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.

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

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.)

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

FINAL SCORE

Edmonton Oilers - 2

San Jose Sharks - 4

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

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.)

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

JEERS

38% team faceoff percentage - Booooooooooooo!

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

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 #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...

The Water Cooler #2 (Cole/Smyth/Whitney/Guerin/Hemsky/Jay Bo)

**Remember, these are rumors. Nothing more. Do not believe any of this. This is for entertainment purposes only. I would seriously be shocked if any of this becomes true.**

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

*REAL* Just to start off it's being reported by TSN that the Penguins have fired their coach. Michel Therrien has been replaced by interim coach Dan Bylsma the farm team coach. The Penguins have a 27-25-5 record this season and are sitting five points out of the playoffs.

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

Here from Hockeybuzz we have Erik Cole going to Pittsburgh for (D) Ryan Whitney. I actually think that this is a fair deal if done as one for one. We will see where this goes.

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

This what I found at Spector's Hockey. And I quote "Jay Bouwmeester and would likely get a roster player, prospect and first round pick. The Flyers, Blackhawks, Oilers, Rangers and Devils are rumored to be interested..." Duh!!! Thanks for the tip Spector.

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

Here is a Hockey Leaks Feb 13/09 rumor statement. And I quote, "The Oilers are apparently willing to include Hemsky in a deal to bring in Bouwmeester." You have got to be kidding guy that wrote this. You seriously believe this? Hemsky? Really? *shakes head* If they balked at giving up Cogs or Gags then why Hemmer?

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

Now there is no mention of the Oilers in this link, but I think the Oilers should look at bringing #94 home. He worked well with Hemsky and Horcoff. Just a thought. I would do it. But it is up to Ryan Smyth as he has a NTC. Last I heard, he wasn't keen on coming back. But what do I know?

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

Also from 4th period, It appears that the Oilers have shown interest for the Ottawa Senators d man, Filip Kuba. I'm not sure if he is what we need. I'm hoping for a North American player.

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

A few days ago I heard about Bill Guerin maybe coming back to Edmonton from Hockeybuzz. And I quote, "*With Doug Weight out for six weeks, one source has informed me that the Oilers may be reaching into their past for veteran leadership to the OTHER Islanders American star, Billy Guerin." Cool. I liked him. But doesn't he play RW? And don't we need a LW? Doesn't make sense. So don't count on it.

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

Well that's all I have found for now. TSN has a site that is ready for the Trade Deadline. It's not bad. March 4th is coming quick. Who do you want?

Dear Mr. Belvedere... #2

Dear Mr. Belvedere,

Sometimes I sit outside and pick flowers. (They love me... they love me not... They love me...) Yay! They love me today. (better enjoy it while it lasts) I am sooooooo happy. Yesterday was Valentines Day and I was lucky that I was on the golf course with my loved ones. Like Liam. He is such a nice boy. Very polite and such a hard worker. I really think that people are really starting to like him. (I told you so!) He mows my lawn. He washes my car. He opens my beers for me. He even has dated my ugly daughter. He's great. He even polished my knob on my handle of my club. He is really showing this squad how to be a weiner. (I mean winner but I have no white out) I just wish he could actually play hockey. Oh well.... at least he is winning the hearts of at least a dozen fans.

Sometimes I have to wonder why the general public hates me so much? What did I do that was so wrong? Come on! Pisani at center was a good idea. And it wasn't my fault that Cole can't play the left side. Isn't that where he started playing in minor hockey? I mean really... he's left handed! And if I didn't play Smid on the 4th line then no one would believe me that he couldn't play as a forward. So none of this is really my fault. It's their fault. I played for many years with no helmet and that didn't hirt me at al.

So here goes another road trip and I hope the boys can just be like Liam. Oh yeah. I have been doing those exercises that Dr. Kuckobryd recommended. I look into a mirror and I tell myself. "You are a winner! You are great! You are smart!" You go guy!

Thanks for listening,

C. MacTavish

*not an actual letter. Just some made up, lame humour by Smokin' Ray Burnt*

Beers and Jeers #32 (Feb 14/09 vs. Los Angeles Kings)

Well what a nice day for a hockey game. Beautiful skies and love is in the air. Cuddling with your loved ones sitting on the couch. Awwww.... how nice.

However the Oilers need to not worry about love. They need to hate. Hate the Kings like they are the Flames. Hate them like it's game 7 of the SCF. Hate them like it's their abusive step daddy. Yes the team needs to get fired up for this one. The Kings seem to be hot lately and the Oilers need to get off to a good start on this 4 game roadie. Time to put a string of wins together. Time to get playoff ready.

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

On a side note, Theo Peckham has been recalled and will play tonight. Denis Grebeshkov will be out for 4 to 6 weeks. That sucks. Expect Smid to excel now.

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

1st Period

The game gets off to a good start. Fast pace. In the first minute and a half, Souray bombs one off the Kings post and nearly scores. Then L.A. has some real good opportunities on Roli. But Roli seems up for the task today. I just hope they can piss him off somehow. Then at 4:58, Hemsky tries to make a pass to Horcoff. He misses it and Penner bangs it in for the goal. Wicked! 1-0 Oilers. Off to a good start. Shortly after that the Kings #1 line puts tons of pressure on the Oilers. They get some really good chances but once again Roli comes up huge. The play continues to be fast and furious. At 13:11, the Oilers on the PP, Hemsky makes a nice pass to Penner in front of the net. Instead of shooting a backhand shot, he keeps passing it to Horcoff. He shoots and scores. 2-0 Oilers. Yeah. Then the rough stuff starts. After it's all over Horcoff goes to the box. What? A goal AND a penalty. Strange. But the action is just going to get better from here on out. Oh... and it does. At 15:08 more rough stuff begins and next thing Gagner and Jack Johnson are fighting. Yeah that's right. Gagner. He starts off not too bad but ends up getting worked over a little. But who freaking cares!!! That takes balls. Sam Gagner is moving up in my books. Maybe instead of a beer he gets an ice pack. So with that done you would have to expect a heavyweight fight soon. 17:20 Stortini and Ivanans. Good tilt. Stortini sure has improved his fighting skills. No more Huggy Bear. Thank god. At least now he is scary. Storts gets some high fives from the boys on the way to the dressing room. The game is getting intense now. Near the end of the period Souray tries to get Dustin Brown to go. Brown is a chicken turd and refuses. I mean really.... I wouldn't want to be one punched by Souray. Would you? Great period by the Oilers. The fans should be happy with that. I am. End of period score: 2-0 Oilers

2nd Period

This period should be as intense as the last. The Kings start out with some good pressure and the Oilers take a penalty. During the PK, the Oilers take another penalty. Oh crap! So with Peckham and Staios sitting in the box, Roli comes up huge, but L.A. eventually scores. Damn. 2-1 Oilers. But the Oilers kill off the last penalty and now it's time for retribution. The 27/10/83 are really dynamite so far this game. It's great to see. I was getting worried about Hemsky, but he is looking good now. I can see now why this L.A. squad is on such a roll. They are really good. Really fast. Very similar to the Oilers. Ok... At 10:59 the Kings take a penalty. Time to make a move Oil. Time to go. The 1st line gets some great chances but can't score. The kid line comes out and they can't score either. However, Smid shoots the puck over the glass and sits for 2. But Roli is still on a roll and they kill it off. 23 to 7 are the shots for L.A. at the 3:30 mark of the 2nd. Wow! I guess it would be safe to say that the Kings won this period. End of period score: 2-1 Oilers

3rd Period

Well I love it when the Oilers are riding the wave to a win. But this wave is rough. This period has started off hard hitting and spirited much like the other two periods. PP time for the Oilers. But no goals again. At 7:18 L.A. takes a penalty. Just as the Oilers are trying to get it out of the zone, Tom Gilbert gives away the puck at the blue line and sends the King player on a break away and Roli was blessed by the post gods. Thank you post gods. There sure have been some huge hits in this game. Dustin Brown levels Smid and a few seconds later (13:22) Moreau absolutely nails Brown. Helmet and gloves go flying and so does Dustin. Haha! Chopper manages a penalty for fighting Matt Greene, but oh well. Point taken huh Brown? The game play is really good this game. The pace hasn't slowed all game. All the lines are playing well and this is a good start to the 4 game roadie. More massive hits and a penalty by Cogs has been making this final few minutes really exciting. Can we hold them off? Can we score another? Let's go Oilers! L.A. net is empty... 6 on 4 PP for the Kings. What kind of Ref calls an intentional offside with 30 seconds left? I'll tell you. A MORON! Faceoff in the Oilers zone. L.A. scores. Geez... 2-2 tie game. I can't believe that. Why would Horcoff want to be offside. The net was empty. *shakes head*

Overtime

This game should be over, but it's not. But the Oilers do get a point this game so that's good. *plays the Jefferson's Theme Song. Movin' on up!* So here we go. Let's win this Oilers. The action continues to be the same as what we have already seen. Like I said earlier these Kings are a good team. But the overtime solves nothing with both teams trying hard in the OT period. Off to the Shootout.

Shootout

Sam Gagner - He goes to the right, cuts back in and shoots it glove high and scores.

Robert Nilsson - Goes wide as well and just as he cuts to the left he stops and sneaks it in on the right along the ice. Scores! Game over. Wooooooooo....

Ales Hemsky - did not shoot.

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

Today's Starting Lineup

Penner Horcoff Hemsky (The best Oiler line. They all played well together)

Nilsson Gagner Cole (This line was pretty solid as well. Cole was still not quite himself)

Moreau Cogliano Pouliot (Pretty decent 3rd line. Had big hits and they were fast.)

Stortini Brodziak Reddox (Not really a line that stayed together much. But were effective when they were.)

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

Final Score

Edmonton Oilers - 3

Los Angeles Kings - 2

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

BEERS

Sam Gagner - I thought that Gags was really good today. He made a few mistakes but his fight was instrumental in getting the team fired up. He takes a beating all game and still comes back for more. Then he gets picked for the shootout. And scores the winner. Nice Sam. You deserve a beer. Cheers!

Ales Hemsky - I thought that the real Hemsky was here at this game today. He played pretty good offensively and a real decent defensive game. He was a huge factor for this team to win today. He deserves a nice cold one. Cheers!

Dwayne Roloson - Roli the goalie was stellar once again today. He has really taken this team on his shoulders and really ran with it since the Garon trade. He seems to be in the best mental and physical shape since the '06 run. Vintage Roli today. Enjoy a frosty Roli. Good game. Cheers!

Honorable Mention: Shawn Horcoff (my whipping boy was excellent today. His play was real solid.), Sheldon Souray (he was the mean tough guy that we have grown to love. He can shoot and kick you ass. Nice.), Ethan Moreau (absolutely killed Dustin Brown with that hit in the 3rd.), Dustin Penner (a solid game from Penner)

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

JEERS

The Ref that called the Intentional Offside on Horcoff - MORON! Who wants an offside call when the goalie is pulled and you can score on an empty net? Boooooooooooo!

Tom Gilbert - His giveaway was almost a game killer. He seemed to fumble the puck at our blue line quite a bit today. He needs to be better with the two guys out. Booooooooooooo!

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

Well that was a fun game to watch. On one hand I like afternoon games. But on the other I hate it because now I have to watch some other crap teams play on HNIC tonight and not the Oilers. Oh well. There is always alcohol. And it's Valentines day so I am sure some people are getting lucky tonight.

Next game is Monday @ 7:30 vs Pheonix. This should be a "W". See you then...

GO OILERS!