(Cult Of Hockey) Player Grades - Oilers vs Avalanche (11/18/09)

The Cult Of Hockey Player Grades have arrived at Oilers Jambalaya.  This is Smokin' Ray coming at you live pre-recorded from two sites, mine and at The Cult of Hockey at the Edmonton Journal. 

David Staples had asked me if I would like to contribute to the player grades that he does and I accepted graciously.  David has supported me from day one so it's going to be nice to give back a little.  Is this good for you the reader?  I hope so.  Enjoy!

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Despite the Oilers bad Power Play, they manage to win 6-4.  Not a bad game to watch that's for sure. To top it off... it was free on TSN.

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Ales Hemsky (8) - He was solid all game except for his blunder with Visnovsky that led to a chance for the Avs.  He had a goal and an assist for two points tonight.  He even took 4 shots.  Not bad for a playmaker.

Sam Gagner (7) - He had a really slow start, much like everyone else did, but really turned it on at the halfway point of the game.  He scores a huge goal (for him and the team) and his pain seemed to fade away.  His hip is bothering him right now and with all the other Oiler problems, this is one guy we don't need to miss any time.  He would have scored an 8 if he didn't start so slow.

Shawn Horcoff (7) - Despite having a bum shoulder right now, he played pretty decent.  I'm not sure why Quinn has him taking 15 faceoffs in a game when he goes 33%.  He's better than that, but not right now.  At least pair him up with another center on the PK like O'Sullivan.  He scores a nice goal on a Hemsky rebound and helps to get the Oilers going early on in the game.  He made no real huge mistakes, but he is clearly hampered by his injury and his game reflects that.  You just tell he would have been awesome tonight if he was 100%.

Dustin Penner (8) - He may not have scored any points, but it's the intangibles that he brings to the table that make him worthy.  His screening and tipping is top notch right now.  He even busted his stick on a Souray tip.  How do you even see a Souray shot, never mind tipping it?  He had 7 shots tonight and was the best faceoff guy on the team.  He went 7W-8L for 47%.  Who would have thought that he could do it all?  Literally. I'd say that both him and Hemsky were close to being a 9 in my books.

Ladi Smid (7) - I think we should all tell Kevin Lowe that he was right on the Pronger trade. Ok.. let's not go quite that far yet but he sure is looking simply amazing this year.  He tallies an assist and finishes the night tied for team best, +3.  Looking at the stats you would think it would show more hits for him as he was ramming and slamming guys all game.  He is playing a consistent and reliable game for Quinn. Thank you Dany Heatley for nixing that deal.  Penner and Smid are studs for this team this year.  And it's all because of you. Sort of.

Sheldon Souray (6) - He is one mean dude.  Shortly after Moreau takes an elbow to the head, Souray does a little chin music of his own.  The refs seen that one though.  So you can hardly be mad at him for taking the penalty, it was just at the wrong time as Stortini was assessed a instigator penalty 1:01 before that.  He also finished a -1 and that doesn't help a guys rating.  Did I mention the 2 giveaways?  Yeah...  But still.  If it wasn't for all that he could have had an 8.  To make an excuse for him, he was on the ice for a lot of tough minutes.

Lubomir Visnovsky (8) - Holy cow!  When he plays well, he plays well.  He made great plays all night and he was a pleasure to watch.  His only black mark was a screw up between him and Hemsky which gave him a 1 in the takeaway column.  He had 2 assists and finished a +3 tied with Smid for the team lead.  I really would have given him a 9 if not for the giveaway.  Yes folks... he was that good.

Tom Gilbert (4) - He had a soft 1st period and was a -2 for the night.  Quinn even benched him for most of the 2nd as he only played 1:22.  He did get an assist on the Potulny goal.  That was pretty much his only good point of the game.

Dean Arsene (5) - For a guy who was playing in his 2nd ever game in the NHL, he looked calm.  I didn't see any major mistakes other than an errant pass that was picked up by the Avs late in the 3rd.  But you know Quinn is liking him when he's out there quite regular in the 3rd period.  I want to see more of this guy.  I'm liking what I see.

Patrick O'Sullivan (5) - He finally scores a goal.  It's been way to long and you could see him breath a sigh of relief right after it went in.  He had 5 shots and was 45% on the faceoff dot.  He needs to play better for a whole 60 minutes and he needs to shoot that puck with conviction.

Ryan Potulny (6) - He had a pretty solid game and was rewarded with more ice time.  He scores the tying goal and gives the crowd and the team a huge lift.  He definitely is a good call up.  Glad we have him.

Zack Stortini (3) - He spent 17 minutes not playing because of the fight (for the Moreau hit) and only played 5:16 after that.  The fight even sucked.  Wilson tied up his arms and that was it.  They struggled and it was over.  Not his greatest night.

Ethan Moreau (5) - He really wasn't all that bad before the hit to the head.  He had a shift after that and that was it for him as he didn't return.  So with him gone and Stortini not lighting it up, that was it with the 4th line.

Gilbert Brule (6) - He didn't have a bad night and he didn't have a great night either.  He was on the ice for Hejduk's 2nd goal and on the ice for the Cuminsky goal.  Both times he could have been harder on his check but wasn't.  On the good side he was on the ice for some of the Oilers goals as well.  But it is nice to see him be more consistent this year.  I was starting to wonder why we traded Torres for Brule.  But the kid is alright.

Liam Reddox (6) - He played a good enough game and earned an assist.  It's too bad he's not a bigger guy because he sure does throw his tiny little body around.  He plays a smart game and does the little things well.  But have no fear Reddox haters, he will go back when the Oilers get bodies back. 

Jason Strudwick (4) - All he really did was block some shots and take up some minutes from Gilbert.  He seems to have some trouble keeping up with the more quicker players.  On the Avs second goal, he was running around like a chicken with his head cut off and was a major reason why that goal was scored.  With the emergence of these younger guys, I don't see the need for him past the trade deadline.

Andrew Cogliano (5) - He had flashes of brilliance and then would fade away.  He is the only one out of the Heatley three that hasn't flourished this season.  He had a good chance tonight being on a line with Gagner but failed to produce.  Maybe he needs to see a head shrink to get his groove on.  Or dancing lessons.

Jeff Deslauriers (4) - He was super stinky in the 1st two periods.  In the first 25 minutes, he let in 3 goals on 7 shots.  I was waiting for Quinn to pull the plug but he didn't.  Maybe it's the lack of games or maybe he's not as good as we all though he was.  If I was him, I'd get serious because Dubnyk will be knocking on the door next year.

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Well that's it folks.  I hope I did this game justice. Thanks for reading.

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My normal Beers & Jeers Edmonton Oilers Recap to follow.

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

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

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

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Pre-Game Records

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

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TONIGHT'S STARTING LINES

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

Souray-Staios
Smid-Visnovsky
Arsene-Gilbert

Khabibulin
Deslauriers

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

1st PERIOD

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

2nd PERIOD

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

3rd PERIOD

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

OVERTIME

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

SHOOTOUT

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



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FINAL SCORE

Edmonton Oilers - 2

Columbus Blue Jackets - 3

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BAD TIMING PENALTY

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

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GAME STAT LEADERS

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

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BEERS

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

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

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

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

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

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JEERS

Ethan Moreau - BOOOOOOOO!

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

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GOAT WATCH

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

(Paq Twinn) Robert Nilsson - Didn't Play

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OUR GAME SUMMARIES

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

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

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

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POST GAME REACTIONS



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GAME STATS

- Game Summary

- Event Summary

- Scoring Chances (MC79)

- David Staples Player Grades (Cult of Hockey)

- Full NHL Play By Play

- Oilers Time On The Ice

- Opponents Time On The Ice

- Faceoff Reports

- Shots Report

- Shootout Details
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NEXT GAME

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

Wed, Nov 18/09

7:00 pm MT

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!

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Beers and Jeers #67 (Oct 8/09 vs. Calgary Flames)

There was a wind/snowstorm in Alberta today.  Very cold out considering we were at 30 degrees two weeks ago.  Brrrrrr.  What happened to Fall?  Are we not getting it? *shakes fist at Mother Nature for skipping Fall*

Rob Schremp is wearing 13 and didn't look very good tonight with the NYI.  I'm not really sad any more  and I'm kind of relieved that he's gone.

Just found out that Center ice is free right now.  Wish I knew and I wouldn't have paid for the last PPV.

Quinn shuffles the lines in practice to fool the fLames.  Crazy old fox.

Staios and Nilsson are out / Moreau and Strudwick is in

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Tonight's Starting Lines

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

Souray Smid
Gilbert Grebeshkov
Strudwick Visnovsky

Khabibulin
Deslauriers

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1st Period

- Good start.  All 4 lines look good.  Fast pace.
- The first 10 minutes went by fast.
- Bulin's looking good.  He's been making some great saves.  He seems confidant.
- It only took a game and a half period of this season for Kevin Quinn to say, "He has to get a new cue." for a broken stick.
- Gagner and Stortini belong together.  There's just something about them that seems right.
- PP fLames (Moreau at 14:18):  The Oilers kill it off with no real chances for the fLames.
- Moreau steps out of the box and gets a breakaway. SCORES!!!  1-0 Oilers (18-67-37 at 16:27)
- Moreau is now revved up and so is Gagner. 
- Bouwmeester rocks Smid and Smid gets pissy.  Iginla comes in and has words with Smid.
- PP Oilers (Bouwmeester at 19:28) Visnovsky SCORES!!! 2-0 Oilers (71-91-19 at 19:46)
- Great period by both teams.  Great action.

2nd period

- Souray and Iginla come together into the boards and Souray goes head first.  His head is cut and he leaves the game with a mild concussion.
- PP Oilers (Iginla at 0:18) The fLames kill it off with the Oilers not really doing much.
- At 5:50, Bulin comes out and plays the puck.  The crowd cheered. 
- Fight!  Moreau vs. Iginla at 6:09.  Moreau tosses a few, slips, Iginla doesn't kill him when he's down, Moreau gets up, Iginla chucks a few uppercuts while the refs break it up, it's over.
- PP fLames. (Stortini at 8:47)  Before you know it...
- PP fLames 5 on 3 (Grebeshkov at 9:14) What the hell man?  Talk about a killer.  This games BTP™.
- Smid takes a puck off the ankle (blocked shot) during the PK. Ouch!
- The Oilers kill off both penalties and somehow get some life.
- PP Oilers (Bourque at 11:54)  Just as the 5 on 3 is over, he takes a tripping penalty.
- The Oilers can't do anything on this PP.  They waste the 2 minutes.
- PP fLames. (O'Sullivan at 16:35) The Oilers keep the PK rolling and kill it off.
- Flames score. Boooooo! Another redirection by an Oiler.  This time Strudwick.  2-1 Oilers. (22-17-5 at 19:31)
- Good period by both teams.  It's a pretty close game.

3rd Period

- Another good start to a period by the Oilers.
- Regehr nails Gagner and then roughs him up a bit.  Stortini gets there quickly and gives Regehr an ear full.  At one point (I read his lips) he says, "Your dead Regehr".  How do you not love this guy?
- fLames score. Ugh! Boooooo!  Another redirection but by a fLamer.  2-2 Tie Game. (15-8-17 at 4:11)
- Intense game so far.
- Grebeshkov will a brutal giveaway at 8:10
- Oilers SCORE! Yeah!!!!  Hemsky with an easy slid in.  3-2 Oilers.  (83-10-37 at 13:30)
- In the last 5 minutes Quinn went with these lines: 1st, 3rd, 4th, 1st, 4th, 1st.
- With 30 seconds left, Quinn puts out the big boys to finish off the game. 27-10-18-43-77
- It doesn't work.
- fLames score. It looked like a high stick but it's called a goal. Boooooo! 3-3 Tie Game (17-4-3 at 19:58)

Overtime

- PP Oilers (Girodano at 0:35)  Quinn rolls with two sets. (89-19-91-71) & (10-83-27-37)
- Kipper is on fire and the Oilers can't score.  Penalty is over.
- What a Battle of Alberta.

Shoot Out

- Gagner - poke checked
- O'Sullivan - shoots and scores
- Hemsky - rings it off the post

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FINAL SCORE

Calgary Flames - 4
Edmonton Oilers -3  SO

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Bad Timing Penalty™

Denis Grebeshkov - With the Oilers already a man down, Grebs manages to take a stupid hooking penalty and turn the man advantage into a 5 on 3.  Not really a good thing to do to your team when you have a two goal lead. 

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BEERS

Sam Gagner - Once again he was good.  He didn't score, but he was all over the place.  He was even playing like a big guy.  After a crappy pre-season, he's on fire so far.  He had 5 shots and was 67% on faceoffs.  That's huge for him.  Frosty beer Gags?  Cheers!

Lubomir Visnovsky - This guy is finaly getting better.  He also hasn't been great up until this game.  He was playing hard all game and stepped up even more when Souray went down.  He scores a goal and plays over 24 minutes.  He also had 3 hits and 3 blocked shots and took 8 shots with only 3 hitting the net.  Great game tonight Lubes.  Miller time. Cheers!

Nikolai Khabibulin - If we won he would be the hero.  But we didn't.  He was good tonight.  The best I have seen him in an Oiler uniform.  He made great saves and was burned/fooled on the last goal in the 3rd.  I can hardly fault him for it.  He made 25 saves and made me less nervous.  So why not?  Let's have a beer together.  Cheers!

Zack Stortini - Storts was a machine tonight.  He really blends well with Gagner and I hope he gets more time with him.  I would just put Cogs there with them. It's wierd he didn't get more stats but no matter, he was good enough for my liking.  Good job Storts. Frosty? Cheers!

Ryan Stone - I never liked this guy yet, but tonight I did.  He was trying for the big hit all night. He landed a few good shots and made people look twice to see when he's coming.  He had 4 hits on record.  Who knows... he may be better than I thought.  A cold mug o'beer? Cheers!

Tom Gilbert - He may have been the best defenceman out there tonight.  He just played really good.  he made solid, sound decisions.  He played over 25 minutes, with 2 shots, 2 take aways, and 2 blocked shots.  I hope this is the beginning of a great year for Mr. Gilbert.  Thirsty?  Sure you are. Cheers!

Honorable Mentipns: Patrick O'Sullivan (Had an assist on the Visnovsky goal.  Played well.), Mike Comrie (He still needs to work on his conditioning.  But he played ok.), Jason Strudwick (Not bad for his 1st game of the year.), Ales Hemsky (Needs to show up quicker in the game.  He can't wait till the end to bring it.  He scores his 1st of the year.), Shawn Horcoff (He did nothing special, but played good enough.), Denis Grebeshkov (Had 2 assists but had 3 giveaways.  That has to improve soon.), Ladi Smid (He played a solid game.)

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JEERS

None worth complaing about.

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That was a good game, I just can't believe that we lost to the fLames again.  And again to another crappy goal.

Next game is Saturday, so I see you all then. 

Don't forget you can be friends on Facebook with Smokin' Ray Burnt and Paq Twinn.  We are always talking hockey. Come join us.

Beers and Jeers #66 (Oct 6/09 vs. Dallas Stars)

Well I'm sure the party was good at the Pint.  The OilersNation group was there to watch this PPV game.  It sure would have been nice to meet some of these people.  If only I lived closer... :(

~Nice to see the Oilers PPV crew again this year.~ I'm finding that I still don't like Rob Brown.  It's not just the bad plug job, he's just not a Ray Ferraro in the booth.  Too plain Jane for me I guess.  Too obvious.

I also forgot about how much I dislike Marc Crawford. Ugh.  At least I don't have to hear his voice much this year. Yay! :)

Here is a link to a story about how Craig Conroy "did Gagner a favour."  Weak excuse for getting beat up by a little guy like Gagner.

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Tonight's Starting Lines

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

Souray Staios
Gilbert Grebeshkov
Smid Visnovsky

Khabibulin
Deslauriers

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1st Period

- Oilers get a PP right off the bat.  Cogliano sends a nice pass to the front of the net and Comrie scores (91 from 13 and 5).  1-0 Oilers
- Dallas scores and make it 1-1 Tie game.
- At 6:28, Souray takes on Barch.  He pauses, removes his wrist brace, then proceeds to give Barch a shake down/beat down. 
- Gilbert shows some crust and scrums with Morrow.  Just before then Ribiero takes a penalty for Holding.
- Oilers PP.  Hemsky is playing left wing and Staios is the QB.  Go figure?
- Stortini even see's a bit of time on the PP and he has the best chances out of all the Oilers.
- PP Stars (Brule/Holding) The Oilers do well. No shots against. They kill it off.
- Quinn is mixing up the lines for the special teams.  I have no idea who is going out.
- PP Stars.  The Oilers will have to finish killing it off in the 2nd.

2nd Period

- The Oilers finish killing off the penalty.
- Ryan Stone nails a Star player (?).  Ott comes off the bench to fight him.
- Some good punches were thrown in the beginning, then it turns into a hug fest, followed by Ott getting "jersey-ed".
- No extra penalty to Ott. Wonder why not? He wasn't on the ice for the hit. That screams instigator to me.
- Grebeshkov goes to crash the net and gets a face full of elbow from Turco as the puck trickles back down to the Oilers zone to an empty net.  Lucky enough it missed.  No penalty for that play.
- PP Oilers.  Good pressure in the first half, then the Stars score a SH goal.  Good god. *shakes head*  2-1 Stars.
- Shortly after Gagner scores on the PP at 6:35.  (89 from 37 and 13). 2-2 Tie Game.
- PP Stars.  An Dallas scores.  3-2 Stars.
- The line of 13/89/46 is on fire.  They are buzzing all over the place.
- PP Stars.  The Oilers kill it off this time.
- Sweet pass from Nilsson to Penner.  Penner then skates in and puts it top shelf on Turco. (27 from 12)  3-3 Tie Game.
- Storts and Gags mix it up with some Stars and Storts goes of to sit in the box.  4 on 4 hockey.
- Horcoff is in his own zone and gets to fancy and loses the puck. Staios hooks the guy and now he has to sit for two. *shakes head* 

3rd Period

- The 3rd starts as a 4 on 3 for the Stars. 
- Morrow scores on the PP and the crowd boo's.  4-3 Stars.
- The Oilers look flat and the crowd is quiet.
- PP Oilers.  The Stars kill it off but the Oilers score shorty after.  4-4 Tie Game. (37 from 83 and 77)
- The 1st line (22/10/83) is not doing so well.  Quinn switches Penner and Jacques and it helps big time.
- PP Stars.  The Oilers again kill it off.
- This game is getting nasty with 5:00 minutes to go.
- This game is going to overtime.

Overtime

- Exciting overtime with back and forth action.  Hemsky threw himself in front of a puck as the time was winding down.  It was nice to see him do that.  Nothing was solved in OT.

Shoot-out

Sam Gagner - gets poke checked
Patrick O'Sullivan - deflection save by Turco
Ales Hemsky - scores low right side 5-4 Oilers.

The Stars ring the last shot off the post and the Oilers win!!!

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

FINAL SCORE

Dallas Stars - 4
Edmonton Oilers - 5

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Bad Timing Penalty™

none - Moreau didn't play.

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

GOAT WATCH

Ethan Moreau - It was a goat watch alright.  The goat was watching from above in the press box.  He has a ankle injury but might be back next game.  How am I supposed to boo you way up there?

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

BEERS

Sam Gagner - The mighty Sam was good once again.  He had 4 shots and seemed really determined to show that last game wasn't a fluke.  And by the way he played tonight, it wasn't a fluke.  He did everything good other than score in the shoot-out.  The little big guy deserves a beer tonight.  Frosty?  Cheers!

Zack Stortini - He was showing good chemistry with Gagner and Cogliano.  He was hitting and skating hard.  Quinn even gave him some PP time and he almost scored twice.  He's not just a fighting machine, he can contribute.  I think he's better than Stone and Jacques and should get a fair shake at some more ice time.  Will Quinn keep him with 89/13?  Let's hope so.  Have a cold one Storts. Cheers!

Sheldon Souray - Big Sexy played a pretty solid game, never mind the fight.  He was playing fairly smart and not to risky.  Then when he dropped the gloves with Barch in the 1st, he blows my mind once again.  He pauses, removes the wrist brace (to be fair) and does a number on Barch.  That is almost as cool like the time he pushed out Moreau to fight.  This guy should be the captain of this hockey club.  He oozes everything you need to be a leader.  Plus he led the team in ice time with 25:20.  My vote's for this guy.  Care for a Bud?  Cheers!

Ales Hemsky - I was seriously mad at this guy for the first half of the game.  He was lazy and lolly gagging all over the ice.  I would have pulled him from the game.  Instead, Quinn moves Penner back to the Horpensky line and the magic continues where it left off.  Hemsky all of the sudden clicked on the nitro and came alive.  Holy crap!  He's making moves and is fighting for the puck.  He even block a shot to the chest in OT.  Again, holy crap!  This is the Hemsky that became my Jib Cutter, not the bum that we saw in the first half of this game  (and last).  That was awesome.  To top it off he scores the winning goal in OT, and the shot was a whiff.  Luck happens to those who try.  Feel like a cold one?  Cheers!

Dustin Penner - Penner also had a good game.  It's quite clear that Quinn is liking this guy.  20:00 minutes of ice tonight.  Only Horcoff played more out of the forwards. Dustin is playing great right now and he seems to be having fun.  I like the way that he made that 1st line click.  He scores a big goal and had 3 shots.  Let's see if he is with 83/10 next game.  I'm thinking so.  Miller time Pens?  Cheers!

Honorable Mentions - Ryan Stone (Had a good fight and had 6 hits), Patrick O'Sullivan (Lot's of effort, but little results.), Gilbert Brule (He played pretty good.  He was the best on the team at faceoffs with 56% (5W/4L)

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

JEERS

JF Jacques - Maybe it's not fair of me to boo you tonight, you are in over your head and I don't really blame you for being in that position.  But your not good enough for the 1st line.  Against weaker opponents like in pre-season, you do great.  Against the NHL quality players, not so good.  You not living up to the hype so therefore I must jeer. Booooooooo!

Mike Comrie - Comrie had a point in last game where he was caught in the Oilers end and he became winded after a long shift.  He was pretty much toast in the 3rd.  I'm wondering if he does have a conditioning problem?  Once again today he was pretty good in the first half.  After that, he faded to the point of not really playing.  What's up with that?  Get into shape man.  Your just bringing down Sully if you can't do much.  Booooooooo!

Robert Nilsson - Before I get into the negatives, he made a sweet pass to Penner and that is why we still have him.  But other than that, I didn't see him do much, other than some errant passes that he was lucky he didn't get burned on.  I think that the Oilers are going to give up on him.  I just don't see the positives out weighing the negatives.  Booooooooooo!

Honorable Mention: Shawn Horcoff (You may have won a fair share of faceoffs and did ok on the PK, but that's all you did.  It's step up time, don't wait for Hemsky to hold hands with, be a leader.) Nikolai Khabibulin (Is it wrong that this guy scares me everytime a puck gets shot at him?  I hope I get used to him soon or I'm going to have a heart attack.)

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

Well it was nice to see a win.  We needed that.  Life is looking good now in Oil Country.  Is it crazy to say that Gagner is on pace to be an 82 goal scoring 4th line machine?  Maybe.  But maybe he does it?  *mind blown* JK

Until next time...

Beers and Jeers #62 (Sept. 23/09 vs. Calgary Flames)

Well this was one crappy game by the the Oilers.  Terrible.  Let's just get right to it because there isn't much good to say.

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

Tonight's Starting Lines

Jacques Horcoff Hemsky
O'Sullivan Comrie Stone
Moreau Cogliano Brennan
Penner Brule Nilsson

Souray Gilbert
Visnovsky Grebeshkov
Smid Strudwick

Khabibulin
Deslauriers (Played the 3rd)

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

FINAL SCORE

Calgary Flames - 5
Edmonton Oilers - 3

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

Bad Timing Penalty™

see Jeers below

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

BEERS

Dustin Penner - It's hard to say fat jokes about him anymore because he really does look slimmed down and his foot speed has definitely improved because of it.  Tonight he was havoc in front of the net and managed a goal and an assist for the efforts.  Everyone called him out to be better this year, and I really think he's trying to be.  Good on him.  Frosty cold beer Slim? Cheers!

JF Jacques - The man was trying hard tonight.  That's the kind of stuff Quinn looks for.  He scores a lucky goal and the best part of all... He landed one solid punch to Regehr and knock him silly in a quick but sweet fight.  With a punch and an effort like that, I guessing he gets a spot on this years team.  How about a 40oz of Big Bear for a big dude?  Cheers!

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

JEERS

The Entire Edmonton Oilers Hockey Club - Wow!  What a crap ass game that was.  How embarrassing on your own turf.  *shakes head*  Where is the guys that need to make this team?  Ok, let's take a look at what went wrong.

Glencross scores on the first shot of the game.  Not exactly a great start.  Sure the Oilers score to tie it up, but how do expect to get ahead if Grebs and Horcoff are sitting in the box?  You don't, unless you kill it off.  (Hmmmm.... You could probably count Horcoff's penalty a BTP™.)  They did kill it off and dug up some momentum and Jacques scores.  Sweet!  A 2-1 game.

If this game was a mountain, this would be the peak for the Oilers because it's all downhill from here.  Brennan takes a goalie interference and Souray takes one of his two BTP's™ of the night.  This time the Flames score and the game is tied at 2.  The Oilers defense is playing absolutely terrible.  Every single one of them.  Quinn must have been flipping out. 

Then they start off the 2nd period on the PK and then on to the PP where you would think that they would score.  Nope.  Glencross does.  A shorthanded goal is a nice way to let the Flames have a 3-2 lead.  Then Big Bad Brennan drops the gloves.  Yeah... not so impressive.  I can't see how this guy sticks on the team and pushes Big Mac out.  I just don't see it.  Shortly after that the Flames score once again to make it 4-2.  COME ON OILERS!  Where's the effort tonight?  That is when Jacques nails a Flame player (seemed a little cheap to me) and Regehr came to help/stick up for him.  Jacques kills him with one solid punch and it's over.  JFJ gets the extra two for boarding on the initial play so he's  gone for 7 minutes.  Souray goes and takes another BTP™ and literally hands the Flames a 5 on 3.  Again.  Geez.  *shakes fist*

Deslauriers comes out to start the 3rd for the Oilers.  Oddly enough, Quinn reports after the game that Khabibulin was dehydrated and that's why he didn't came back after two periods of play.  Comrie does score on the PP a little later (13:12) on in the 3rd to make it a little closer to 4-3.  As the classic MacT Oilers always did, they showed up a little too late.  Flames snuff out the Oilers by making it 5-3 and it's bragging rights to the fLames.  Geez *shakes head*  I don't understand why Quinn put out the 12 67 18 43 5 line after scoring to make it 4-3.  Call a timeout.  Double up Hemsky and Horcoff. Anything but those guys.

Once again the fans ask, where was Hemsky?  Did he play tonight?  I didn't see him.  Was Moreau kicking people's asses?  He wasn't?  Was he benched?  No?  Wow.  ~What great leaders we have.~  That was a sad display of a team. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Until next time...

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

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

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

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

Edmonton Oilers Starting Lineup

Brule— Gagner — Hemsky

Penner — Cogliano — Eberle

Moreau — Pouliot — Nilsson

McDonald — Reddox — MacIntyre

------

Smid — Souray

Motin — Grebeshkov

Taylor — Young

------

Deslauriers

Dubynk

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

FINAL SCORE

Edmonton Oilers - 1

Vancouver Canucks - 3

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

Bad Timing Penalty™

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

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

GAME SUMMARY

STAT SHEET

EDMONTONOILERS.com RECAP

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

BEERS

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

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

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

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

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

JEERS

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

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

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

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

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

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

Who Should Get Sent Down Next?

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

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

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

Beers and Jeers #58 (Sept 16/09 vs. New York Islanders)

Well folks... the Beers & Jeers is back. It's been a long summer full of crap that we don't need to speak about anymore (READ: Heatley). It's time to move on... I'm excited.

#1 Draft pick Jon Tavares is in town with his New York Islanders. This will be the first time he wears a real NHL uniform. It's pretty cool that he's here in Edmonton for this. But they didn't bring Roli for this trip and that's too bad. I'm sure the crowd at Rexall would have liked to cheer for him one more time. Let's hope we crush these guys. Go Oilers!

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

New York Islanders - 2

Edmonton Oilers - 3

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

Tonight's Bad Timing Penalty™

Sheldon Souray - With :17 seconds left, he takes a Hooking penalty in the Oilers zone. The NYI don't score, but that still can't happen in the regular season. That is a excellent chance for a team to tie a game. That's pure Ethan Moreau style™. Leave it for him to do.

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

BEERS

Devan Dubnyk/JDD - This is a hard choice for me. They are both solid goalies. The more I see them, the more I don't know why we took Khabibulin for 4 years. We are going to lose one of these guys next year due to waivers. Who do you keep? I call Dubynk. Beers to the both of you for tonight's win. Cheers!

Johan Motin - This is the first time I have ever seen this guy. He impressed me with his vision and smart playing. He had some minor bobbles, but overall looked close to being a NHL player someday. More or less a Honorable Mention, but still worthy of a beer. Cheers!

Sheldon Souray - Big Sexy broke the glass with his shot tonight. TWICE! That's right. Twice. By far the best Oiler on the ice tonight. He even manages to score the winning goal. If you ask me... Souray for Captain! But that's a topic for a new day. Have a frosty Big Guy. Cheers!

Jordan Eberle - He may be pushed off the puck a little too easy, but his knack for the game is evident. I'm sure he will stick around until the last cuts this year. He did way better than I expected. You can tell he's young, but mature in hockey wise. Are you even allowed to have beer? Ahh... Good game. Cheers!

Sam Gagner - He started the game off slow. By the 3rd period he found his legs. He started to want the puck more and even scored a goal and had an assist. I was thinking that the 12 89 83 line would be dynamite. But they weren't. Sam was the best one on that line and deserves a beer for the effort. Cheers!

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

JEERS

Robert Nilsson - Not what I was expecting from a guy who really needs to impress. There was no flashy moves, no shooting it up like a gangster, no real pizazz. Maybe it was just nerves playing in front of the home crowd? Either way.... Boooooo!

Liam Reddox - Here is another guy that really needs to impress for a spot. As far as I seen, he didn't. The double minor penalty was a stupid blatant attempt to hit someone. You can't reach out like he did and be called with a clean hit. Unfortunately, Meyer was cut and Reddox sat for four. A little later on, he took another penalty. Not cool either. he did manage a breakaway. A 2 on 1 with Big Mac. Reddox loses the puck and that's that. (Big Mac most likely would have not scored, but you never know.) Not a good game Liam, worst on the team. Booooooo!

Ales Hemsky - No razzle... no dazzle. Hemsky wasn't bad, he was average. The words "Average" and "Hemsky" makes no sense together if he wants to be the "guy" on this team. He did have a good scoring chance, but somehow managed to hit the goalie stick at the line. After that, he was silent. I was hoping that the moody Hemsky would have left with MacT. I guess nothing happens overnight. I would expect a different guy at the next game he plays for sure. He's better than this. Booooooo!

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

Smokin' Ray Burnt

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.

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

Tonight's Starting Lines

Kotalik Horcoff Hemsky

Nilsson Gagner O'Sullivan

Moreau Cogliano Pisani

MacIntyre Brodziak Penner

Souray Staios

Grebeshkov Gilbert

Chorney Peckham

Deslauriers

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

FINAL SCORE

Calgary fLames - 1

Edmonton Oilers - 5

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

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.)

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

JEERS

There are none. Yay!

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

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

Beers and Jeers #53 (Mar 31/09 vs. Anaheim Ducks)

I couldn't write anything last night as I was shocked, disgusted, saddened, sombre, angry, confused and shocked again. WTF?!? For two days the Oilers preached to the fans about being the 7th man. THEY pumped up the game to the fans. We will bring our best our Captain said. Well if that was your best then you guys suck more than I think. Don't promise what you can't back up. Blame MacT all you want. He didn't crap the bed for the first 55 minutes. The players did. Gilbert took a BTP (Bad Timing Penalty) right after the Ducks score to make it 2-1, which then made it 3-1 when CFP scores on the PP. That really took the wind out of the sails. For the fans and the players.

The part that made me feel strange was when the game was over, the kids looked crushed. Heart broken that they lost this game. I felt bad for Cogs and Gags. However... when the camera was tossed on Moreau, Horcoff, Hemsky and Souray leaving the ice they looked like, "oh well." "Who gives a crap". I do. The rest of the Oiler Nation gives a crap. As much as people are ready for MacT to be gone (and I do agree now BTW), I say the same for Moreau as Captain. NNC.

Here is the summary: The Oilers look good in the first 5 minutes. The suck for the rest off the game up until 16:33 of the 3rd period. Then they score 2 quick goals. Yay! But when the luck is starting to run out, MacT tries to pull a rabbit out if his hat. But the rabbit was already dead. Game over.

GAME SUMMARY
EVENT SUMMARY

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

FINAL SCORE

Anaheim Ducks - 5

Edmonton Oilers - 3

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

BEERS

Dustin Penner - I liked how he played last night. He was one of the few that really brought it. He had 6 shots and was a +1. I say you played well enough to deserve a beer. Cheers!

Zack Stortini - He was one of the best Oilers last night. He was hitting guys. He had a good fight with Parros in the 1st. When MacT sent him out near the end, I was going what the hell?!? Just then... Boom! He tips in the puck. GOOOOOOOAALLLL... Awesome. He was wicked cool. That's right. Wicked cool. Enjoy a frosty Storts. Cheers!

Shawn Horcoff - I thought that he was good despite his attitude after the final whistle blew. It's just to bad that that his linemates couldn't match his play. He does need to shoot more. The more you shoot the quicker the slump stops. But for a good game... Have a cold one. Cheers!

Honorable Mentions - Steve Staios (He seemed to be trying hard to help the team win last night. He jumped up in the play a few times and played a simple type game. He just looks really tired.) J.F. Jacques (He played ok. He did was he was supposed to. Good job.)

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

JEERS

Ethan Moreau - The Captain made a statement and didn't follow through. We will bring our best. No you did not. NNC. Boooooooo!

Ales Hemsky - Same for you. Talk is cheap and you did sweet f*ck all. You want to be a leader of this team? You want to get rode like a Red Mile Hooker? Why? You don't show up when needed. Like last night. Boooooooo!

Sheldon Souray - All those hard shots aren't worth a crap if you don't hit the net. Wide open net. Missed. I was expecting a different Souray last night. He also looks tired. Booooooo!

Tom Gilbert - Your stats (3 assists and 5 shots which normaly deserves a frosty beer) may say one thing but taking a BTP is unforgivable. Tough luck... but it's your luck. That sucked Tom. *shakes head* Boooooooo!

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

Is this the end?

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.

-----------

1st Period

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

2nd period

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

3rd Period

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

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Tonight's Starting Lines

Kotalik Horcoff Hemsky

Penner Gagner O'Sullivan

Moreau Cogliano Pisani

Jacques Brodziak Stortini

Souray Staios

Grebeshkov Gilbert

Smid Strudwick

Roloson

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FINAL SCORE

Minnesota Wild - 3

Edmonton Oilers - 2

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BEERS

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

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

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

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

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JEERS

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

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

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

Beers and Jeers #50 (Mar 26/09 vs. Phoenix Coyotes)

This game has must win all over it. The Oilers can not afford to lose. It's anyone's guess what squad comes out on the ice. I hope it's the contenders, not the pretenders. Let's Go Oilers!

Roli will be starting his 30th consecutive game tonight. Surprise!

Reddox is drawing back into the lineup since getting knocked in the noggin'. Pouliot will be back in the press box. What did Stortini do to piss off MacT? Sleep with his wife once to often? What? I just don't get it. I just think that Reddox should have a few more days off before playing.

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1st Period

1-0 Coyotes at 3:42 by Lombardi

2nd Period

2-0 Coyotes at 11:38 by Klee

3-0 Coyotes at 14:46 by Hanzal

3rd Period

3-1 Coyotes. (Kotalik from Hemsky and Horcoff at 10:01 on the PP)

3-2 Coyotes. (Hemsky from Staios at 10:44)
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Tonight's Starting Lines

O'Sullivan Horcoff Hemsky (This line was a little better than average. Horcoff did what he had to do tonight. And he did it well with one assist and 2 shots. O'Sullivan had a takeaway, a hit and two shots. Hemsky was the best of the line. He scores... He gets an assist... And 4 shots and 2 hits. Not a bad game for Hemmer.)

Nilsson Gagner Kotalik (The line was pretty decent. Not their best game that's for sure. I liked Gagner. He tries to be bigger than he is. He just really needs to shoot more. Nilsson disappeared at the middle of the 3rd. MacT must not have been liking his jib. Kotalik scores the first Oiler goal of the night with a little luck from the puck fairy. He had 7 shots on goal and won both faceoffs he took. MacT might make him a center.)

Reddox Cogliano Pisani (I thought that in the 1st half that this line looked good. But then they would get scored on. Reddox tried hard but did nothing. Cogliano looked good but also did not much. Pisani was probably the best on this line. He had 1 shot.)

Moreau Brodziak Penner (This line was also a non factor tonight. Moreau didn't lead this team like a captain should. (Need New Captain) Brodziak was ok. He had 1 shot and was *team best* 58% on the faceoffs. Penner was decent tonight. He maybe should have had a shot with the 1st line for a bit on the PP. Just for shits and giggles.)

Souray Staios (They played good. Staios finished the game +1 and had 2 shots and 3 hits. Souray was a hitting machine tonight as he had 5 hits and played 29:20.)

Gilbert Grebeshkov (They were ok. Not great like they have been but not bad. Gilbert did block 3 shots tonight. One of them was off the ass. Grebs only really had 2 shots but otherwise made no real big mistakes.)

Strudwick Smid (Oh boy. They stunk it up today. Strudwick was beat on the 1st goal by the quick speed of Lombardi. And he just looked lost for the entire game. Same with Smid. 2 hits. That's it. Where was the spaz?)

Roloson (Definitely not his best game. He sure didn't look sharp at all. Maybe all the playing time is finally getting to him? Does JDD play tomorrow? Doubt it...)

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FINAL SCORE

Edmonton Oilers -2
Phoenix Coyotes - 3

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BEERS

Ales Hemsky - Hemmer was good tonight. When he tried that is. He really needs to put in a full game no matter how frustrated he gets with his linemates. He was mind blowing at times tonight. He scores a beauty of a goal and picks up an assist. He was the best forward for hitting and that says something about these Oilers. For a good game today, have a nice cold frosty Hemmer. Cheers!

Sheldon Souray - The man was great tonight. His hitting was hard and well timed. He played a pretty good defensive game and he played a ton. He did fire 5 shots but only 1 actually hit the net. Shelly was a leader tonight and he deserves a frosty. Cheers!

Ales Kotalik - The other Ales is looking more fit now that he has been here for awhile. He doesn't seem as winded anymore. He scores a huge goal to get the rally going and manages to get bumped back up to the #1 unit. Score every game and we can drink a lot together. Budweiser? Cheers!

Honorable Mentions - Steve Staios (Steady Steve played a solid game. Sometimes the pace gets out of his hands but tonight he did well.)

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JEERS

The Entire Team - Can you guys actually lose a bigger game? Good lord guys. That was the Coyotes. An easy win. Or so we thought I guess. I figure that the fans (and me) are maybe expecting to much out of you guys. I am one of the glass half full guys and even I am thinking it's half empty now. The Ducks are tomorrow. Will the real Oilers show up please? Boooooooooooo!

Ethan Moreau - A captain should be a guy that can take a team and help them go to the promise land. He should be able lead the team into battle. He should be able to provide a spark somehow. Ethan Moreau. You let the team down. Am I being too harsh? I don't think so. I think we need a new captain. For a where was Chopper type of game. Boooooooo!

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That was a BS game. It was boring for the 1st half. The Oilers waited way too long before trying to score. Now they are in 10th. Wow! Way to push for the playoffs. We are starting to act like the fLames. And that's pretty gay.

See you all tomorrow. Duck hunting season is open. The limit: 25 (get it?)