WIld @ Oilers

The Oilers return to Rexall tonight in hopes of erasing their last loss from the minds of their fan-base. There's just one problem: this game is against Minnesota.

I'm not saying that I don't think the Oilers can win this one, the team will just have to strategize against the trap a little better. I think tonight is do-able, and I hope that Tuesday's result has a fire under the team.

I'm sure it does.

While I've heard a lot of, "well as long as they sell the arena out they don't care," and, "as long as they're being paid they don't need to try," I doubt that this is the case. These men have a competitive spirit, and I can say this with confidence that I'm right. One does not make it into professional sports without a competitive drive to get there. If someone doesn't feel the need to compete they don't need to win, and if they don't need to win then they don't need to develop their skills. If you don't develop your skills then you don't make it into the NHL, NBA, MLB, NFL/CFL etc. It's as simple as that.

I don't think I'll be paying for the game tonight, but I'll see how I feel at about 6:30, I almost always change my mind when I have to opportunity to watch the whole game... Yes, I'm weak. "Clear the area, there's nothing to see here. Hey you! With the Flames jersey! I said there's nothing to see here, clear the area!"

Get Over It.

I am not ready to accept defeat just yet. And the fact that it seems that some of the fans I’ve run into since Tuesday night have already thrown in their proverbial towel is ridiculous.

Period.

So, the Oilers came back after a five-day break and played badly? I’m pretty sure they have a history of having terrible games following an in-season break. 10 goals scored by the Sabres, the last being a short-handed tally for Stafford’s hat-trick; I’m over it. Broken offence from our team for the entirety of the game? Big deal. Absent goaltending and even worse defensive play? Dry your tears and calm yourself. Worst home loss in Oiler history? That may be the case, but there are worse losses in NHL history I’m sure. Yeah, Calgary Flames fans think it’s hilarious—I don’t know that I count ‘Oilers Suck’ chants at a game the Oilers aren’t even playing in as part of the rivalry, but then I’m an Oiler fan and as such come with a built-in bias—But if you’re going to cry about their chants and songs I ask you the following: did you, or did you not, laugh at the ‘Red Mile’ song that The Bear did during the playoffs?

Exactly.

I will still be wearing my Oiler jersey around Edmonton tomorrow, and if I see a fellow fan in Oiler gear there will be high-fives exchanged. If on the off chance I happen to run into an Oiler player I will wish them luck in the game—Joyfully. I am sick and tired of Rexall being one of the quietest buildings in the NHL, especially when the other buildings that are this quiet are merely having trouble putting people in the seats. Rexall is sold out and you can hear a pin-drop! Every time I attend a game I am sitting by some effing cynic who thinks it appropriate to criticize everything the Oilers do at every turn.

You are not an NHL player, nor are you an NHL-level coach. You are supposed to be a fan.

If you’re going to be this way fine, but stop acting like you’re a fan when you aren’t.

If you were a company I could sue you for false advertisement.

Well then.... Uhm, What?!

At least I didn't pay to see this one.

It is too early to start saying that we shouldn't have traded Garon. However, it is not too early to start worrying about the possibility that the organization made the wrong decision here. While the team didn't help the goaltenders out at all throughout the game there were more than a few goals that simply shouldn't have happened. Period. The first goal was the one that started it all; only now am I able to put the incident into words.

It was about seven o'clock, maybe ten after. The players took their positions on the ice. Horcoff was all concentration, knowing that faceoffs have not been a strong point of the team's game thus far, at the very least he had to tie this up so Hemsky or Penner could come in and grab the puck. The puck was dropped, Horcoff was the faster of the two, the puck came back to Grebeshkov, who makes a two-foot pass to Visnovsky. Skating backwards Visor decides to pass the puck with some-sort-of fancy spin-o-rama move (that's right, in the opening seconds of the game) up to Hemsky, who has to come back into his zone to pick up a puck that would've been turned over.

And then... Things went terribly wrong.

Instead of picking up the puck the puck bounces right of Hemsky's stick directly to the tape of a Sabres player. The worst part was that the play was still on-side, so the Buffalo Sabres continued the play in our zone. Caught off guard the Oilers' players never picked up their men. Stafford looked, Roloson was barely even out-of-position, Stafford shot.

Stafford scored. The time was 10 seconds in.

And it was all down-hill from there folks. I turned it off at 6-1, turned it back on at the beginning of the third to see it was 7-1 and then turned it off for good at 9-1.

I hear there was some-sort of "We want 10" chant going on. FYI for those who don't know: the fans got their wish, and to add some Staphylococcus aureus to the already bleeding jab: it was a short-handed tally by Stafford for the hat-trick.

So. After picking my jaw up off the floor, calming my insane laughter and finishing my Music paper I went to sleep; fully knowing that I was in too much of a ridiculous mood to write about the whole thing.

Now I am writing about it, and I'm still in a ridiculous mood. I can hardly believe what happened last night, I wish I had one of those Men in Black memory erasers.

So... What do you think? Time for some sort of change definitely, but will it come this year? Will it come ever? Do you think there will be any consequences for this loss? What about the fact that there have been two thus far in the season? If there is change what change do you want to see? What change do you think there will be (if this is different from what you want)?

Sabres @ Oilers

Oilers are finally returning to the ice tonight following the five day All-Star break. They're playing the Buffalo Sabres and there are a few things I'd like to make note of:

1. It appears as though Sam Gagner will not be donning the Copper and Blue tonight following an MRI that was performed on his ankle. There is speculation that this injury could have been a nagging one that he has been dealing with all year.

2. Zach Stortini is expected to make his return tonight following a should-have-been-horrific leg injury that he had obtained during the 'take-down' portion of a fight. Apparently Zach either (A) has a mutant-esque healing factor that the organization is keeping under wraps or (B) is incredibly lucky and maybe has bones that have been reconstructed with a rubber-calcium hybrid that are sturdy yet bendable.

3. Reddox has been recalled while all of Potulny, Brule and Schremp stay in Springfield. There are most likely logical reasons behind why Reddox is the one with the call-up but none of us want to consider the logical arguments. MacT is dumb! Every one hates Schremp! Reddox is the new Petersen!

4. If Gagner is indeed out of the game tonight Cogliano moves into the center position on the second line. And in the words of SemenkoSmash from the Oiler Message Boards, "Cole and Cogliano together? Hope the Sabres D has Acme rocket skates on tonight, that lines gonna fly!"

I just hope we get an entertaining game tonight, after that AS game I could use some entertaining hockey.

If you guys could win that would be even better ;)

Five Oilers I've Loved Thus Far : #1 Ales Hemsky

Any one who didn't see this one coming hasn't watched the Oilers this season. Ales Hemsky has been playing some of his best hockey this year and is on pace for a career high production count.

In past seasons Ales has shown us skill, determination and courage but none of these things were qualities he expressed with any sort of consistency. This season he has changed that; night in and night out I am impressed with Hemmer, even when he has a pointless night he manages to wow me with at least two or three plays. He goes into the corners and grinds out the puck, he finesses his way past defenders and he dekes out any goaltender who happens to be in his way. Hemsky is Edmonton's star player, and if he continues to play like he has thus far the entire League will take notice.

For now he's our little secret, and I'm okay with that.

I'm not saying that Hemsky isn't known by the players around the league, because that would be false. He is on the mind of every defender who has the task of attempting to stop him, just ask them (I believe it was Raffi Torres that was commenting after the Blue Jackets game about how one just wants to throw a blanket over him for the duration of the game, I'm not convinced that even a 30 lb itchy wool blanket would stop him). It seems to be the fans that are caught unawares by Hemsky. It's like every time I talk to fans of the opposite team that we were playing they ask me, "Where in the h--- did this Hemsky guy come from?" They even forget about him until the next game we play against them, "Oh man, I forgot about that Hemsky guy."

I think that trend is starting to change.

His performance in the Blue Jackets game was quite possibly the best individual effort I've seen in my brief history as an Oiler fan. His effort all year has been incredible, and I can't wait to watch him for the remainder of the season and just maybe *crosses fingers* the playoffs.

Fighting In Hockey

I am sure we are all well aware of the current discussions and arguments occuring in Sports Bars and Living Rooms every where about the role the fighting fills in hockey, if it has a true role at all.

Any one who read about me dancing around my workplace when Ladislav Smid fought already knows what my standpoint on the issue is, but my standpoint probably has a different reasoning behind it than you think it does. Do I recognize the entertainment value of fighting? Absolutely. The recent UFC craze illustrates just how entertaining the general population finds fighting. However, I also realize that this is a very dangerous activity; that said, I think the players involved, for the most part, are also aware of the possible outcomes of a fight.

However, those who say that we need to take fighting out of hockey need to realize that this is not as easy as most of you are proposing.

The regulation of fighting has already started, is it as sophisticated and well-developed as it needs to be? No. I do think it is possible to take fighting out of hockey, there are just some things that need to be dealt with at the same time.

Fighting has already been controlled a little by way of the 'Instigator Penalty': one of the stupidest ideas I've ever heard of. So when a player gets run by another player ala this, the Oilers cannot have another player step up against Regher without taking an extra 2-min minor penalty. What about this? Now all this only matters if the Instegator Penalty is policed with regulatiry, which all of us know it isn't, but things like this illustrate my point perfectly. Until the NHL as a league has a disciplinary system that actually works fighting cannot be taken out of the NHL. If the league won't police then players have to take it into their own hands.

Here are some of my suggestions of things to do so fighting can be eliminated safely:

1. Exactly what is with the $2000-$20,000 fines? What is that worth to a player who makes upwards of $1,000,000 a year? Coaches who question referees publicly are fined more than a player who runs another player from behind! The fines need to be revamped as far as penalized agression goes (intention to injure has to be there). The fines should be a percentage of that players earnings for the year. I think 10-15% should do it. For repeat offenders there should be a climbing scale.

2. Forget these puny 2-5 game suspensions, they need to be longer; maybe even without pay. The suspensions should range depending on the extent of injury the player in question caused. Start the suspensions at 5 games no questions asked, depending on the time the player they charged/boarded/kneed etc. is to be out of their respective line-up, the nature of the incident along with some other minor things (like whether the play was near the end of the game, whether the play is in pre-season/regular season/post-season, etc.). There also needs to be a sort of 'strike' system, if a player does these things say 4 or 5 times then he is finished in the NHL.

Again, intent to injure is IMPERATIVE to these changes.

There are other ways to solve the problem, and I'm sure you have a few ideas of your own so feel free to add them in the comments. I just don't want to see an increase in player injury because fighting is taken out of the NHL, there are other steps to follow in that process.

Other interesting Blogs/Articles on Fighting in Hockey:

SteveDangle from LFR in getting nifty in the clutch

Georges Laraque in his Sportsnet blog incase you haven't already read it.

Scott Morrison; CBCsports

Chris Selley @ Full Comment

Five Oilers I've Loved Thus Far : #2 Sheldon Souray

The player in second place for me thus far in the year is a player that I cannot confess to being very patient with his injuries last season. We brought him in for some immediate improvement, and he barely ever played.

Of course I realize that he was injured, it's hockey; it happens. I was just tired of seeing our team with it's relatively weak back-end on the ice. That said, once the team went on that tear in March I forgot all about Souray.

Now that Souray is healthy and is playing the kind of minutes that we had originally hoped he would I can appreciate him for what he is.

And he is Awesome.

His defensive strategies are solid and his slapshot from the point is everything thay said it was and more. He is a tower back on our blue-line and I cringe everytime he takes a penalty (which by all accounts is not often) because I don't like the look of our PK when he's in the box.

He seems to have leadership qualities as well, which are always pleasent things to have. And when Sheldon gets angry the objects of his agression better watch out: Angry Sheldon is straight-up menacing.

Suspending All-Stars

It has recently come to light that Commissioner Gary Bettman has threatened to suspend players for either one game before or one game following the All-Star Break. In fact Detroit's Lidstrom and Datsyuk have already been suspended for missing this glorious opportunity.

Lidstrom has been to the All-Star game how many times now? I'm sure he's well tired of it.

I think it's bull. If these players don't want to play in this game, which in my opinion is a bit of a joke anyway, then they shouldn't have to. Perhaps after a player has attended twice or three times they are exempt from having to play in the game if they don't want to. Most of the fans I talk to here in Edmonton don't watch the game any way, and if they do it's so they can complain about how terrible it was.

Besides: it's not like the NHL doesn't have enough 'All-Stars' to substitute in for those who choose not to attend.

Five Oilers I've Loved Thus Far : #3 Ladislav Smid

Of all the Oilers on the team right now, this guy is my #1 favourite player. I have other favourites, sure, some come closer than others, but if Ladislav got traded I would follow his team religiously. Essentially Ladislav is the reason I began to watch hockey with such regularity. I had watched the play-off run, sure, but I still wasn't quite hooked on it. Instead for the majority of the off-season I listened to how terrible the Pronger trade was, and how the only good thing to come out of it was this kid Ladislav Smid. He was a highly-touted prospect: taken 5th overall by the Ducks in his draft year; word was that at that time the deal almost didn't go through because the Oilers wanted Ladislav Smid. Any way, he had all of these expectations to live up to, and on a team that was deflated with injury and missing pieces he was the one bright spot. I'd probably buy Center Ice just to watch his team play if he was traded and they weren't in our division/conference; but I don't want to talk about him being traded, I want him to stay.

Last season Ladislav didn't make the team out of training camp, he went back down to Springfield instead to work on his game a little bit. When he came back he had this mean streak that appeared; and I liked it. Sure, in the beginning it was a little unpolished: taking penalties for aggression following the whistle etc. But eventually he calmed it down a little, and now he has this wonderful controlled agression that benefits this team nicely.

This season Ladislav also lost his starter position to new-comer Jason Strudwick, a decision I did not support, he didn't play hardly any games, instead Strudwick got to play on the back-end with Staios; and it was not pretty. I'm not entirely sure why it took injuries that required Strudwick up front to bring Ladislav back into the line-up, but it did. I really wanted Ladislav to come back into the game and impress, show every one that his potential had not gone to waste; and that is exactly what has happened.

Ladislav came back into the line-up with vigor. He clears the front of the net, he protects the goaltender, he fights, and he's not afraid to take a hit to make a play; and on a team that has a lot of offensive defensemen, his defensive tone is something the team needs right now. I would like to see him take a bit of training from Lubo Visnovsky on how to handle a one-on-one rush without taking a penalty though. That would be nice.

Five Oilers I've Loved Thus Far : #4 Lubomir Visnovsky

I was incredibly psyched for Lubomir Visnovsky to come over to Edmonton in the off-season after we traded Matt Greene and Jarret Stoll for him. This guy has easily become one of my favourite hockey players, he's definitely the Oiler that I have the most different nicknames for, and I just love it when this guy smiles.

And he smiles a lot.

The main complaint about Lubo when he came over was that, while he was clearly offensively gifted and was an excellent power-play quarterback, he was said to be lacking in defensive responsibility. I can honestly say that I don't know what they were talking about. Perhaps something about the fact that the L.A. Kings aren't exactly defensively gifted made Lubomir appear less talented defensively. Either way, if I had to choose one Oiler D-man to defend on a one-on-one rush it would be Vish. Hands down.

At the beginning of the season MacT had Visor playing with Souray, which was good, but when you have both of your best point-men playing on the same unit (especially on the powerplay) the opposing team just plays really high and covers the point-men. Obviously this didn't work too well, so lately Visnovsky has been playing with Grebeshkov and this works very well. Grebeshkov and Lubo work well together, and I'm looking forward to watching them together for the rest of the season.

Five Oilers I've Loved Thus Far : #5 Erik Cole

With the All-Star Break ahead I figured I'd write something that isn't complaining about the All-Star Game or speculating whether Chara or Souray is going to win the Hardest Shot Competition. Ta-Da! Five Oilers I've Loved Thus Far.

Todays installment: #5 Erik Cole.

Granted: early this season Erik would have been near the very bottom of a list of my favourite Oilers; however, the entire team was playing sub-par type hockey. Through his last 13 games or so Erik Cole has really turned it up in the production department, and his great play started long before then. I've really enjoyed his play for at least the last 20-25 games, even though for a lot of those games he was pointless. He was working hard and one knew that eventually pucks would start hitting the twine off of Cole's stick.

We were right.

For the past couple games he and Gagner have had their chemistry cool down a bit, but prior to then the two of them had some pretty awesome plays going. From watching Cole with the kids it also appears that he gets along with them very well and is mentoring them a bit, and seeing as Cole is a power-forward there will be no complaining from me; the kids can use ever bit of toughness they can get their hands on.

The other thing that has really impressed me with Cole is his heart. The way he plays just screams classic Oiler grit and determination, and as an Oiler fan, I always appreciate players like that.

Looking forward to watching Erik Cole for the rest of the season.

Oh My Sweet Lord.

I'm glad this guy is not my neighbor's wife because I am coveting.

Don't give me that look.

You know you're coveting too.

*covet* *covet*



...



*covet*

Blue Jackets @ Oilers

Okay, so like I said last night: the Oilers need to win this one or they will fall out of the top 8 tonight. In fact, if Anaheim, Phoenix, Minnesota and Vancouver lose tonight and we win (unlikely, but possible), we would move into a three-way tie for 5th; the Oilers would have the edge on 5th with 2 games in hand.

Wouldn't that be nice?

Over at Lowetide a battle of epic proportions is unfolding tonight. Arguably the best Game-Day writer of the Oilers Blog Community is on the verge of jumping ship in favor of the Columbus Blue Jackets should the Oilers lose to them at Rexall this evening. Personally I really hope they win, because I don't want to read about the Blue Jackets for the rest of the season. End of story. Scott, over at Gospel of Hockey criticizes LT in his most recent post, an adaptation of Biblical passage Exodus 20:1-6. In fact the entirety of that blog is adaptations of bible passages; definitely worth a read. I don't criticize Lowetide for his recent behaviour and threats, in fact, I kind of admire him for his strength. If I threatened to abandon the team I definitely wouldn't actually have the strength to do so.

I don't know if I want the strength to do so.

Back to the Game:

Tonight Raffi Torres returns to Edmonton for the first time since his being traded in the off-season. This feels strange to me because I don't think I've watched him play in almost two years because of his injury in his last season with the Oil. It feels like he's been gone a lot longer than he has. Regardless, I don't miss him in Oiler silks by any means.

Hemsky returned to the line-up Sunday night against the Phoenix Coyotes, he had two goals, and while I didn't actually have the opportunity to watch the game (I had choir rehersal) but I did hear from those that did watch the game that Hemsky was on fire all night. I love Hemsky, he is one of my absolute favourite players, and definitely the most exciting of them all. I'd really like him to have another great night, if for nothing else than to entertain me.

Moreau had a hat-trick in that game versus Phoenix, and the Oilers will be in good shape if he can produce consistently (I'm not counting on it). I have been rough on the Oiler captain, mostly because of the penalties that he seems to take at inopportune times. As a captain it is important not to make the game more difficult for your team, taking stupid penalties does not show leadership. That said, the penalties are really the only thing that I have against 'Chopper,' otherwise I think he is fairly effective.

Listening to the Off-Day comments of Sam Gagner and Dustin Penner gives me the feel that the dressing room of the Oilers has become a more pleasant place to be. The team is playing with more heart and determination, even in that 5-1 loss against Minnesota the team didn't look bad, and the game was a lot closer than the score indicated.

I think the Oilers have a good chance of winning tonight, and of course I hope they do: because I always want the Oilers to win and because I don't want to have to ignore Lowetide for the rest of the season.

Bring this one home boys, let's go into the All-Star break on a great note.

On The Sched For Tomorrow

So, here we go with tomorrow's schedule. Minnesota, unfortunately, won tonight. That said, they play tomorrow so hopefully we can win tomorrow and they lose.

Any way, without further adieu here are the games on tap for tomorrow night that are of interest to the Oilers and their success:

Anaheim @ New York Rangers
L.A. @ Minnesota
Detroit @ Phoenix
Vancouver @ San Jose

Ideally New York, L.A., Detroit and San Jose win tomorrow. If that happens and we win then that will put us in a great position. That said, Minnesota is playing L.A. and that will be a difficult game for L.A. to win.

We play Columbus tomorrow, which will be another tough game. However, if Hemsky can dominate like he did against Phoenix and we can continue to get a balanced scoring attack I think we will have the edge in that game.

See you tomorrow for the Game Day post.

Welcome Back 83

And may I say: Wow. Just WOW.

I missed you.

Please don't go away ever again.

Ever.

Phoenix @ Edmonton

Okay, so this is what the NHL standings look like right now.
5. Phoenix – 51 Pts
6. Anaheim – 51 Pts
7. Vancouver – 49 Pts
8. Minnesota – 47 Pts
9. Edmonton – 47 Pts
10. Columbus – 46 Pts

And this is where I want the standings to be by the end of January:

5. Anaheim – 59 Pts
6. Columbus – 56 Pts
7. Edmonton – 55 Pts
8. Vancouver/Minnesota/Phoenix – 55 Pts
9. Minnesota /Vancouver/Phoenix– 53 Pts
10. Phoenix /Minnesota/Vancouver– 53 Pts

This is what the NHL schedule looks like tonight:

Phoenix @ Edmonton
New York Rangers @ Pittsburgh
Calgary @ Colorado
Columbus @ Vancouver

Ideally, Edmonton, Calgary and Columbus win tonight. That said: if the Oilers lose tonight it would be in our best interest for Columbus to lose as well; that would preserve our 9th place ranking. As much as I don’t want to admit that I want Calgary to win we need to keep Colorado out of the playoff hunt for as long as possible, because if they start to get into a groove that just adds one more team for the Oilers to compete with; and lets be honest: the Calgary Flames are not a team that we should be hoping to catch in the next couple weeks. If Columbus pulls out a win in Vancouver (where the home woes are under an even larger microscope than ours) and we win tonight then we pull into a tie for 7th in the West with Vancouver where technically we’d be in 7th because we have less games played. This would also move Minnie out of the top 8 and replace them with Columbus.

The Oilers managed to pull out 2 wins on the mini 3-game road-trip, which is a good start; however, if the Oilers want to be in a playoff spot by the end of the month they need at least 2 more wins inside of January, which means they can only lose 1 or 2 of their next four games. I think they can do it, whether they will or not is a different story.

I’ll only mention it once, because any one who has ever read any of my posts on the goaltending issue already knows how I feel about the trade despite the fact that I haven’t actually stated it. I am incredibly angry with the Oilers organization and their treatment of Garon this season. Not only did you not give him an honest shot at #1 this season but you traded him to a team where he is, once again, going to be a back-up goaltender. I realize that, yes, it is not necessarily the organization’s responsibility or job to worry about the position a player will play on their new team when they are traded, but the whole Roloson over Garon thing is a joke in my eyes. Roloson has ten years on Garon, you think Roloson has another cup run in him? Because I sure don’t. He’s at least as inconsistent as Garon, personally I think he’s much worse, and I think this will come to light pretty soon. The Oilers may just have screwed themselves over for any kind of playoff run this season; and if they didn’t screw themselves this season, they certainly did for next season unless they can coax a UFA goaltender here in the off-season. There are many situations that can come to fruition that will have the Oilers regretting their decision to trade Garon, and not many that won’t.

About tonight’s game:

Tonight is Glen Anderson’s jersey retirement ceremony, which will be nice, that said the Oilers have a terrible history of playing sub-par following any kind of ceremony. The Oilers really need to win this one, the only team that is left to play in January that we could stand to lose to would be the Sabres, the other three games (tonight included) are all against teams we are battling with for a playoff spot.

Oilers @ Avalanche

The Oilers are on the ice tonight playing the second half of their back-to-back set, a couple of games that, admittedly, have not gotten off to a great start. The Only up-side to tonight's game is that the Avalanche are also coming off of a disappointing loss last night, theirs a 5-2 effort versus the St. Louis Blues.

I didn't have to opportunity to watch the game last night, so I turned to 630 CHED and listened to it, almost all of it any way. After we were down 3-1 I knew we weren't coming back, and yet I didn't turn the radio off until we were down 5-1. The last 5 minutes or so of the game sounded incredibly demoralizing, although Souray absolutely wasted Weller (I wonder if Souray pushing Moreau out of the way could be seen as more than just a, "no I want him," move. If this were a novel that I was studying in English I know it would be some sort of metaphor or foreshadowing event).

And can I say that I wanted to get up and dance around my workplace when Ladislav Smid got into a fight? I'm serious, I love it when Ladi fights: I cheer him on from my living room. Loudly. Also a note to Ladislav: my mom called me last night just before the fight broke out, she was watching the game, and then proceeded to tell me that you are much more attractive without your helmet. In other words: she really likes your hair, even when it has been stuck under a sweaty helmet for a while; that's good, right?

Enough about last night's game and Ladislav's hair: onto the task at hand.

If the Oilers want to squeak in to a playoff spot by the end of the month this game is as close to a must-win as it gets without actually being a must-win. In order for the Oilers to be in a playoff spot by the end of this month the team needs to start playing much better, unless every one else tanks: which, unfortunately is unlikely. It is also something to note that had the Oilers won last night they would've been in 8th place this morning: not that I think the Wild will hold that place for too long, they'll either shoot up or trip and fall down for good, 8th is not likely to be their destiny. The Avalanche is a team that I did not include in my calculations the other day, I completely overlooked them They've played one more game than we have and have the same point total as we do, we need to start winning divisional games and tonight would be a good time to get that going.

Edmonton @ Minnesota

The Oilers are on the ice tonight against the Minnesota Wild in the first half of a back to back set, the second game tomorrow night in Colorado. If the Oil can pull out both of these games it would put them in a great position for the rest of January, but I'd be okay with one win: preferably tonight as the Wild are one of the teams we're battling with for the top 8 and we're tied with them currently in 10th place in the West.

The PK has been doing abnormally well lately, and I like the offensive upside that our PK units have had as of late. Cole has been playing amazing lately and I hope it continues, I'd like to see Sam Gagner producing some more with Cole as well. Brule has been unbelievable in the last two wins, it seems this kid has some hands that have been hiding from every one since his rushed development as a part of the Blue Jackets' organization, that said the limit of how many games he's allowed to play before he has to clear waivers is drawing near and it will be interesting to see how this all plays out as the limit is also coming up for Potulny, who I think has not looked out of place in the NHL, which is a good sign.

The Wild have won 5 of their last 10 and are coming off a 6-3 win over the Phoenix Coyotes, which is good for both the Wild and the Oilers, as the Phoenix Coyotes are one of the teams that are most likely to drop out of the top 8, and we need them to do so in order for us to get in.

Minnesota tends to play this really boring game, you know, the kind where those 1-0 wins/losses actually happen. Minnesota games tend to make people incredibly tired and should probably be used as a non-narcotic sleep-aid.

Seriously.

Regardless, the Oilers always seem to play a sub-par game versus the Wild, probably because their playing style is so suffocating that eventually everything stops moving. This wouldn't be too big of a deal if the Oilers didn't get most of their stuff done by rushing the net, point-shots and rush plays. A slow game really kills all of those things, although rushing the net is still possible.

You just have to rush through half-hour-old Cream of Wheat. And no, there hasn't been any brown sugar added.

Where I think the Oilers should be come the end of January

Okay, so everyone who lived in Edmonton during the last 20 or so games of last season knows that every where you turned people were discussing the chances of the Oilers making the playoffs, who had to beat who, who had to lose that night, how many games the Oilers could afford to lose at that point etc.
Well, while I realize that it is a little early to be thinking about clinching a playoff spot, the rest of January will give us a pretty good idea of where the Oilers will be at the end of the season, or at the very least exactly how fried our nerves will be going down the stretch. I’ve looked at all of the teams in the Western Conference that I think are catchable math-wise within the next couple weeks, especially considering that some of the teams in the top 8 aren’t playing their best hockey of the season right now. This post will be quite long, so if you would rather see the short-version scroll down to the summary near the end. For those of you who are a little more robust please read on at your leisure.
Okay so the teams that I think the Oilers are in a position to possibly catch are: Anaheim, Vancouver, Phoenix, Columbus and Minnesota (who we’re already tied with). I’ve copied down each team’s Current Record, GF/GA, Average Goals per Game, Average Goals Against per Game, Last 10 Games Record, Home Record, Away Record, Games left in January and which of those games are Home games and which are Away games and which teams they’re playing each game against (I’ve also obtained the same some of the same stats for the teams each of Anaheim, Vancouver, Phoenix, Columbus, Minnesota and Edmonton are playing, these stats are located at the end of the post).
For the purpose of this post I will only count wins, because OT losses complicate things mathematically. Also, the win totals for each team are merely gut feeling and hunches on my part, there are no real stats that are telling me which games the team will win/lose.
We’ll start with Anaheim, currently in 5th place in the West.
Anaheim:
Current Record: GP:44 W: 22 L:17 OT:5 Pts:49
GF/GA: 126/124
Avg Goals/Game: 126/44 = 2.864
Avg GA/Game: 124/44 = 2.818
Last 10 Games:4-4-2 = 40%
Home Record:13-9-3 = 52%
Away Record:9-8-2 = 47.4%
Games Left in January: 8 Games
Home: Red Wings, Black Hawks
Away: Penguins, Wild, Rangers, Islanders, Coyotes, Avalanche

Okay, so in their last 10 games they’ve went 4-4-2. 6 of their last 8 games in January are on the road where their record is 9-8-2, essentially they’ve won about ½ of the games they’ve played on the road this season. They’re playing against the Penguins, who’ve won about 45% of their games at home, the Wild, with a 54.5 win percentage at home, the Rangers, with a 58.3 win percentage at home, the Islanders, with only a 33.3% win percentage at home, the Coyotes, with a 65.2% win percentage at home, and lastly the Avalanche, who’ve won 61.9% of their games at home. 2 of their games are at home, the Ducks have won 52% of their home games. They play against the Red Wings, with an away win percentage of 61.9%, and the Blackhawks, who have a road win percentage of 47.6%. Likely the Ducks will win 3-5 of their next 8 if the current trends continue.

Vancouver:
Current Record: GP:45 W:22 L:18 OT:5 Pts:49
GF/GA: 130/125
Avg Goals/Game:130/45 = 2.889
Avg GA/Game: 125/45 = 2.778
Last 10 Games: 3-5-2 = 30%
Home Record: 11-9-2 = 50%
Away Record: 11-9-3 = 47.8%
Games left in January:5
Home: Coyotes, Blue Jackets, Predators, Wild
Away: Sharks

The Vancouver Canucks’ performance has dropped notably as of late, they’ve only won 30% of their last 10 games. They’ve only got 5 games left in the month of January, four of which are at home. That said the one that they’ve got on the road is a near definite loss to the Sharks who haven’t lost a single game in regulation at home this season, they’ve only lost two in OT. The rest of the games for the Ducks are at home versus the Coyotes, 28.6% win% on the road, the Blue Jackets, 34.8% win% on the road, the Predators, 40$ win% on the road, and the Wild, 45% win% on the road. That said, the Canucks have only won 50% of their home games this season. Canucks win 2-3 of their games remaining in January if current trends continue.

Phoenix:
Current Record: GP:44 W:21 L:18 OT:5 Pts:47
GF/GA: 109/126
Avg Goals/Game:109/44 = 2.477
Avg GA/Game: 126/44 = 2.864
Last 10 Games:5-4-1 = 50%
Home Record:15-6-2 = 65.2%
Away Record:6-12-3 = 28.6%
Games left in January: 7
Home: Red Wings, Ducks, Sabres
Away:Canucks, Flames, Oilers, Sharks

The Phoenix Coyotes have gotten the majority of their wins this season at home, however some of their remaining games in January at home will be tough ones. The Red Wings (61.9% road win%) in particular are a great hockey team, the Ducks (47.4% road win%) won’t go down easy, and the Sabres (47.4% road win%) won’t be pushovers either. On the road the Coyotes have been comparatively terrible: 6-12-3. They play the Canucks (50% home win%), the Flames (69.6% win% at home), the Oilers (45% home win% [blech]), and the Sharks (90.9% win% at home). Looking at everything I say that the ‘Yotes win 1-3 of their next 7.

Columbus:
Current Record: GP:43 W:21 L:18 OT:4 Pts:46
GF/GA: 115/117
Avg Goals/Game:115/43 = 2.674
Avg GA/Game: 117/43 = 2.721
Last 10 Games:7-3-0 = 70%
Home Record:13-6-1 = 65%
Away Record:8-12-3 = 34.8%
Games left in January: 7
Home:Devils, Red Wings, Senators, Stars
Away: Canucks, Oilers, Flames

Columbus is 7-3-0 in their last ten, but they have a clear difficulties winning on the road. At home the Blue-Jackets play: Devils (57.1% win% on the road), Red Wings (61.9% win percentage on the road), Senators (19% road win%), and the Stars (36.4% win percentage on the road). The Blue-Jackets themselves have a home win percentage of 65%, their road win percentage is not near as impressive at 34.8%. On the road they play: The Canucks (50% at home), The Oilers (45% home win% [again, BLECH]), and the Flames (69.6% win% at home [MAJOR BLECH]). When all is done I think the Blue-Jackets will win 3-5 of their next 7.

Minnesota:
Current Record: GP:42 W:21 L:18 OT:3 Pts:45
GF/GA: 106/97
Avg Goals/Game:106/42 = 2.524
Avg GA/Game: 97/42 = 2.310
Last 10 Games:5-4-1
Home Record:12-7-3 = 54.5%
Away Record:9-11-0 = 45%
Games left in January: 7
Home:Oilers, Ducks, Kings, Maple Leafs
Away:Black Hawks, Oilers, Canucks

The Minnesota Wild are currently tied with Edmonton in 9th/10th place in the West. They’ve won 50% of their last ten games and have an incredible GA average of just 2.31 per game. They have four games at home and three games on the road to finish January. At home they play: The Oilers (54.5% win percentage on the road), The Ducks (47.4% road win%), The Kings (35.6% win% on the road), and the Maple Leafs (36.4% road win%). On the road they play: The Blackhawks (68.4% home win%), the Oilers (45% win% at home), and the Canucks (50% win% at home). When all is said and done I think the Wild will probably win 3, maybe 4 of their next 7.

Edmonton:
Current Record: GP:42 W:21 L:18 OT:3 Pts:45
GF/GA: 118/125
Avg Goals/Game:118/42 = 2.810
Avg GA/Game: 125/42 = 2.976
Last 10 Games:6-4-0 = 60%
Home Record:9-8-3 = 45%
Away Record:12-10-0 = 54.5%
Games left in January: 6
Home: Coyotes, Blue Jackets, Sabres, Wild
Away: Wild, Avalanche

Edmonton, as we all know very well, has an issue with consistency. That said, the Oilers are playing relatively well lately and are on a 2 game winning streak. Their win% at home isn’t that great, but it is getting better, and their road record is one of the best in the league. Unfortunately only 2 of their games are on the road in their last 7 in January. They play the Wild (54.5% win% at home), and the Avalanche (61.9% win% at home) on the road. At home they play the Coyotes (28.6% win% on the road), the Blue Jackets (34.8% win% on the road), the Sabres (47.4% win% on the road), and the Wild (45% win% on the road). Truth be told the Oilers have some winnable games coming up, I think if the Oilers continue to play like they have in the past couple games and Roloson continues his great play the Oilers can win 4-5 of their last 6 in January. That said if Roli doesn’t play well and the scoring dries up we could win just 2 or 3 of the games.
~~
SUMMARY

If everything plays out the way I think it will the standings (from #5 - #10) should look like this (including the highest number of wins in the range I stated):
5. Anaheim – 59 Pts
6. Columbus – 56 Pts
7. Edmonton – 55 Pts
8. Vancouver – 55 Pts
9. Minnesota – 53 Pts
10. Phoenix – 53 Pts
~~

Stats for the teams that #5-#10 are concerned with play:

Red Wings
Current Record: GP:42 W:29 L:7 OT:6 Pts:64
GF/GA: 157/118
Avg Goals/Game: 157/42 = 3.738
Avg GA/Game: 118/42 = 2.810
Last 10 Games: 7-1-2 = 70%
Home Record: 16-3-2 = 76.2%
Away Record: 13-4-4 = 61.9%

Blackhawks:
Current Record: GP:40 W:23 L:10 OT:7 Pts:53
GF/GA: 143/103
Avg Goals/Game: 143/40 = 3.575
Avg GA/Game: 103/40 = 2.575
Last 10 Games: 6-4-0 = 60%
Home Record: 13-2-4 = 68.4%
Away Record: 10-8-3 = 47.6%

Penguins:
Current Record: GP:44 W:21 L:19 OT:4 Pts:46
GF/GA: 134/137
Avg Goals/Game: 134/44 = 3.045
Avg GA/Game: 137/44 = 3.114
Last 10 Games: 3-7-0 = 30%
Home Record:9-9-2 = 45%
Away Record:12-10-2 = 50%

Rangers:
Current Record: GP:45 W:26 L:15 OT:4 Pts:56
GF/GA: 120/118
Avg Goals/Game: 120/45 = 2.667
Avg GA/Game: 118/45 = 2.622
Last 10 Games: 4-4-2 = 40%
Home Record: 14-8-2 = 58.3%
Away Record:12-7-2 = 57.1%

Islanders:
Current Record: GP:43 W:12 L:27 OT:4 Pts:28
GF/GA: 110/156
Avg Goals/Game: 110/43 = 2.558
Avg GA/Game: 156/43 = 3.628
Last 10 Games: 2-7-1 = 20%
Home Record: 7-10-2 = 33.3%
Away Record:5-17-2 = 20%

Avalanche:
Current Record: GP:43 W:22 L:20 OT:1 Pts:45
GF/GA: 116/124
Avg Goals/Game: 116/43 = 2.697
Avg GA/Game: 124/43 = 2.884
Last 10 Games: 6-4-0 = 60%
Home Record: 13-8-0 = 61.9%
Away Record: 9-12-1 = 40.9%

Predators:
Current Record: GP:43 W:20 L:20 OT:3 Pts:43
GF/GA: 106/121
Avg Goals/Game: 106/43 = 2.465
Avg GA/Game: 121/43 = 2.814
Last 10 Games: 4-6-0 = 40%
Home Record: 12-7-1 = 60%
Away Record: 8-13-2 = 34.8%

Sharks:
Current Record: GP:42 W:32 L:5 OT:5 Pts:69
GF/GA: 150/99
Avg Goals/Game: 150/42 = 3.571
Avg GA/Game: 99/42 = 2.357
Last 10 Games: 7-1-2 = 70%
Home Record: 20-0-2 = 90.9%
Away Record: 12-5-3 = 60%

Sabres:
Current Record: GP:42 W:21 L:16 OT:5 Pts:47
GF/GA: 120/117
Avg Goals/Game: 120/42 = 2.857
Avg GA/Game: 117/42 = 2.786
Last 10 Games: 5-3-2 = 50%
Home Record: 12-9-2 = 52.2%
Away Record: 9-7-3 = 47.4%

Flames:
Current Record: GP:42 W:26 L:12 OT:4 Pts:56
GF/GA: 157/118
Avg Goals/Game: 157/42 = 3.738
Avg GA/Game: 118/42 = 2.810
Last 10 Games: 8-1-1 = 80%
Home Record:16-4-3 = 69.6%
Away Record: 13-4-4 = 61.9%

Devils:
Current Record: GP:43 W:25 L:15 OT:3 Pts:53
GF/GA: 132/113
Avg Goals/Game: 132/43 = 3.070
Avg GA/Game: 113/43 = 2.630
Last 10 Games: 6-4-0 = 60%
Home Record: 13-8-1 = 59.1%
Away Record: 12-7-2 = 57.1%

Senators:
Current Record: GP:41 W:14 L:21 OT:6 Pts:34
GF/GA: 98/120
Avg Goals/Game: 98/41 = 2.390
Avg GA/Game: 120/41 = 2.927
Last 10 Games: 2-7-1 = 20%
Home Record: 10-7-3 = 50%
Away Record: 4-14-3 = 19.0%

Stars:
Current Record: GP:41 W:18 L:17 OT:6 Pts:42
GF/GA: 117/140
Avg Goals/Game: 117/41 = 2.854
Avg GA/Game: 140/41 = 3.415
Last 10 Games: 5-3-2 = 50%
Home Record: 10-6-3 = 52.6%
Away Record: 8-11-3 = 36.4%

Kings:
Current Record: GP:42 W:17 L:19 OT:6 Pts:40
GF/GA: 104/117
Avg Goals/Game: 104/42 = 2.476
Avg GA/Game: 117/42 = 2.786
Last 10 Games: 4-6-0 = 40%
Home Record: 12-10-6 = 42.9%
Away Record: 5-9-0 = 35.7%

Maple Leafs:
Current Record: GP:43 W:16 L:21 OT:6 Pts:38
GF/GA: 124/154
Avg Goals/Game: 124/43 = 2.884
Avg GA/Game: 154/43 = 3.581
Last 10 Games: 2-8-0 = 20%
Home Record: 8-9-4 = 38.1%
Away Record: 8-12-2 = 36.4%

St. Louis Blues In Town

Chalk this one up as the seventh straight game Edmonton will be playing without the offensively-gifted services of Ales Hemsky. Scoring just one goal against the Sharks on Friday night the Oilers cruised to a 4-1 loss at the hands of, at the time, the West’s best team (the Sharks did not reclaim their top spot in the NHL until they completed Friday’s game, Boston is only a point behind them). And I hate to place more emphasis on the Hemsky injury than what has already been placed but Ales was placed on the IR on Friday and word is that he won’t be back until after the All-Star break. That makes it at least another 6 games until Hemsky is back in our line-up; by that time, and I don’t want to be a negative-Nelly here, but we could be well out of the race of the Playoffs by that time. I don’t mean to say that if we tank these games that we haven’t a chance of making the Playoffs.

I do mean to say that if that happens it will not make things easy.

The loss on Friday is not the only negative thing coming out of that game: our injury list has gotten considerably larger. Added to the list of Ales Hemsky (mild-concussion) and Fernando Pisani (ankle) is Zach Stortini (knee), Robert Nilsson (un-listed, probably concussion-related judging by his run-in with the boards on Friday), Sam Gagner (ankle, will likely still play) and Sheldon Souray (Shoulder, will also likely still play).

Can I throw up yet?

Despite the injuries that came out of that game the major story is not that of the injuries; it’s who is being called up to fill in for the injured players. First let me say this: I am not a subscriber to the Schremp fan club. However, it is hard to deny the fact that he seems to get the shaft with the team more often than not. Instead of Scremp (30GP, 3G, 20A, 23Pts), Ryan Potulny (36GP, 17G, 14A, 31Pts) will be suiting up in his first game as an Oiler, and I don’t think it’s that hard to understand why he’s the one called up. Potulny, from what the stats say (I don’t watch the AHL), is more of a goal-scorer rather than a play-maker, and I think it is pretty clear which player-type this team is in need of right now.

Also of note: Roloson gets the start in this game despite having a terrible first period versus San Jose, so terrible in fact that MacT pulled him after the first period: something one does not see often from MacT. I don’t get it, and let me remind you that I am a fan of Garon’s. Roloson plays like crap, Garon comes in, in relief and plays well, yet Roloson gets the start again the next game. All I’ll say is this: Garon has yet to be given the luxury of playing a few games in a row when he’s lost the last couple and was pulled in the last. In fact the only time he got a second shot in a game following a loss was in October versus Colorado and Vancouver, since then he’s only played one set of games one-after-another: 2 wins versus L.A. and Dallas.

The Oilers play tonight against a team that is on a two game winning-streak; their last win coming in Vancouver on Friday night. By all standards this is a game we should win, but I’m not counting on anything with the Oilers any more.

The wish-list from last game (with a few minor changes) still stands boys:

1. Sam Gagner and Erik Cole continue to generate chemistry on the second line if they play together (if they play together, and they should).
2. Ladislav Smid fights some one. Seriously, from what fans have seen thus far he's good at it.
3. The PP at least manages to get set-up, a goal or two would be nice.
4. We score at least 3 goals.
5. The PK continues on it's new track in the right direction.
6. The fourth line continues to be a source of energy for the rest of the team.
7. We have at least 2 centermen or players above 50% in the face-off dot.
8. Brule (or whoever is filling for Hemsky) gets some production going with Horcoff and Penner, seriously, this is supposed to be the first line. If they can't get it done they need to be demoted: move the (substitute player here, oooh, maybe Cogs? Does Cogs play LW?), Gagner, Cole (if they play together) line up.
9. Ethan Moreau manages to stop giving away the puck and actually produce something positive in the way of offense instead of taking stupid penalties.
10. The team puts in a full 60 minutes. Not 20, not 40, but 60... Wait, no I've changed my mind, I want 80 minutes of effort just in-case this goes into extra-time.

Final Eval

1. Sam Gagner and Erik Cole continue to generate chemistry on the second line.
N/A
2. Ladislav Smid fights some one. Seriously, from what fans have seen thus far he's good at it.
Didn't Happen. 0
3. The PP at least manages to get set-up, a goal or two would be nice.
One goal, that's okay. It was the only goal scored though. 1
4. We score at least 3 goals.
Didn't happen. 0
5. The PK continues on it's new track in the right direction.
Kinda/sorta but not really. 1/2
6. The fourth line continues to be a source of energy for the rest of the team.
I never want to have to see that video of Zach's injury ever again. 1
7. We have at least 2 centermen or players above 50% in the face-off dot.
Brodz was at 77%, Zach finished with 100%. Horc was close at 44%. 1
8. Brule gets some production going with Horcoff and Penner, seriously, this is supposed to be the first line. If they can't get it done they need to be demoted: move the Nilsson, Gagner, Cole line up.
N/A
9. Ethan Moreau manages to stop giving away the puck and actually produce something positive in the way of offense instead of taking stupid penalties.
Passed. 1
10. The team puts in a full 60 minutes. Not 20, not 40, but 60... Wait, no I've changed my mind, I want 80 minutes of effort just in-case this goes into extra-time.
If I was grading the performance tonight I'd probably give it a 60%, but I said I wanted 60-80 minutes of effort. This did not happen. 0

That's 4.5/8. It's a marginal pass that resulted in a loss on the score-sheet. Better luck next time boys.

Also: I hope Zach's' injury isn't as serious as it looked, but I think that's a stretch. I also hope Souray isn't out for too long, and I hope that Hemsky feels better. We better not rush him, because from what I've heard concussions can become a serious problem for players. Take M. Roy for example: it seemed that every time we called him up from juniors he left with a concussion. Let's not make Hemsky like that okay?

Second Period Eval

1. Sam Gagner and Erik Cole continue to generate chemistry on the second line.
See Previous
2. Ladislav Smid fights some one. Seriously, from what fans have seen thus far he's good at it.
Still hoping.
3. The PP at least manages to get set-up, a goal or two would be nice.
Still, one goal. That's okay, better than I expected.
4. We score at least 3 goals.
Still have only scored once. Here's hoping for another 2. At this point that won't even tie the game.
5. The PK continues on it's new track in the right direction.
The last PK looked pretty good, the SJS are still something like 2/3 on the night though.
6. The fourth line continues to be a source of energy for the rest of the team.
Fourth line is still looking decent out there. Strudwick's fight was pretty lack-luster, we need to absolutely obliterate someone.
7. We have at least 2 centermen or players above 50% in the face-off dot.
Stortini is 3 and 0 in the dot and Brodz is 4 and 1. Horc and Cogs are below 50.
8. Brule gets some production going with Horcoff and Penner, seriously, this is supposed to be the first line. If they can't get it done they need to be demoted: move the Nilsson, Gagner, Cole line up.
Again, see previous.
9. Ethan Moreau manages to stop giving away the puck and actually produce something positive in the way of offense instead of taking stupid penalties.
I said I would pay attention more this period and I did. I think from what I've seen Ethan has had a decent game, even had a few offensive chances, one of which almost resulted in a SH goal. He also has been staying out of the box.
10. The team puts in a full 60 minutes. Not 20, not 40, but 60... Wait, no I've changed my mind, I want 80 minutes of effort just in-case this goes into extra-time.
I don't think there was as much effort in the second period. Edmonton could have come out of that period with a much better result than they did.

News: Souray does not return tonight, calling it an upper-body injury. This is grave news indeed, I sure hope we don't get any more penalties because without Souray we're pretty much hopeless.

Review

These are the 10 hopes I had for this game, just in case you're too lazy to go and check them yourself:

1. Sam Gagner and Erik Cole continue to generate chemistry on the second line.
This one won't happen because they aren't playing together tonight. The kids look okay together again, but I would've rather seen Erik and Sam together.
2. Ladislav Smid fights some one. Seriously, from what fans have seen thus far he's good at it.
Haven't seen this thus far, but I'm hopeful.
3. The PP at least manages to get set-up, a goal or two would be nice.
The first PP didn't get much done but we scored on the second. Thus far this hope has been well represented on the ice.
4. We score at least 3 goals.
We've scored 1. We need 2 more to unlock this achievement.
5. The PK continues on it's new track in the right direction.
Well... It's hard to say whether the PK was brutal or not because they didn't get much of a chance to find out. How long was that PK? 10 seconds?
6. The fourth line continues to be a source of energy for the rest of the team.
Again, the lines have been changed around, but the fourth line does look to be generating some energy, and so has the third line: it looks like we've dressed two energy/checking lines.
7. We have at least 2 centermen or players above 50% in the face-off dot.
Thus far Cogliano and Horcoff are at 50% and Brodziak is at 100%, but this is far from over.
8. Brule gets some production going with Horcoff and Penner, seriously, this is supposed to be the first line. If they can't get it done they need to be demoted: move the Nilsson, Gagner, Cole line up.
Brule isn't even dressed tonight. Instead Cole is on the RW with Horc and Pens, they look alright... I still miss Hemsky.
9. Ethan Moreau manages to stop giving away the puck and actually produce something positive in the way of offense instead of taking stupid penalties.
To tell you the truth I haven't been paying much attention to his play thus far, I'll pay more attention next period and have an update.
10. The team puts in a full 60 minutes. Not 20, not 40, but 60... Wait, no I've changed my mind, I want 80 minutes of effort just in-case this goes into extra-time.
I thought all in all the first 20 minutes, save for the last 35 seconds or so following the third goal by the Sharks, was a pretty good effort. I'd like for Roloson to have a better last 40 minutes than his first 20. The first goal was a little weak, the second brutal; that said the third was a really good passing sequence by San Jose. Regardless I don't think there was much of a screen on that play either, but I could be wrong.

More updates after the second period. See you then

QUICK EDIT: Roloson will not be trying for a better last 40. Garon will instead be taking over. Here's your chance Matty, let's do this thing.

Sharks @ Oilers

The Oilers are set tonight to start their sixth straight game without their first line RW and leading point-getter Ales Hemsky. The Oilers are 2-3-0 without Hemsky in the line-up, and they're clearly lacking some creativity up front; not to mention the lack of production on the powerplay (The Oilers are only 3/23 on the powerplay during Hemsky's absence, that adds up to about 13% efficiency. Ouch.)

The San Jose Sharks are 29-5-5 this season, absolutely insane if you ask me, but with skill like they have, and this is at all positions, it's not hard to believe.

The Oilers have only played the Sharks once this season and the Oilers won that game 3-2 in OT. Ales Hemsky scored the first goal in that game at 8:50 at ES with what I remember being a wicked wrist-shot from the slot; the first shot of the game for the Oilers I believe. What is concerning is that both of the other goals were scored on the powerplay, and judging from who scored/assisted on the goals I can deduce that Hemsky was likely on the ice for at least one of those goals.

I noted earlier this week that I was beginning to worry about Hemsky. I really am worrying, it is comforting to see him on the ice during the game. I think I'd probably feel better if they would do another injury update, or an interview of some sorts. Heck, even a shot of him in the press-box would suffice.

I feel like some worried mother; and I am too young to be a mother Mr. Hemsky.

At any rate I hope the Oilers pull it out tonight, at least one point in this game would be a definite step in the right direction. Not that you needed me to tell you that. These are my hopes for the game:

1. Sam Gagner and Erik Cole continue to generate chemistry on the second line.
2. Ladislav Smid fights some one. Seriously, from what fans have seen thus far he's good at it.
3. The PP at least manages to get set-up, a goal or two would be nice.
4. We score at least 3 goals.
5. The PK continues on it's new track in the right direction.
6. The fourth line continues to be a source of energy for the rest of the team.
7. We have at least 2 centermen or players above 50% in the face-off dot.
8. Brule gets some production going with Horcoff and Penner, seriously, this is supposed to be the first line. If they can't get it done they need to be demoted: move the Nilsson, Gagner, Cole line up.
9. Ethan Moreau manages to stop giving away the puck and actually produce something positive in the way of offense instead of taking stupid penalties.
10. The team puts in a full 60 minutes. Not 20, not 40, but 60... Wait, no I've changed my mind, I want 80 minutes of effort just in-case this goes into extra-time.

SLACKER!!

Please accept the following apology, I've been slacking a lot lately on my blogging efforts. University tends to do this every once and again.

This, if you have been living under a rock located in a cave beneath the Pacific Ocean, is Mats Sundin. Mats plays his very first game in a Canucks jersey tonight. The game is currently underway and Mats has played something ridiculous like 3 minutes thus far through the first period.

I really wanted Mats to just make up his mind and sign somewhere, but I wasn't about to suggest that he sign anywhere. Unfortunately for the Oilers Sundin decided to sign within our division; and yes, I think this was to spite the Oilers.

No, I do not have sufficient reasons to believe this.

Thus far in the game the Oilers have been rather flat. That said: so have the Canucks. Other than the physical play there hasn't been much to write home about, although that punch by Souray would warrant a standing ovation in my opinion. Well done Sheldon, well done.

For some reason our PP has been absolute trash tonight, we've had three and haven't scored once, which on its own is not bad. But when you can't seem to even set up in the offensive zone there's a problem.

For some positive: I really like that line with Cole, Nilsson and Gagner. I like it a lot.

For some more negative: I'm starting to worry about Hemsky. Either the Oilers are being really careful with their star player and current face of the franchise, or they're playing down an injury that is worse than first-thought.

Also, I just wanted to mention that the refs have apparently just decided that they're going to call rough hits. Hey Dwyer and McCreary? Maybe you should've decided that about 20 minutes ago eh?