If I put my physical attraction to him aside, I still love this guy in the context of a purely unromantic fan-player relationship, and when he scored on Saturday I wanted to leap for joy and screech in happiness. As only life would have it I was at work at the time, and was unable to do either of the aforementioned behaviours as they are not appropriate for a place of work. I did, however, kind of yell 'YES' in a rather high pitched voice that I was not aware could be produced by my vocal cords; all in all it was a triumph for my self-control.
Ladislav Smid is my all-time favourite player, and I would wager that this is because I pick players that I like on some other scale than high-scoring offensive talent. I've liked him ever since we got him in the Pronger trade, and the Oilers are lucky that they didn't trade him this past summer. Combined with the underwhelming performance of the team, the absence of Smid would have meant I would be even less invested in this team than I have been of late. I still love them, don't get me wrong, but last week I just about went to the movies in place of watching the game, something that wouldn't have even entered my mind in previous years.
To the matter at hand: The Oilers are in Florida tonight to take on the Panthers, where they have a chance to put together a three game winning streak. It will be important not to take the Panthers lightly, as even the worst teams in the NHL are still good hockey teams by other standards, and when the Oilers are at their worst they don't look like an NHL-caliber team either. Hell, we were in last place in the West just a few short games ago. Also, I'm kind of hoping Smid will score once or twice more. I know, it's a tall order, but in his first season I seem to remember him scoring a couple more before the season was out.
If the Oilers can keep it together and show up as the same team that was in Detroit this should be a win. If it's the team that showed up in Vancouver we're in trouble.
Go Oilers Go!
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