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

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

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1st Period

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

2nd Period

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

3rd Period

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

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Tonight's Starting Lines

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

Souray-Visnovsky
Grebeshkov-Gilbert
Smid-Staios

Khabibulin
Deslauriers

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FINAL SCORE

Calgary fLames - 4
Edmonton Oilers - 3

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Bad Timing Penalty™

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

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

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GOAT WATCH

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

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BEERS

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

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

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

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

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JEERS

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

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

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

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

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

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

Beers and Jeers #59 (Sept. 18/09 vs. Florida Panthers)

Pre Season game #3. Woooooo! It's not like I'm fired up for PS. I just like to see the guys that we never get to see play play. Who is this Miroslav Laso you wonder? He fast and skilled. Is Robbie Schremp ready for the jump? No. Is Penner really that fast now? Yes. We wouldn't know any of this if the NHL didn't provide us Internet access to the games. I/We thank them for that. Plus it's made my hockey season start a little early. : )

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I really like the scoreboard view of the game on the computer. I always laugh when they show stuff like the Smooch cam and it flips to two dudes sitting there. Always a gut buster. And I always seem to get a little jealous when the $18,485.00 50/50 ticket is drawn. Damn you and your winning you winners!!! *shakes fist*

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Do you ever wonder if Rod Phillips dreads calling pre season games? All these new and hard to say names. Here's Smaosjrerf over to Michakakalla. And the numbers are always strange. 86 to 53 to 79. I bet he's glad when it's all over and the Regular Season starts.

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Edmonton Oilers Starting Lineup

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Jacques — Horcoff — Schremp

O’Sullivan — Comrie — Stone

Lazo — Brule — Linglet

Brennan — O’Marra — Stortini

.

Gilbert — Chorney

Staios — Arsene

Strudwick — Plante

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Khabibulin and Dubnyk

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.

Final Score

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Florida Panthers - 0

Edmonton Oilers - 4

.

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Bad Timing Penalty™

- None

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Full Game Summary by Jen Sharpe

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BEERS

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Mike Comrie - The man made good on his promise to try and win the fans' appreciation and faith back. He played his ass off tonight. He was skating and back-checking like there was no tomorrow. He assisted on every goal in this game. Plus, he fought Eric Himelfarb, four minutes into the 3rd period. The man was on a mission. I don't think that one fan walked out of that building not liking Mike Comrie. The man deserves a beer. Cheers!

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Patrick O'Sullivan - Same goes for O'Sullivan. He was dynamite tonight. The chemistry that him and Comrie have is uncanny. It's refreshing to see a guy bust his hump for this team. I guess this is why we traded Cole away for him. This guy is a real damn good player. With a goal and an assist, and 8 shots... It's Miller Time. Cheers!

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JF Jacques - I'll be honest here. I've never liked JFJ. I did tonight though. He was fierce and devastating. He created a lot of emotion and stuck up for Schremp in the 1st. He managed a goal and 5 hits. He played Pat Quinn hockey. Expect a good look for him if he keeps this up. Don't beat me up, have a beer? Cheers!

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Zack Stortini - He was on the designated 4th line with O'Marra and Brennan (Which I'm sure Brule was with the two big guys midway though the game). Storts not only went out and did his thing on the 4th line, he was also on the PK and the PP. WTF? I know... that is what I said when I seen him on the PK. But he did good. The PK he was solid and the PP he was the Penner. The whole game for him was good. Very beer worthy. Good job Zack. Cheers!

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Taylor Chorney - Is he the new Gilbert? He sure looked like him all game. He was jumping up in the play. He was pretty solid in his own end. This guy is one of my biggest surprises of Training Camp. He can play in the NHL right now. But he won't. For a great game... have a drink on me. Cheers!

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Honorable Mentions - Nikolai Khabibulin (Pulls out a shutout. Didn't face many shots but was great when he was needed.), Ryan Stone (Played really good. Good hustle. Two assists), Alex Plante (Solid D man. I can see the potential.), Tom Gilbert (Flawless but not flashy. Logged over 24 minutes of ice.), Miroslav Lazo (Fast and offensively minded. I quite liked this guy. I want to see more.)

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JEERS

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Robbie Schremp - What was this guy doing tonight? After a nice 1st game, he panics tonight and plays bad. He was losing the puck and falling down. He only really looked good on the PP. Even then he looked shaky and really produced nothing. Your only screwing yourself Rob. Ding..Ding.. Last call. Boooooooo!

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Kip Brennan - What the hell man? Is fighting all you want to do? Get rid of this guy. With the rep he has, no one will fight him. So why waste time here? Even Big Mac tries to actually play hockey. Do we really need this guy at camp still? I don't think so. Send him on the next plane to Springfield. Booooooo!

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Shawn Horcoff - Now Horcoff wasn't stinky tonight. He was average. Just plain Jane average. He clearly looks lost without Hemsky. I'll give him the fact that Schremp sucked tonight. But really. Horcoff needs to be better on his own. The goal he did score was a pretty easy tap in that I'm sure even Schremp himself could've scored. With the Comrie/O'Sullivan show on the go, that is kinda bumping Horcoff to the #3 spot. Maybe it's for the best. But for tonight's whatever effort... Boooooo!

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Well that's it folks... until tomorrow that is. See you then. GO OILERS!

Beers and Jeers #57 (Apr 10/09 vs. Calgary Flames)

I am going to skip most parts of the Beers and Jeers. Mainly because no one cares anymore. (well, I do.) The Oilers played well last night despite the fLames only dressing 15 players. The game had no life and it was strange to watch. The crowd was given a good show though.

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Tonight's Starting Lines

Kotalik Horcoff Hemsky

Nilsson Gagner O'Sullivan

Moreau Cogliano Pisani

MacIntyre Brodziak Penner

Souray Staios

Grebeshkov Gilbert

Chorney Peckham

Deslauriers

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FINAL SCORE

Calgary fLames - 1

Edmonton Oilers - 5

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BEERS

Steve MacIntyre - He was great. He scores the GWG and does it in fashion by crashing the net to score. He had a hit and played what seemed like a lot to me. (11:04 of ice time) He even had some PP time. And the funny part is he really didn't look out of place 5 on 5. Will he be back next year? For playing a hell of a game, have a cold frosty with me. Cheers!

Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers - He was solid. I am not sure why he hasn't played more? I look forward to the future of the Oilers. JDD will be one of our leaders in years to come. Great game JDD. Care for a mug o' beer? Cheers!

Theo Peckham - I like this guy. He seems to be coming along quite nicely. He seems to have a good hockey sense and that will only get better. He helped to carry Chorney for most of the game and only had a few mistakes. But who cares? He did well (4 blocked shots). How about a cold can of Molson? Cheers!

Patrick O'Sullivan - I thought that Sully played a great game. He had a ton of shots and finally scored his 2nd goal with the Oilers. 8 shots. Wow! Great game Sully, I look forward to next year. Have a cold one. Cheers!

Sheldon Souray - Souray also had a great game. He didn't have to play with that edge that he has and his game still worked well. His goal was a bomb and it was nice to see one last one before the season is over. Good game Souray. Beer? Cheers!

Honorable Mentions: Shawn Horcoff (Played well. Three point night and played a good all around game.), Ales Kotalik (scored a nice one timer. The better Ales tonight), Taylor Chorney (Although not an outstanding game, he will be good for the Oil someday soon. Good 1st game ever.)

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JEERS

There are none. Yay!

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Battle of Alberta #2 tonight. Let's Go Oilers!

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

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

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

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1st Period

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

2nd Period

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

3rd Period

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

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Tonight's Starting Lines

Kotalik Horcoff Hemsky

O'Sullivan Gagner Nilsson

Moreau Cogliano Pisani

Penner Brodziak Stortini

Souray Staios

Grebeshkov Gilbert

Strudwick Peckham

Roloson

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FINAL SCORE

Los Angeles Kings - 2

Edmonton Oilers - 1

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BEERS

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

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

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

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

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

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JEERS

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

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

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

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

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Now what?

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

*EDIT*

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

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1st Period

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

2nd Period

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

3rd Period

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

GAME SUMMARY

EVENT SUMMARY

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Tonight's Starting Lines

Kotalik Horcoff Hemsky

Nilsson Gagner O'Sullivan

Moreau Cogliano Pisani

Penner Brodziak Stortini

Souray Staios

Grebeshkov Gilbert

Strudwick Peckham

Roloson

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FINAL SCORE

Vancouver Canucks - 3

Edmonton Oilers - 5

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BEERS

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

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

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

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

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JEERS

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

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

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

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

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.)

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

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 #51 (Mar 27/09 vs. Anaheim Ducks)

Well folks, last night's game was a gooder. I freaked out a little and cheered a little. And then I freaked out some more. The Ref's were terrible. Most of the calls were penalty worthy, but some were called for no reason. What happened to the good refs?

Roli started once again and it looks like he will until the Oilers secure a spot. In other words, he will play right up to the last game of the season.

Stortini finally draws back in to the lineup after missing eight games. About time MacT. And if anyone really cares... Jacques was also in the lineup.

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1st Period

The game gets going in a hurry. Penner scores right off the hop. Yeah! 1-0 Oilers. (Penner from Horcoff and O'Sullivan at 1:11) Nice start. Holy crap! Pisani scores. Yeah! 2-0 Oilers. (Pisani from Cogliano at 1:48) At this point Giguere gets pulled. For 2 seconds. Then he's back in again. WHAT?!?! Never seen that before (that I can remember anyways). Jacques and Parros decide to drop the gloves. Good quick tilt. Parros wins that one and gives Jacques a tap for a good fight. Damn! Getzlaf scores. 2-1 Oilers. The line of 21, 89 and 83 were on for that goal. Moreau takes a hi-sticking penalty at 8:04, but luckily the Ducks don't score. Marchant and Smid mix it up and they go sit for 2 minutes. With 6:36 left, Gagner coughs up the puck in the Oilers zone but nothing really comes of it. Bad Gagner... Bad. The Oilers as a whole are looking really sloppy with 5 minutes to go. Stortini and Parros decide to go now. Really good tilt as Storts out punches him. Storts with the win. Remind me again why 46 was sitting for 8 games and 85 was playing??? At 18:09, Horcoff takes an interference penalty has to think about it for 2 minutes. Aw man! Staios clears the puck out of the Oilers zone. Problem is, it's over the glass. 5 on 3 for the Ducks now for 1:20. MacT calls a timeout to go over the PK plan. The Oilers do a good job at killing the penalties but as the period winds down, Souray and Perry will start off the 2nd with a penalty each. 15 to 4 were the shots for the Ducks.

2nd Period

15 seconds into the 2nd, Getzlaf scores his 2nd and ties up the game. Damn! 2-2 Tie Game. But one of the Ducks takes a penalty at 1:07 and the Oil go on the PP. Big Dustin Penner scores on the PP. Yeah! Penner's on fire. 3-2 Oilers. (Penner from Gagner and Hemsky at 2:40) Momentum Oilers. Yeah!!! Brodziak scores for the Oilers. 4-2 Oilers. (Brodziak unassisted at 2:49) Stortini was key on that sequence. Well Giguere is pulled again. Poor guy. He was lit up tonight. At 5:17 the Oilers take a too many men penalty. They kill that off. And at 7:16, O'Sullivan sits for 2 minutes for tripping. Then at 8:06 the rough stuff and all the penalties start to happen. Staios, Moreau and Souray were involved. How come the vets never do that for the youngsters? Just asking. Roli gets a penalty and Staios gets one as well. Then a 10:43, Kotalik gets a penalty. But you can't fight this one as he shot it over the glass. Tough luck. He did save the puck from crossing the line though. Better a PK then a auto goal. At 17:48, Getzlaf takes the last penalty of the period. This was a good and intense period. It was nice to see some real emotion. Too many damn penalties though.

3rd Period

MacT sure has been messing with the lines. It is getting kind of hard to figure out what is what. It appears like he is swapping the centers around. 35 seconds into the 3rd the Oilers go on the PP. It would have been nice if they scored but they don't. At 3:25 the Ducks score on the line of 18, 10, and 34. Horcoff was standing there and Moreau was wondering around looking lost. Terrible guys. 4-3 Oilers. The Oilers are feeling the pressure now. At 5:31, Kotalik takes a turn in the sin bin. The call... cross checking. The Oilers do kill that off but the Ducks seem to want to get back in this game. Roli robs Pronger with a huge glove save on the PP. Roli, Roli, Roli!!! What a game. At 9:35, Jacques hi-sticks a guy and gets a double minor. The Ducks get 6 shots on Roli in the 1st two minutes of the PP. Shortly after, Gagner gets nailed and Roli does his patented baseball swing and bats the puck out of the zone. Nice. The game is rockin' and rollin' all the way till the last minute of play. The ducks have pulled the goalie to try and tie the game. But Kotalik puts it in the empty net for the Oilers. Yeah! 5-3 Oilers. (Kotalik from Hemsky and Souray at 19:48) The Oilers WIN!!! The 2 points are in the bag. WOOOOOOOO!!!!

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VIDEO HIGHLITES

GAME SUMMARY

EVENT SUMMARY

DAVID STAPLES REVIEW

OIL DROPPINGS REVIEW

SCORING CHANCES SUMMARY

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FINAL SCORE

Edmonton Oilers - 5

Anaheim Ducks - 3

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Tonight's Starting Lines

For complete ratings see Oil Droppings. He did a really good job on them. Plus the lines changed throughout the game. Damn you MacT and your fancy blender.

Kotalik Gagner Hemsky

Penner Horcoff O'Sullivan

Moreau Cogliano Pisani

Jacques Brodziak Stortini

Souray Staios

Grebeshkov Gilbert

Strudwick Smid

Roloson

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BEERS

Dwayne Roloson - Roli the goalie was awesome. He made 51 saves for the win. Now do I really have to say anything else? Frosty Roli? How about two? Cheers!

Dustin Penner - The flying fridge was great. He had 2 goals and was a +2. He did his thing out there and had 4 shots and 2 hits. All this and he ony played 12:14. What a heck of a game. Pilsener for the Fridge? Cheers!

Zack Stortini - I really liked his game. He did was he is supposed to and played well. He fought. He caused a screen on the Brodziak goal. And he was hitting people. All this and he only played 4:10. Good job Zack. Glad your back. How about a cold one? Cheers!

Honorable Mentions - Jason Strudwick (He played not bad. He still isn't great but he did what he had to. +1 and 2 shots.), Shawn Horcoff (had a good night on faceoffs. He played a ton and was moved around quite a bit.), Patrick O'Sullivan (I really liked his play. He was on the PK and had some good moments on the offensive side.), Ales Kotalik (I also liked his game as well. I said from his first game as an Oiler that he needs to work on the cardio. I think he has as he played 16:54 and didn't look tired.)

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JEERS

Ethan Moreau - I have no idea what I have against him. I just didn't like the way he played. He just doesn't act like a captian. His fall at the boards all alone was slick and that made me laugh out loud. That's how I must look sometimes. lol. But seriously, he really needs to step up and become more of a leader in order for this team to be successful. We need an action type of a leader. God knows that it isn't Hemsky. So for a lackluster effort at even stength... Boooooooo!

The Entire Team - You guys really need to cut it out with all the penalties. Sure the refs were a little over happy with the whistles but come on. Way to many careless penalties. The elite teams don't take that many penalties in a game. Booooooooo!

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A win. About time. That's all I can say. About time. Next game is at 6:00 pm tommorow against the pesky Wild. Big Mac should draw in for Jacques I would suspect. Let's hope for another 2 points. Go Oilers!!!

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

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

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 #47 (Mar 20/09 vs. Chicago Black Hawks)

Well folks last night was a gooder. A 8-1 stomping of the Avs. It was sweet. Then this morning I received a message from the Oilers on Twitter, (yes the Jambalaya is now on Twitter) and it said that the Oilers didn't skate today. I'm hoping that that wasn't a bad decision.

It seems like MacT is going to roll with the same lines again today. And Roli was a last minute decision.

The good people of the OilersNation are whooping up tonight down at Hudson's on Bourbon Street. I'm sure that the party is good and I hope they raise some good money for Kids with Cancer. One of these days I'm going to have to make it to Edmonton to attend one of those Nation parties. I need to get some shirts.

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1st Period

Well the game gets underway and the Oilers seem to be clogging up the neutral zone. Is this the trap? MacT you crazy man you. Well the PP gets to work early. 89,27,83,44,37 are out there for the Oilers. Penner scores! Yeah! 1-0 Oilers. (Penner from Grebeshkov and Hemsky at 3:12) Nice start boys. A short while later at 7:41, the Hawks do score. Boooo! 1-1 Tie Game. Then the dreaded 3rd line of 13, 34, 85 are out for the Oilers. Cogliano scores are another Oiler goal. Yeah! 2-1 Oilers. (Cogliano from Reddox and Pisani at 10:07) Well here we are in maybe another goal fest for the Oilers? Let's hope so. Last night was fun. For the last 10 minutes of the 1st, the Hawks are killing the Oilers. Come on guys... The 2nd line gets stuck in their own end and Grebs takes a holding penalty shortly after. But the Oilers do kill it off. With 1:30 left in the period the Hawks score. Damn. 2-2 Tie Game.

2nd Period

Good flow to start the 2nd. This game is really picking up the speed. Nilsson gets rocked near center ice with his head down by Campbell. Ouch! The 4th line comes out and starts rockin' it up. Ethan Moreau scores! Yeah! 3-2 Oilers. (Moreau from Penner from Brodziak at 6:03.) This is how the "good" teams become "great". Secondary scoring. In this case, 3rd and 4th 'dary' scoring. Awesome! Oh no. Smid was chasing down Havlat and clipped Roli and he goes down. It takes Roli quite a while to get up and ready to go again. But he will continue. Somehow on that play, Gagner takes an interference on the goalie penalty. Not sure where or when??? But the Oil kill it off. But the Hawks score again to tie it up. Boooooo! 3-3 Tie Game. An Oiler and a Hawk take penalties back to back and that makes a 4 on 4 situation. Just as Nilsson is rounding the ice behind his own net he spots Gagner at the other blue line. Bam! He fires a hard long pass to Gags. He busts in and shakes off a Hawk player and scores. Yeah! 4-3 Oilers. (Gagner from Nilsson and Roloson at 18:19) Great period by both teams. This sure has been fun to watch.

3rd Period

To start the period, O'Sullivan takes a slashing penalty. But the Oilers manage kill it off. With the 2nd line out, the Hawks score to tie it up. Again. Booooo! 4-4 Tie Game. Shortly after that Reddox gets hammered with what looked to me like a cheap shot to the head. This is the reason why we need Stortini in the lineup. Of course it goes unnoticed and without a penalty. The pace of the game really picks up now. LET'S GO OILERS!!! Staios hooks Toews and he is awarded a penalty shot. But Roli comes up huge again and the game is still tied. With 7:00 minutes left, the action is fierce. End to end action. So much for the trap. MacT seems to be going with 2nd line, 1st line, 4th line, 2nd line, 1st line, 4th line. What is the 3rd line chopped liver? **Reddox is out** Right at the end of the period, Gilbert gets hammered into the Oilers net and Seabrook takes a penalty. The Oilers will have about 1:40 of PP time in the OT.

Overtime

Well the Oilers send out 83, 27, 44 and 21. They have great passing and a few shots but don't manage to score. The overtime is very exciting but neither team scores. MacT sends out 10 & 34, 89 & 19, 12 & 13. This game is off to a shootout.

Shootout

O'Sullivan - scores glove high.

Kotalik - scores low glove. With that goal the Oilers WIN!!!

Gagner - no shot

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GAME SUMMARY

EVENT SUMMARY

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

Tonight's Starting Lines

O'Sullivan Horcoff Hemsky (The 1st line was good for most of the game. I expected them to be clicking by now but maybe we need to be a little more patient. O'Sullivan looked good. His speed and his willingness to shoot from anywhere is a huge bonus for Hemsky. Hemsky looked ok. He still isn't like the same Hemmer from the 1st half of the season. But he's coming around. Horcoff was average. He did way better on the faceoffs this game. But this line wasn't really a game changer and the Oilers need them to be.)

Nilsson Gagner Kotalik (I am starting to like this line. Except they kind of suck in their own end. A few times tonight they were struggling to keep their head above water. But when they get out they are really dangerous. Nilsson seems to be on a roll since the press box sitting. Gagner had a good game. But 0 for 8 on the faceoff dot sucks. He tries like mad, but couldn't do anything there. Kotalik played well. He isn't looking as slow to me as he did the 1st few games. He does make Gagner look fast though.)

Reddox Cogliano Pisani (MacT treats this line like it's the 4th line. They saw limited ice in the last half of the 3rd (mostly because Reddox was hurt). But Cogs and Pisani saw the ice in OT. Reddox played ok. He played just under 6:00 and picks up an assist. Cogliano scores a nice one and ends the game with 4 shots. He also stunk it up on the faceoff dot (25%). Pisani has flashes of the old Pisnai. Then he goes back to average Pisnai. Tonight we seen both.)

Moreau Brodziak Penner (I really like this line. They play tough, yet they can move the puck. Moreau has played two good games in a row. Good on him. 3 shots and a goal is a nice way to help the team win. You don't need to try too hard in order to play well. Brodziak also played well. He does what is asked of him and tries his best. He was out for a lot of faceoffs tonight. Penner had another strong game. Keep this guy on this line. He seems to be a better player on the 4th line. He has a two point night and a couple of hits. He was great.)

Souray Staios (I don't mind this pairing. Souray is one of my faves this year. He plays like he wants to win every game. He always seems to show up. Staios has had a few good games lately. Tonight was another one. I had him written off at the beginning of the year, but he sure is making me change my mind.)

Grebeshkov Gilbert (I thought that this pairing was good as well. Grebs was played pretty good. The mistakes he did do, didn't really cost the Oilers that much. Gilbert played well. He

played over 23 minutes and blocked 3 shots. He had one slight hiccup but whatever, he has been good lately.)

Strudwick Smid (I don't like this pair at all. Smid is good. I like his game. Nothing wrong with him. It's Strudwick that freaks me out. I wish we had an answer for that. Peckham? They are about equal. IMO. But MacT loves Struds.)

Roloson (Roli was good. I am really liking the cut of his jib. He has showed that he is a pro and he comes to play. He rarely takes a night off and tonight wasn't one of them. Good game Roli!)

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

FINAL SCORE

Edmonton Oilers - 5

Chicago Black Hawks - 4

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

BEERS

Dwayne Roloson - Roli was rock solid again for the Oilers. Sure he had a few not so great moments, but was otherwise fantastic. The guy faced 43 shots. That's 39 saves. At first I thought that JDD was finaly going to start. But once again MacT makes the right decision. *ducks for cover* For a heck of a game Roli, you deserve a frosty. Cheers!

Sheldon Souray - I really like what he brings to this team. IMO He should be the Captain. He plays his butt off every game and is chnaging his game to make himself more effective. And it's working. 28:56 of ice time and he blasted 5 shots at the net. I think he deserves a nice cold one. Cheers!

Dustin Penner - The big guy was good toight. Maybe the 4th line mentallity is giving him the advantage of less pressure to perform? What ever it is I like it. He has played his best games as an Oiler lately playing with Brodz and Chopper. A goal and an assist tonight to lead the team. Good on you Penner. The big guy wants a Big Bear in a Brown Paper Bag? Cheers!

The Entire Team - Two huge games in a row. KEGGER!!!

Honorable Mention - Patrick O'Sullivan (scores a nice SO goal and plays a pretty decent game.) Sam Gagner (He continues his points streak by scoring again this game.) Ales Kotalik (He scores another SO goal. Plus he seems to be fitting in with Gagner)

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JEERS

No one player really deseveres a boo. Am I wrong?

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Well that was a great 4 point two nights. All very quick and exciting. A good two days for Oiler Hockey. The next game is Sunady at 1:00 in the afternoon against the Wild. Big Mac or Stortini should draw in for that game. See you all then...

Beers and Jeers #45 (Mar 17/09 vs. St. Louis Blues)

Thanks to Telus, the internet in my area was down last night just as the game was starting. I know... another excuse. But seriously, the Telus internet is good but it keeps cutting out every once in awhile. It's driving me crazy.

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Hello folks. Happy St. Patricks Day!!! Before this game starts the Oilers are sitting in 9th. I'm sure it will change a bit tonight. Hope it's up for us.

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There has been some changes in the lines and we shall see if they pan out. Mr. Irish, Patrick O'Sullivan is now playing with Horcoff and Hemsky. I don't mind this at all. He is a shooter.

Kotalik will be with Gagner and Nilsson. I actually feel bad for Gagner. Nilsson has been not helping him at all all year. Can't imagine that Kotalik will help much either. So, why did we pick him up?

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Tonight's Starting Lines

O'Sullivan Horcoff Hemsky

Nilsson Gagner Kotalik

Reddox Cogliano Pisani

Moreau Brodziak Penner

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FINAL SCORE

St. Louis Blues - 1

Edmonton Oilers -2

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

BEERS

Dwayne Roloson - Roli the goalie came through once again. He was almost caught a few times (like the play where he was at the top of the circle). But he did what he does best. He stopped pucks. The guy is unbelievable. Frosty beer Roli? Cheers!

Patrick O'Sullivan - Sully was great on that 1st line. He seems like a fit for Hemsky. Thank god. He had a few great chances and was creating his own. At times though, he and Hemsky looked out of sync. But I'm sure that after a few games they will be rollin'. Have a frosty green mug o' beer Sully. Cheers!

Denis Grebeshkov - This guy has really became a fantastic player. He has made a believer out of me. I really hope the Oilers can retain this guy in the off season. He is slowly becoming one of my faves. He picks up an assist on the PP goal in the 1st and he led the team in hits with 3. All in all he was superb. Have a beer on me Grebs. Cheers!

Honorable Mention Sam Gagner (The little dude was good today. He even had a good day on the faceoff dot. 71%) Sheldon Souray (He was playing with an edge and I liked it. He scores a huge goal and unloads lots of bombs.) Tom Gilbert (5 blocked shots. Nice.) Ales Hemsky (He played good and seemed interested in playing tonight. Hope to see more of that.)

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JEERS

Ethan Moreau - I have two reasons why he gets a boo. First, now that you wear a visor that is fairly large and covers a lot of your face. You either can't fight anymore or you have to show respect and take off the helmet. I thought that it was cool to stick up for Hemmer but puching a guy while your face is covered made me boo you right then and there. Second, the penalty in the 3rd. What the hell man? Again. *hands in the air like I just don't care* Need New Captain. (NNC) Boooooooo!

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Well folks, let's hope the next Beers and Jeers goes smooth so I'm not making any excuses about where it is. So please... no more hate mail. jk