My Take: Doug Sauter by OilField Hockey

FOR THE ORIGINAL POST GO HERE

I am going to start off "My Take" on things hockey here. For my 1st edition of "My Take" on the blog. I am going to look if former Oklahoma City Blazers' coach Doug Sauter should be on the coaching staff.

This is a touchy subject for most Oklahoma City Hockey fans. The feelings towards Doug Sauter, is that there are some who love him. But there are those fans who don't think he couldn't coach a side of a barn. There is no doubt Sauter's coaching record seems pretty stellar at first glance. The Blazers only made it to the post season 11 out 14 seasons, during Sauter's tenure in Oklahoma City. So here's the post season breakdown, out of 4 times making to the final round.

The Blazers split the difference by winning two championships in 1995-96 and 2000-01 seasons. Sauter and his team never made it past the 1st round of playoffs four times. Then they never made it passed the 2nd round three times. If you look at his total winning percentage over his 14 years. His record comes out to be with a winning percentage of .556 percent.

Do I think Sauter should part of the coaching staff here in Oklahoma City? No. I think he has a great persona about him, which could make him useful in finding some talent to bring here. If he gets on to the coaching staff, it shouldn't be behind the bench.

He should be someone who sits in the crowd to look at things from a different perspective. No one can mistake him for who he is in Oklahoma City, and what he did here. I believe it's time for the torch to be passed to a new coach, who just maybe can return glory to Oklahoma City hockey history.

Written by OilField Hockey

http://oilfieldhockey.blogspot.com/

OilField Hockey Partners With Oilers Jambalaya

www.oilfieldhockey.blogspot.com

Well, we did it again. Oilers Jambalaya is happy to say, we have formed a partnership with the new AHL blog called OilField Hockey. Thanks to OFH, we will now be providing the OJ readers with up to date news and analysis on the new Edmonton Oilers AHL farm team in Oklahoma City.

Scott is the guy that writes the (brand new blog, he started it in March) blog and he is located directly in Oklahoma City. He's pretty excited as he's purchased seasons tickets for next season and he's amped up and is excited to watch the new team in his hometown.

As Oiler fans know, we have some great talent in the farm system and I'd expect the new Oklahoma City AHL team to be a pretty good one.

As he has mentioned to me, there isn't a whole lot of media around his area that gives a lot of attention to the game of hockey. So luckily for me and you, we have OilField Hockey.

So, thanks again OFH for working with us at Oilers Jambalaya, you will find our readers are very passionate about the game of hockey and I'm sure you will help fuel the passion. GONEWOKCAHLTEAM!!!

OilField Hockey Blog
You Can Also Follow OFH On Twitter

OilField Hockey is not affiliated with the Prodigal Hockey,LLC or yet to be named AHL Club, the Edmonton Oilers Hockey Club, the AHL, the NHL, or any of their partner organizations

Gilbert and Whitney Are Good, Stortini And Nilsson, Not So Much

This is a game recap of the Edmonton Oilers vs the Toronto Maple Leafs game on Hockey Night and Canada.

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FINAL SCORE

Edmonton Oilers - 4

Toronto Maple Leafs - 6

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Tonight's Starting Lines

Comrie Horcoff Moreau
Penner Cogliano Brule
Minard Gagner Pouliot
Stortini Potulny Nilsson

Whitney Gilbert
Chorney Strudwick
Johnson Peckham

Deslauriers
Dubnyk

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VIDEO REPLAY



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THE RECAP

I figured since either your watching the game, or you don't give a crap, I figured the Beers & Jeers are getting a little redundant and therefore I am going to not do them for the games that we can all watch. I'll still do them for the PPV games though. A lot of people count on the recaps as nobody is paying for the PPV's much anymore. I have the package. So I'll post them there.

I figured I could write about the game, but in more of a discussion type forum. 

Let's start with the good stuff:

- Brule tries hard no matter what. How can you not like that about him? Tonight he had 3 shots and really dictated the play when he was out. I liked him, even if he blew that breakaway.

- Tommy G is a new guy. Not new to the team. But more like as in a brand new man. He's not only been responsible in his own end, he's done a decent job as a #1 guy. He was +1 and had an assist. Gilbert even played an exhausting 26:17. Nicely done Tommy G.

- Ryan Whitney is a guy who I was not happy about acquiring. Not only was I wrong about him, he's making me look stupid. He skates fast and he's very fluid. He's strong and his passes are fairly accurate. I'm liking this guy. Tonight he played 27:09 and had an assist. He did all that even with a bum/injured knee. Now we all know that is a must have quality if you want to be an Oiler. I'm glad Ryan has it.

- Sam Gagner just keeps getting better. To be honest with you, the more I see Gagner this year, the less I care about Hemsky. Gagner has passion and the drive to be great. He's going to be a star in the NHL and there is no doubt he will surpass Hemsky in most facets. Tonight he picked up an assist but was a -1.

- I would like to see Devan Dubnyk get more games. He needs a win.

- Dustin Penner tonight was the Powerhouse Dustin Penner. He was that machine we seen at the start of the season. He scored a goal and had two assists and was +2 at the end of the game. Stellar game for the big guy. I just wish he was this for all 82 games. He really could make a run for a trophy if he did.

The Not So Good Parts Of The Game:

- Having Moreau in the lineup was a mistake from the get go. The trade deadline has passed, let him sit it out for the rest of the year. He sucks the life out of the team.

- What the hell is wrong with Deslauriers? HELLO!!! They are going to shoot high on you. I'm sure if I know where your weak spot is, then the NHL teams must know right? You better fix it soon. It's getting sad.

- Zack Stortini has dropped off the radar. So far, it's like he's not really emotionally involved any more. I wonder if there is a riff with Quinn? But for night's like tonight where he only played 6:40, but ended up -2. Ouch!

- For a guy who needs to play his butt off to secure a spot on the team next season, Robert Nilsson is a huge let down. He started the year looking pretty good, but he's been sucking for a long time. Tonight he sucked some more. he was -2 and played 13:30.

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POST GAME VIDEO



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For the full game TweetCast, Go Here To Re-Read

**LIVE BLOG** Edmonton Oilers at Toronto Maple Leafs (THE BATTLE OF THE BAD)

Welcome everyone to another fine TweetCast by Oilers Jambalaya.

Tonight you will see the tweets/comments of Paq Twinn, Smokin' Ray, Nick Walker, Scarlett, OilFieldHockey, Dan Tencer, The official Edmonton Oilers and the official Toronto Maple Leafs tweets.

I have also included Hockey Canada and CTVOlympics to the Live Blog. The Paralympics are on and I am cheering for all the Canadian athletes that are there participating. GO CANADA GO!!!

Feel free to comment by typing in the box below. It's easy and no signup required. Once you comment, we will unmoderate you and you can then speak freely. Be patient if we don't see you right away. You will get on.

We hope you enjoy the TweetCast and we are glad you stopped by. GOILERSBUTNOTTOOMUCH!!!

Edmonton Oilers (21-39-7) at Toronto Maple Leafs (22-33-12)

Battle of the Basement

It's been almost two weeks since I was in Vancouver watching Canada beat the Americans in overtime at the gold medal hockey game. It was the most nerve-wracking three hours of my life, watching the Canadians control the game until the third period when they decided to sit back and defend their 2-1 lead. Of course the game was tied up and off to overtime.

The crowd was so dejected after the late goal, but an in-house interview brought the energy back to the arena. Thank you Craig MacTavish who declared the Canadians would collect themselves, come out hard in overtime and win. Obviously, he wasn't going to say anything else but he got the crowd back into the game. The Golden Child, Sidney Crosby, scored a nice goal and the hardest gold medal of these games was won by Canada. It was the 14th gold medal (a record) and most important.

The pressure on this team was so incredible and the entire country was on the edge of their seat the entire game. At least 2/3rds of the country watched a part of this game and the ratings in the US was the best in 30 years. I was lucky enough to be there for the game and I could barely enjoy it until it was over. And wow, it was the single most exciting moment on my life.

Alas, I had to come home to Edmonton and to non-Olympic hockey. I also came home to my Grebeshkov being traded and then a few days later we said goodbye to Visnovsky. I am not too keen on either trade but I understand the reasoning behind Lubo. Hello cap space and youth! But Grebs? No, no, no, and no. He's 26 and making 3.15. Oilers were scared that he was a restricted free agent and would command a hefty raise. Sure he didn't have the best year but who on this team has?? I think they should have kept the Russian for one more year and see what he can really do.

Battle of the basement tonight: Toronto vs Edmonton. Toronto is a delightful 7 points ahead of Edmonton who have been playing better of late, going 2-1-1. However, we do NOT need the Oilers getting a boatload of wins at this point. They're positioned nicely to pick in the top two and they need to stay the course. Of course some players are fighting for jobs next year but I don't care. A loss would really cement them in 30th. Of course, a win wouldn't be the end of the world. Plus beating the Leaves would give all Oiler fans a warmy fuzzy feeling. Let's face it, the Leaves, with their blowhard GM and irritating fans, deserve to lose. And the best is they don't have their number one draft pick (Boston does).

Win? Lose? I think it's a win-win situation for the Oilers. If they lose, they really win and keep 30th place locked up. If they win, they beat the Leaves and the rest of the country rejoices. Win-win!!!

-Scarlett-