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.

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

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)
------------------

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...)

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

FINAL SCORE

Edmonton Oilers -2
Phoenix Coyotes - 3

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

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.)

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

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!

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

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?)

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.

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

GAME VIDEO HIGHLITES

GAME SUMMARY

GAME STATS

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

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.)

-------

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.)

-------

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

-----------

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.)

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

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!

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

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 #42 (Mar 7/09 vs. Toronto Maple Leafs)

The Oilers are starting this game in 9th. Two points out of 8th. This is definitely a must win.

This is going to be the 21st straight game for Roli. A new Oiler record surpassing Fuhr. That sure is something.

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

1st Period

Both teams start out the period playing pretty safe hockey. Not my kind of style but I guess it works. Smid takes a skate to the head and goes down. He ended up going back to the dressing room, my guess... for stitches? At 11:21 the 4th line comes out on full out mode. Reddox makes a nice play. Stortini throws a hit. Next thing you know Storts has dropped the gloves. Good tilt. Storts wins that one. The Leafs almost score but Cogs was there to save the day. Lucky for Roli because he thought that he made the save. And just as the period starts to wind down, Gilbert takes a Interference penalty. The period ends tied 0-0.

2nd Period

Smid has a concussion and will not return it is reported. That's too bad. Smid has been very good this year. Well the Leafs waste no time on the PP. The Leafs score at 1:08. Damn. 1-0 Leafs. But the Oilers also waste no time replying back. Hemsky goes in on a breakaway and scores. Yeah! 1-1 Tie Game. (Hemsky from Horcoff at 1:29) Now the pace just seemed to be turned up a bit. The MacBlender seems to be on slow mix. Gagner out with Kotalik now. It's tied MacT. Don't panic. But here comes the Oilers 4th line with that pressure and they score. Yeah!!!! 2-1 Oilers. (Brodziak unassisted at 8:34) He tips it by the defender and goes in on a mini breakaway. Scores 5 hole. This 4th line is really moving tonight. Now the 3rd line comes out and scores. Alright Boys!!! 3-1 Oilers. (Pisani from Grebeshkov and Cogliano at 10:45) The Leafs look screwed now. They are really trying to answer back. What a good period if your an Oiler fan. I hear a lot of them in the stands tonight. That's good to see. errr.. Hear. It was reported that Cogs has 50 people at this game. Including his Grandpa who has never seen him play in the NHL live. And Cogs already has an assist. Awesome.

3rd Period

The 3rd is in all out, don't lose the game mode. The Oilers are playing very safe hockey. And why not? We are up 3-1. The game progresses with a few penalties and no scoring chances. This has been a pretty solid period by the Oilers because there is 5:00 minutes left in the game and there is not much to report. At 16:50, Souray and Kubina get together and both take double minors. I love the way Souray gets mean. He's freaking scary. Well the Leafs have pulled their goalie and Brodziak hits the empty net. Scores! 4-1 Oilers. (Brodziak from Hemsky and Horcoff at 19:32) All of the sudden Strudwick is throwing those fast rabbit punches on Ben Ondrus. Ondrus probably didn't know that he punches like that or he wouldn't have fought him. Struds wins that fight. OILERS WIN!!! Yeah.

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

Tonight's Starting Lines

Kotalik Horcoff Hemsky (This line still hasn't clicked. I don't care that they were getting points. That's great. They just don't look like a unit yet. Hemsky did look pretty good though. He was looking great, then something wouldn't go his way and he would look like he was pouting. Horcoff was average. Kotalik was still trying to fit in out there.)

O'Sullivan Gagner Pouliot (This isn't working either. O'Sullivan isn't clicking with Gagner. But you never know what an extra day of practice and getting to know you team mates might do to help. Gagner was looking good. But couldn't really finish anything. Pouliot was Pouliot.)

Penner Cogliano Pisani (This line was effective at times. They seem to be understanding each other. Not sure if that is bad news for Chopper? Doubt it. It's more like what do you do with Dustin "Donair" Penner? Penner was the whipping boy tonight. He played the least with 8:16 and only saw 5 on 5 time. Cogs was trying hard to impress his "fans in the stands". He played good. This was the best Pisani has been since returning. He scores the back breaker goal in the second.)

Reddox Brodziak Stortini (This 4th line seems to be the better line on a regular basis. Reddox was good. He didn't do much, but he also didn't cause anything either. Brodziak was quite good tonight. Him and Storts really have good chemistry. Storts was fighting, crashing the net and even played more than Penner did. Great line again.)

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

FINAL SCORE

Edmonton Oilers - 4

Toronto Maple Leafs - 1

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

BEERS

Steve Staios - He played a smart game and blocked 5 shots. He took no stupid penalties. He played tough yet was restrained. Staios plays games like these every once in a while. Tonight was one of those nights. Good game Steve. Have a frosty. Cheers!

Dwayne Roloson - Solid again. Roli made 39 saves to keep the Leafs down to one goal. He has been great for a while now. Thank god we didn't trade him for a bag of pucks like everyone wanted to eh? Roli! Roli! Roli! Have a nice cold one Roli. Cheers!

Kyle Brodziak - He played a nice safe game. His line was on fire and it had a lot to do with #51. He scored a nice on in the 2nd and later scores on the empty net. Good job Kyle. Have a Pilsner. Cheers!

Honorable Mention - Denis Grebeshkov (He was +4 at the end of the night and also had an assist. Solid game.), Tom Gilbert (He also redeemed himself tonight with a +3 and an assist.), Ales Hemsky (Had flashes of his old self. He managed a break away goal and an assist.), Shawn Horcoff (also had a good point night with 2 assists.)

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

JEERS

Not much really to boo tonight. They played a good game and they won. What more can we ask for? The Oilers really just need the new guys to start meshing/producing as soon as possible.

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

The next game is Tuesday against the Habs. We need the 2 points and that is going to be a tough game. Hope the good Oilers show up. See you all next time.

Beers and Jeers #37 (Feb 24/09 vs. Tampa Bay Lightning)

To begin, I predicted on OilersNation a 5-3 win. I usually don't like to say anything out load, but I'm changing it up a bit. Why not. What's it going to hurt?

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

1st Period

Why is it that the crap teams come to E town and teach the Oilers a lesson on how to win games? I sure hope that that isn't the case tonight. *fingers crossed* So the game starts off in the favor of the Oilers. Erik Cole blasts down the right side and beats his man and scores his 15th of the year. Yay! 1-0 Oilers. (Cole unassisted at 2:20). Pretty much right after the ensuing faceoff, Big Mac and Koci drop the gloves. It was a pretty darn good fight. I would have to give the decision to Big Mac even though Koci fell on him at the end. At 5:40, Strudwick fires a knuckle puck and scores. Yeah! 2-0 Oilers. (Strudwick from Gagner) Unbelievable! This sure isn't how I pictured this game. The game then continues at a good pace. The Oilers clearly are the better team this period. It's kind of refreshing. TB takes a penalty at 13:09, and the Oilers fail to score. The PP did look a little better, so that's a good thing. The crowd seems to be unusually quiet tonight. Not sure why? The Oilers are winning 2-0. TB takes another penalty just as the period is about to expire. The Oilers will have 1:45 of PP time to start the 2nd. Hopefully another goal? As the period ends I can't help but think that the TB team has a fantastic 1st line. Beyond that they look like a beer league team. Wow! And the Oiler fans think we have it bad...

2nd Period

The Oilers don't score on the PP but they continue to play good. I hope our 1st line can get it going. We need them to be going every game. Scratch that. We need at least 2 lines going every game. If we want to be taken seriously that is. So the Oilers can't cash in on the PP and Nilsson takes a goalie interference penalty on the other end of the ice at 1:49. Wouldn't you know it. Tampa Bay scores. Boooooooo! 2-1 Oilers. Well that brings the Lightning back into the game. At 3:25, Gary Roberts takes a goalie interference penalty. Oilers can go up by two if they can score here. No dice. But Souray lets off quite a few bombs. Some hit the net. Some don't. Either way, if I am Dustin Penner, I probably stained myself a few times. Seriously... how scary must that be? During a face off, Gagner high sticks a TB player and then sits for two. Luckily for Gags, the Oil kill it off. Ok guys. Momentum time. But Steven Stamkos gets a breakaway and scores at 12:23. Booooooooo! 2-2 Tie Game. Glove High on Roli. Does everyone in the league know that it's five hole or glove high on Roli? However the Oilers storm back. Souray blasts another shot at the goal and this time it goes in. Yay! 3-2 Oilers. (Souray from Cogliano at 13:15) Right on. Back in the lead. Staios nails Recchi and makes the Lightning want to fight. No real takers but Souray let's all those female dogs know who the alpha dog is in this house. Make sense? Haha. A short while later Roli makes a huge save. Roli! Roli! Roli! Still 3-2 for the Oil. Just as the period is about to end, Cogliano busts in to the TB zone and gets hauled down. PP once again for the Oilers. But the period runs out.

3rd Period

Well they start out on the PP and the lightning kill it off. But at 2:20, Cogliano has the puck find his stick in the crease and pops in an easy one. Gooooooaaaaallll Oilers! 4-2 Oilers. (Cogliano from Stortini and Moreau) The period has some real good flow to it. The Oilers continue to fire the puck at the net. That is also refreshing to see. We usually get out shot. Nilsson slams his knee with a TB player and seems shook up. Hope he isn't gone for a long time. At 8:09, Souray and Koci each take a roughing penalty as they mixed it up in the Oilers zone. I love Souray for his hardcoreness. I wish all the defenseman on the Oil were like that. At 11:09, Halpern takes a penalty and the Oilers go on the PP. But seconds later, Gagner takes a Hi-sticking penalty to make it 4 on 4. There was some good chances but nothing really transpires for either team. At 13:46, TB does score. Damn! 4-3 Oilers. Oh no. I hope this isn't a waste of a game? Again. So the action picks up a little with the new found closeness in the score. Tampa Bay is trying hard to tie it up. At 18:15 Peckham and Reechi come together. They both take penalties and sit for two. What is it with Peckham and the Grandpa's? lol. *in my best Rosco P. Coltrane voice, "I love it, I love it"* So with a minute left in the game, TB has their goalie pulled, and Horcoff shoots it and St. Louis makes the save. What? Yeah... He didn't score. But just as the game is finishing, Souray shoots it from just past the red line and scores with 2 seconds left. Yeah! 5-3 Oilers. (Souray from Brodziak) What a finish. OILERS WIN!

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

Game Summary (CLICK HERE)

Stats Sheet (CLICK HERE)

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

Tonight's Starting Lines

Penner Horcoff Hemsky (This line had tons of ice but came up short in the goal department. Penner was actually not bad tonight. He wasn't the squeaky wheel tonight. Horcoff wasn't all that bad. He just wasn't all that good either. Faceoffs good. Shots good. -2 bad. Hemsky was not Hemsky tonight. He seemed weird to me right in the beginning of the game. He was hit a few times and that kind of made him puck shy. Maybe it's just PMS?)

Nilsson Gagner Cole (I liked this line tonight. (2nd best line) They were real strong in the begining of the game. They were playing as a unit very well. Nilsson was shaky at times, not quite himself tonight but still good. Gagner was good. He played his position well and got an asssist on the Strudwick goal. Cole was also good tonight. He had seemed to do everything right tonight. I really enjoy watching him play. Only 3 games left. :(

Moreau Cogliano Stortini (This was the best Oiler line tonight. They were awesome. Moreau didn't take a single penalty. In fact, he managed to finish up +3. Cogliano had a goal and an assist tonight. A real sloid game for him. Stortini only played 10:55 but was great. No dumb penalties for the big guy. Nice Game 3rd Line!)

Reddox Brodziak MacIntyre (Ahhh... it's the 4th line. They really didn't do much as a line. Reddox was ok but not really noticable. Brodziak wasn't that bad. He did earn an assist at the end of the game. Big Mac only played 2:03. He did fight though. And a good one at that.)


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

Final Score

Tampa Bay Lightning - 3

Edmonton Oilers - 5

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


BEERS

Sheldon Souray - The man was awesome tonight. He was a mean hitting machine. He was a shot firing cannon. He was a true team leader on the ice. The Edmonton Oilers are damn lucky to have a guy like Sheldon Souray on this team. He represents the team well. Have a frosty beer Souray. Great Game. Cheers!

Andrew Cogliano - The speedy center was due for a good game. And today was the day. He scored a pretty easy goal, but a goal nonetheless. He also had an assist tonight for his efforts. A 2 point night and 12:55 of ice time. He did have 3 giveaways but I'm turning a blind eye and I must have missed them. *wink* Have a beer Cogs. Cheers!

Ethan Moreau - I have been giving Chopper a hard time all year, but tonight he showed me who the real Ethan Moreau is. He was excellent all over the ice. He played a real smart game and took no penalties. I'm sure people were waiting for it. I was. But for ending the night at +3, that deserves a nice cold one. Cheers!

Honerable Mention - Erik Cole (He had his legs going tonight. The goal he scored was a real factor in this game. It gave the Oilers the momentum.), Sam Gagner (The guy was pretty good all around.), Steve Staios (he did what he had to. He played a simple game and that works for him.) Zack Stortini (Is this the same Huggy Bear? This guy is impressing me.)

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


JEERS


The 1st Line - When the game looked like they were playing a beer league team, I thought that the 1st line should kill these guys. But they didn't. In fact they looked average. This line needs to click every game in order for the Oilers to make it to the playoffs. Boooooooooo!

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

That's all folks. That was an exciting game. I am relieved to get the 2 points. As of right now the Oilers are tied with 3 other teams for 7th. Minny, Anahiem and Dallas are tied with us with 65 points. One game at a time boys.

Next game is Thursday against the Columbus Blue Jackets. We need this win as well. Let's Go Oilers!!!

Beers and Jeers #35 (Feb 19/09 vs. Dallas Stars)

Well JF Jacques has been called up and will also play tonight. Pouliot is watching from above tonight. He was the right choice as he hasn't played well as of late. (well... all year actually.) And to top it off, Zack Stortini will be on the 3rd line tonight.

New lines for the Oilers. Hope the changes work.

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

1st Period

The Dallas Stars have been great lately. But it's the Oilers that start off quickly. Cole gets a nice chance, as well as Cogliano. At 2:07 the Oilers take a too many men penalty and just like that, Dallas goes to the PP. The Oilers were able to kill off that penalty and hopefully can gain some confidence for it. So 6:00 minutes in to this game, and the Oilers are looking good. The 1st line gets some good chances at the 10:00 minute mark. Staios has been laying the body a lot this period. Awwww... Dallas scores against the 2nd line at 10:41. 1-0 Stars. Well come on now Oil! Time to answer back. All right now... Dallas takes a penalty at 11:59. PP time Oilers! OMG. What a bad time to actually look bad. The Oilers are really having a tough time now, getting the puck out of their own zone. They better smarten up before this game gets out off hand. Well I spoke to soon. Dallas scores again. A softy through the 5 hole on Roli at 16:36. 2-0 Stars. The only cool thing about that goal, it was Ray Sawada's 1st ever NHL goal. And... In his 1st ever game and it's his birthday. How cool is that? But it sucks for us. Well not for long as the Oilers score. Yeah! Guess who? come on guess. Liam Reddox 17:00. That's right. Good for him. (Reddox from Jacques and Smid) 2-1 Stars. But as the period winds down, Ales Hemsky takes a slashing penalty. And a brouhaha breaks out. Peckham and Strudwick we in the middle of it and Peckham takes a 10:00 minute game misconduct. So that means the Oil will be a man short for 10 to start the 2nd period.

2nd Period

Well the period starts off great. Horcoff scores! Yeah! 2-2 Tie Game. (Horcoff from Souray and Staios at 0:47.) So just when I'm still celebrating, Moreau takes another bad timing penalty. In fact it's a 4 minute penalty (2 for tripping and 2 for roughing after the whistle). Nice Ethan. *shakes head* So now the Oilers have to kill this off. Well they don't. Dallas scores at 3:07 during the 1st part of the penalty. So that means that they still have a 2:00 minute PP. 3-2 Stars. The Stars have some good chances, but the Oilers kill off that penalty. Back to 5 on 5. Horcoff has played a ton already. Yet, he only has one shot/one goal and one takeaway. Dallas takes a penalty at 10:22. Oilers PP time. Gagner replaces Penner on the 1st line PP unit. Good passing but no real chances. Then just after the penalty expires, Nilsson gives it away to the Stars and they get a solid chance, but Roli makes a great save. Thanks Roli. However... a few minutes later Cole takes a penalty that really wasn't intentional but too aggressive. During the penalty kill the Stars crash the net and Moreau and Staios get involved. The next thing you know, Staios and Ott are having a "chat". (I really dislike Ott. I think he's a chicken shit. But, my opinion only.) We shall she what transpires from that. During the maylay, Dallas takes a penalty and the Oilers will get one minute and change on the PP. They do not convert on it. As the period ends, Hemsky gets nailed by Steve Ott and that leaves the period on a high note. I'm excited for the 3rd period.

3rd Period

Dallas gets the 1st good chance of the period. Roli and the post made a nice save, in the first 2:00 minutes. There has been 8:00 minutes played and the Oilers seem lifeless. MacT is trying to find a line that can do something. So far nothing has worked. Crap. Dallas scores at 8:17(against the 3rd line). 4-2 Stars. How does a team not be fired up when you are down by one when the 3rd starts? Terrible. Just terrible. Can anyone provide something? With 7:30 left there has been nothing. Although Stortini is out with Gagner and Nilsson and they did pretty good. A little while later Ott makes a hit on Gilbert. Roli gets upset and body checks Ott to the ground. Smid, Cole and Moreau all take exception and freak out. Penalties all around. That was the spark that was needed to wake up this Oiler squad. But just a little too late I think. It ends up being 4 on 4 for a while then the Oilers had a short PP. Then it was 4 on 4 again for a bit. Then it went to a Dallas PP. I was so confused. So much going on. But take a look at the scoresheet and you can see why. CLICK HERE. There was a lot of penalties. But the Oilers give the Stars some good pressure to finish off the period. It was nice to see them not shy away after rough stuff happens. I don't think we have much of a team toughness problem anymore. Well... game over. Dallas wins.

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

Tonight's Starting Lines

Penner Horcoff Hemsky (These guys played a lot tonight. Penner wasn't an impact player at all. He did manage to be +1 but, only 1 shot and 1 hit. Horcoff was good at times and tired at times. Maybe he is playing to much? Hemsky wasn't razzle or dazzle tonight.)

Nilsson Gagner Cole (I thought this line was good at times and bad at times. Nilsson opened his own bakery tonight. He had 3 turnovers. Gagner was good later in the game, but was no where in the 1st half. Cole was hardly effective other than his 5 hits.)

Moreau Cogliano Stortini (I thought that this line was going to be better. But it helps if the Oilers weren't killing penalties all game. Moreau took to many penalties to be effective. Cogliano had 5 hit but wasn't really an offensive threat. Stortini played well. He did what was asked.)

Reddox Brodziak Jacques (This line was effective once. Reddox scores a goal right in the crease. Brodziak didn't really do anything all game. Jacques didn't play much but that's expected. He finally got his 1st NHL point.)

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

FINAL SCORE

Edmonton Oilers - 2

Dallas Stars - 4

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

BEERS

Ladislav Smid - The Spaz was good at laying the body tonight (7 hits). He made some big ones that made people notice him. He really seems to be stepping up with the the eother guys being out. His actual playing was good as well. No real mistakes and he seems comfortable playing more minutes. Have a cald beer Smid. Cheers!

Steve Staios - Steady Steve was great tonight (22:21 of ice time). He played a simple yet aggresive checking game. He made very little mistakes and was smart enough not to take any penalties. Staios is another defenceman that has surprised me since 37 and 71 have been out. Nice going Steve. Have a frosty beer. Cheers!

Dwayne Roloson - I know... he let in some soft ones. But sticking up for Gilbert was great. That alone deserves a beer. Cheers!

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

JEERS

The 1st Line - You guys had plenty of chances but couldn't save the team from losing. Waiting for the 3rd line to provide a spark can't work every game. This line needs to be better. Boooooooo!

The 2nd Line - Why can't you guys score anymore? What has changed? You are good defensivly for the most part but you need to score. Plain and simple. And you don't. Booooooooo!

The Entire Team - Why do you guys (everyone) wait for someone else to do something? Step up and make a statement. A bold statement. We need every point that we can get. Yet we let 2 points slip away again. Boooooooooo!

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

The next time we play is Saturady. Hockey Day in Canada. Yay! I love this day. Oilers vs. Flames. The war begins...

See you next time.

Beers and Jeers #33 (Feb 16/09 vs Phoenix Coyotes)

Well not much has changed since the last game. Everyone is healthy and ready to play so that means the lines will not change. It looks like Roli is going to get the start tonight. I wonder if he is going to play in both games? Hardcore if he is. Before this game starts, the Oilers are sitting in 9th with 60 pts. Vancouver is in 5th with 62 pts. So this game is important that we pick up these 2 pts.

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

1st Period

The Oilers start the game off well. Good jump to their step. The 1st 5:00 minutes flew by like nothing. No real chances for either side other than the first few quick shots by the Oil. But good flow. At 5:58, Souray takes a penalty and the Coyotes are on the PP. Good thing the Oilers kill that off with no real good chances by the Coyotes. This is one of those periods that the time is going quick and the action is plenty, but no real big chances yet which makes it kind of boring and there is 8:15 left. It gets hard to describe a period when the play is like this. I mean come on... I want to boo something. Or cheer. Shots are 11 for Phx, and 7 for Edm. Ok... speaking of action. The Oilers get some PP time. Let's hope for a quick goal here. Well, Bobby Nilsson gets a nice breakaway chance. But can't score. Nice try though, very exciting. If someone can throw a big hit, the momentum will swing in their favour. The 4th line comes out and lays out some hits but not quite the "big one". So far this period all the lines have been good. All steady and stable. Then near the end of the period Jokinen throws a puck to the net and it bounces off of Souray towards the net. Roli had to be sharp and stick out the big toe to make a fantastic save. Yay Roli! So that is the end of the 1st period and the score is 0-0. The shots are also tied at 13 a piece. Let's hope the Oilers get fired up during the intermission. End of period score: 0-0 Tie Game

2nd Period

Well the Oilers look like they want to have a better period. The #1 and #2 lines came out with some quick chances. Even Penner tried to "stick handle in a phone booth". Well that's what Kevin Quinn said anyways. There has been good flow to this game. No one has stood out as 1st star yet (other than Roli), and I think something is going to have to give. Over at OilersNation I predicted 6-1 Oilers. And so far that is not happening. At the halfway mark the shots are 2 for the Oilers and 1 for the Coyotes. I am not sure why everyone looks for the pass and not the shot? Well Nilsson gets another breakaway chance. No goal again. But right after that Peckham has words with Goertzen because he ran into Roli. Next thing you know, Peckham is putting up the dukes. Good fight. Kind of a draw. But Goertzen ends up getting a penalty for the Roli run and sits for another 5 for fighting Peckham. PP Oilers. Good momentum changer. The Kid line has a great shift together but Phx kills it off. A little while later Phx takes another penalty. Another chance for the Oilers. Penner picks up the puck in the right corner and he brings it out to the front of the net. He shoots... rebound. Hemsky scores! (Hemsky from Penner and Horcoff) 1-0 Oilers. But at 16:48, Nilsson gets another chance to score but decides to grab a stick in the corner and takes a penalty. Damn! That's not all... at 17:23, Moreau takes another bad timing penalty and puts the Oilers down to 5 on 3. But the Oilers kill both penalties off and that is nothing short of amazing. But Ethan Moreau takes another penalty at 19:48 and gives more chances for Phoenix to score. And they do with 2.6 seconds left in the period. 1-1 Tie. All that hard work for nothing. But as the whistle blows, Stortini gets into it (14th of the year) with Fedoruk. Nothing really happens but a few punches are thrown. Fedoruk falls and Storts wants to crank him but doesn't. End of period score: 1-1 Tie Game

3rd Period

So here we are tied and ready for some action. Souray takes the 1st shot of the period right off the hop. Hey, that's a good way to start. Chopper tries a wrap around and almost scores. A few shifts later MacT sends out 18, 51, and 85. This line gives Phx some serious pressure. A couple of chances but they don't come out with a goal. Oh! Coyotes take a penalty. Oilers have a bit of momentum and a good chance here to get up by one with the man advantage. Yes! Souray with the bomb from the blue line. Oh yeah... 2-1 Oilers. (at 5:33, Souray from Hemsky from Gilbert) Well now we will have to see how the Oilers respond to the lead change. Phoenix battles hard with the Oil for the next while until Penner takes a penalty at 12:06. Phx should have been called just before that as Hemsky was high sticked, but it was missed by the refs. During the PP the Coyotes crash the net and Souray flips and starts swinging. Amazingly, he doesn't get a penalty. Roli makes some great saves and seems to be one of the best Oilers once again. The excitement level is rising in this game now that there is only 5:00 left. The 2nd line comes out firing on all 8 cylinders. Then Smid with his head down gets hammered by Goertzen in front of the Oilers net. Ouch! Now here is Phx with a little momentum. Roli has to come up with a huge save to save the score from being tied again. Then some smack talk happens and a kerfuffle happens. Souray wants to kill. Hemsky is swearing at people. Penner is grabbing people. But nothing happens. So now that the intensity level is flying high (quite the change from the 1st) Gilbert tries to chip the puck out and does just that. Out and over the glass. PP for Phx. Damn! During the PK, Souray fires three times at the empty net but misses. That's ok. As long as it's not in our net. With Gilbert coming out of the box, Horcoff picks up the loose puck and shoots it in the empty net at 19:36. 3-1 Oilers. Awesome! (Horcoff from Gilbert) That will be the game folks and now we are sitting in 6th place with 62 pts. Wooooooo! 4 out of 4 points so far on this roadie. Nice job Oilers! MacT for Mayor? Just sayin'...

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

Tonight's Starting Lines

Penner Horcoff Hemsky (This line was good tonight. Penner didn't look lazy. Horcoff was earning his money. Hemsky was Hemsky but without the flashy moves)

Nilsson Gagner Cole (This line was also good tonight. Nilsson was fast and on his game. Gagner is becoming the next Hemsky... but better. Cole was pretty effective in all situations.)

Moreau Cogliano Pouliot (This line was kind of not noticeable. That's a good thing if you are a defenseman but this is the 3rd line and that's not good. Moreau took a couple of penalties that killed momentum. Cogliano only looked great when he was with the Kid Line on the PP. Poliuot is the week link here. Reddox would fit better.)

Stortini Brodziak Reddox (The 4th line was trying to be destructive tonight. But this line isn't really a game changing line. Unless of course it's with a big hit or a big fight, and that didn't really happen)

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

FINAL SCORE

Edmonton Oilers - 3

Phoenix Coyotes - 1

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

BEERS

Dwayne Roloson - He was solid tonight. He looks to be in top form which is great if your an Oiler fan. He sure has put the naysayers to rest since the Garon trade. Good for him. I couldn't imagine being told that you suck every other day and still show up for work. But he is a gamer and he wants to play. So for another stand up game... have a frosty one Roli. Cheers!

Sheldon Souray - This guy was a workhorse toonight. 26:35 of ice time is a lot for a guy that didn't have to play that much a week ago. But he is showing us why we paid him so much to come here. He did everything right tonight. He kicked the crap out of net crashers and jerks. He scored with his big bomb (6 shots). He combed his hair in between periods to look good for the ladies. He is awesome! Have a nice cold one Souray. You're probably thirsty. Cheers!

Ales Hemsky - He was pretty good today. Not the flashy Hemsky that we are use to. But the useful Hemsky that gets things done even when it looks like he's not trying. He had a goal and an assist tonight, and that's about it (according to the stat sheet). But he had good vision and controlled the puck very well. I think that Hemmer deserves a beer. Cheers!

Honerable Mention - Steve Staios (he did well considering he played 25:57. That's a ton of ice for guy that was lucky to break a sweat most games), Shawn Horcoff (he sure earned his $$$ today. He was stellar all game. 2 Points), Sam Gagner (the little dude was good.), Robert Nilsson (had some great chances but couldn't convert), Tom Gilbert (he had 2 assists but was shakey at times.)

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

JEERS

I really don't have any. Well other than the usual shoddy reffing. But what good is that to complain about? They don't care.

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

Well that game started out good, but boring. Then the second period was the same, but a little better. It wasn't untill the 3rd, when the intensity and the action went up a few notches. The next game is tomorow at 8 pm. PPV game. And it's against the San Jose Sharks. This is going to be a tough game. Hopefully we ride the Rolitrain to another win. See you all next time...

Beers and Jeers #29 (Feb 7/09 vs. Detroit Red Wings)

I hear that Shawn Horcoff isn't playing tonight and that Kyle Brodziak is taking his place on the 1st line. Tom Gilbert is playing tonight which is good. On a side note, Theo Peckham (D) has been called up and Ryan Potulny (F) has been sent down.

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

1st Period

Roli gets the game going in the 1st minute with a stick to the balls to Dan Cleary. Nice move. But it resulted in a penalty. A short time later Detroit (Rafalski) scores on the same PP. 1-0 Wings. About 2 minutes later Detroit was breaking in to the Oilers zone. Pouliot looks at the guy (Lebda) he is supposed to be covering and then looks back to the shooter. Well, Lebda gets the pass and scores. Pouliot looks dumb. 2-0 wings. At 5:44 Detroit (Cleary) scores again. 3-0 Wings. They are making the Oilers look like the Oil Kings. For those who say the Oilers are a "puck possession" team, then I think they need to watch Detroit. They are a true puck possession team. Gagner then takes a questionable cross checking penalty and Detroit (Hossa) scores again. 4-0 Wings. In the last 2:00 minutes in the period Brodziak loses it and Detroit scores (Datsyuk) once more and makes it 5-0. Wow. What a bad period.

2nd Period

MacT seems to be switching things up. Deslauriers gets the nod. Sorry Roli. Maybe tomorrow. It also looks like Peckham and Strudwick are changing places. And if I was MacT, I would give Hemmer something better than a couple of 3rd liners to play with. Cogs and Moreau would be a better option than Penner and Brodziak. IMO. The game gets in a good flow for the first 8:00 minutes of the period. Hemsky takes a penalty. (He is playing very crappy this past few games. Wonder why?) And the Oilers kill off the penalty. Finally we kill one. But a short time later Detroit takes a penalty. This could be a jump start for the Oilers. But... it isn't. The Oilers do however get on a little momentum swing and start giving Detroit some serious presssure which results in another Detroit penalty. Sam Gagner has been the Oilers best player so far in this game (IMO). I really like his drive that he has to try and do something out there. But he's little and really when it comes down to it, he really can't do much. Yet. In time I can see him being really good. Better than Hemsky. But that's just my opinion. So with 5:00 minutes left in the 2nd, MacT has the MacBlender on at a medium pace. It's getting hard to keep up with who's with who. But the Oilers do look much better in the 2nd then they did in the 1st. But it's too little, too late. The score is still 5-0 Wings. *opens another beer* Oh wait. Detroit wants one more. Lidstrom scores this time with 7 seconds left in the period. 6-0 Wings. I guess I spoke too soon.

3rd Period

I am very optimistic for this period. I think we can at least score one goal. Right? Please? We will see... The period started off pretty good. Brodziak is back with the 4th line for a shift and had a nice breakaway. Didn't score, but nice. But the Oilers do score. All right Stortini! A crash to the net type goal and thank god. We needed that. 6-1 Wings. So with 15:00 minutes left... can a miracle happen? 5 more goals to tie. Well it happened. Another goal (7:01). Stortini to Penner. Storts is on a mission. 6-2 Wings. Detroit is maybe to comfortable right now. But the Oilers are a 3rd period team. We seem to like to do things the hard way. Oh My God! Pouliot scores! You read that right. Pouliot scores. 6-3 Wings. We are on a roll now. Watch out Wings. The deep fryer is on. Hold the phone I say! At 15:29 Samuelsson will score for the wings. Momentum is gone. Damn! 7-3 Wings. Wait... 14 seconds later, Leino scores to make it 8-3 Wings. That pretty much was the fat lady singing. Damn you Detroit and your awesomeness. Damn you.

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

Tonight's Starting Lines (basically only the 1st period)

Penner Brodziak Hemsky (these guys were terrible. Two pluggers with our "star" player. Good thinking MacT.)

Nilsson Gagner Cole (This line stayed intact for the most part. They were not bad. Cole could have been more physical. Nilsson was not really an impact player. Gagner was quite good. Maybe the best Oiler?)

Moreau Cogliano Reddox (These guys were so-so. I personally do not like this line. When Horcoff is out, Cogs should be the guy. Not #51.)

Strudwick Pouliot Stortini (This is a useless line. No one to fight on Detroit. Pouliot has played bad in this game even though he scored. Strudwick was moved to defense. Storts all of a sudden in the 3rd became Hemsky. He was a machine.)

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

Final Score

Edmonton Oilers - 3

Detroit Red Wings - 8

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

BEERS

HAHAHA! Like there is going to be any. Well, lots of beers being consumed by the fans because what else do we have to do with the rest of a Saturday. We drink. Yay!

Honorable Mentions (but not worth a beer)

Sam Gagner (He was good even if the stats don't show it. He played hard, did his back checking and made some hits.), Zack Stortini (had 2 points and was a huge surprise in the 3rd.), Denis Grebeshkov (He played ok. He managed to be +1 at the end of the game.), Tom Gilbert (also finished +1.) Jeff Deslauriers (he came into a nightmare once again. He managed a little better this time. He was pretty good)

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

JEERS

Ales Hemsky

- The guy looked like a floater out there. A cheery picking waste of a roster space. Ok. That may be a little harsh but I can't stand when one of our core guys are not even trying. He is a great player but sometimes he doesn't feel like playing. Today being one of them. Booooooooooooo!

Sheldon Souray

- I pick on him because he is the elder on the D line. He is our best guy now that Visnovsky is out. He needs to lead. And that didn't really happen this game. I expect tomorrow's game to be better. Boooooooooooo!

Ethan Moreau

- Completely non-existent in this game. No big hits. No 10 shots. No leading. If it seems like I am picking on the leaders of this team, your right. I blame them for having a team fall apart. They wear the C's and A's for a reason. Show up tomorrow please! Boooooooooooooo!

Honorable Mentions (because there is too many people who sucked)

- Marc Pouliot (made a few bad plays. Wasn't a factor other than his goal.), Steve Staios (no leadership from Steve. No fiesty play, no anything.), Dwayne Roloson (He was beat by some realy nice tip ins. Not all his fault, but he wasn't good either)

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

Next game is tomorow at 1:00 vs. the Wild. That will be tough. But we will get the win. We better...

Beers and Jeers #25 (Jan 30/09 vs. Minnesota Wild)

Well, was that the Edmonton Oilers? I couldn't believe my eyes. The puck just drops and Staios absolutely nails a Wild player. Then drops the gloves and backs up his actions. Nice veteran move. That instantly moved the momentum to the Oilers side. 4 minutes later Hemsky scores a lucky one. Yes! Great start. Take that Flames fans... Anyways. The guys that I have been hardest on lately we very good in the 1st period. Sure they wanted the "young" guys to take ownership for their actions. But with out the strong veteran leadership group taking charge and leading this team much like they did in this game, we would be a much better team for it. Am I wrong?

Big Mac vs. The Bogeyman #1

- This was a good fight for Big Mac. He looked really nervous at the start. But excited. The dukes went up and the waiting game began. Once the fight started it was a pretty good one. No real "big" punches that did any damage. But shots were felt. It ended a draw. Then as Big Mac was skating off you could see him grin. He felt good. He wasn't broken. And that fight did a lot for the rest of the game. Bogey was not a factor at all tonight. Mission accomplished.

Period 2 was also great. Lots of action. The play was pretty back and forth. Visnovsky scores a beauty. The Oilers PP was not great. 1for 5 for the game. This could have been a 7-1 game instead 3-1. I'm not really complaining... but I am.

The 3rd period started and wouldn't you know it. I go out for a smoke (What? you smoke Smokin' Ray? *pause* oooooooooh.... I get it, Smokin' Ray.) and the Wild score. What the hell? I know, I said the same thing. But the Oilers stared to play a tight game and really held off the Wild. Roloson was a monster (screw you Pierre MacGuire) in this game. He deserves a lot of credit tonight. He played great. Oilers hang on to win the game. All is good in the Oilers Nation once again.

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

Tonight's Lines

Penner Horcoff Hemsky (This line was kind of a dud line. Hemsky was good. Penner was a blob of blue and copper. Horcoff... he wasn't bad tonight. Not great. But not bad either.)

Nilsson Potulny Cole (Nilsson is a ticking time bomb with the puck. It may explode. It may be a gift for the opposing team. Potulny was average as he only played 11:02. Horcoff and Cogliano took his spot on occasion. Cole was good tonight. Admit it Cole... you miss your little buddy Sam.)

Moreau Cogliano Pouliot (This line and the 4th line changed throughout the game. MacT was trying to get things going. But yet last game, the lines never changed. Go figure? Moreau - Good, Cogliano - good / he belongs on the 3rd line, Poulot - 4th line guy / average.)

Strudwick Brodziak MacIntyre (This wasn't really a line that did anything. Big Mac fought, but only played 2:13. He did mange 2 hits, and they were good ones. Strudwick was a puzzling choice. I was thinking more along the lines of Stortini in the mix tonight. But once again... what do I know? Brodziak was a faceoff machine. He was out for a lot of the "big" draws. He did ok at 6-4 for 60%.)

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

FINAL SCORE

Minnesota Wild - 1

Edmonton Oilers- 3

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

BEERS

Dwayne Roloson

- I will be the first to admit that I didn't think it was a good idea to put Roli in for this game. Ex team, they know his weak spots, losing record against Wild. But like I have said a million times. What do I know? He was brilliant tonight. He made huge saves when needed and was a fierce competitor till the end. I have always liked Roli, but tonight he raised my respect level for him. His mental toughness is second to none. He knows how to be a real professional. He has been since he has become an Oiler. Good days or bad days... the man is class. Have a beer Gramps. Show these kids how to drink. Cheers!

Steve Staios

- I want to say that if Steve Staios could play like that every game, he could be a real high level NHL defenseman. He did everything right tonight. I have had a huge mean streak for Staios lately, but I can say that tonight he made me stand up and cheer. He made me believe that this team is the team that I say they are. A team of champions. Hard hitting. Shot blocking. The knuckle breaking dedication that it is what it takes to get to the show. (That didn't make sense to me either.) To win the cup. Hopefully he maintains this and we continue towards that silver lining. Mr Staios sir. Enjoy a frosty. Cheers!

Ethan Moreau

- The captain came through tonight. He played the same way as Staios did. Well, except he scored. Chopper provided everything that he has lacked in the last while. The penaz. Or swagger. Whatever... he was damn good. In fact. Have a Mountain Crest Chopper. Cheers!

Honorable Mentions

- Andrew Cogliano (I think he belongs on the 3rd line. That just may be his niche. Horcoff Jr., but better. 2 assist night with great play making. Solid game for Cogs), Lubomir Visnovsky (How good is he? How many dmen take a shot and continue into the slot and bang in their own rebound? Lubo does. And he does it well. He played a real solid game.), Sheldon Souray (When doesn't he play good?)

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

JEERS

I could complain about a few little things but what the hell? We won. YAY!

Ok. Just a little...

Dustin Penner

- This guy is a slug. I really think MacT should bench him again. And again in 15 games. And repeat, until he can produce in a consistent manner. The guy is lazy. The guy drives me mad. Hello? You play on a 1st line. With Hemsky. And you do what? Lolly gag? Moron. Shape up. Booooooooooo!

Liam Reddox

- This is only because it makes me feel good, and you suck. Booooooooooooooooo!

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

Sunday is the next game. 12 noon vs Nashville. Tough game. Hope the same Oilers attend that game. Until next time...

REMEMBER: You are only as good as your last game... and we were freaking awesome!

Beers and Jeers #24 (Jan 27/09 vs. Buffalo Sabres)

Well that was one of the most crappiest starts that I have ever seen. 1st goal in 10 seconds?!? 2nd goal a minute later!?! 3-0 by the 10:00 minute mark. This is the 1st period still. And it's Buffalo in the lead. Way to go guys! The Oilers couldn't even score on the couple of Power Play chances that they had. This team fell flat and it's going to be hard to get back up. The best part of the 1st period was when Roli was pulled and Deslauriers came in and actually made a save. (Although I don't pin the crap start entirely on Roli) The crowd responded with a cheer. So what went wrong? Staios was terrible. Falling and giving the puck away like a peewee hockey player. By far the worst Oiler. In fact that period alone is getting him a nice brand new shiny Boo. Hemsky was the best Oiler, if you can even say that.

And how do we start the 2nd? Pissed off and mean? Maybe a fight? No. Buffalo scores. Again. And again. And again. Well you get the picture. Not a good night in paradise. 7-1 for the Sabres after the 2nd. Erik Cole tried to give the team some life by scoring a nice wrister. But to no avail. Deslauriers didn't fair any better. Not a good night to be an Oiler goalie.

The 3rd was just as stinky. At points you wonder to yourself why am I still watching this? Because I have to. The team needs us. (I feel a little responsible here. We were 5w - 1 L since I bought my new hat. But... I had to cut my mullet because it was just to shaggy. I think I screwed the team. I should never have cut my hair.)

So all in all that was a terrible game. There was a few bright spots. Erik Cole was not bad. He did look a little lost without Gagner. Hemsky wasn't bad either. But I don't think that anyone deserves a beer tonight. But I am sure I can round up some Jeers though.

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

The Lines Tonight

Penner Horcoff Hemsky (Hemmer was a one man show. Horcoff won faceoffs but then that's it. Penner was Penner. Lazy)

Nilsson Cogliano Cole (Cole and Nilsson seemed good. Cogs seemed out of place with those two. Maybe Gagner is important to this team?)

Moreau Pouliot Reddox (The dynamic MacT shut down line. Awesome! But they didn't shut anyone down. So what good were they?)

Strudwick Brodziak Stortini (Stortini was the best on this line. Brodziak played an awkward game. He just didn't look comfortable. I barely noticed Strudwick)

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

FINAL SCORE

SABRES - 10

OILERS - 2

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

BEERS

There is none.

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

JEERS

Steve Staios

- This guy was a real terrible hockey player tonight. Bad plays. Falling all over the place. Chasing guys around. The stats don't really show what I seen, but Steve Staios was bad tonight. Very bad. Boooooooooooooo!

Shawn Horcoff

- At $7 million next season, a game like this isn't going to cut it. As a leader of this team you can not afford to have nights where you are not noticable. Unfortunately for the fans and the team, this has happened a lot this year. I hope a change is in order here. You suck Horcoff. (Except for your faceoffs tonight. That was good) Boooooooooooooooooooooooo!

The rest of the Edmonton Oilers

- BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

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

See you all Friday. If I pay for that game and it turns out to be like this one I... I... damn it. I will still get the next one. "sigh"

Beers and Jeers #22 (Jan 18/09 vs Phoenix Coyotes)

What a fun evening that was. Started with the Glenn Anderson Ceremony and ended with a Moreau Hat trick. The ceremony was good for the most part. Whoever wrote the Kevin Lowe speech really sucked. Lame jokes and re-used lines from past speeches. But all in all it was a good show. So #9 is gone now. Never again can it be used. Who's next? #4? #30? #27?

The game was a barn burner. Action right from the beginning. I must say the effort level was there from the get go. The team really had a shot in the arm when Hemsky came back to the line up. I think Penner and Horcoff showed their true colors when Hemmer went down for those games. Penner is overpaid and Horcoff is NOT an all star and overpaid. I would love to see a Penner/Cogliano/Hemsky 1st line. Shawn Horcoff can take the 3rd line position. I bet Cogs would be a 70 point guy too.

Kyle Brodziak had a good night in the faceoff circle. (12-2) 86%. But that's pretty much it for him. But, game after game I notice Erik Cole takes 3 or 4 faceoff's a game and usually only loses one. Why not try him out at taking the draws? He doesn't need to play center, just take faceoff's. Worth a try don't you think?

I couldn't believe that Steve MacIntyre wasn't playing. I really wanted to see him fight Carcillo tonight. For one, it would have been an easier test than say Boogaard. And two, I wanted to see him (Carcillo) get his ass kicked. I wonder if Big Mac was able to meet his hero Marty McSorley today? I hope so. This is the best season ever huh Big Mac? Lucky S.O.B.

Well let's hope that all this Oiler nostalgia and alumni guys being around for the last couple days really rubbed off on the team that we have now (young and old). I said at the beginning of the season that the Oilers are going to the SCF this year. I feel it. I believe it. And I still do. As of late, (since the closed door meeting) that the team seems to have changed. They have a hand shake clap thing that they have going on. Some guys are rocking mustaches. (Penner/Gagner). The lines are mixed now more old with new players. So I see that the team is starting to have fun again. And the ball will roll. Believe...

The lines tonight:

Penner Horcoff Hemsky (Horc/Pens suck without Hemsky. Tonight they looked great. Surprise!?!)

Reddox Gagner Cole (Are you serious? Reddox? I suppose that if you score like Schremp or Potulny or Brule you then go to the 4th line or pressbox. I just don't get it MacT? Anyone but Reddox please)

Pouliot Cogliano Moreau (the best line that played as a group. They all complimented each other nicely tonight. Nice to see Moreau play a good full game)

Strudwick Brodziak Brule (This doesn't even look right on paper. This is the line Reddox should have been on)

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

BEERS

Ales Hemsky

- I can not believe the impact that this guy has on his linemates, his team and his fans. He was amazing tonight. You could hear the crowd buzzing after he would do something. Very exciting to have him back. 2 goal night. +3. Solid all around. Welcome back Hemmer. Have a cold one. Cheers!

Ethan Moreau

- Quite possibly his best ever game as an Oiler. I cheered for him tonight. To think that that was his 1st hat trick. Good for him. Maybe this is the confidence that he was looking for? Let's hope we get the same guy for the rest of the year. Have a triple sized beer Chopper. Cheers!

Ladislav Smid

- The guy was an animal tonight. He drops the gloves again. He really is not bad at fighting. In fact, he looked like he knew what he was doing. Plus he ends up with an assist. Maybe he was trying for a Gordie Howe hat trick? At any rate he was fantastic. He was dumping the puck in and was the 1st one on the puck in the corners. At times I thought that he was a forward. One of our best d men tonight. Here's a frosty beer and an ice pack for the knuckles and the ass bone. Cheers!

Honorable Mentions

- Tom Gilbert (quietly picked up a couple of assists.), Andrew Cogliano (had a nice 3 assist game. He looked really good tonight), Steve Staios (had a 2 assist game. Played hard), Erik Cole (he really tried hard tonight.), Dustin Penner's mustache (that is one nice porn stash. Looks good.)

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

JEERS

Rob "Plugs" Brown

- He is slowly turning into my #3 behind McGuire and Crawford in the dipturd catagory. Do everyone a favor sometimes and shut up. He spits out random stuff so that hopefully he looks like he knows what he is saying. eg: 10:00 left in the 3rd. "I'm sure Roli will have to make another big save for the Oilers before this game is over." No kidding smart guy. Need I say more? Oh yeah... Your bald. Deal with it. Booooooooooooooo!

Beers and Jeers #19 (Jan 13/09 vs Washington Capitals)

That was a better game than last game. I still don't like to be out shot but the win is good. There were a few guys that looked like this was their team. There was a few guys who were tweeners. And of course there were the last few that were stinkers.

I am a little amazed that with all the inner troubles on the team, our Captain Moreau isn't more of a captain and has dealt with it. I have been the captain of a few teams. I have had to be the middle man lots. No big deal. That is part of being a captain. But he hasn't been doing that. Sure there was a closed door meeting. That doesn't mean that Chopper shouldn't have already dealt with this. As a captain. On his own. There has been talk that MacT is to blame for this mess. Wanye Gretz over at Oilersnation.com wrote a nice piece about this. I still blame the leaders (Moreau, Horcoff, Staios) for the sub-par play but it's a good read and a different point of view. Plus he has inside info and I don't.

http://www.oilersnation.com/2009/01/real-talk/

Back to the game. The Oilers were good tonight. I really didn't think that this game was going to go well. I guess I was wrong. The 2nd line was clearly the 1st line tonight. As the games go on MacT is starting a love affair with Cole. Bout time. I still do not understand the Reddox situation. I feel embarrassed almost when fans from the other teams ask me what is going on. I don't even want to answer them. I shrug my shoulders and smile. I don't make the lines.

Anyways it was a fun game to watch all around. Let's get on with the booing and beer drinking.

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

BEERS

Steve MacIntyre

- Well Big Mac scored his 1st ever NHL goal. Awesome. I bet that is what he said too. One shot, one goal. Not bad. I was a little sad that he didn't fight, but oh well. We win. He played a whopping 3:40 and even though he really didn't contribute a whole lot... He deserved a beer. Not any old beer but a big beer. Cheers!

Erik Cole

- This guy is getting my vote for MVP of the team. Hemsky is good but no one puts out an effort like Cole does. The guy gives his all. When you play with Cole you can't help but bust your butt as well. That is one of the main reasons why Gagner is excelling right now. It's like a yawn... it's contagious. Cole had the most shots on the team tonight. He also had 2 takeaways to go with the 3 goals. Once again I sit and drink with Cole. Frosty mug time... Cheers!

Kyle Brodziak

- A great all around game from Brodziak. He was the old Horcoff. (geez, I hope he doesn't ask for $7 million too.) 2 assists, +4 and 3 blocked shots. Now I am not a real big Brodziak fan, but if he could play like this every game he would be a favorite of mine. Good game tonight. Have a beer. Cheers!

Honorable Mentions

- Gilbert Brule (He played a solid game. 2 point night.) Steve Staios (excellent shot blocking on #8. He played well too.) Dwayne Roloson (Another beauty from Gramps.)

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

JEERS

Not much to really boo here. That was a pretty good game. Lots of hustle. Not quite a 60 minute game but real close. The team really does need to get more shots. To see Ovechkin blast them from all over, he really made it look easy. Why can't an Oiler do that?

There was however a few players that were not playing above par. These players were not very good IMO. Shawn Horcoff, Ethan Moreau, Liam Reddox, Dustin Penner, Tom Gilbert and at times MA Pouliot were all pretty stinky.

Gilbert made some bad passes. In fact I think somewhere Robin Brownlee is laughing

Reddox looked like a bantam player.

I only noticed Horcoff because he plays so much.

No real physical jam from Chopper. He did however have 0 hits. Awesome.

Pouliot didn't look right all night. Except for that one PP where he was with Cogs and Gags.

Penner. Did he play?

Now that I think of it all six of you deserve a jeer. Boooooooooo!

-----------

Next up... The Wild.