Beers and Jeers #68 (Oct 10/09 vs. Montreal Canadiens)

Welcome everyone.  Starting tonight, Paq Twinn is going to do live updates on Twitter.  www.twitter.com/paqtwinn  Don't have Twitter?  No problem, look to your left.  It's right there for you.  Just refresh the page every few minutes and POOF!  Your updated.

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Tonight's Starting Lines

Jacques-Horcoff-Hemsky
O’Sullivan-Gagner-Stone
Penner-Brule-Comrie
Moreau-Cogliano-Stortini

Gilbert-Visnovsky
Staios-Grebeshkov
Strudwick-Smid

Khabibulin
Deslauriers

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1st Period

- Getting ready for player intros, anthem, and puck drop.
- Nice save by Khabibulin. missed opening faceoff.
- Penalty to Montreal at 3:57 hooking Oilers PP
- No shots for, chance against, bad pp for Oilers
- Cogliano gets a nice chance.
- Oilers getting good offensive pressure
- Oilers PP at 10:13, Spacek goes off for holding.
- Good pp, 2 shots, this game is moving fast. 7:00 mins left.
- Khabibulin is making some nice stops.
- I'd say the crowd is half n half.
- At 18:40, Comrie scores a bute, top shelf. Gagner with a great stretch pass. #lastminutegoal
- 1-0 for the Oilers 1st intermission. Good 1st for the home team. #ppneedsattention

2nd Period

- Hemsky is playing with some passion early.
- Fast start to the second, things getting rough
- At 3:32, JFJ tips in Smid's point shot. 2-0 Oilers. Hemsky with second assist. #GOILERS
- JFJ starting to look better every game. #keepupthegoodwork
- Khabibulin holds down the fort in a barrage of chances by the Canadiens.
- Staios having a better game. #haventseenthissteveinyears
- At 8:10, OSullivan scores! good pressure and pass by Stone. 3-0 Oilers
- Brule has a big hit, Mara takes exception. Mara takes Brule down in a fight. #hitsfrombehind
- At 9:19, Oilers PP, Mara gets the instigator.
- 2 goal posts,but no goals on that PP.
- OSullivan continues hot start to season, really buzzin tonight.
- Canadiens getting ornery, down by 3. #gaineysnotahappycamper
- Oilers penalty at 14:33 to Patty'O. 2 for tripping. lets go oilers PK!
- Lots of Canadiens pressure on the PP
- Good PK for Oilers, no shots against. shot favor Montreal 19-11. about 3 1/2 to go in 2nd period
- At 19:10, a 2 on 1 for Canadiens turns into a goal for Gionta.  3-1 Oilers
- Oilers getting very sloppy late in second. #haventlearnedtheirlessonyet
- Second period ends with a half dozen chances by the Canadiens. 3-1 Oilers after 2.
-Overall a good second period for the Oilers. We gotta learn how to play out periods better, its killing all momentum gained through out the game.

3rd Period

- 3rd period under way, with both teams trading chances.
- Crowd chants "lets go Oilers" for the 6th or 7th time tonight. Didnt hear that enough last year.
- The line of Patty-o, Gagner and Stoner has been the best for the Oilers tonight.
- 1st line of JFJ, Horc, and Hemmer playing their best game of the season. #letshopeitgetsbetter
- Oilers have given the puck away 11 times already tonight. Khabibulin keeps making the saves.
- Oilers better defensively in this period. they are right on top of the puck.
- At 10:36, Hemsky goes for 2 for holding. Oilers go on PK.
- Solid PK for the Oilers, only 1 shot against.
- Canadiens out shooting Oilers 2 to 1 (ratio).
- Khabibulin solid between the pipes.
- 5mins to go in the 3rd. still 3-1 for the Oilers
- Oilers attacking more in the late stages then earlier in 3rd.
- Canadiens score... but wait its under review.
- After review, no goal. #phewthatwasacloseone
- Canadiens score. Hamerlik sends a shot through traffic, hits Horcoff, and goes in. #badbounces
- At 16:38, 3-2 Oilers 3mins left in the 3rd. #battendownthehatches
- Quinn riding 19,89,32 in final mins.
- Oilers hold on to win 3-2 against Canadiens. It was white knuckle in the last minute.
- JFJ (3rd) and Khabibulin (1st) get stars. good win for the Oilers, held off a late flurry, successfully this time.

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FINAL SCORE

Montreal Canadiens - 2

Edmonton Oilers - 3
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Bad Timing Penalty™

Ales Hemsky - The only reason he gets the BTP™ is because after took this holding penalty, he gave Montreal life.  They didn't score on the PP, but they did have a review goal (no goal) minutes later and then scored their 2nd goal right after that. 

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Goat Watch™

Ethan Moreau - He was his usual goat self.  Just ok.  Nothing to see here.

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BEERS

Nikolai Khabibulin - The Wall has arrived.  I could tell in the 1st period that he was going to be solid tonight.  He was awesome.  When a goalie looks that calm in net, he makes it look easy.  Great game Bulin.  Feel like a beer?  Cheers!

Patrick O'Sullivan - Patty O is a really good player.  I love how he shoots from anywhere.  It was nice to see one go in for him finally.  He did seem to click with Gagner and is showing his worth for being a top 6 guy.  I like #19.  How about a frosty mug o'beer?  Cheers!

Sam Gagner - I picked him as my star for a reason.  He's freaking killer.  I had a feeling that he was going to be better this year.  I was pissed off when he started the season on the 4th line. But that Quinn fella know his stuff.  I will doubt Quinn no more.  Gagner was awarded with the 2nd line center spot after busting his ass on the 4th.  Gags picks up the beautiful assist on the Comrie goal and finishes the night a +2.  Solid game for him.  Miller time once again.  Cheers!

Ladislav Smid - He led the team in ice time.  For a guy that wanted to be traded, I think he's happy now don't you think?  He was a stud out there.  He is turning into one of my favorite defencemen.  Let's sit and drink a Cerná Hora and toast a great year to you.  Cheers!

JF Jacques - Well that was great game by the big guy.  He had 8 hits and made you look twice when you had the puck.  This was more reminisant of the JFJ that we seen in pre-season.  I sure hope he can keep this up.  For a stand out game, let's enjoy a Big Bear, paper bag and all.  Cheers!

Honorable Mentions: Shawn Horcoff (Did well on the faceoffs 64%), Lubomir Visnovsky (Played well and finished +1), Jason Strudwick (Also played well. Pretty solid for guy that came in last game), Ryan Stone (He played the same old, hard hitting game he plays.)

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JEERS

Mike Comrie - Sure he scored but...  Mr. Duff still is having trouble keeping up.  His condiditoning needs some serious attention.  Ride the bike Mike.  Rid'er hard.  It's easy to see who is in shape and who isn't.  Look at a players average shift lenghth.  Mike is :46.  Gagner is :51 and Hemsky is :55.  No doubt Mike is a good player, but only a useless player unless he can skate with the boys.  Is it coincidence that he only scores in the 1st half of the game?  Shape up Mike.  Booooooo!

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Well we won. Yay!  It's quite clear the the Edmonton Oilers of 2009/10 are one of the most exciting teams in the league (next to the Caps).  I love this "new" team.  it does'nt matter that we should be 4-0.  This team is not only going to make the playoffs... they will go far.  GOILERS! 

In Quinn We Trust (IQWT) *deposits quarter to JSBM*

Beers and Jeers #67 (Oct 8/09 vs. Calgary Flames)

There was a wind/snowstorm in Alberta today.  Very cold out considering we were at 30 degrees two weeks ago.  Brrrrrr.  What happened to Fall?  Are we not getting it? *shakes fist at Mother Nature for skipping Fall*

Rob Schremp is wearing 13 and didn't look very good tonight with the NYI.  I'm not really sad any more  and I'm kind of relieved that he's gone.

Just found out that Center ice is free right now.  Wish I knew and I wouldn't have paid for the last PPV.

Quinn shuffles the lines in practice to fool the fLames.  Crazy old fox.

Staios and Nilsson are out / Moreau and Strudwick is in

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Tonight's Starting Lines

Jacques Horcoff Hemsky
O'Sullivan Comrie Stone
Penner Brule Cogliano
Moreau Gagner Stortini

Souray Smid
Gilbert Grebeshkov
Strudwick Visnovsky

Khabibulin
Deslauriers

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1st Period

- Good start.  All 4 lines look good.  Fast pace.
- The first 10 minutes went by fast.
- Bulin's looking good.  He's been making some great saves.  He seems confidant.
- It only took a game and a half period of this season for Kevin Quinn to say, "He has to get a new cue." for a broken stick.
- Gagner and Stortini belong together.  There's just something about them that seems right.
- PP fLames (Moreau at 14:18):  The Oilers kill it off with no real chances for the fLames.
- Moreau steps out of the box and gets a breakaway. SCORES!!!  1-0 Oilers (18-67-37 at 16:27)
- Moreau is now revved up and so is Gagner. 
- Bouwmeester rocks Smid and Smid gets pissy.  Iginla comes in and has words with Smid.
- PP Oilers (Bouwmeester at 19:28) Visnovsky SCORES!!! 2-0 Oilers (71-91-19 at 19:46)
- Great period by both teams.  Great action.

2nd period

- Souray and Iginla come together into the boards and Souray goes head first.  His head is cut and he leaves the game with a mild concussion.
- PP Oilers (Iginla at 0:18) The fLames kill it off with the Oilers not really doing much.
- At 5:50, Bulin comes out and plays the puck.  The crowd cheered. 
- Fight!  Moreau vs. Iginla at 6:09.  Moreau tosses a few, slips, Iginla doesn't kill him when he's down, Moreau gets up, Iginla chucks a few uppercuts while the refs break it up, it's over.
- PP fLames. (Stortini at 8:47)  Before you know it...
- PP fLames 5 on 3 (Grebeshkov at 9:14) What the hell man?  Talk about a killer.  This games BTP™.
- Smid takes a puck off the ankle (blocked shot) during the PK. Ouch!
- The Oilers kill off both penalties and somehow get some life.
- PP Oilers (Bourque at 11:54)  Just as the 5 on 3 is over, he takes a tripping penalty.
- The Oilers can't do anything on this PP.  They waste the 2 minutes.
- PP fLames. (O'Sullivan at 16:35) The Oilers keep the PK rolling and kill it off.
- Flames score. Boooooo! Another redirection by an Oiler.  This time Strudwick.  2-1 Oilers. (22-17-5 at 19:31)
- Good period by both teams.  It's a pretty close game.

3rd Period

- Another good start to a period by the Oilers.
- Regehr nails Gagner and then roughs him up a bit.  Stortini gets there quickly and gives Regehr an ear full.  At one point (I read his lips) he says, "Your dead Regehr".  How do you not love this guy?
- fLames score. Ugh! Boooooo!  Another redirection but by a fLamer.  2-2 Tie Game. (15-8-17 at 4:11)
- Intense game so far.
- Grebeshkov will a brutal giveaway at 8:10
- Oilers SCORE! Yeah!!!!  Hemsky with an easy slid in.  3-2 Oilers.  (83-10-37 at 13:30)
- In the last 5 minutes Quinn went with these lines: 1st, 3rd, 4th, 1st, 4th, 1st.
- With 30 seconds left, Quinn puts out the big boys to finish off the game. 27-10-18-43-77
- It doesn't work.
- fLames score. It looked like a high stick but it's called a goal. Boooooo! 3-3 Tie Game (17-4-3 at 19:58)

Overtime

- PP Oilers (Girodano at 0:35)  Quinn rolls with two sets. (89-19-91-71) & (10-83-27-37)
- Kipper is on fire and the Oilers can't score.  Penalty is over.
- What a Battle of Alberta.

Shoot Out

- Gagner - poke checked
- O'Sullivan - shoots and scores
- Hemsky - rings it off the post

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FINAL SCORE

Calgary Flames - 4
Edmonton Oilers -3  SO

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Bad Timing Penalty™

Denis Grebeshkov - With the Oilers already a man down, Grebs manages to take a stupid hooking penalty and turn the man advantage into a 5 on 3.  Not really a good thing to do to your team when you have a two goal lead. 

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BEERS

Sam Gagner - Once again he was good.  He didn't score, but he was all over the place.  He was even playing like a big guy.  After a crappy pre-season, he's on fire so far.  He had 5 shots and was 67% on faceoffs.  That's huge for him.  Frosty beer Gags?  Cheers!

Lubomir Visnovsky - This guy is finaly getting better.  He also hasn't been great up until this game.  He was playing hard all game and stepped up even more when Souray went down.  He scores a goal and plays over 24 minutes.  He also had 3 hits and 3 blocked shots and took 8 shots with only 3 hitting the net.  Great game tonight Lubes.  Miller time. Cheers!

Nikolai Khabibulin - If we won he would be the hero.  But we didn't.  He was good tonight.  The best I have seen him in an Oiler uniform.  He made great saves and was burned/fooled on the last goal in the 3rd.  I can hardly fault him for it.  He made 25 saves and made me less nervous.  So why not?  Let's have a beer together.  Cheers!

Zack Stortini - Storts was a machine tonight.  He really blends well with Gagner and I hope he gets more time with him.  I would just put Cogs there with them. It's wierd he didn't get more stats but no matter, he was good enough for my liking.  Good job Storts. Frosty? Cheers!

Ryan Stone - I never liked this guy yet, but tonight I did.  He was trying for the big hit all night. He landed a few good shots and made people look twice to see when he's coming.  He had 4 hits on record.  Who knows... he may be better than I thought.  A cold mug o'beer? Cheers!

Tom Gilbert - He may have been the best defenceman out there tonight.  He just played really good.  he made solid, sound decisions.  He played over 25 minutes, with 2 shots, 2 take aways, and 2 blocked shots.  I hope this is the beginning of a great year for Mr. Gilbert.  Thirsty?  Sure you are. Cheers!

Honorable Mentipns: Patrick O'Sullivan (Had an assist on the Visnovsky goal.  Played well.), Mike Comrie (He still needs to work on his conditioning.  But he played ok.), Jason Strudwick (Not bad for his 1st game of the year.), Ales Hemsky (Needs to show up quicker in the game.  He can't wait till the end to bring it.  He scores his 1st of the year.), Shawn Horcoff (He did nothing special, but played good enough.), Denis Grebeshkov (Had 2 assists but had 3 giveaways.  That has to improve soon.), Ladi Smid (He played a solid game.)

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JEERS

None worth complaing about.

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That was a good game, I just can't believe that we lost to the fLames again.  And again to another crappy goal.

Next game is Saturday, so I see you all then. 

Don't forget you can be friends on Facebook with Smokin' Ray Burnt and Paq Twinn.  We are always talking hockey. Come join us.

Beers and Jeers #66 (Oct 6/09 vs. Dallas Stars)

Well I'm sure the party was good at the Pint.  The OilersNation group was there to watch this PPV game.  It sure would have been nice to meet some of these people.  If only I lived closer... :(

~Nice to see the Oilers PPV crew again this year.~ I'm finding that I still don't like Rob Brown.  It's not just the bad plug job, he's just not a Ray Ferraro in the booth.  Too plain Jane for me I guess.  Too obvious.

I also forgot about how much I dislike Marc Crawford. Ugh.  At least I don't have to hear his voice much this year. Yay! :)

Here is a link to a story about how Craig Conroy "did Gagner a favour."  Weak excuse for getting beat up by a little guy like Gagner.

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Tonight's Starting Lines

Jacques Horcoff Hemsky
Stone Comrie O'Sullivan
Penner Brule Nilsson
Cogliano Gagner Stortini

Souray Staios
Gilbert Grebeshkov
Smid Visnovsky

Khabibulin
Deslauriers

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1st Period

- Oilers get a PP right off the bat.  Cogliano sends a nice pass to the front of the net and Comrie scores (91 from 13 and 5).  1-0 Oilers
- Dallas scores and make it 1-1 Tie game.
- At 6:28, Souray takes on Barch.  He pauses, removes his wrist brace, then proceeds to give Barch a shake down/beat down. 
- Gilbert shows some crust and scrums with Morrow.  Just before then Ribiero takes a penalty for Holding.
- Oilers PP.  Hemsky is playing left wing and Staios is the QB.  Go figure?
- Stortini even see's a bit of time on the PP and he has the best chances out of all the Oilers.
- PP Stars (Brule/Holding) The Oilers do well. No shots against. They kill it off.
- Quinn is mixing up the lines for the special teams.  I have no idea who is going out.
- PP Stars.  The Oilers will have to finish killing it off in the 2nd.

2nd Period

- The Oilers finish killing off the penalty.
- Ryan Stone nails a Star player (?).  Ott comes off the bench to fight him.
- Some good punches were thrown in the beginning, then it turns into a hug fest, followed by Ott getting "jersey-ed".
- No extra penalty to Ott. Wonder why not? He wasn't on the ice for the hit. That screams instigator to me.
- Grebeshkov goes to crash the net and gets a face full of elbow from Turco as the puck trickles back down to the Oilers zone to an empty net.  Lucky enough it missed.  No penalty for that play.
- PP Oilers.  Good pressure in the first half, then the Stars score a SH goal.  Good god. *shakes head*  2-1 Stars.
- Shortly after Gagner scores on the PP at 6:35.  (89 from 37 and 13). 2-2 Tie Game.
- PP Stars.  An Dallas scores.  3-2 Stars.
- The line of 13/89/46 is on fire.  They are buzzing all over the place.
- PP Stars.  The Oilers kill it off this time.
- Sweet pass from Nilsson to Penner.  Penner then skates in and puts it top shelf on Turco. (27 from 12)  3-3 Tie Game.
- Storts and Gags mix it up with some Stars and Storts goes of to sit in the box.  4 on 4 hockey.
- Horcoff is in his own zone and gets to fancy and loses the puck. Staios hooks the guy and now he has to sit for two. *shakes head* 

3rd Period

- The 3rd starts as a 4 on 3 for the Stars. 
- Morrow scores on the PP and the crowd boo's.  4-3 Stars.
- The Oilers look flat and the crowd is quiet.
- PP Oilers.  The Stars kill it off but the Oilers score shorty after.  4-4 Tie Game. (37 from 83 and 77)
- The 1st line (22/10/83) is not doing so well.  Quinn switches Penner and Jacques and it helps big time.
- PP Stars.  The Oilers again kill it off.
- This game is getting nasty with 5:00 minutes to go.
- This game is going to overtime.

Overtime

- Exciting overtime with back and forth action.  Hemsky threw himself in front of a puck as the time was winding down.  It was nice to see him do that.  Nothing was solved in OT.

Shoot-out

Sam Gagner - gets poke checked
Patrick O'Sullivan - deflection save by Turco
Ales Hemsky - scores low right side 5-4 Oilers.

The Stars ring the last shot off the post and the Oilers win!!!

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FINAL SCORE

Dallas Stars - 4
Edmonton Oilers - 5

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Bad Timing Penalty™

none - Moreau didn't play.

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GOAT WATCH

Ethan Moreau - It was a goat watch alright.  The goat was watching from above in the press box.  He has a ankle injury but might be back next game.  How am I supposed to boo you way up there?

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BEERS

Sam Gagner - The mighty Sam was good once again.  He had 4 shots and seemed really determined to show that last game wasn't a fluke.  And by the way he played tonight, it wasn't a fluke.  He did everything good other than score in the shoot-out.  The little big guy deserves a beer tonight.  Frosty?  Cheers!

Zack Stortini - He was showing good chemistry with Gagner and Cogliano.  He was hitting and skating hard.  Quinn even gave him some PP time and he almost scored twice.  He's not just a fighting machine, he can contribute.  I think he's better than Stone and Jacques and should get a fair shake at some more ice time.  Will Quinn keep him with 89/13?  Let's hope so.  Have a cold one Storts. Cheers!

Sheldon Souray - Big Sexy played a pretty solid game, never mind the fight.  He was playing fairly smart and not to risky.  Then when he dropped the gloves with Barch in the 1st, he blows my mind once again.  He pauses, removes the wrist brace (to be fair) and does a number on Barch.  That is almost as cool like the time he pushed out Moreau to fight.  This guy should be the captain of this hockey club.  He oozes everything you need to be a leader.  Plus he led the team in ice time with 25:20.  My vote's for this guy.  Care for a Bud?  Cheers!

Ales Hemsky - I was seriously mad at this guy for the first half of the game.  He was lazy and lolly gagging all over the ice.  I would have pulled him from the game.  Instead, Quinn moves Penner back to the Horpensky line and the magic continues where it left off.  Hemsky all of the sudden clicked on the nitro and came alive.  Holy crap!  He's making moves and is fighting for the puck.  He even block a shot to the chest in OT.  Again, holy crap!  This is the Hemsky that became my Jib Cutter, not the bum that we saw in the first half of this game  (and last).  That was awesome.  To top it off he scores the winning goal in OT, and the shot was a whiff.  Luck happens to those who try.  Feel like a cold one?  Cheers!

Dustin Penner - Penner also had a good game.  It's quite clear that Quinn is liking this guy.  20:00 minutes of ice tonight.  Only Horcoff played more out of the forwards. Dustin is playing great right now and he seems to be having fun.  I like the way that he made that 1st line click.  He scores a big goal and had 3 shots.  Let's see if he is with 83/10 next game.  I'm thinking so.  Miller time Pens?  Cheers!

Honorable Mentions - Ryan Stone (Had a good fight and had 6 hits), Patrick O'Sullivan (Lot's of effort, but little results.), Gilbert Brule (He played pretty good.  He was the best on the team at faceoffs with 56% (5W/4L)

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JEERS

JF Jacques - Maybe it's not fair of me to boo you tonight, you are in over your head and I don't really blame you for being in that position.  But your not good enough for the 1st line.  Against weaker opponents like in pre-season, you do great.  Against the NHL quality players, not so good.  You not living up to the hype so therefore I must jeer. Booooooooo!

Mike Comrie - Comrie had a point in last game where he was caught in the Oilers end and he became winded after a long shift.  He was pretty much toast in the 3rd.  I'm wondering if he does have a conditioning problem?  Once again today he was pretty good in the first half.  After that, he faded to the point of not really playing.  What's up with that?  Get into shape man.  Your just bringing down Sully if you can't do much.  Booooooooo!

Robert Nilsson - Before I get into the negatives, he made a sweet pass to Penner and that is why we still have him.  But other than that, I didn't see him do much, other than some errant passes that he was lucky he didn't get burned on.  I think that the Oilers are going to give up on him.  I just don't see the positives out weighing the negatives.  Booooooooooo!

Honorable Mention: Shawn Horcoff (You may have won a fair share of faceoffs and did ok on the PK, but that's all you did.  It's step up time, don't wait for Hemsky to hold hands with, be a leader.) Nikolai Khabibulin (Is it wrong that this guy scares me everytime a puck gets shot at him?  I hope I get used to him soon or I'm going to have a heart attack.)

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Well it was nice to see a win.  We needed that.  Life is looking good now in Oil Country.  Is it crazy to say that Gagner is on pace to be an 82 goal scoring 4th line machine?  Maybe.  But maybe he does it?  *mind blown* JK

Until next time...

Beers and Jeers #65 (Oct 3/09 vs. Calgary fLames)

Well we waited all summer for this moment.  It's finally here.  The Oilers are back.  GOILERS!

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1st Period

- I seen a glimpse of Deslauriers new pads.  They are a beautiful orange.  Can't wait to see him play.
- The fLames score right off the bat.  Glencross at 1:52.  Why does this guy haunt us?
- Oilers look nervous and shaky out there.  Nothing like opening night jitters.
- At 6:14, Penner scores from O'Sullivan and Comrie.  Nice work to get the 1st Oiler goal of the year.
- I just hate former goalies that get into broadcasting.  Kevin Weeks is the new Captain Obvious. Good Grief. *throws Charlie Brown a quarter*
- fLames score again on the PP at 12:09.
- The Oilers had two PP chances and didn't score on either.

2nd Period

- Stortini tries to get the Oilers going by fighting with Prust at 2:38.  A pretty even fight.  It was kind of boring.
- The 1st half of the period the Oilers look flat and lifeless. 
- Just as the team was gaining some momentum, Staios takes a reckless holding call.  Bad Timing Penalty™
- The fLames score on the PP and go up 3-1.  Once again, thanks Staios.
- Good thing for guys like Sam Gagner.  He drops the gloves with Craig Conroy at 13:23.  Great fight as Gagner takes one on the face and then nails Conroy a few times.  Gagner wins the fight, wins the crowds attention and wins a little respect from Quinn. 
- But not to be out done, we have another Bad Timing Penalty™ from my beloved goat, Ethan Moreau.  It was a real lazy penalty that could have been avoided.  God he makes me angry.
- Brule scores on a hard shot with the assists going to Penner and Visnovsky.  He's doing what he can to stay here with the big club.  You gotta like that. 3-2 fLames
- The Oilers were back in it after 2 periods.  Can they carry it into the 3rd?

3rd Period

- The crowd was ready for some action and action we got. 
- There was good flow to the game at the 1/2 way point.  Back and forth they went.
- No penalties were taken in the 3rd.
- Gagner jumps all over a loose puck and slides it past Kipper for an unassisted goal.  Yeah!!! 3-3 game.
- In the dying seconds (:49 left), the Bulin Wall absolutely craps the bed and mis-plays the puck and Moss pokes it in. Doh! 4-3 fLames win

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Tonight's Starting Lines

Jacques-Horcoff-Hemsky
O'Sullivan-Comrie-Stone
Penner-Brule-Cogliano
Moreau-Gagner-Stortini

Souray-Visnovsky
Grebeshkov-Gilbert
Smid-Staios

Khabibulin
Deslauriers

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FINAL SCORE

Calgary fLames - 4
Edmonton Oilers - 3

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Bad Timing Penalty™

Steve Staios - The guy knows how to wreck a party.  He picked a real bad time to take an aggressive holding penalty.  He crossed the line and was caught.  1st BTP of the season.  Not sure if I'd brag about it.

Ethan Moreau - Lazy penalty by the Captain.  Even worse than Steve's.  Yours was out of sheer carelessness. 

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GOAT WATCH

Ethan Moreau - He's my goat.  What else do I need to say?  He's baaaaad!

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BEERS

Sam Gagner - The little big guy drops the gloves with Conroy and does well.  He scores the tying goal in the 3rd and earns himself the 2nd star of the game.  I thought he played hard and deserved better guys to play with.  He may just get that shot next game.  Awesome way to show Quinn your worth.  It's Miller time Gags!!!  Frosty beer?  Cheers!

Dustin Penner - The skinny fat guy busted out a stellar 1st period and then caps it off with a classic interview with Scott Oake.  He did fade a little in the 2nd but was rollin' again in the 3rd.  I actually though he should have been 3rd star instead of Kipper, but I'm not the picker.  Excellent way to start the season Penner.  Cold beer?  Cheers!

Patrick O'Sullivan - I really believe that he may only finish 2nd to Ovechkin in shots taken this year.  He fires them from all over.  I love that.  My old coach used to say, "You can't score without a shot".  It's true.  Expect a few goals from O'Sullivan this year.  He's gonna be dynamite.  Great game Sully.  Need a glass for the beer?  Cheers!

Honorable Mentions - Mike Comrie (He played well.  He's great with O'Sullivan.  He had 1 assist and was 75% on the faceoff dot.), Ladislav Smid (The Spaz played well.  He finished the night +2 and didn't make any huge mistakes), Gilbert Brule (He showed us why he made the team this year.  He played hard and did what he had to.  Plus he scored.), Lubomir Visnovsky (He started out not so good but ended strong.  He still seems slow to me.  Nonetheless he finished +2).

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JEERS

Nikolai Khabibulin - PSFTTF!  That's you pooping in your bed.  Terrible man.   Let's hope that's not you at your best.  The fans instantly cried out for Roli when you did that.  ~Nice debut!~  Booooooooooo!

Ales Hemsky - Where was this guy tonight?  Mr. Iwantotbetheman.  You need to show up in order to be the man.  The 1st line didn't look like a 1st line.  Hemsky was to blame for a lot of that.  He needed to get his nose dirty more.  Where's the crust?  He did once and shied away after that.  Man up and giv'er.  I hope it's a different Hemmer next game.  Booooooooo!

Shawn Horcoff - Same goes to Horcoff.  He sucked as well.  Well, he did do pretty good on the faceoff dots.  67% on the night was his only crowning achievement.  Other than that he did squat.  Nice 1st day on the $7 million dollar punch clock.  Booooooooo!

Ethan Moreau - For all the reasons listed above... Boooooooo!

Denis Grebeshkov - Grebs wasn't so good either tonight.  He was having troubles with the puck all night.  Sure some were bad bounces, but a lot was just him in panic mode.  I may just chauk this one up as opening night jitters, but geez Grebs.  That was a terrible game for you.  Boooooooo!

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Well what a crap way to end a Saturday night.  Now I'm going to have to hear it from people at work for a week that the Coilers lost to the Mighty Flames.  *puts face in hands*

Put Up Your Dukes #1 (Gagner/Schremp)

Welcome to Put Up Your Dukes.  This is a segment where we have a verbal fight about whatever floats our boats.  Today we fight about Gagner and Schremp.

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Round 1

GAGNER ON THE 4TH LINE

Smokin' Ray Burnt - Hey Guy. Not sure if you know, but Gagner is on the 4th line to start the season. *sends text*

Paq Twinn - It is what it is, but I don't like Gags playing with some less talented guys like that.  That is Bullsh*t  in my opinion. Being demoted to the 3rd line would have been sufficient enough.  But this is nuts.

SRB - Yeah, but I thought that the 3rd line was more of a 1c, not an actual 3rd line.  The more I think of it, I'm cool with Gagner on the 4th line.  You get what you give.  So far this year... that's not much.

PT - For the record, I'm not cool with it.  Gags needs someone else on a line with him and it doesn't matter if it's the 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th line.  He needs someone with skill to play with.  What good is it doing him playing with Stortini and Moreau?

SRB - I agree to a point.  But there is a real answer to this problem.  Be better Gagner.  Be better and this wouldn't be an issue right now.  It's his fault.  Although, I bet this lasts only two games tops and he'll be back with Penner and Cogs where he belongs.

PT - I don't know man.  If this was the plan all along, then letting Schremp go was a mistake.  The Captain should have been put on waivers.  But I doubt anyone would take him. *shakes head in disgust*  How is he supposed to succeed playing with Moreau and Stortini?  Hey, maybe Storts will score more than Gags this year?  I reckon Quinn and Co. just made their 1st mistake.

SRB - You doubt the Mighty Quinn?  Pfft.  But I'm with you on Moreau.  Not sure why Nilsson isn't getting a shot with Gagner/Stortini.  Four lines of cream puffs and a side of crust.  Wait a minute.  Did you mention Schremp?  Time for round 2.  Ding, ding!

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Round 2

THE SCHREMP DEBATE

Paq Twinn - So long Schremp, if it was up to me you'd have gotten your chance here two years ago. Good luck in your home state.

Graham Martin - The thing is I don't think that he ever deserved a chance to crack the lineup in any of his years at training camp except maybe this year, and that is another reason (previous conversation) why I didn't like the Comrie signing cause I thought it spelt the end for Schremp. And if you don't show up in camp, you can't make the team, it is that simple.

PT - I agree that he didn't show enough in camp to make the teams past, I just think he should have got more then 7 games in the time he was here. He should have got 7 consecutive games, the year he got 76 points in Springfield, to show something. I just think the Oilers/MacT didn't give him a fair chance, especially when scoring was so sorely needed.

GM - Again, I have to go back to the whole defense thing (another previous conversation), and if you don't play it in the NHL, you are a serious liability. and after watching two of his preseason games, he is absolutely awful without the puck.

PT - I can't disagree with that, but you could possibly counter balance he liabilities by playing him with more defensively aware linemates. MacT just couldn't think outside of the box, or box+1, or diamond etc. he was too single minded as a coach. That's why Reddox and Peterson got so much ice time, just because they knew where to be without the puck. We had way too many players that knew what to do without the puck and not enough that knew what to do with the puck.

Smokin' Ray Burnt - *shows up late to the party*  On one hand, Graham is right. A guy needs to play defense first in order to be good in this league. Schremp can't do that.

However... Last year when Schremp had 3 points in 3 games (the 4th game doesn't count because he sat on the bench the whole game), How much better does a guy have to be? That's a point per game. That alone should have given him a better chance with the Oilers. But MacT wouldn't have any of that. Instead, Schremp goes back down and MacT rode the Red Ox for all he's worth.  Schremp and Nilsson were dynamite together in the AHL. Why were these two not paired together in the NHL?

SRB - On a side note: Dan Barnes said that Schremp's Dad sells Schremp Dogs outside the arena in Rochester. Too friggin' funny. Hmmm.. A hot dog player and a hot dog seller. #theworldisgettingmuchclearer

GM - You can put him with defensive minded players, but that takes away from his offensive flair. he needed to be with other scorers. But I do agree with last year, I thought he was better and deserved more games. But without the puck he has no idea what to do.

PT - Hypothetically I would have put him with Smyth and Horcoff back in the day, and put Hemsky with Stoll and Torres. I don't think they (94+10) would have stifled his offense and they could help out defensively. Hemsky would have still been with capable if not equal talents. The more I think about it, MacT was a bad coach, he couldn't even get the best line-up out there never mind getting the best out of HIS line-up. Could of had a 1a and 1b two to three years ago.

SRB - What? Hypothetically, I have no idea what your talking about. Are we still talking about Schremp? This year or then? What?

Way to wreck a good conversation Paq. *walks off into sunset shaking head*

GM -Hahahahahahah. agreed! *rides off on his Harley with a chick on the back*

PT - I never once made any references to this year. I was always talking about past blunders. My whole focus was Schremp and that we never gave him a chance.  This year hasn't officially begun, so I could have only really ever been talking about past years. We don't have the same kind of team now that we had then. I guess my point is that today's waiving and subsequent loss of Rob Schremp could have been avoided if he was given half a chance, with players that would work, when we had said players. But if you guys can't follow me I'll try not to confuse you anymore, besides what's done is done and ain't no amount of debating chances and abilities is going to change it.

I guess we'll disagree to disagree on this one. Guys?  *just realizes no one is here anymore*

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Do you want in on this "secret" meeting?  We have them all the time and we could use more than two rounds.  Be friends with me on facebook and join the fun.  www.facebook.com/smokinrayburnt