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

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

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

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

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1st Period

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

2nd Period

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

3rd Period

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

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VIDEO HIGHLITES

GAME SUMMARY

EVENT SUMMARY

DAVID STAPLES REVIEW

OIL DROPPINGS REVIEW

SCORING CHANCES SUMMARY

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FINAL SCORE

Edmonton Oilers - 5

Anaheim Ducks - 3

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Tonight's Starting Lines

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

Kotalik Gagner Hemsky

Penner Horcoff O'Sullivan

Moreau Cogliano Pisani

Jacques Brodziak Stortini

Souray Staios

Grebeshkov Gilbert

Strudwick Smid

Roloson

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BEERS

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

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

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

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

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JEERS

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

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

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

Beers and Jeers #50 (Mar 26/09 vs. Phoenix Coyotes)

This game has must win all over it. The Oilers can not afford to lose. It's anyone's guess what squad comes out on the ice. I hope it's the contenders, not the pretenders. Let's Go Oilers!

Roli will be starting his 30th consecutive game tonight. Surprise!

Reddox is drawing back into the lineup since getting knocked in the noggin'. Pouliot will be back in the press box. What did Stortini do to piss off MacT? Sleep with his wife once to often? What? I just don't get it. I just think that Reddox should have a few more days off before playing.

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1st Period

1-0 Coyotes at 3:42 by Lombardi

2nd Period

2-0 Coyotes at 11:38 by Klee

3-0 Coyotes at 14:46 by Hanzal

3rd Period

3-1 Coyotes. (Kotalik from Hemsky and Horcoff at 10:01 on the PP)

3-2 Coyotes. (Hemsky from Staios at 10:44)
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Tonight's Starting Lines

O'Sullivan Horcoff Hemsky (This line was a little better than average. Horcoff did what he had to do tonight. And he did it well with one assist and 2 shots. O'Sullivan had a takeaway, a hit and two shots. Hemsky was the best of the line. He scores... He gets an assist... And 4 shots and 2 hits. Not a bad game for Hemmer.)

Nilsson Gagner Kotalik (The line was pretty decent. Not their best game that's for sure. I liked Gagner. He tries to be bigger than he is. He just really needs to shoot more. Nilsson disappeared at the middle of the 3rd. MacT must not have been liking his jib. Kotalik scores the first Oiler goal of the night with a little luck from the puck fairy. He had 7 shots on goal and won both faceoffs he took. MacT might make him a center.)

Reddox Cogliano Pisani (I thought that in the 1st half that this line looked good. But then they would get scored on. Reddox tried hard but did nothing. Cogliano looked good but also did not much. Pisani was probably the best on this line. He had 1 shot.)

Moreau Brodziak Penner (This line was also a non factor tonight. Moreau didn't lead this team like a captain should. (Need New Captain) Brodziak was ok. He had 1 shot and was *team best* 58% on the faceoffs. Penner was decent tonight. He maybe should have had a shot with the 1st line for a bit on the PP. Just for shits and giggles.)

Souray Staios (They played good. Staios finished the game +1 and had 2 shots and 3 hits. Souray was a hitting machine tonight as he had 5 hits and played 29:20.)

Gilbert Grebeshkov (They were ok. Not great like they have been but not bad. Gilbert did block 3 shots tonight. One of them was off the ass. Grebs only really had 2 shots but otherwise made no real big mistakes.)

Strudwick Smid (Oh boy. They stunk it up today. Strudwick was beat on the 1st goal by the quick speed of Lombardi. And he just looked lost for the entire game. Same with Smid. 2 hits. That's it. Where was the spaz?)

Roloson (Definitely not his best game. He sure didn't look sharp at all. Maybe all the playing time is finally getting to him? Does JDD play tomorrow? Doubt it...)

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FINAL SCORE

Edmonton Oilers -2
Phoenix Coyotes - 3

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BEERS

Ales Hemsky - Hemmer was good tonight. When he tried that is. He really needs to put in a full game no matter how frustrated he gets with his linemates. He was mind blowing at times tonight. He scores a beauty of a goal and picks up an assist. He was the best forward for hitting and that says something about these Oilers. For a good game today, have a nice cold frosty Hemmer. Cheers!

Sheldon Souray - The man was great tonight. His hitting was hard and well timed. He played a pretty good defensive game and he played a ton. He did fire 5 shots but only 1 actually hit the net. Shelly was a leader tonight and he deserves a frosty. Cheers!

Ales Kotalik - The other Ales is looking more fit now that he has been here for awhile. He doesn't seem as winded anymore. He scores a huge goal to get the rally going and manages to get bumped back up to the #1 unit. Score every game and we can drink a lot together. Budweiser? Cheers!

Honorable Mentions - Steve Staios (Steady Steve played a solid game. Sometimes the pace gets out of his hands but tonight he did well.)

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JEERS

The Entire Team - Can you guys actually lose a bigger game? Good lord guys. That was the Coyotes. An easy win. Or so we thought I guess. I figure that the fans (and me) are maybe expecting to much out of you guys. I am one of the glass half full guys and even I am thinking it's half empty now. The Ducks are tomorrow. Will the real Oilers show up please? Boooooooooooo!

Ethan Moreau - A captain should be a guy that can take a team and help them go to the promise land. He should be able lead the team into battle. He should be able to provide a spark somehow. Ethan Moreau. You let the team down. Am I being too harsh? I don't think so. I think we need a new captain. For a where was Chopper type of game. Boooooooo!

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That was a BS game. It was boring for the 1st half. The Oilers waited way too long before trying to score. Now they are in 10th. Wow! Way to push for the playoffs. We are starting to act like the fLames. And that's pretty gay.

See you all tomorrow. Duck hunting season is open. The limit: 25 (get it?)

Beers and Jeers #49 (Mar 24/09 vs. Detroit Red Wings)

Hemsky's statement sure caused some feathers to be ruffled. I just can't find a reason to say anything at this moment. Nevermind saying that you are being used as a checker. You don't kill penalties. You barely come into the defensive zone, so who are you kidding? A checker? Really? That's the best you can come up with? If you want more ice time then be good. Every shift. Every time you step out on that ice, score. Make something happen and MacT would have you out there all game. Instead, I have seen you give up in the 1st 5 minutes of the game and not give a crap for the rest of it. This is simply fixed. Play good = play lots.

Roli will be playing his 29th straight game for the Oilers this year. The man never ceases to amaze me. He truly is awesome.

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GAME VIDEO HIGHLITES

GAME SUMMARY

GAME STATS

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Tonight's Starting Lines

O'Sullivan Horcoff Hemsky (Very good line. Lots of quality chances. But were on the ice for 2 goals against. Hemsky and O'Sullivan are ok together. Horcoff seems to be lost lately.)

Nilsson Gagner Kotalik (Had a good game. They were on the ice for a goal for and against. Nilsson didn't register a shot though. Gagner was sharp for most of the game and Kotalik scored a nice one.)

Pouliot Cogliano Pisani (Played pretty good. They didn't get worked over often. Pouliot was a non factor. Cogliano is starting to work well with Pisani. Pisani had 3 shots.)

Moreau Brodziak Penner (Another great game by this line. They are really gelling lately. Plus Penner has been good on the PP and Moreau is playing smart hockey. No penalties.)

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Souray Staios (Not the greatest night for this pair but not all that bad either. Staios was -3. While Souray took a ton of shots.)

Grebeshkov Gilbert (A pretty average game for this pairing. Gilbert had 4 blocked shots and Grebs had a goal and 3 shots. He did have 3 giveaways and that's not good.)

Strudwick Smid (They were good. Strudwick played somewhat smart hockey. Smid seemed to really play above average tonight.)

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Roloson (The MVP was stellar once again (except for a few seconds). The team would be a lot worse without Roli.)

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FINAL SCORE

Detroit Red Wings -3

Edmonton Oilers - 2

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BEERS

Dwayne Roloson - Roli was fantastic for 55 minutes. Then he had a strange goal beat him to tie the game. But regardless, Roli was good just like any other game in the last while. His lateral movement was working well. He was pelted with 44 shots and tried his ass off to win this game on his own. But the team came up short. So for another fine effort... Have a frosty Roli. Cheers!

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Ales Hemsky - After the statement I was expecting a standout game from Hemmer. He kind of delivered. He did manage one assist and had 2 shots. But he was also -2 at the end of the night. He did display some razzle dazzle that we have not seen in weeks, maybe months. He showed a confidence with the puck that we haven't seen in some time. He hustled, he didn't give up. He had a fairly strong game. That was Hemsky trying to be somebody. That wasn't MacT doing anything different. That was just Hemmer being good. Like I have said before, "Leadership is action... Not position" What we seen tonight was action. Not position. Heineken? Cheers!

Patrick O'Sullivan - I really liked his game today. He played like he is adjusting to this team and his teammates. I love how he shoots from all over the place. He had 2 shots tonight and they were from good area's to shoot from. It's just too bad that he ended up -2. I personally thought that he had a good game. Have a cold one with me Sully. Cheers!

Honorable Mention - Dustin Penner (The Fridge had a good game. He created that 1st goal by drawing two guys to him then he passed it off to Hemsky who passed to Grebs.), Ales Kotalik (Scored a nice goal to bring it back to 3-2.), Andrew Cogliano (He played solid. Bad on faceoffs but played solid.), Ladislav Smid (The Spaz had 4 blocked shots and 2 shots. His defensive game was good too.)

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JEERS

Denis Grebeshkov - I'm on the fence with him tonight. On one hand he scored the Oilers 1st goal. He played pretty good with an average of 1:01of ice time, but he ended up with 3 giveaways on the night. That's just too many for me to ignore. For that alone, here's a little one... Booo!

Steve Staios - Staios has good games and bad one's. Well he was not so good with a bad -3 rating. That just can't happen when you are on the #1 pairing. Maybe all the ice time is wearing him down? Maybe Smid should get a chance with Souray? So for the -3 tonight and a so so game... Booooooooo!

The Entire Team - For losing a game that was attainable... Boooooooooooooooo!

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Well that was the one that got away. We had it in our palms and poof! Gone in 60 seconds.

Next game is Thursday against the Coyotes. A must, must win. See you all then.

Beers and Jeers #48 (Mar 22/09 vs. Minnesota Wild)

Well here we are, playing the Wild and it's a Sunday afternoon. The Oilers have been on a roll and we should expect them to continue that trend today. Steve MacIntyre will replace Liam Reddox tonight on the 3rd line. Boogaard vs. Big Mac tonight? And while in being informative, Gaborik will return to the Wild line up after missing quite a bit of time (Dec 3???).

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1st Period

The Oilers come out flying to start the game. Nilsson gets a nice breakaway chance but gets denied. O'Sullivan rings one of the post a short while later. Wow! Oilers get a PP chance now. Right at the end of it Kotalik hauls down a Koivu (?) and no call. The crowd goes wild. Lucky for the Oilers there. Good pace to the game but the Oilers need to cut out the giveaways. It's going to bite them in the ass. Fritsche nails Smid and takes a penalty for his trouble. Boogaard and Big Mac are out there for that but it's just some talking. No punching. The Wild kill that penalty off and not much happens for the rest of the period. The Oilers have 15 shots and 9 scoring chances after the 1st. The Wild have 2 shots and 3 scoring chances. Oilers were 0 for 3 on the PP.

2nd Period

Minny starts the 2nd on fire. In the first minute and a half the Wild have taken 5 shots. They had 2 all last period. The Oilers better beware. Big John Scott hits Moreau and Moreau gets injured. No word on what it is. The Wild really are keeping the pressure on the Oil. Aww... Hemsky takes a holding penalty at 3:40. The Oilers manage to kill it off and look ok doing it. Souray slams Gaborik's stick and it breaks and that becomes a penalty. I hate that rule. In the old days when there was wood sticks, that was a valid penalty. Anything breaks those sticks now. So now it's a 5 on 3 for 1:25. Horcoff seems to get into a "conversation" with Koivu. I wonder what was said? The Oilers do a great job and kill off those penalties. Let's Go Oilers! This period definitely has been all Minnesota. The Oilers need to pick it up. At 13:40, Staios nails Gaborik and goes and sits for 2:00. Or does he? The Wild score at 14:26 to end the PP. Damn you Owen Nolan! Boooooooo! 1-0 Wild. Now it's the Oilers turn to get a PP. But the Oilers can't convert once again. Nilsson sure has had some crazy passes today. He needs to play with a little more control. I'm not really liking his game today. So much for Roli being bored after all. After 2 shots in the 1st, he was peppered with 23 in the 2nd. However the Oilers were buzzing at the end of the 2nd and that gives me some hope for the 3rd.

3rd Period

The first 3 minutes was all Oilers. 27, 51, 33, 44, 24 had a great shift and held the Wild in there own zone the whole time. Great work by Penner and Brodziak as they did the bulk of the work. Aww... Booooooo! The Wild score again at 4:19. 2-0 Wild. That was against the 2nd line. Big Mac is sure seeing more ice early in this 3rd period. Yeah! Hemsky hits Clutterbuck. But no fight yet in this game. It's a little strange for sure. The Wild take another penalty and give the Oilers some life. Well they take it back and manage to kill the penalty off. Owen Nolan sure is trying for the hat trick. Another old guy playing younger than he is. Awww... son of a... Gilbert tries to pass it cross ice in front of Roli but it hits Gagner in the foot and re-deflects into the net at 12:43. *hands in the air* 3-0 Wild. WTF?!? Just not the Oilers day. As the time winds down, the Wild just seem to be sucking the life out of this game. Awww... Game Over! Boooooooooooo!

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Tonight's Starting Lines

O'Sullivan Horcoff Hemsky

Nilsson Gagner Kotalik

MacIntyre Cogliano Pisani

Moreau Brodziak Penner

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Souray Staios

Grebeshkov Gilbert

Smid Strudwick

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Roloson

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FINAL SCORE

Edmonton Oilers - 0

Minnesota Wild - 3

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BEERS

No Oiler really deserves a beer tonight. But a few were close. Dwayne Roloson did a fine job but wasn't at Beer form. I can fully expect him to rebound next game. Tom Gilbert played a pretty good 1st half of the game but finished -2. Dustin Penner also played pretty good but couldn't get anything done on the scoresheet. Ales Hemsky fired a ton of shots. But he didn't score. Everyone else was average or below average.

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JEERS

The Entire Team - That was one heck of a blah game by you guys. That was sad. You had the game in your hands in the 1st and you let the Wild take over in the 2nd. Then you still had a chance in the 3rd and you failed to capitalize on that as well. That was a waste of time to watch. ~Thanks for the memories.~ Booooooooooooooooo!

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Well that sucked. It's like this remote controlled helicopter that I bought. It's cool for a while but then the novelty wears off because the battery dies and you then sit around waiting for it to get recharged. Because recharging it makes it cool again. The Oilers always seem to poop the bed every few games. So was I surprised? No. Disappointed? Yes. I just hope that we can win next game. What? Oh crap. It's against Detroit on Tuesday back at Rexall. See you all then. *fingers crossed*

What I Want in a Captain

For those of you that didn't like my comments about Ethan Moreau fighting with a visor should read this story about Sidney Crosby. This is great!

PUCK DADDY STORY

Here is the quote;

"Rumor has it that last night Savard challenged el Sid to a fight, but Savard wouldn't drop them as long as Sid had a visor on. Supposedly Sid went to the bench and unscrewed it from his helmet. Savard did nothing afterwards. Not sure if it's true (as this was told by a buddy of mine who works for the Pens) but it makes an interesting story if it is." -- Eric from Pa.
The incident referenced above between Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby and Boston Bruins star center Marc Savard is now the stuff of hockey folklore. We've received about three dozen variations of this e-mail since the Penguins' 6-4 victory over the Bruins last Sunday.
The basic premise is the same: Savard challenged Crosby and talked smack about his visor; Crosby had it removed on the Penguins bench; and when he reengaged with Savard, the Bruins player didn't back up his words. Bangin Panger had, perhaps, the first and most complete telling of the tale, even if the Chuck Norris-level of toughness that would have been Crosby unscrewing his own visor for a fight was later reconsidered as inaccurate.
Now, Crosby isn't exactly known as a model of physical intimidation: His two altercations this season involved jumping a guy after a face-off and punching another player in a sensitive area from behind. That history begged the question: Did this situation with Savard really happen?
The mainstream media in Boston and Pittsburgh didn't pursue the story for days, leaving some lingering doubt. That was until Chris Kunitz, Crosby's linemate with the Penguins, went on Mark Madden's radio show on WXDX in Pittsburgh this week (.mp3) and was asked why Crosby removed his visor:
"I hear him and one of the other Boston players had some words after one of their goals, and then came back to the bench ... I didn't know whatever happened, if it was scratched or whatever. But I noticed the next shift he had it off and was letting the other player know he wasn't intimidated. I guess the guy made some kind of remark, and Sid went and took it off, and maybe challenged the guy a little. Obviously nothing had come about it, but obviously you see the heart and the grit that Sid has ..."
Yesterday on his blog, Madden added further clarity with a literal blow-by-blow of the Crosby/Savard Fight That Wasn't.
Madden said Crosby claimed he had a scratch on his visor, saying it with a broad smile. Here's how Madden claims things went down on Sunday:
Bruins center Marc Savard taunted Crosby after a Boston goal, and the taunting continued until both players neared their benches. Crosby challenged Savard to fight, and Savard responded: "Take off that [sissy] shield, and I'll be glad to."
So Crosby handed his helmet to equipment manager Dana Heinze and told him to remove the visor. Crosby took the ice for his next shift sans shield but Savard backed down, thereby looking like the [sissy] he accused Crosby of being.
Score one for Sid in the mind games department and cue a verbal beatdown for Savard, who took a brutal aural blistering from the Penguins bench throughout the rest of the afternoon (and no doubt lost a little respect in the eyes of his teammates when his bluff got called).
Madden writes that Crosby had the visor reattached during the first intermission.
Sure enough, Crosby was wearing the visor again when the Penguins scored an empty net goal to clinch the game."

That is freaking awesome. This brought up my respect level for Sid the Kid up to a whole new level. This is the kind of a captain that the Oilers need. Simply awesome...

And I apologize that this isn't 100% Oilers related. I just needed to share this.