Beers and Jeers #45 (Mar 17/09 vs. St. Louis Blues)

Thanks to Telus, the internet in my area was down last night just as the game was starting. I know... another excuse. But seriously, the Telus internet is good but it keeps cutting out every once in awhile. It's driving me crazy.

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Hello folks. Happy St. Patricks Day!!! Before this game starts the Oilers are sitting in 9th. I'm sure it will change a bit tonight. Hope it's up for us.

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There has been some changes in the lines and we shall see if they pan out. Mr. Irish, Patrick O'Sullivan is now playing with Horcoff and Hemsky. I don't mind this at all. He is a shooter.

Kotalik will be with Gagner and Nilsson. I actually feel bad for Gagner. Nilsson has been not helping him at all all year. Can't imagine that Kotalik will help much either. So, why did we pick him up?

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Tonight's Starting Lines

O'Sullivan Horcoff Hemsky

Nilsson Gagner Kotalik

Reddox Cogliano Pisani

Moreau Brodziak Penner

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FINAL SCORE

St. Louis Blues - 1

Edmonton Oilers -2

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BEERS

Dwayne Roloson - Roli the goalie came through once again. He was almost caught a few times (like the play where he was at the top of the circle). But he did what he does best. He stopped pucks. The guy is unbelievable. Frosty beer Roli? Cheers!

Patrick O'Sullivan - Sully was great on that 1st line. He seems like a fit for Hemsky. Thank god. He had a few great chances and was creating his own. At times though, he and Hemsky looked out of sync. But I'm sure that after a few games they will be rollin'. Have a frosty green mug o' beer Sully. Cheers!

Denis Grebeshkov - This guy has really became a fantastic player. He has made a believer out of me. I really hope the Oilers can retain this guy in the off season. He is slowly becoming one of my faves. He picks up an assist on the PP goal in the 1st and he led the team in hits with 3. All in all he was superb. Have a beer on me Grebs. Cheers!

Honorable Mention Sam Gagner (The little dude was good today. He even had a good day on the faceoff dot. 71%) Sheldon Souray (He was playing with an edge and I liked it. He scores a huge goal and unloads lots of bombs.) Tom Gilbert (5 blocked shots. Nice.) Ales Hemsky (He played good and seemed interested in playing tonight. Hope to see more of that.)

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JEERS

Ethan Moreau - I have two reasons why he gets a boo. First, now that you wear a visor that is fairly large and covers a lot of your face. You either can't fight anymore or you have to show respect and take off the helmet. I thought that it was cool to stick up for Hemmer but puching a guy while your face is covered made me boo you right then and there. Second, the penalty in the 3rd. What the hell man? Again. *hands in the air like I just don't care* Need New Captain. (NNC) Boooooooo!

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Well folks, let's hope the next Beers and Jeers goes smooth so I'm not making any excuses about where it is. So please... no more hate mail. jk

Beers and Jeers #44 (Feb 14/09 vs. Colorado Avalanche)

Happy 43rd Birthday to my Sister Wendy!!!

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Congratulations to my two Cousins (Dan and Mike) and my Uncle who won the Coy Cup in BC with the Williams Lake Stampeders. They played great and deserved to win the Championship. Yay! Here is video link. CLICK HERE

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Well here we are in the middle of March and the Oilers are sitting in 7th. Still... edit @ 9:51 pm :Dallas wins in OT. Oilers are now in 8th. I hear that MacT is changing up the lines tonight. I wonder for how long?

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1st Period

Good pace to start the period off. The Oilers are flying early. The 2nd line has a good rush and with a little bit of luck they score. Yeah! 1-0 Oilers (Nilsson unassisted at 3:09) Shortly after the goal at 6:34, Peckham drops the gloves with Colorado's Stewart. Good tilt for both guys. A lot of good punches thrown. Hemsky has had a few good chances early in this game. He is really on the ball tonight. Gagner is also looking sharp. Pisani takes a penalty at 13:19 and Colorado scores on the PP at 15:02. Crap. 1-1 Tie Game. Come on Oilers. Pretty good period for the Oil. It could have been 3-1 Oilers. But it's not. We shall see what happens in the 2nd.

2nd Period

Well it's all Colorado in the 1st half of this period. The Oilers didn't carry any of the momentum that they had in the 1st. At 8:59, Pisani sits again for 2:00 minutes. Luckily enough the Avs don't score. The Oilers really need to get going here. Stastny takes a penalty at 14:47 and the Oilers have the chance that they were looking for. Good puck movement but no goals. At the end of the period the shots are 17-12 for the Avs. Let's go Oilers!!!

3rd Period

This is a period where I hope that the real Oilers show up. It seems as if MacT has switched things around. Here are the new lines (19 89 83, 27 10 34, 12 13 78, 18 51 21) I think?!? Let's see how this plays out. Well Souray takes a brutal penalty and wouldn't you know it. The Avs score on the PP. 2-1 Colorado. Damn! The Oilers are not making a lot of clean passes. It's going to bite them in the butt if they are not careful. At 11:02 the Avs take a penalty. The Oilers have 19 89 83 44 37 out. They do a real good job at moving the puck around but can not score. Damn guys. The crowd is starting to get impatient and frankly, so am I. The Oilers need more shots. Way more shots. 22 (Avs), 15 (Oil) is not good enough. **As of right now the Oilers have been bumped down to 9th in the standings.** The OILERS SCORE!!! Sheldon Souray. Yes! 2-2 Tie Game. (Souray from Brodziak and Staios at 14:40) Awwww... Penner high sticks a guy and sits for two at 14:50. But the Oilers kill it off and apply some pressure to the Avs. The crowd is chanting "Let's Go Oilers!". With a buck forty left, the Avs call a time out.

Overtime

Well he we go again. The Oilers playing in an overtime? No way! 10 and 34 start out for the Oilers. Out comes 83 and 19. And just like that. The Avs score and it's over. Good lord boys. *shakes head* It's always five hole on Roli. 3-2 Colorado. Final shots. 30-20 for the Avs.

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GAME SUMMARY

EVENT SUMMARY

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Tonight's Starting Lines

Kotalik Horcoff Hemsky

Nilsson Gagner Pouliot

O'Sullivan Cogliano Pisani

Moreau Brodziak Penner

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FINAL SCORE

Colorado Avalanche - 3

Edmonton Oilers - 2

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BEERS

Sam Gagner - Gags was playing bigger than he is tonight. Well sort of. He still gets knocked down but he was playing huge. His vision and awareness has been really sharp these last few games. It's just to bad Cole's not here to enjoy it. For a pretty good game tonight you deserve a frosty. Cheers!

Shawn Horcoff - Horc was pretty crafty tonight. He was hard working and creative but couldn't manage any points. But for him trying hard and not really looking bad, he can have a frosty mug o' beer. Cheers!

Sheldon Souray - Other than the untimely penalty in the 3rd he was great. He was blocking shots (5) and firing pucks (5) and scores the tying goal in the 3rd. He even showed his nasty side a few times. Good game tonight Shelly. Beer? Cheers!

Honorable Mention - Denis Grebeshkov (he blocked a few shots and played pretty good.), Dwayne Roloson (Roli faced a lot of shots again. He really is the MVP of this team. Maybe he should be the captain?), Patrick O'Sullivan (The speedy new guy was pretty good. I liked his game tonight)

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JEERS

The Entire Team - Just for losing another game. Boooooooo!

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Well that was an ok game. We did manage the overtime point, but it wasn't the 2 that was needed. After this game is over the Oilers are back up to 8th. Let's hope the Oilers can actually pull out a win next time. Maybe they should start a 2 points handshake or find a new song or something? Let's Go Oilers!!!

Beers and Jeers #43 (Feb 12/09 vs. Atlanta Thrashers)

Well first off I need to apologise to all the Jambalaya Fans for missing the last Beers and Jeers. Now I know that this isn't much of an excuse, but I hurt my neck on Tuesday and that made it impossible to write more than one line. So that made me unable to write out the B & J. Gagner and Roli would have had beers. O'Sullivan would have been booed for taking a penalty in overtime. Some people would lay the blame to MacT for putting out the 4th line in the 3rd when Montreal scored. I do to a certain degree, but it's still the players responsibility to play a smart game. But still. The 4th line MacT? With the game on the line? Come on!

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The Oilers are playing sub par and for some reason still sit in 7th before this game starts. Nothing short of amazing.

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Sorry there will be no Period by period action. I missed the 1st and 2nd periods. (This is the most I have missed all season. Work. What can you do? *arms up*) However my bud Whitey is helping me out with the Beers and Jeers. Things will be back to normal next game. If you really need the break downs then check out these places. Jen Sharpe OilersNation JeanShortsBaggedMilk David Staples

GAME SUMMARY

EVENT SUMMARY

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Tonight's Starting Line's

Kotalik Horcoff Hemsky (Horcoff and Hemsky were pretty good. Kotalik still isn't fitting in on LW)

Nilsson Gagner Pouliot (This line is really working well together. Pouliot is playing very well. Gagner is still on fire and Nilsson scores and plays smart.)

O'Sullivan Cogliano Pisani (This line was average. O'Sullivan scores his 1st as an Oiler and plays a good game. Cogliano was not bad and not great, however he did cough up the puck in OT and that's not good at all. Pisani was also not so hot. He was kind of invisable.)

Moreau Brodziak Penner (This was a hard to judge line as Penner only played 5:03. All three were average except for Penner sticking up for Hemmer. That was good.)

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Atlanta Thrashers - 4

Edmonton Oilers - 3

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BEERS

Sam Gagner - He was real good tonight. He seemed to be on his game tonight. He manages 5 shots and has an assist with a +1 rating. Gagner is a gamer. Well... a at the end of the season gamer. Either way it's working for him. Have a beer little dude. Cheers!

Patrick O'Sullivan - He scores his 1st goal as an Oiler and looks good doing it. He really seems t be fitting in better than Kotalik is. It shows, as MacT had him out for 19:39 of ice time.. He does need to create more. Maybe a shift or two with Hemmer would fix that? But, today he deserves a beer. Frosty? Cheers!

Shawn Horcoff - The man was good. He seemed to do everything right. And he scores a pretty nice goal. All that in 22:42 of ice time. The workhorse needs a cold beer? Cheers!

Honorable Mentions - Robert Nilsson (He played pretty good, scoring a goal and was +1. He wasn't a waste of a roster space tonight.), Ales Hemsky (He looked good and managed to pick up an assist.), Denis Grebeshkov (He sure has changed since we picked him up from the Islanders. I hope he stays.), Sheldon Souray (The man was a force. I love the way he plays.)

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JEERS

Smid/Strudwick Pairing - They were on the ice for the 1st two goals. Not the best way to start a game. For that alone you deserve a Booooooooooo!

Craig MacTavish - It's getting real hard to defend you anymore. Bench Penner? For what? It just seems that he makes judgement errors at every game now. My hands are up in the air because I have no idea what to thunk of him anymore. Boooooooooo!

The Entire Team - Last time I checked, 2 points were not being awarded for losing in OT. 2 points = Playoffs. It's time to win a few. Booooooooo!

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Can't believe that Sakic, err.. Marty Reasoner scores the overtime winner. Only one point again. What the hell man?!? One point.

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

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

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

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1st Period

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

2nd Period

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

3rd Period

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

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Tonight's Starting Lines

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

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

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

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

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FINAL SCORE

Edmonton Oilers - 4

Toronto Maple Leafs - 1

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BEERS

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

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

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

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

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JEERS

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

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

Beers and Jeers #41 (Mar 5/09 vs. Ottawa Senators)

Well hello once again folks. Lots has changed since the last Beers and Jeers. Erik Cole is gone now. He went home to Carolina. He will be missed in Oil Country. At least he still has his house there. And we welcome Ales Kotalik and Patrick O'Sullivan. I sure hope these guys work out. As fans, we need them to. I really liked Cole and what he brought to the table. I am shocked that he was the one to go. No Penner? Horcoff? Nilsson? Pouliot? Schremp? Roy? But whatever... I think that this is a good deal for the Oilers in the end. But hey, maybe Cole does resign in Edmonton this summer?

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Before this game starts the Oilers are sitting in 7th. Let get some more points boys...

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1st Period

Before the game is even going, Spezza scores in the first 12 seconds. 1-0 Ottawa. Good grief! Not the best way to start a game. The new guys sure look energized tonight. That's good because so does Hemsky. You know, Jarko Ruutu is a _____. (Go ahead and fill in your own word). I really hate that guy and all that he represents as a player. He taunts Stortini enough to make him drop the gloves. Then the chicken shit skates away. Unbelievable. Smid is really having a good period. Lots of spazzing and hitting. Nice. But the real jem of the period was when the Oiler fans started to boo Comrie when he would touch the puck. It was pretty loud. And the game is in Ottawa. *Stomach hurt type laugh* Kotalik had a pretty solid period as did O'Sullivan. But when Kotalik was getting interviewed by Mean Gene, he was dog tired. He is going to have to improve the cardio if he wants to stay on the #1 line.

2nd Period

The first part of the period, it's all Senators. They are out playing the Oilers at both ends of the rink. Horcoff takes a penalty. But before the Oilers can touch the puck the Senators score. Crap! 2-0 Ottawa. Not good boys. Not good. Shortly after at 4:41, Gagner takes a holding penalty. Ottawa attack again and what? They score. *shakes head* 3-0 Ottawa. Come on Oilers. With 11:39 left to play, the Senators are really working the Oilers over. It's almost embarrassing. But thankfully Comrie sits for 2:00. Gagner gets a nice pass from Grebs and goes in on a breakaway. Scores!!! 3-1 Ottawa. (Gagner from Grebeshkov from Gilbert at 10:45.) Ok Gagner. Nice shift in the momentum dept. Oilers are going now. But as the period winds down the Senators slowly take back the momentum.

3rd Period

This was one of those back and forth periods, yet it was boring. The first 10:00 minutes went by fairly quickly. Time is slipping for the Oilers. Awwww... Senators score again at 11:58. 4-1 Ottawa. Geez. But the Oilers do manage to get a man advantage. Gagner nails the post/crossbar and the puck appears to go in. But after the long review they call it a no goal. Damn. I personally thought that it went in. So they don't score. Too bad. But a little while later at 18:07, Gagner scores again for the Oil. This time it is in. Yeah! 4-2 Ottawa. (Gagner from Staios from Smid) That was all the Oilers could muster as they lose a game that should have been 2 points.

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Tonight's Starting Lines

Kotalik Horcoff Hemsky (This line looked ok. This might just work out. Kotalik is a big dude. He seems very solid and strong. He just needs better cardio. Horcoff was average tonight. Nothing great, nothing bad. Hemsky was finally trying to do something. Maybe this is his spark that he has needed.)

O'Sullivan Gagner Pouliot (This was a pretty good line. Gagner was on fire. He was saying Cole who? Jk. Pouliot was much like Horcoff. Nothing great, nothing bad. Which kind of makes him pretty good. O'Sullivan seems good. He's very fast and good with the puck. But he's just not comfortable yet. He is going to work with Gagner though. They just need a big fast body to play with. Not Penner please.)

Penner Cogliano Pisani (This line was average. They don't really seem to work all that well together. Penner had lots of hits which was good. But that's it. Where does Penner go when Moreau comes back? Cogliano was kind of Horcoff-ish as well. 50/50. Pisani still isn't Pisani yet. But he will.)

Jacques Brodziak Stortini (The 4th line was a hard hitting unit. *He he*. Unit. Jacques was not very good in my opinion. He was slow and not very aware. Brodziak seemed lifeless at times but was good on the face off dot. Stortini was duped into not fighting with Ruutu. But he played solid.)

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FINAL SCORE

Edmonton Oilers - 2

Ottawa Senators - 4

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BEERS

Sam Gagner - This was the guy I was worried the most about when we traded Cole. I guess he will survive huh? Sammy was great tonight. He seemed to be in the right places. Not to many guys deserve a beer tonight. But Sam earned every bottle with his effort. Two goals, almost three. Five shots for the little dude. Team high. Nice. So have a case a beer and help yourself Sam. Cheers!

Ladislav Smid - I don't care if anyone agrees with me. Smid was a force. He was hitting and smack talking. He was a freaking Spaz. I love that. He even managed an assist tonight. Have a big beer Smid. Cheers!

Andrew Cogliano - The man was a beast on faceoffs. Get this. 7 wins, 2 losses for 78%. Wow! For a guy that is around 37% for the season, this is huge. This is colossally massive. This is worth a beer. High five Andrew! But try scoring next time. Cheers!

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JEERS

The Entire Team - What the hell? That is the effort that we (fans) get after a interesting trade day? Totaly not good enough. *shakes head* No one in particular was really worthy off a full out boo. The team just sucked as a whole and Roli could save the day. I don't need to say anything else. We need the wins. Bad dog! *shakes finger* Boooooooo!

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That was a bad loss. The pieces have changed and yet the will to win has not. The Oilers really need to pick up some points on this roadie. It's like free points. Don't pass it up. The next game should be a gimme. Should be.