offered for him then? Johnathan Blum. What? Yes, and several Oilers fans wanted it to happen. At his cap, his term, his love for the city and being with a woman from Edmonton makes him a player that Edmonton would be crazy to trade. The only way he moves out of Edmonton is , if a solid player is coming back to put into a 1 or 2 spot in our roster,

Unfortunately for Smid, he has been put into a top defence pairing role and playing behind his minutes against the other teams best offensive players and sometimes people are judging his play on that. Smid, has been a warrior for us and removing him from this roster would be a big mistake IMO.

There have been lots of inquiries into Smid this past off season but it is appearing more and more like MacT likes what he sees or at least for now. Some believe MacT is not a big believer in Smid but I don't see it. I think he knows what he believes and Dallas Eakins will love this guy. My only hope is Dallas Eakins uses him properly in his role and does not continue to have him playing to far over his head. 

Likely his name will continue to be put out there, but unless your getting a Braydon Coburn or better, it is not worth the gamble to let such a good player go. Edmonton has developed and invested in Smid for years and when he is finally a strong commodity we sell him off? Not this time folks, Smid is mostly home grown, tried and tested in Oiler silks and will likely continue to be around for a few more years yet.

NEXT POST: 
Rev's Preliminary 2014 NHL Draft Prospects 
(a early look into the names of tomorrow)

Thursday, February 25, 2010

News & Rumors

The Nashville Predators have re-signed Goaltender Pekka Rinne to a 2 year deal earning him 3.4 million a year. This means they are shopping Dan Ellis.

The Calgary Flames have re-signed Forward Rene Bourque to a multi year deal.

The Minnesota Wild have re-signed Forward Cal Clutterbuck to a 3 year deal.

Alex Auld of the Dallas Stars has cleared waivers.

The Oilers will be very active at the deadline, I expect both Souray and Visnovsky will be dealt.

Friday, February 5, 2010

Daily News & Rumors




The Oilers are no longer undefeated in February, maybe they will be in March?

I was attending an OHL game last night and had no connection to the internet so I could not post the trade.

Devils send:

F Patrice Cormier
F Niclas Bergfors
D Johnny Oduya
1st round pick (this year)
2nd round pick (this year)

Thrashers send:

F Ilya Kovalchuk
D Anssi Salmela
2nd round pick (this year)

According to Darren Dreger of TSN, Sheldon Souray has submitted list of teams he would waive his NTC to go to. The teams on the list are the Ducks, Kings, Stars, Rangers, Capitals, and Flyers.

The Nashville Predators have re-signed Forward Jordan Tootoo to a 2 year deal worth $1.25 million per year.

According to John Kincade of The Fan 680, Kari Lehtonen will most likely be traded. He said the Stars and Blues seem to be leading the way.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Oilers on top of the world...well the Leafs at least


I know I am just a rumor blogger and am not an Oilers fan (Devils fan here) however I do know a lot about them and I want you guys to know that the Oilers are above at least 1 team..... guess who?

The Toronto Maple Leafs.

You guys (Oilers fans) think you are in a rough position (last in the NHL). Well, the Leafs are in a worse position.  Not only are they 3rd last in the NHL, but they don't have a 1st this year (Cam Fowler???), or a 1st next year either... terrible.

They have 3 big assets Tomas Kaberle (NTC), Phil Kessel (they just got him) and Nazem Kadri (gosh forbid they have 1 good prospect), so they are looking at dealing all of their other good players Hagman, Ponikarovsky and such just to get some 2nd round picks where you draft players that may or may not ever play in the NHL.

Oilers nation don't worry you have a bright future with Taylor Hall, Svenson, Eberle, etc.., plus you have Hemsky and Khabibulin injured who are big time players and will be ready and fresh for next season. Also, despite losing all of the time, you get to watch one of the most talented Defenseman in the NHL.  No not Sheldon Souray, I am talking about Lubomir Visnovsky. This guy is just so talented and is really a treat to watch.

That is all for now Oiler nation please comment and let me know how I did.  If it was bad I will just stick to my rumors (and Devils at a different site).

Quick leafs rumor update

Leafs GM Brian Burke has given Garnet Exelby permission to seek a trade.

Preds re-sign Goc


The Nashville Predators have signed forward Marcel Goc to a one-year contract extension worth $775,000.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

B&J #105 Edmonton Oilers vs Nashville Predators Game Recap (1/12/10)


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? Brule is sick once again and that means JF Jacques is back in to the lineup.  Comrie, Khabibulin, Hemsky and Pouliot are still out and won't play tonight.

- After the wonderful mini camp, the Oilers should be a better team right? Right?

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Pre-Game Records

Nashville Predators (27-16-3) vs Edmonton Oilers (16-23-5)

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TONIGHT'S STARTING LINES

Edmonton Oilers

Penner-Horcoff-Nilsson
Jacques-Potulny-O'Sullivan
Stone-Gagner-Pisani
Moreau-Cogliano-Stortini

Souray-Gilbert
Smid-Visnovsky
Grebeshkov-Staios

Deslauriers
Dubnyk

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**These are Re-Tweets of Paq Twinn featuring Smokin' Ray, during the LIVE *TweetCast* at http://twitter.com/OilersJambalaya/edmontonoilerstweetcast You can also join along at our LIVE interactive *TweetCast* right here at Oilers Jambalaya during every Edmonton Oiler game.**



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FINAL SCORE

Nashville Predators - 5

Edmonton Oilers - 3

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GAME VIDEO REPLAY



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GAME SUMMARY SHEETS

(click to enlarge)

(click to enlarge)

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BAD TIMING PENALTY

Ethan Moreau - Of course it's the Captain. I mean really... who else right?  At 14:59 of the 3rd period, Moreau takes the Oilers only penalty of the game and does it in style with another hooking call. The Predators score on that PP and I'm sure somewhere, Moreau is blaming the PK unit for allowing that goal and crushing the teams momentum that it was building for a comeback.  Trade this guy ASAP.

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GAME STAT SHEET

(click to enlarge)

(click to enlarge)

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BEERS

Dustin Penner - He was a workhorse (22:55 of ice time) and played a heck of a game. His low point was his -2 rating.  However the -2 wasn't really pinned on him. He was playing with everyone and was trying to do everything.  He scored a goal and had 6 shots. All in all, he was trying his butt off and he was good.  Frosty Bud? Cheers!

Ryan Potulny - He had a goal and an assist and played a pretty good game.  Once again he surprises me.  He did the little things right and impressed me with his play.  It`s Miller Time for Potsy. Cheers!

Visnovsky/Smid - The bad news first: Visnovsky had 5 giveaways. Ouch!  The good news: This was a good tandem.  They were great and both ended up +1.  Visnovsky managed an assist on the last PP goal and even blocked a couple of shots.  Smid on the other hand played a smart game.  I liked these two tonight.  Cold beeeerrrr heeeeerrree. Cheers!

HONORABLE MENTION(S): Devan Dubnyk (He came in in relief and played well. After a few more games, I bet he`s more comfortable out there.), Robert Nilsson (At times he was reckless, but for the most part he was good.), Sam Gagner (The little dude was buzzing out there.  He made some nice plays.) Patrick O`Sullivan (Hard to believe I cursed at him a lot a month ago.  He was pretty decent in this game.)

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JEERS

Ethan Moreau - TRADE HIM NOW!!! He blew the teams momentum again this game.  He sucks and needs to go. Booooooo!!!

Souray/Gilbert - Wow! Souray was the worst tonight. He was standing there like a deer in headlights all night.  Gilbert sucked too, but not near as bad as Souray.  -4 for Souray and -3 for Gilbert.  Not a good night for these two. Booooooo!

Jeff Deslauriers - He was burned on some tough goals and some weak ones that should be stopped.  He even flubbed up a pass to Gilbert which resulted in a goal for Nashville.  Ugh! What a bad game for JDD. Boooooo!

HONORABLE MENTION(S): None

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

OUR GAME SUMMARIES

Smokin' Ray - That sucked bad.  My goat, Ethan Moreau, blew the momentum with a Bad Timing Penalty and that was the game. Sure the Oilers might not have made the comeback, but how are we going to find out?  As of right now, the Oilers only have one win in the last 13 games. Yay team!

Paq Twinn - I was stuck between wanting to laugh and cry for most of this game. It was amazing how little of an effect the two day mini-camp seemed to have had. Despite Quinn and companies best efforts, the Oilers looked pretty much exactly the same. The Oilers did out shoot the Preds but were unable to Pekka Rinne until 7:22 of the 3rd. However, after that goal the Oilers played much better. They started to skate just a little bit harder, and as a result, started to control the play more then they did in the first 47 mins. Had they started to play this way earlier, like say in the 1st or even the2nd, they might have won this game. Pens had a pretty good game and was double shifted most of the night. He scored a PP goal late in the 3rd. JFJ played well, Cogs continued to play with an edge, and Doobie played very well in relief of JDD. Game Grade: D+

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POST GAME VIDEO REACTIONS



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GAME STATS

- Scoring Chances (MC79)

- David Staples/Player Grades (Cult of Hockey)

- Game Summary

- Event Summary

- Full NHL Play By Play

- Oilers Time On The Ice

- Opponents Time On The Ice

- Faceoff Report

- Shot Report

- Roster Report

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NEXT GAME

Edmonton Oilers vs Pittsburgh Penguins
Thursday, 14/01/2010
7:30 PM
TSN

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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!

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

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

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Edmonton Oilers vs Nashville Predators LIVE TweetCast (1/12/10)

Welcome everyone to another fine TweetCast by Oilers Jambalaya.

Tonight you will see the tweets of Paq Twinn, Smokin' Ray, Dan Tencer, The Official Edmonton Oilers tweets, and the Official Nashville Predators tweets.

Feel free to comment by typing in the box below. It`s easy and no signup required.

We hope you enjoy the TweetCast and GOILERS!


Friday, December 18, 2009

Beers & Jeers - Oilers Game Recap vs Nashville Predators (12/17/09)



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? The lines don't change for this game.  Despite Quinn snapping after the last game, he's keeping things the same.

- This game is another PPV.  Yay! More money spent on lackluster quality. 

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Pre-Game Records

Edmonton Oilers (15-14-4) vs Nashville Predators (20-11-3)

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TONIGHT'S STARTING LINES

Penner-Gagner-Brule
Nilsson-Horcoff-Stone
Moreau-Potulny-Cogliano
Jacques-Stortini-O'Sullivan

Smid-Visnovsky
Souray-Gilbert
Grebeshkov-Staios

Deslauriers
Dubnyk

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




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GAME SUMMARY






GAME HIGHLIGHTS



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FINAL SCORE

Nashville Predators - 6

Edmonton Oilers - 3

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BAD TIMING PENALTY

None -

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GAME STAT LEADERS






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BEERS

Robert Nilsson - He showed heart and a never give up attitude.  I know... it's strange for me too.  Bobby had two highlight reel goals and looked like a force all night.  If it wasn't for him, this game would have been boring.  Good game Bobby.  How about a frosty Bud?  Cheers!

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JEERS

The Entire Team - Well, except for Bobby Nilsson.  You guys sucked.  And sucked bad.  That was a terrible game and you all deserved to be bag skated after that.  What a waste of my/our money.  Boooooo!

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OUR GAME SUMMARIES

Smokin' Ray - Who cares... they lost. 

Paq Twinn - The Oilers came out flying, taking everything that Quinn had said and applied it to their game. Six minutes in and the Oilers were up 2-0.  I was thinking wow, they've turned the corner and are becoming a good team. WRONG. After the Preds pull Pekka Rinne in favor of Dan Ellis, the Preds took complete control of the game. It seemed as though the Oilers just quit playing, with the exception of the 1st line, Nillson, Lubo and Souray, Smid was alright too. Everyone else was rather dissapointing. More bad line changes and stupid decisions with the puck led the Oilers losing another winable game. Game Grade: C-

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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 Report

- Shots Report

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NEXT GAME

Washington Capitals (21-8-6) at Edmonton Oilers (15-15-4)

Sat, Dec 19/09
8:00 pm MT
CBC

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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!

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

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

Thursday, December 17, 2009

*LIVE TweetCast #2* w/ Paq Twinn - Oilers vs Predators (12/17/09)

Once again Oilers Jambalaya presents another LIVE interactive TweetCast.  It's as easy as typing what you want to say and hitting send.  It's that easy. (NO SIGNUP REQUIRED)

So sit back and enjoy the TweetCast by Paq Twinn featuring Smokin' Ray.  Feel free to participate.

Edmonton Oilers (15-14-4) vs Nashville Predators (20-11-3)

Thursday, Dec 17/09
7:30 pm MT
PPV






Monday, October 12, 2009

Beers and Jeers #69 (Oct. 12/09 vs. Nashville Predators)


Well thanks once again to Paq Twinn for Tweeting the game for us tonight with his TweetCast© .  You did a great job.

** For those of you that don't have Twitter, you can come here every game and there will be a box at the top of the webpage.  There you will have Paq Twinn's TweetCast© Live and up to date without subscribing to Twitter.**

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Tonight's Starting Lines

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

Gilbert-Visnovsky
Smid-Grebeshkov
Strudwick-Chorney

Deslauriers
Khabibulin

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**The Period Summaries are a Re-Post to Paq Twinn's Twitter Game Day Live Feed**

1st period

- Oilers 1st road game this year.
- Pekka Rinne in net for the Preds
- Nashville wins face-off, gets chance, save by JDD
- Good pace in opening 2 minutes
- Storts vs Grant, good tilt, lots of punches, pretty even.
- Nashville with some pressure, a few shots.
- Shots are 5-1 for the preds at 16:00
- Oilers not looking sharp early.
- Horcoff scores! from Hemsky on a 2 on 1.
- Oilers up 1-0 at 12:00 mins left in first period
- Oilers skating harder after the goal
- The top line for EDM is looking better every game. #thebesttonightsofar
- Brule scores! on a cross crease pass from Penner. 2-0 Oilers. 9:00 mins left in the first.
- Oilers starting to take over the play late in 1st Period.
- Oilers go on PP, Goc 2 for holding
- PP goal for Storts, pass from Comrie
- 3-0 Oilers 6:00 mins left in the 1st. #goodroadperiod
- Hemsky goes off for 2, 5:38
- Oilers kill it off, JDD with a couple saves
- Smid goes off for tripping. 2:55
- Oilers kill off penalty. Storts scores his 2nd. 30sec. left in 1st. 
- After a shaky start, Oilers take over and lead 4-0 Oilers. 1st intermission.
- JDD looking sharp in first start of the season. made some real nice saves.   #qualitychances
- Storts playing the game of his life tonight. Fight...check, Goal...check. check   #morethanjustaprettyface

2nd Period

- Second period. Preds win face-off
- Comrie and Brule go on a 2 on 1. Ellis makes the save. #oilerschasepekka
- Cogs scores! pass from patty-o. 5-0 Oilers 2mins into 2nd.
- Nashville starting to take chances.
- Brule and Boulion go off for 2. 4 on 4
- Oilers D looks good, even without Souray and Staios. #pickinuptheslack
- Oilers penalty, Moreau off for 2. #badtimingpenalty #goat
- 10:30 left in 2nd. :49 left in PK. Still 5-0 Oilers 
- Oilers have settled into "their" game now. #hitandskate 
- JDD with 20 saves so far tonight.
- Oilers kill off the penalty, not without chances for the Preds. 
- all the lines working well together tonight. #GOILERS 
- Erat 2 mins for interference. 7:44 Oilers PP
- Oilers are plying some good hockey, need to improve on shots for and against ratio though.
- Preds kill off the penalty. #oilersmissSourayonpp
- Smid 2 mins for interference 4:35 left in the 2nd.
- Patty-o with a good shift on PK 
- Oilers kill off penalty, Grebs scores on a nice deke. 2:00 left in 2nd. 6-0 Oilers 
- Brule and Hemsky get the assists. #grebscomesdownfrompoint #topshelf 
- Arnott scores from Hornqvist 6-1 Oilers #lastminutegoal #haventlearnedtheirlesson
- end of 2, 6-1 Oilers shots: 26-17 for the preds.
- I think that Gagner is the best young talent the Oilers got. Taylor Chorney is playing pretty good tonight. #honorablemention

3rd Period

- 3rd period. Oilers win face-off.
- Preds are pressing, for a goal, early. 6-1 Oilers
- pace has slowed. players are more methodical with their plays.
- JDD makes a nice save. #badbounce
- Sullivan in on a breakaway....Stop by JDD!
- 5 mins gone in the 3rd. 6-1 Oilers #lookingconfident
- overall a good game by the #Oilers tonight. Chorney did a good job in his 3rd #NHL game. #noglaringmistakes
- Preds taking shots from all angles now. #cantsolveJDD
- Great glove save by JDD. #southpaw 
- Deslauriers is making a case for more games. #bestiveseenhim
- Stoner goes off for 2 mins. Oilers PK 
- Oilers kill it off thanks to JDD. 6-1 Oilers 9:00 3rd
- Oilers 2nd line of Patty-O Gags and Stoner having a solid night. #soiseveryoneelse
- pace is picking up, Preds trying everthing. #Oilershavtheanswers
- 5:00 mins left in the 3rd period. #GOILERS
- JDD with 39 saves on 40 shots tonight
- Oilers have been out shot 2-1 (ratio) tonight. #secondgameinarow
- Horcoff 2 for tripping at 1:44 of the 3rd.
- Preds playing till the end. #goodonthem
- Oilers kill off the penalty and Win the game by a final score of 6-1.
- JDD(1), Storts(2) and Cogs(3) get the stars. 

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FINAL SCORE

Edmonton Oilers - 6

Nashville Predators - 1

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Bad Timing Penalty™

None

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Goat Watch™

Ethan Moreau - Baaad!  He gets another Jeer tonight.

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BEERS

Jeff Deslauriers - The comes in for his 1st start off the year and not only has a 40 save night, but looks good doing it.  I sure hope this preformance puts some ease into the fans of this franchise.  He did well just like he did last year and I'm sure he's going to do the same this year.  Excellent game JDD.  1st game... 1st beer.  Cheers!

Zack Stortini - Mr. Zorg had one heck of a game.  Quite possibly deserved the 1st star.  Two goals on two shots and a fight that lasted an eternity.  The big guy deserves some more PP time.  Quinn rewards those who bust their asses, and Storts did tonight.  He earned the coldest beer I have. Cheers!

Denis Grebeshkov - I haven't been a huge fan of his so far in this season, but he did very good tonight.  he really steped up and ran with the ball.  He still has his moments where you want to puke, not sure if those will ever go away.  I hope so.  The goal he scored was very slick.  Top Cheese as Paq Twinn likes to say.  :) Great game Grebs... How about an imported Temne beer from Russia? Cheers!

Andrew Cogliano - What is it with getting placed on the 4th line and then finding your skills again?  Is it Stortini?  Cause it can't be Moreau.  At any rate, I like Cogliano tonight.  Let's see what Quinn does with him next.  Good job speedy.  Frosty?  Cheers!

Gilbert Brule - This guy seems like he's for real this year.  He's playing at that level where he can make a contribution to the team.  Thank god because I was hoping that he wasn't going to be a bust.  He's trying to play with a nasty edge and it seems to help him compete.  For playing a standup game... How about a Bud?  Cheers!

Honorable Mentions: Shawn Horcoff (He scored his 1st of the year and played a good game), Taylor Chorney (He was called up and was put in right away.  It looked like he never left after training camp.  Good game tonight.), Ales Hemsky (He wasn't overly good, he just wasn't that bad either.), Lubomir Visnovsky (He seems to get a little better every game and he is dynamite 5 on 5.), Tom Gilbert (When he's not noticable, he's playing pretty sound hockey.  He did that tonight.), Jason Strudwick (Normal solid game from Struds.)

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

JEERS

Sam Gagner - Other than ending the night even at 50% on the faceoff dot, he really did nothing.  You noticed him, but no shots or hits?  That's not how he has been succesful.  A little 4th line duty once again for Sam? Booooooo!

Ryan Stone - He's supposed to be the hitter of this team.  That's his niche and he strayed away from that.  Two more games of that and Big Mac may get a chance.  I can expect a better game from him next time. Boooooooo!

Ethan Moreau - He did nothing.  Once again the people around you are lighting it up.  He did manage to be +2 at the end of the night, but when a guy like him has no hits or blocked shots, then he didn't play well.  That's his type of game, and he was invisable.  I may just have to rekindle the old campaign from last year.  NEED NEW CAPTAIN (NNC).  Boooooooo!

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That was a great game to watch.  It was nice to be on this side of the ass whooping.  See you guys all next time...  GOILERS!!!

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

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?


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

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


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


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...


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


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.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Beers and Jeers #26 (Feb 1/09 vs Nashville Predators)


Nothing like waking up and turning on the tv for some Oiler action. It makes for a nice reason to start drinking before the Super Bowl a little later on in the day. Isn't everyone drinking?


So the game begins. Nice flow. The play goes back and forth, with the Oilers with the most forth. The Oilers looked quite good. At first I was bummed right out that Big Mac wasn't in the line up. Then 30 seconds later Sportsnet reports that Tootoo is out for the next while. Ok. Redemption will be a little later in the season I guess. But Strudwick MacT? Why not Stortini? I guess he likes to keep us guessing. All in all the 1st period was entertaining. The 2nd line was the best line, while he 1st line was the worst. Pretty sad when Penner can bring down the whole line. End of period score: 0-0.


The 2nd period started and so did the MacBlender. Brrrrrmmrmm... By the time I realised that Mac had the blender on (I thought it was sloppy line changes) Nashville scores. Crap! 1-0. Almost instantly the Oilers turn up the intensity. That continues until the period raps up. The 2nd line was still the best line when together. End of period score: 1-0 Nashville


The 3rd started and I was curios what MacT was going to do. He did the obvious... he benched Penner. So Nilsson took his spot on the 1st line. Moreau moved up to the 2nd line in replace of Nilsson. About half ways through the 3rd Nashville scores again to make it 2-0. One minute later Hemsky scored to make it 2-1. Nice shot, top corner. The game gets more intense as the game wears on. It ended up being close but no cigar for the Oilers. They came close at the end but with no avail. I suppose the lines will be different for next game. I could see Penner on the 4th line. I mean, he should be on the 4th line.


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Tonight's Starting Lines:


Penner Horcoff Hemsky (This line is drastically dragged down by Penner and his half ass play. Hemsky deserves better than this. Expect Nilsson to be on this line next game.)


Nilsson Potulny Cole (I really liked this line. Potulny looked good playing with Cole. Even Moreau seemed to fit on this line.)


Moreau Cogliano Pouliot (Pouliot is dead weight to the Oilers right now. He hasn't contributed in awhile. Brodziak may be a better fit.)


Strudwick Brodziak Reddox (This line had one good shift where they were in a good puck cycling mode. Other than that a waste of a line.)


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Final Score:


Nashville Predators - 2

Edmonton Oilers - 1


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BEERS

Ales Hemsky

- He scored a nice goal from a nice feed from Nilsson. Hemsky did what he could tonight although we all know he could have done more. He can thank the old ball and chain Penner. He played 23:17, took 6 shots and had terrible line mates all while scoring a goal. You deserve a beer my friend. Cheers!


Erik Cole

- The man of hustle and hard work showed up again today. He could have been dynamite if Gags was playing today. But he didn't and life goes on. Even though he had no points today I though that Cole was very effective. He played 22:00, took 3 shots and had a team leading 6 hits. Good job today Cole and thanks for the stick tape secrets. Frosty? Cheers!


Ethan Moreau

- Chopper was a shooter today. He took 14 shots only to hit the net 9 times. Wow. When did he become a shooter? He was good today. Pretty mistake free. All that in 15:39 of playing time. I think that's worth a frosty cold one. Cheers!


Honorable Mentions

- Dwayne Roloson (I thought Roli was great again. He did what he could and that was a lot. But if the guys in front of you don't score then it's hard to win as a goalie)


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JEERS


Tom Gilbert

- The flub in the 2nd period cost the Oilers the 1st goal and quite possibly the game as the momentum shifted to Nashville. The Oilers played pretty solid up until that point. Gilbert did play a ton today however, and mistakes are bound to happen. But still... Booooooooooo!


Dustin Penner

- You must be some kind of a joke right? I know your a funny guy but come on. Try a little hard work once in awhile. I bet his report cards were like mine. "(Ray/Dustin) is a pleasure to have in class, but he needs to focus on better work habits in order to be sucessful." How MacT even let you play 13:26 today is beyond me. Your on the 1st line. The 1st line! Any other team and you are not. My patience is out on this guy. Boooooooooooooooooooo!


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Well I have to prepare for my own game tonight. It's a good thing I don't write B&J for my team. I would be Booed out of the arena. I hope I am not too bad tonight because the wife and kid are coming to watch. Yikes! I want to be a Souray but I'm more of a Smid. (but less spazzy)


See everyone one on Tuesday. Until then...

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Beers and Jeers #12 (Dec 28/08 vs Nashville Predators)


Well, that was a good game to watch. It was a real total team effort tonight folks. Amazing what can happen when you play a full 60 minute game. About time. Nice to see three lines producing goals tonight. No one really stood out as playing bad. Well one. But you have to read on to find out. Good job Oilers!

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BEERS


Erik Cole

- What a stellar game from Erik Cole tonight. I knew if he kept plugging along things would turn around for him. And see what happens when you move him to the desperation line (Nilsson/Gagner/Cole). Magic. I guess I could say told you so but I won't. Maybe MacT has been reading my blog? How do you know? lol. Anyways... these three guys need to produce and they did tonight. I am afraid that I am making Mr. Cole into an alcoholic. So for playing an excellent game... Have a cold one Erik. Cheers!


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Sam Gagner

- The little dude was awesome tonight. Slick moves, nice passes and great down low work along the boards. By rights he should have received an assist on the Souray bomb. He did all the work but was the 4th guy to touch the puck. But regardless Gags played a hell of a game. Beer Sam? Sure you will... Cheers!


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Visnovsky/Souray

- These two guys are one of the main reason we are still in a some what respectable position in the standings. Their work ethic and their never give up attitudes are really showing lately. 2 points each tonight. I try and think of when we have had a better duo in Edmonton. I have to go way back for that. No guys... Further back then the dreaded Janne Niinimaa/Roman Hamrlík duo. I am pretty excited that we have these guys locked up for quite some time. Then you add Gilbert and Grebs. This could be one of the best top 4 in the league. So here Boys... One frosty each. Cheers!


Honorable Mentions

- Dwayne Roloson (Another outstanding game for Roli. We needed a rock and he became one.) Dustin Penner (Good hustle out there tonight. Really showed that he was trying. Maybe even more than Horcoff and Hemsky.) Kyle Brodziak (He was pretty good on faceoffs tonight.)


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JEERS



Shawn Horcoff

- Oh why, oh why do you annoy me so much? Where did your heart go? Stats are not everything. Sure you had a goal. That was good. But... You were pretty bad on the faceoff dot tonight. When you are the one that is sent out on the important draws you need to win at least 50%. 60% or higher would be more ideal but we will take anything over 50%. Your back checking was average. When Hemsky went down and managed to come back, the only guy on that line that was trying his butt off was Penner. I expect more out of Horcoff I guess. To me he just isn't "getting it done" and he is one of our leaders. It's like he is just trying to be an offensive dynamo. And he's not. He just really needs to focus on his defensive game. So for annoying me tonight. Booooooooo!


But like I said... Good game Oilers! Let's keep this train rollin'. Woot Woot!!!

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