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

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

Roli starts again...

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

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

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1st Period

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

2nd period

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

3rd Period

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

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Tonight's Starting Lines

Kotalik Horcoff Hemsky

Penner Gagner O'Sullivan

Moreau Cogliano Pisani

Jacques Brodziak Stortini

Souray Staios

Grebeshkov Gilbert

Smid Strudwick

Roloson

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FINAL SCORE

Minnesota Wild - 3

Edmonton Oilers - 2

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BEERS

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

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

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

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

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JEERS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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1st Period

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

2nd Period

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

3rd Period

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

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VIDEO HIGHLITES

GAME SUMMARY

EVENT SUMMARY

DAVID STAPLES REVIEW

OIL DROPPINGS REVIEW

SCORING CHANCES SUMMARY

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FINAL SCORE

Edmonton Oilers - 5

Anaheim Ducks - 3

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Tonight's Starting Lines

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

Kotalik Gagner Hemsky

Penner Horcoff O'Sullivan

Moreau Cogliano Pisani

Jacques Brodziak Stortini

Souray Staios

Grebeshkov Gilbert

Strudwick Smid

Roloson

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BEERS

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

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

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

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

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JEERS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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1st Period

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

2nd Period

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

3rd Period

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

Overtime

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

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Tonights Starting Lines

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

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

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

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

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FINAL SCORE

Edmonton Oilers - 5

Nashville Predators - 6

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BEERS

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

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

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

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

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JEERS

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

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

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

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

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

Beers and Jeers #39 (Feb 28/09 vs. Minnesota Wild)

Well it looks like Bobby Nilsson is going to sit out this game and Pouliot is getting the nod. Is this really the best plan? Pouliot? on the 2nd line? Really? I wonder what Towel Boy has to say about that?

I hope the crowd can get into this one. They really need to get chanting. Come on folks. The team needs the help.

No Bogeyman... no Big Mac. Too bad. I wanted to see a gooder tonight. Maybe next time. I guess we can always count on Gagner to fight someone.

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1st Period

To start the game the Oilers had a contest (not tonight) and the winner was given a chance to sing the anthem before the game starts. The kid (Justin Wack) came out and did a heck of a job. He seemed pretty thrilled by the experience. Good flow in the game until Pisani takes a tripping penalty at 5:19. As the Oilers are killing the penalty off, Mark and Marc (M&M) start talking about how great the Oilers have been lately on the PK. Why talk about it guys? Seconds later the Wild score at 6:14. Thanks M&M. 1-0 Wild. Let's go Oilers! At the 10:00 minute mark this game is way better than the last one by a long shot. A little while later, Grebeshkov nails Brunette and he gets hurt. The whistle should have been blown but it wasn't. Gilbert takes it and passes to Horcoff who finds Hemsky. Scoooorrreeeessss! 1-1 Tie Game. (Hemsky from Horcoff from Gilbert at 12:47) That was a lucky break for the Oilers. Finally at the 14:00 minute mark the crowd starts to chant. Bout time folks. At 15:42 Smid hits the puck into the netting and sits for 2:00 for delay of game. A short while later at 17:46, Staios takes a penalty and the Wild score on the man advantage at 19:25. 2-1 Wild. Crap. Not the best way to end a period. But it isn't like last game. We actually look good tonight.

2nd Period

The period starts off once again with good flow. But the Wild get careless and take a penalty. Good time for the Oil to score a PP goal. But... they don't. Good passing but they can't capitalize. But the 4th line comes out and puts on some great pressure. Stortini scores!!! 2-2 Tie Game. (Stortini from Reddox at 5:03) Yeah!!! The 4th line does it again. And that's #5 for Storts. **knock, knock. Hello? Storts is catching Gagner** This game really is not bad considering we are playing the Wild (a trap team). With 6:00 minutes left, MacT is rolling a Hemsky/Horcoff/Reddox line. It's tied MacT. No need to panic yet. So with the Oilers buzzing, the Oilers have some slick passing going on. Gilbert scores! Yeah! 3-2 Oilers. (Gilbert from Reddox and Grebeshkov at 15:22) Now we are looking like we want to see some ice in the spring. With Reddox on the 1st line now, Penner is rolling with Brodziak and Stortini on the 4th. As the period winds down, it's great to see some real life in this Oilers squad. The Wild take a penalty with only 32 seconds left and that will give even more life to the Oilers when they start the 3rd with a PP. The shots are tied at the end of two periods with 27 each.

3rd Period

The 3rd sure started with some jump. Minny had some chances. Oilers had some chances. Roli has had to be sharp tonight. Twice in the first 7:00 minutes, Roli has had to make some HUGE saves. The crowd gets fired up and the Roli, Roli, Roli chants break out. Roli really has been the MVP of this team this year. Hemmer is close... but Roli is king. Wow the action is all out now. It seems weird that the Wild are playing this way, but they are. Real back and forth action. The crowd is really into this one now. Chants keep popping up. Horcoff has a real bad stinker of a giveaway and the Wild ring it of the post. Your lucky Horcoff. Lucky. The play continues to be fast paced and exciting. Hemsky takes a tripping penalty and Zidlicky goes for diving. 4 on 4 for two minutes. With 20 seconds left, Miettinen sticks Moreau in the eye *ouch!* and takes a double minor. (That didn't look good for Chopper) So much for the Wild comeback. That's the game folks. Oilers win!!!

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Tonight's Starting Lines

Penner Horcoff Hemsky (The 1st line was average in the first half. Reddox replaced Penner and they seemed to play a little better. Did you really need to eat that extra chicken breast at lunch Penner?)

Pouliot Gagner Cole (The 2nd line was a real solid unit tonight. Lots of grade A chances. They seemed like they were trying hard, but faded near the end of the 3rd.)

Moreau Cogliano Pisani (Moreau and Pisani played well. Cogliano just wasn't quite the same as he has been playing as of late. This line needs all three to be rolling or it just isn't going to be a shutdown type line. But still, all in all they were good.)

Reddox Brodziak Stortini (This line was smokin' when it was still this line before Penner was switched. Stortini seems to be on a streak lately. Good for him.)

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FINAL SCORE

Minnesota Wild - 2

Edmonton Oilers - 3

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BEERS

Dwayne Roloson - Gramps was stellar once again. The Oilers MVP was doing it all tonight. (other than score) He was making those acrobat style saves all while being that silent leader for the team. Again. You deserve a nice cold one Roli. Cheers!

Tom Gilbert - The guy that has been making mistakes the last few games, was really good tonight. He seemed to do a lot while looking like he wasn't. He had 1 goal and 1 assist with a +2 rating. A pretty solid night for Gibby. Have a beer? Cheers!

Denis Grebeshkov - For not playing in a while he sure was good. He had a huge hit, an assist and was +2. His only real knock was his giveaway's. But his effort was good enough to deserve a beer. Frosty beer? Cheers!

Honorable Mention - Liam Reddox (He played a good game tonight. He even managed to sneak back up to the 1st line. A 2 assist night for Liam.), Ales Hemsky (He scored and was ok. Still not back to normal), Zack Stortini (His momentum changing goal was huge for the team to get going. He's been very good for the past few weeks.)

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JEERS

A win is a win and I don't have much of a reason to jeer tonight. Penner was questionable but I still think that MacT just needed to bench someone. The Hamburglar was the one today.

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Well that was a good action packed game. Not like the boring crap of a game we had to watch last game. The Oilers pick up the almighty 2 points and move up to seventh tied with the Ducks. Who's next? The Predators of Nashville. We need two wins on this 4 game roadie. If we can come home with 4 points the team will still be in it. If we don't than it's only going to get harder from here on out.

See you all next time... Until then. GO OILERS!!!

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?

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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!

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Game Summary (CLICK HERE)

Stats Sheet (CLICK HERE)

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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.)


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Final Score

Tampa Bay Lightning - 3

Edmonton Oilers - 5

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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!

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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 #34 (Feb 17/09 vs. San Jose Sharks)

Well how is everyone tonight? Good, good. It's game day again. This time versus those damn Sharks. Why do they have to be so good in the regular season? (we all know they suck come playoff time) This is going to be a very hard game for the Oilers. Let's hope we ride the Rolitrain for another stop. Whoot. Whoooooot.

Erik Cole has been rumoured to be on his way out soon and that sucks. He fits well with Gagner and it's to bad that this season had to be so messed up for the Oil and him. If only Cole had a better experience here. He will be missed. Robin Brownlee wrote a good article about the destination of Cole. CLICK HERE

So I have a few questions to ask. Is tonight's game going to be that boring defensive game like yesterday? Is Hemsky going to razzle and dazzle tonight? Is Smid the next Pronger? Is Gagner going to fight another guy over six feet tall and 200 lbs? Is Roli finally going to score with his bat swing? Is this the last game for Reddox now that Jacques is ready to come back? Do the referee's have their glasses cleaned? Will Rob Brown ever finish off the hair plugs installation? Do we get the 6th point on this roadie? and finally... Is the sound going to cut in and out during the PPV broadcast again because I can not stand that?

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

1st Period

The Oilers vs Sharks. Oh man. Are we ready for war? I am... I hope the Oil are? GAME ON!!! Just as the game starts the sounds starts to cut out again. *shakes head* And I pay for that. Anyways, the lines are the same as last night and we shall see how that works out. Well the first part of this period has been all Sharks. They are keeping the Oilers in their own zone. Geez... even their 3rd line is kicking our butt. (ROFL: the Ref fell and slid into Dan Boyle and they both go down.) Wow! The Sharks fire a puck from behind the net and Roli has to come up HUGE. Well Roli is ready to go tonight. That's a good sign because the players are a step behind so far in this game. With 9:00 minutes played, the 4th line and the 3nd line have had some good shifts but nothing really from the 1st line. At 10:08 they score!!! The San Jose Sharks that is. It was a good goal for them. High slot shot, glove high on Roli. 1-0 Sharks. It was a matter of time with the way they are playing. Come on Oilers... Yeah!!! Stortini now with a goal. Alright Storts! (at 12:18, Stortini from Brodziak and Gilbert) 1-1 tie game. Out of all the guys that should score the 1st goal, Storts would be my second to last pick. (he really is catching Gagner in goals) So I look at the shot count. All of he sudden the Oilers have some shots on the board. So now the Oil are back in this game. It took a while but they are here now. Gagner took a high stick to the nose and the refs glasses must have been foggy because he missed it. He was also 6 feet away. Soooo??? But the Oilers do get a diferent PP chance. And then the Oilers blast a puck in to the Shark zone and the puck takes a weird bounce and Erik Cole is in the right place at the right time and scores on the empty net. Yeah Cole! (at 19:08, Cole from Souray and Gilbert) 2-1 Oilers. The Sharks take another penalty and give the Oilers even more life. But the period is over and the Oilers are looking good. End of period score: 2-1 Oilers.

2nd Period

Let's start this one with a PP goal. Well that doesn't happen as the Sharks kill off the penalty. In fact they seem to gain a little momentum. Damn! The Sharks tie it up at 1:48. 2-2 Tie Game. Marleau with a nice shot, glove high on Roli. A few seconds later Pouliot takes a penalty. Sharks are on the hunt now. After a quick scramble in front of Roli, Souray takes exception on Michalek and gives him a hard left and sends him to the ground. Gotta love Souray. Next thing you know, San Jose takes 2 separate penalties and now it's 4 on 3 for the Oilers. Momentum keeps on swinging. Very exciting game tonight. Way different from yesterdays game. MacT calls a time out. Let's see what happens... Well the Oilers don't score with a 5 on 3, but San Jose does. What? yeah... Grier flies down and Marleau jumps out of the box and tic and toe it's in at 5:43. *shakes head* 3-2 Sharks. Well a may lay breaks out. Strudwick starts some shoving and tussling. Moreau is there tossing and tackling. And Theo Peckham was in there on the ground with Lemieux on top of him giving him the "I'm old and I deserve respect" shake. They work their way back up to their feet somehow and begin to talk. The next thing I know, Peckham throws a punch and he lands a few more on the old man. Then mocks the crap out of him and drives him mad. This could be a story a little later in the game for sure. THIS GAME IS GREAT! Roli makes a big save and another short skirmish happens. If I was a small guy in this game I would really be worried right about now. Staios takes a penalty for being too aggressive. And now Moreau takes a penalty. At least he took a guy with him. And now Horcoff takes a high sticking penalty. What's going on here? 5 on 3 for the Sharks. They kill off the Staios penalty, right on. And they also kill off the Horcoff penalty. Ok guys, let's try 5 on 5 for awhile. Now Moreau wants to fight again. It was not really much of a fight as they fell to the ground. He's gone for 5. The 4th line comes out now and Stortini fights big Semenov. Semenov lands a big uppercut and stuns Storts. Then Storts throws a few and they fall down. Holy cow! But the Sharks remember that this is more than the MMA on ice and score at 19:06. 4-2 Sharks. Well that is not how we want that period to end but at least we are going down swinging. So far the Oilers have 24 penalty minutes in the game. Oh. That was all in the 2nd. End of period score: 4-2 Sharks

3rd Period

Ding... Ding... Round 3. Well it looks like a hockey game broke out here. Decent flow to the 3rd. Back and forth action. I see Lemieux back out. I wonder if him and Peckham are going to get reacquainted? Well they are still playing hockey but nothing really to report. Chances we had by all and 10:00 minutes have been played. Awww crap. Horcoff takes a penalty. Let's go Oilers! They do it. Right on. A minute later 89/12/83 have a nice shift together. As the whistle blows Gagner gets a shove from Semenov. Gagner pushes back. Semenov pushes him again. Gagner sticks him in the middle area. Good thing that linesman came in between them. That's one big dude to fight. How can you not love Gagner? Well here we are now with 5:00 minutes to go and we are still down by two. Hemsky draws a penalty and it's PP time. This is when I miss #71 and #37. Staios on the PP is just never right. But the Oilers can't get much going and the game ends. That was a good game for the Oilers even though they lost. At least there was some fight to their game. We have been missing that for a long time. Welcome back.

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Tonight's Starting Lines

Penner Horcoff Hemsky (They were not really that dominant. Penner was sort of lazy again. Horcoff was playing like a checker. Hemsky was strange tonight. He didn't suck... but he wasn't the same.)

Nilsson Gagner Cole (This line wasn't bad tonight. Nilsson was a little above average. Gagner took 8 shots with 4 hitting the net and played hard. Cole scored a lucky one and had 5 hits.)

Moreau Cogliano Pouliot (This was not much of a line. Moreau was good. Hitting and whacking anyone in site. Cogliano was riding the pine. Not sure why? only 7:58 of ice time. Pouliot is a head scratcher for me. Pisani can come back any day now...)

Stortini Brodziak Reddox (What a good line. They were causing greif all over the place. Stortini scores and fights. He just needed the assist. Brodziak was ok tonight. Reddox was not bad. I didn't yell at my TV because of him so that's good.)

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FINAL SCORE

Edmonton Oilers - 2

San Jose Sharks - 4

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BEERS

Tom Gilbert - Gilbert was very good tonight IMO. He didn't seem to have much faults in this game. Which is good because he has had some relapses lately. But tonight he picks up 2 more assists while logging 26:23 of ice time. He also managed 2 blocked shots and 2 takeaways. So for having a productive game... Have a frosty Gibby. Cheers!

Zack Stortini - Huggy Bear is on the loose. He tried his big thugery butt off tonight. He scored a goal that was instrumental to the Oilers in getting into the game. He had a fight with the big guy Semenov. He did what he could. And that's all that we can ask for. Miller time Storts? Cheers!

Ladislav Smid - Who would have guessed that Smid would be in a top 4 pairing and actually not look out of place? He was a very smart player tonight. He jumped up at the right times. He had 3 hits and the Spaz even managed to get in to the kerfuffles after the whistles. And he logged 18:48 in ice time. I think he deseves a beer. Cheers!

Honerable Mentions: Sheldon Souray (he was the workhorse again tonight. People worry about Roli and all the work. What about Souray? 29:10 of ice time.), Theo Peckham (He is starting to win my heart. I know that sounded gay, but he really is impressing me. He's tough and he doesn't seem to be scared of people.), Sam Gagner (even though he was -2, I thought that he was good. It's crazy to see how old he plays sometimes. Wait till he is older and how good he is going to be.)

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JEERS

38% team faceoff percentage - Booooooooooooo!

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Even though the Oilers lost, I thought that it was a good game for them. The answerd the bell for themselvees and for their team mates. It was good to see. But we still have 4 points out of 6 on this trip and that isn't so bad. I wonder if Roli is playing in Dallas on Thursday? Of course he will. We need the W.

So thanks for stopping by and reading the madness. We shall see you all next game. Until next time...

Beers and Jeers #30 (Feb 8/09 vs. Minnesota Wild)

As you can see, I have made some changes (header and font) to the site. I figured if i could change... why not the Oilers?

Ok Oilers. It's a new day. Time to get fired up and take on those trap style Wild team. I don't like their style. It's very boring to watch. But it works so who am I to judge? I have a much better feeling about this game than I did yesterday. I vented already today (click here) and I am feeling positive now. I am expecting another Big Mac vs. Bogeyman fight. It should be a gooder. That should help wake up a game in the afternoon.

I am wondering what MacT is up to for this game? Who plays with who? What is the plan of attack? Are we going to win? hmmmm.... questions.

It's 12:57 pm and I'm fired up. Let's Go Oilers!

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1st Period

And it's Roli that gets the start. Figures. I guess he will play every game for now on? I thought Deslauriers was pretty good yesterday. Not great, but good enough for a start today. Oh well, another MacT what?!? However, he does have the correct lines IMO. We will see how these work out.

Well we get a good pace right off the hop. Big Mac and Bogey managed to come together but nothing happened. Oilers were looking really good in the opening 5:00 minutes. Then the Wild take a penalty. This is a great time to get a goal. Let's go Oilers! Another penalty to the Wild. This is a gift guys. A quick 5 on 3 here. And MacT uses his timeout to try and plan something. Will it work? You bet it will. Smart move MacT. 1-0 Oilers. Souray with the bomb from Grebs and Hemmer. And there is still time on the 2nd penalty left. But Minny kills that off. Oh well... 1-0 lead anyways. A little while later Stortini lands a beauty of a hit on Clutterbuck. Good way to gain some momentum. But Boogaard tries some dirty tactics on Storts and he lands himself a slashing penalty. Haha! Seconds later Souray gets himself in penalty trouble so things went to 4 0n 4. Damn! The game has good flow for the rest of the period. Oilers look like a different team today. With 1:41 left Minny (Belanger) scores to make it 1-1. Damn Roli. That was soft. But the line that was out there wasn't exactly our #1 line (5, 43, 51, 85, 78). Ouch. End of period score. 1-1 tie game.

2nd Period

The Oilers come out flying. Even the 4th line gets a shift. But the Oilers take a penalty at 3:43. Souray again. Oilers respond well. Good kill. So here we are at 12:37 remaining in the period. Where is Hemsky? Why is he invisible? Is he coming back? At 8:59 left Boogaard puts the puck in the net after the whistle. Stortini takes exception and the anticipation of a Bogey vs. Big Mac/Storts builds. The period ends up being a being more of a Wild period then an Oiler one. Right in the last few seconds Gagner breaks to the net and crashes into the goalie. That results in a penalty. Good on Gagner for going hard and taking a hard shot for his troubles. I don't get all the hoopla over Gagner not producing offensively when he is such a good player without the puck. He plays way older than he is. (He is only 19). Anyways the Oilers have to come out with some of that JAM that MacT speaks about. 1-1 tie game still. Take no prisoners now!

3rd Period

Well, still no fight in this game. (When I expect it, I get impatient) But the Oilers have to kill off Gagner's penalty. And they do. Then the 2nd line (12/89/26) come out and provide great pressure. Cole draws a penalty and the Oilers go on the PP. Not much later the Wild come flying down into the Oiler zone an Miettinen nails a one timer past Roli to score short handed. Damn it I say. So much for a good start to the period. But Minny kills off that penalty and continue the momentum that they earned. 2-1 Wild. The 2 guys trying to do something are Gagner and Cogliano. I am looking for some veteran presence but I can't see any. Just these young guys trying to get something going. I can respect that. So we are now at the 1/2 way mark and here is the Jayman Homes Hit Counter. 7 hits. 7. Well that is just sad. (Oilers-7, Wild-29) The only good part is Jayman is saving themselves some $$$ today. How many Stanley Cups were won with only 7 hits delivered? WAIT: HOLD THE PRESSES! Holy crap! Gagner scores a beauty from Smid and Nilsson. Just in time. 6:00 left and it's all tied up at 2-2. Let's go Oilers! With 32 seconds left in the 3rd, Bouchard takes a penalty. This is it Oilers. Gut check time. Well the Oilers get some good chances (Gagner) but can't end this game yet.

Overtime

Overtime starts and the pace is fast. Souray gets a few shots off but they are swallowed up quick. The Wild kill off the penalty and overtime continues. This was a pretty exciting OT but I am puzzled as to why Moreau and Pouliot are out out there together. There was a couple of Oiler giveaway's and Roli came up HUGE. Real game breakers. This is off to the Shoot Out.

Shoot Out

Gagner - Makes his usual move and it's stopped. Nice try little dude.

Nilsson - Goes wide like last game and also doesn't score.

Hemsky - His usual slow skating, fast stickhandling move with a shot at the end. Stopped.

Gilbert - Tries a forehand shot. Misses.

Wild score. Game over.

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Tonight's Starting Lines

Moreau Cogliano Hemsky (This line really didn't do much. They lacked the punch that I had thought that they were going to have. Moreau was average. Cogs was a little above average. Hemmer was invisible again. 4th game in a row.)

Nilsson Gagner Cole (The best Oiler line. The 3 played well together. Nilsson was not bad. Cole was struggling a bit. Gagner was a man playing possessed.)

Penner Brodziak Stortini (The Big Guy line was good today. I liked this line (2nd best). Penner was trying. Brodziak looked comfortable. Stortini was making the best of the extra ice time.)

MacIntyre Pouliot Reddox (Not a line that did much. I think I only seen them out as a unit 4 times. Big Mac didn't fight. Pouliot was ok. Reddox was a non-factor.)

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Final Score

Edmonton Oilers - 2

Minnesota Wild - 3

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BEERS

Sam Gagner

- He was real solid today. During the 1st half I thought he was really good defensively. But in the 3rd he scores his 5th of the year. He deserved that goal. Way to go Sam. Have a frosty cold one on me. Cheers!

Dwayne Roloson

- As always a rock. I wasn't sure what he was going to be like after getting shelled by Detroit. But like every other time he bounces back with a real solid effort. He was our leader today. Beer Roli? Cheers!

Sheldon Souray

- Had 7 shots on net today. He scored on one. He had a good game except for the 2 penalties. I wish he was on a roll again. But for today you deserve a beer. Cheers!

Honorable Mention

- Zack Stortini (he played well. Not much stats but a couple of hits.), Dustin Penner (the guy takes faceoffs now? And he's good at it so far. 7-2 for 78%. He played pretty good as well), Kyle Brodziak (seemed more comfortable playing with 27 and 46.)

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

JEERS

Tom Gilbert

- He sure isn't worth the money that KLowe was sure quick to give away. What does that say for Grebeshkov who is going to get a raise since he has been better than Gilbert? For a not good effort tonight. Boooooooooooo!

Ales Hemsky

- Same with Hemmer. Where was he? Where is the magical man we call Hemmer? 4 games in a row with a no show. If he wasn't so damn good I would put him on the 4th line next game. But that won't jhappen. Bad game today Hemsky. Boooooooooooo!

Ethan Moreau

- Our captain was also not good today. He had a great chance to get some points playing with #83. But having only 1 shot and 1 hit means you were not playing your style (crash and bang). If you can't do that then you get booed. Booooooooooo!

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

Well that game was exciting yet frustrating. No big fight with the Bogeyman. Maybe next time. A point is a point but we needed a win. Next up... Wedsnday vs. Montreal Canadiens.

See you 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.

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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.

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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.)

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Final Score

Edmonton Oilers - 3

Detroit Red Wings - 8

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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)

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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)

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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 #15 (Jan 5/09 vs New York Islanders)

Wow! Canada played a heck of a game tonight. Exciting as ever. I think it topped the last game for excitement. Good job Eberle and Team... The drive for 5 is done. Now on to #6.

The Oilers started the game out pretty crappy. The crap that Horcoff was doing was horrendus. Not sure why he decided to play tonight? The 2nd period was much better. The 4th line was hopping. Roli was getting better as the game wore on. The 3rd period started off good. And then it just rolled on. Cogs scored though. Made it 3-2. The faceoffs were much better tonight. Cogliano and Horcoff were the 2 worst. They need to get better. ASAP. You know it's kind of sad when your #4 line is your #1. Hurry up and come back Hemmer.

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BEERS

Jason Strudwick

- The man was an offensive dynamo. Well one goal may not make him a dynamo, he sure played well. He was hitting and doing all the small things right. I felt bad for him when everyone is high fiving him and them the goal gets changed. Ouch. But my wife said it was ok. He had the momentum to do it again. Don't tell her this, but she was right. The 4th line was a force to be reckoned with and Jason Strudwick did his share and more tonight. Great game. Have a frosty beer. Cheers!

Zack Stortini

- The big guy looked like a hockey player tonight. His improvement in the last couple of weeks is nothing short of a miracle. I said a couple of weeks ago that if Huggy wants to keep his spot then he best improve before Big Mac returns. By golly he did. He really did. I thought that he played his butt off tonight. So for a snazzy effort. Have a nice paper bagged Colt 45. Cheers!

Tom Gilbert

- Even though he didn't really put up any numbers. He was in my opinion very effective. He played the man/body very well. His decision making was very quick and correct. Overall I just really liked what he brought to the game. Have a Heineken Gilbert. Cheers!

Honorable Mentions

- Erik Cole (played a solid game. No points but a great effort.) Dwayne Roloson (good game. Made the stops that were needed.) Sam Gagner (Did very well on the faceoffs and was shooting up a storm.) Mathieu Garon (I'm sure he did a great job opening the bench door. jk)

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JEERS

Shawn Horcoff

- Why did you decide to play tonight? Nice cough up in the 1st period. How did it feel to see that puck go in the net? Probably pretty crappy I suspect. Shawn's off beat game continued throughout the entire game. Penner looked like the only one trying to do anything tonight on that line. So for playing and playing very badly... Boooooooooo!

Robert Nilsson

- I think Ricky Bobby was trying to hard tonight to look like a playmaker instead of a shooter. That is what Gagner is there for. Shoot the puck. Please. So for doing nothing but bring down your line mates. Booooooooooo!

Liam Reddox

- Not sure why Robbie Schremp isn't in your shoes right now. MacT said when a top six guy goes down then Rob would be the next call up. But they called Brule. Ok. Fair enough. But tell me why is Reddox playing on the top line? I don't understand what it is that I can't see here. I don't know... maybe it's just me? Boooooooooooo!