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 #38 (Feb 26/09 vs. Columbus Blue Jackets)

Hello everyone. Today is a good day for hockey. ***There was something in the air that night. The stars were bright, fernando*** Pisani is back. I took a while but he's playing tonight. Grebeshkov will be back most likely next game. Erik Cole is still an Oiler. And the Oilers are sitting in 9th. Life is looking better.

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Ryan Whitney was traded to the Ducks today for Ryan Kunitz and a prospect. So that officially takes Whitney off the market. I thought that he was going to be an Oiler Eklund? So much for him being right. :)

And another trade was made today. Montreal acquires Doug Janik and Dallas receives Steve Begin. Ahh... who cares right?

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A lot of people sure think that the sky is falling... But is it really? I don't think so. I think that this team is in good shape. The Oilers are sitting in 9th. Tied with 3 other teams. A win here moves us up. A loss won't help the cause. I know. Pretty obvious observation. But the sky is not falling. I hear, "Gagner is not an NHLer and never will be", "Cole sucks", Hemsky doesn't lace his skates right", "Penner eats too many cheeseburgers", "Schremp for Mayor of E-Town". it is starting to drive people mental. If Tambo could just make a deal, it may quiet some people for awhile. Or not. I think mostly people like to hear themselves bitch and complain and see if they can get a rise out of someone. Most of the time it's laughable.

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1st Period

In the 1st minute and a half, Boll runs into Roli. (unbelievably Gilbert sees it, watches it, and forgets about it. Boooooooo!) Hopefully Roli plays mad for the rest of the game. And hopefully someone beats the crap out of Boll tonight or he's going to be a pest all game. Penalty for Stortini at 2:34. *sigh* But Rick Nash takes a penalty at 3:33 to make it 4 on 4 for a bit. Neither team does much other than one post hit by the BJ's. (don't be gross people, it means Blue Jackets) Seven minutes into this game, and it's kinda slow to get started. No real good opportunities for either team yet. (BJ's just took their first shot) Nothing worth screaming at anyways. However at 10:50, Torres and Strudwick drop the gloves. Torres starts swinging but Struds isn't ready yet. Boom, Boom, Boom. Strudwick fires some rabbit punches and takes down Torres. Quick but good fight. At 13:49, Boll takes an intentional shot at Roli after the whistle and infuriates Roli. Souray gives him a good chop and Roli is on his way out to kick his ass. But only Boll gets the penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. And rightfully so. So with the PP the Oilers can't do anything and the crowd let's then know that that is not cool and they get a nice boooooo! The 1st line seems to be the most productive out of all the Oiler lines so far. Just as the seconds were dying, Rick Nash almost scores but Roli comes up HUGE. Yeah... he's pissed off. Thanks Boll. 0-0 Tie Game.

2nd Period

Let's hope the fun factor of this game increases. The 1st was kind of lame. This period doesn't really start out any better. Peckham takes a penalty at 4:22. But the Jackets can't score on Roli. The BJ's are looking like they want to win this game. They have some drive. The Oilers don't. Not much happens until Horcoff takes a penalty at 11:20. Again the BJ's can't score on Roli. I can't believe that here I am, watching the team I love, and I'm bored. Good lord! Just as the period is winding down, Ethan Moreau takes the Oilers 3rd Hooking penalty of the game. But he's lucky as Commodore goes to the box for holding his stick. This was a bad period by the Oilers. They were out played, out shot, out everything. Brutal. Booooooooooo! The highlight other than Roli was Souray as the Oiler shot leader with 4 after two periods. 0-0 Tie Game.

3rd Period

Let's hope the 3rd is somewhat better. Well Souray nails one of the BJ's early in the period. Shortly after that, Nash nails the post and almost makes it a 1-0 game. Thanks Mr. Post. Steve Staios tries to rally the troops with a scuffle after the whistle with Peckham in there as well. Come on Oilers! The momentum is swinging our way now. Ahhhh. Torres scores at 7:45. 1-0 Blue Jackets. Well wouldn't you know it. The Boo Birds are out in full force now (and at my house). They were lingering all game. But damn rights. Those people at that arena deserve to boo them players. They are playing like crap. For the love of god! Moreau takes yet another hooking penalty. Another bad timing penalty. How many more does this guy need to take before something changes? Take that C off of him and give to someone who would represent it better. Like Souray. "LEADERSHIP IS ACTION... NOT POSITION" I live by that rule. If you can't be like that then you have no business being the captain. Back to the game. Cole makes a fancy drop pass to Staios. But Staios isn't there. Huge giveaway. Nash gets a breakaway, but once again Roli is there to save the Oilers ass. That by the way was Roli's 30th save of the game. So there is now 3:00 minutes left and I'm looking for a goal scoring hero. The fans are looking for a hero. Do we have one? Anyone? lol. MacT puts out Reddox. What is he doing out there? Just as time is winding down, MacT pulls the goalie and has (89, 12, 34, 18, 44, 77) out for the final minute. Really? Moreau? Pisani? But Pisani fires off one last blast but can't score. The Blue Jackets win! *shakes head* What a joke.

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Tonight's Starting Lines

Penner Horcoff Hemsky (Terrible. Started good. Ended bad.)

Nilsson Gagner Cole (Terrible. They were on for the BJ goal.)

Moreau Cogliano Pisani (Terrible and slow. Pisani was winded after the 1st.)

Reddox Brodziak Stortini (Didn't get much chance to be terrible)

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FINAL SCORE

Columbus Blue Jackets - 1

Edmonton Oilers - 0

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BEERS

Dwayne Roloson - Gramps was a rock tonight. He did everything he could to give the Oilers a fighting chance to win this game. He knew that this was important. He knew he had to show up and lead this team. (maybe Roli needs the C?) Thank god for Boll pissing him off because we all know when Roli is mad... He's at his best. For another excellent game and for being left to hang out and dry again. Have a few frosty beers. You deserve it! Cheers!

Ladislav Smid - He has really impressed me since the injuries. He has an edge that he plays with. He seems to really play a solid game. He's not the same guy from last year. He played 20:22 and had 4 hits. He also managed to block 3 shots. For a pretty fantastic game, enjoy a brewski Smid. Cheers!

For The Fans in the Oiler Nation - God knows we all need a beer after that. (maybe even two) That was terrible. Cold one anyone? Ok. *holds up beer* "To something better." Cheers!

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JEERS

The Amount of Giveaways - How can we expect to win games with 26 giveaway's? I don't think to many. Tom Gilbert and Ethan Moreau were the worst of the bunch. Although Cole's were bad timming ones. Bottom line... that is BS! 26 *shakes head* Boooooooooo!

Lack of Shots - 32 (CLB) to 19 (EDM) was the final shot total. Out of those 19 shots, how many were actual chances? Not many I would suspect. No shots and a ton of giveaway's. If you guys are going to play like that... do it on the road so you don't waste the ticket holders money. Booooooooo!

Ethan Moreau - I don't really know what else I can say about him. I can't stand him anymore. His bad plays keep hurting this team over and over again. He really has no positives. The fans may be sick of Craig MacTavish... But I'm sick of Ethan Moreau. You need to go. Booooooooo! (In fact I am starting my own FMNF campaign. The NNC campaign. What does it mean? Need New Captain.)

The Entire Team - For one, Roli gets hit again and no one does a thing. Gilbert looked at it and then turns his head and skates away. Wow! Freaking pansy. For two, MacT says you play if you can give more than you give up. We gave up way more this game. No wonder Reddox was out there and NOT Hemsky in the final minutes. What a craptacular game. Thanks for the memories... Boooooooooo!

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That was a sad and pathentic game. I sure hope that the other Oiler squad shows up on Saturday. If not then... then... well I don't know. I don't really want to find out. Oh. And it's against the Wild. I will expect Big Mac to draw back in. See you all then.

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.)

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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!!!

The Water Cooler #3 (Smyth/Souray/Cole/Lecavalier/Prucha)

*pours water into coffee cup* Oh... hello there. Welcome to the Water Cooler. I have some gossip today regarding some players. "Like what?", you say. Ok. Have a water and read on.

While it has been slow on the trade front (trades and news), the deadline is fast approaching. Is this going to be a big year for trades? I don't think so. The GM's now seem to have these damn cap problems of the modern era. Too many high salaries. Geez... who would have thought that the GM's would screw themselves again (pre lockout)? Maybe by the 3rd time around they will figure out that the large contracts are just plain silly. It's their own fault though. No one else to blame but themselves.

So with all the hype and hoopla that surrounds the TDL... don't expect much to happen. But it's still exciting as always. I always get fired up. Then I get dissapointed. What will happen this year?

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On the 17th of February, Eklund from Hockeybuzz.com reports (CLICK HERE) that Petr Prucha may be heading to Edmonton. No word on who would go the other way. (of course!) And I quote, "I am told that Prucha to Pittsburgh or Edmonton" Take it for what it's worth... mostly bull plop IMO.

Also on that same page, Eklund talks about how Vinnie Lecavalier maybe coming to Edmonton. And I quote, "Don't believe a word from anyone who says Vinny is not available. The Lightning aren't pushing the agenda to move him, but they have let it be known 100% clearly that the door is very open and pretty much exactly what the cost of entry is. I have been around enough trade deadlines to know how crazy people get. I would put it at 80-90% that Vinny is gone bny March 4th. The deals will be too big to look away from. The Lightning could be completely set up for years to come. And whenever the Rangers and Canadiens are involved you can be assured that the Leafs, Canucks, Flames, Oilers, and Flyers will have discussions as well. This is a chance of a lifetime for those teams and a golden opportunity for a new look Lightning team to emerge."

I guess we shall see if and where he goes. Not here...

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Here we have Ryan Smyth possibly returning to the Oilers. Eklund (CLICK HERE) claims this on February 19th. And I quote, " The Calgary Flames are an interesting possible landing spot for Ryan Smyth, and where there is smoke ther may just really be fire. However, don't rule out completely a return to Edmonton I am told for Smyth." I would love it, but I don't see it actually happening. Too bad.

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Now the most craziest one I have heard from Eklund. It came on the 21st of February. Sheldon Souray to the New Jersey Devils. (CLICK HERE) And I quote, "The Devils first choice is definitely trying to grab BOTH Neidermayers, they like Morris, but also like Leopold and Horton. They also would love to grab Souray out of Edmonton for a major league prospect and a roster player." I really don't see that ever happening. Ever. Come on Eklund. Get real!

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As far as Erik Cole rumours go... They are everywhere. It seems like if you keep on spitting names and teams around that eventually someone will claim to be right. He is linked to Carolina, Boston, Pittsburgh, Toronto, Washington. So really it's anyone's guess on where he goes. It's more of a question on who we will get in return.

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Well folks that is all that I have found. And here comes the boss so we better not get caught standing around the water cooler. Maybe see you next time at coffee break. Cya...

Beers and Jeers #36 (Feb 21/09 vs. Calgary Flames)

Well folks... As we sit around our TVs and celebrate Hockey Day in Canada, we are fortunate enough to have that team from the south (the Calgary fLames) playing against us instead of some other Canadian team. Why you ask? Because I love a good Battle of Alberta. Nothing can compare to a game like this. (I hope) I predict a 4-2 Oilers win. Gagner, Cole, Hemsky, Stortini scoring the goals. MacIntyre, Stortini and Peckham all fight tonight. Maybe even Gagner. (Maybe Andre Roy? jk) Let's go out there Oilers and kick some Calgary fLame ass.

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Due to me having company over, I won't be going as hardcore with the period summaries. Sorry, but I need to drink with my friends tonight.

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On a side note: we need to win tonight because the Nucks won in a shoot out (Damn you Sundin!) against the Leafs. The Leafs can't do anything right. :(

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1st Period

Boy the Oilers looked fired up tonight. Sporting the retro jersey's once again. MacT started the game with some line changes. Cole with Horc and Pens. And Hemmer with Gags and Nilsson. They really do look sharp so far here. All 4 lines look good. Smid nails Iginla and gets the crowd roaring. Yay Smid! The 4th Line gets a good chance with Big Mac crashing the net. But... the Oilers take a penalty. Guess who? Moreau for cross checking. But lucky for him the Oil kill it off. At 10:19, Smid drives to the net and draws a penalty. PP time for the Oil. But they can't convert. But shortly after the penalty expires, Erik Cole scores!!! Yeah! 1-0 Oilers. (Cole from Souray and Horcoff at 12:26) This is turning into a great idea by MacT. (about time) The Oilers do get another chance on the PP at 15:29 but once again they can not convert. 0 for 2 on the PP. Roli has made some great saves already in this game. But at 19:02 Gilbert takes a holding penalty. All in all, it was a good period by the Oilers. Let's see how the 2nd transpires.

2nd Period

Oilers get out of the gate quick. Brodziak gets a nice chance in the first few seconds. (We are on the PK still.) Through the first 8:00 minutes of the game there has been good flow with both goalies making some good saves. At 8:14, Hemsky takes a lazy penalty and puts the Oil down by a man. But the Oilers manage to kill it off (fLames are 0 for 3 so far) and next thing you know the fLames get nailed with a Too Many Men penalty. They manage to kill that off but the 4th line comes out again and again causes havoc in the crease. (Why not play them more MacT?) But wouldn't you know it... Iginla scores at to tie it up. Damn! 1-1 Tie Game. MacT now has Cole with Horc and Hemmer and Penner with Gags and Nilsson. For the record... Smid is AWESOME tonight. He is doing everything right. With some exciting play the period ends. Let's Go Oilers!

3rd Period

The Oilers have the peanut butter and jam tonight. The 3rd starts off much like the 2nd ended. Fast and furious. Holy crap! Hemsky scores! 2-1 Oilers. (Hemsky from Horcoff and Strudwick at 1:46) Well this gets everyone fired up. Cole gets a breakaway and Iginla takes a penalty. Not sure how that's not a penalty shot? But whatever... the Oilers are on the PP once again. I'll tell ya! The MacBlender is rolling tonight. Every shift is a little different than the last. Oh MacT... you and your crazy mind. Shortly after the Iggy penalty, Phaneuf takes a penalty. 5 on 3 for the Oil for the next 50 some odd seconds. They manage only one good shot from Souray. Boooooo! Cole sure has been great tonight. (I'm trying to enjoy his last few games with us. I am hoping he doesn't get moved.) With very little time left in the period, Calgary's Boyd and Moss collide in their own zone. The crowd goes wild. So with one minute left, the crowd chanting for the Oil, Mark and Marc mention that the crowd is anticipating an Oiler win tonight. A second later, Lombardi scores to tie it up. 2-2 Tie Game. Why in the hell can't people keep their mouths shut until the game is over? But Lombardi takes a penalty at 19:09. Overtime now with a little bit of a PP. Go Oilers!

Overtime

The fLames kill of the penalty and it's back to 4 on 4. With 2:30 left, Souray nails Adam Pardy and sends him and his helmet flying. Why do these guys have their straps so friggin' low? Are you guys retarded? Are you? So with the time winding down, Cammalleri busts in on a breakaway and Roli makes a HUGE save to keep the game tied. Shootout time.

Shootout

Gagner - loses the puck in the slot area. No goal.

Nilsson - gets poke checked by Kipper

Hemsky - also gets poked checked by Kipper

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Tonight's Starting Lines

Penner Horcoff Cole (Penner was pretty good tonight. Horcoff was great tonight. Cole was great tonight.)

Nilsson Gagner Hemsky (Nilsson was above average. Gagner was pretty good. Hemsky was good.)

Moreau Cogliano Stortini (Moreau was below average. In fact rather stinky. Cogliano was average but fast. Stortini was below average.)

MacIntyre Brodziak Reddox (MacIntyre was limited to 3:25. Brodziak had some good shifts. Reddox was good tonight as he ended up taking Stortini's spot on the 3rd line.)

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FINAL SCORE

Calgary Flames - 3

Edmonton Oilers - 2

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BEERS

Shawn Horcoff - The guy was fantastic tonight. He played 26:07, had 2 assists, 4 shots and 2 hits. He seemed to do everything right. He was 23 wins, 9 loses for 72% on the face off dot. He was on fire. So to put out the fire, have a cold frosty Horc. Great game... Cheers!

Ladislav Smid - The Spaz was good again. He made smart and reliable plays. He was laying the body whenever he could. And he managed to log 19:26 of ice time. He even found time to block 4 shots. Good job Smid. Have a beer with me. Cheers!

Erik Cole - I am missing him already and he hasn't even left yet. He was good tonight. Scored a nice goal to get the game going. He made some good body checks. Heck, he even warranted 22:50 of ice time for all the hard work. Erik Cole... you have been a great Oiler. Enjoy another beer with me. Cheers!

Honerable Mentions

Liam Reddox (He was good tonight. He did what he could to help this team. I know. I feel wierd even saying it.), Dwayne Roloson (Gramps was a force tonight. Even I was chanting Roli, Roli, Roli from home.), Strudwick/Peckham (this was a pretty solid defence group. I liked them a lot tonight.)

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JEERS

To be honest, I don't want to boo anything tonight. We did good. We just had a bad relapse with the time running out in the 3rd. Ok. Just a little one for that. Booooooooo!

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Well what a great game that was. Tons of action and lots of speed. A true Battle of Alberta. It's just to bad that we ended up on the losing side. Damn fLames!

Next game is Tuesday vs. Tampa Bay. Is this Vinny's last game with the Lightning and his first as an Oiler? Stay tuned...