always on the road

The Day Washington Nearly Killed Maxim Lapierre

2010-04-26T21:46:00.000-07:00

If anyone needs any specific clips from the 2010 playoffs just let me know.

Should I make an Oilers version?

2009-12-21T12:02:00.000-08:00

This is priceless.

Oh where art thou physical Ethan Moreau?

2009-12-16T02:37:00.000-08:00

I liked him more when he took stupid penalties. This sort of stuff was part of the package.

Ales Hemsky is too predictable on the PP.

2009-12-11T18:47:00.001-08:00

It wasn't too long ago that people were questioning Ales Hemsky and his contribution to the Oilers Powerplay. I remember a particular conversation in a Lowetide comment thread about how the PP was too "static" with Hemsky. How he was overly "predictable" because he rarely "attacks the box". Let's take a quick look at how the PP has been with and without him over the last stretch.

Previous six games before 83 was injured versus LA:

Efficiency - Chances (Via Dennis)
Buf: 1/7 - 10
Atl: 0/5 - 3
Clb: 2/5 - 8
Col: 1/6 - 6
Chi: 1/2 - 4
Pho: 1/6 - 2

Totals: 6/31 19% - 33 Chances (1.06 per PP)

Compared to the last six games without 83:

Efficiency - Chances
SJ: 0/4 - 1
Van: 2/4 - 3
Det: 0/1 - 0
Dal: 0/3 - 5
Fla: 1/4 - 4
TB: 0/4 - 4
Stl: 0/5 - 2

Totals: 3/25 12% - 19 Chances. (0.76 per PP)

The sample is small but all signs point to Ales Hemsky being a positive contributor to the Oilers PP.

Scoring Chances.

2009-12-09T21:45:00.000-08:00

Over at mc79hockey.com Dennis King is doing an excellent job compiling Oiler scoring chances this year. Since I've been preaching the big picture lately, I thought I'd go look at how his metric reflects on the Oilers even strength play this year.

EV chances (Game Number: Oilers-Opponent):

G1: 12-13
G2: 8-13
G3: 15-16
G4: 12-18
G5: 13-13
G6: 12-18
G7: 13-11
G8: 15-19
G9: 14-11
G10: 10-14
G11: 7-16
G12: 13-15
G13: 13-21
G14: 11-21
G15: 20-19
G16: 14-20
G17: 10-15
G18: 19-19
G19: 8-13
G20: 18-21
G21: 15-20
G22: 18-16
G23: 15-20
G24: 12-20
G25: 14-18
G26: 27-16
G27: 17-16 (down 4-0 10 minutes in)
G28: 25-18
G29: 21-21
G30: 15-16
G31: 18-21
G32: 19-22

Our 'chances' record: 7-22-3

Not so good.

Dear Shorsightedness,

2009-12-08T14:32:00.000-08:00

I am not particularly impressed with the 2009-2010 Edmonton Oilers. Prior to the start of the season, numerous roster issues had been discussed repeatedly throughout the blogosphere:

- The lack of a proven backup goaltender to share the load with Khabibulin.
- A center to help take some of the defensive pressure off of Horcoff.
- A top six LW that can be relied on in his own zone.
- More veterans and roles players in the bottom six.
- In general too many unproven players in the opening day roster.

This was the narrative going into the season. Most people were pessimistic of the the teams chances to make the playoffs. So what happens, we go out and win the six of our first nine games while heavily relying on the percentages.

First portion (G1-G9 | 6-2-1): Play shitty and get outshot/outchanced but fluke out bunch of wins in the first couple weeks. Percentages very much on our side (team PDO off the charts).

Second portion (G10-G17 | 2-6): Flu hits, team continues to play shitty but is now getting beaten nearly every night. Game 18 was when Smid returned to the lineup (the last guy that was reported as sick), so I used it as the 'end of the flu' marker. Predictably the team is getting outshot and outchanced.

Third portion (G18-G26) | 2-4-3): A lot of the injured guys are back in the lineup for this stretch. Team is generally healthy, as 44 returns to the lineup on G21. Upper end of the roster injuries include only Grebeshkov. Results are poor and the team is still getting outshot and outchanced on a nightly basis.

Fourth portion (G27-G30 | 3-1): After losing Ales Hemsky for the season, the team lays a huge egg on the road in Vancouver. Chances were close after the Canucks went up 4-0. A well earned victory in Detroit followed (although we certainly had some favourable bounces, we did carry the play). Then we won a squeeker in Dallas that could have gone either way, splitting the scoring chances and winning in the shootout. Next we get outplayed by a bottom feeder in the southeast yet pull out the two points in the shootout.

When I look at the season as a whole I just can't understand the logic behind these two quotes.

At least we are now seeing the team compete for 60-65 minutes, compared to the flu-ridden squad that was mailing in third periods or worse for quite a stretch there. IMO a lot of the negativity about this team fails to properly account for that.

- Bruce

[Accounting for the flu ridden period] would go against the narrative so it is not included in the factual arguement(sp) that this is the worst team in the history of history.

- bookie

Source.

For me, it's pretty clear that this is bad team with or without the stretch where we had the flu. We have not consistently carried the play at any point this season, and I don't have any reason to think things are going to change. Perhaps Dennis is right when he calls the team mediocre rather than bad, but that would be really unfortunate. It is pretty clear that being mediocre is a lot worse than being bad (draft position, confidence in management, etc).

Forward Evaluations: Week 8 (Game 27)

2009-11-29T23:10:00.000-08:00

Now that we are a third of the way through the season, I'd like to share my thoughts on the play of our esteemed Edmonton Oiler forwards.

Dustin Penner: At what point do we accept that his play so far this year is sustainable. By all accounts, he looks like a new player. His shot totals are up, he's carrying the puck a lot more and he's among the team leaders in Corsi. I don't quite understand how a few lost pounds, some extra minutes on the PK and a new coach brought about this transformation, but I'm happy that my team is reaping the benefits.

Ales Hemsky: I absolutely find the criticism of #83 that I've been reading of late to be utterly baseless. In particular, the idea that 83 is 'underperforming' is laughable. Here's a guy who faces the oppositions best and comes out on top. That's a rare breed in the NHL, and he will be missed.

Sam Gagner: I'm seeing a lot of progress in his game. This is the strongest he has ever been on his skates and he's starting to win his share of battles down low. He needs to develop this aspect of his game, as he does not have the speed nor the shiftiness to be a difference maker without being hard on the puck. I am quite happy with how he is developing, he's proving that he's one of those guys that wants to get better and is willing to work for it.

Gilbert Brule: I'm afraid that a lot of his success so far this year is smoke and mirrors. His shooting percentage is up to 20%, and he's been picking up points in more than his share of the offense when he's on the ice. It's not all bad though, I see a lot to like in his game. While I don't think he's going to consistently hit 60-70 points in the NHL, I still believe that he can be a useful player. He hits, he skates hard, can make a pass and has a plus shot. It looks to me like he can become an outscoring 3rd line winger or tear it up in a second line soft minute role.

Patrick O'Sullivan: I'm actually a big fan of his. I think he's relatively hard on the puck, possesses some shiftiness and can win his share of battles. He hasn't had much luck so far, with the goaltending behind him posting a .888 save percentage. I think he's a useful top 6 forward that can help the PK and the PP.

Shawn Horcoff: Also having some pretty terrible luck so far this year. He's injured and when he's on the ice our goalies have put up a .872 save percentage. I think it's best for everyone if he opts for surgery and sits the rest of season out. It will certainly help improve our draft position

Andrew Cogliano: So far the hockey Gods have been kind to Andrew. His goaltenders have posted a .952 save percentage while he's been on the ice. This helps to mask the fact that he's been pretty bad so far this year. Part of that has to do with who he's out there lining up with, but I think it's pretty clear that 89 is gaining some clearance.

Dink Dumbshit: Dumbshit has been posting a lot better results lately, having found his place on a line with 13 and 16. Dink's frequent offensive zone penalties however have got to stop. He's also pretty lucky to be in the black of GF/GA, considering that when he's on the ice we manage 25 shots per 60 minutes while giving up 37.

Ryan Potulny: One of the few Oilers that knows his way around the high slot, 16 has done quite well since his call up from Springfield. He most certainly is a bonafide NHL player, and I look forward to watching him play for us for the next few years. This is the kind of cheap bottom-sixer that we need to be competitive.

Jean-Francois Jacques: I'm getting pretty tired of watching JFJ. I love how he hits, but he is such a liability in so many ways when he's on the ice. He makes ill-advised back passes, doesn't win as many battles as he should and despite his plus size does not do a particularly good job getting the puck out of his own zone when its tossed around to his wing. I definitely would like to see him gone after this year. This is exactly the kind of shiny object (he can hit, excellent) that helps your team lose games. He's the opposite of a guy who 'executes'.

Ryan O'Marra: I think there are a lot of things to like about this kid. As long as he's willing to accept a defensive minded 4th line role this year let's see what he's got. It looks like he's gained some traction on his NHL career and perhaps a change of mindset was all he needed to become an effective player.

Colin McDonald: I saw him good in preaseason game last year. If he can bring some size to the 4th line and be hard on the puck I'm all for him being on this team long term. Since this year is all about getting a high draft pick, let's see if McDonald and O'Marra can make up 2/3rds of an NHL 4th line.

Zach Stortini: Love the guy. MacT had it right when he said that Zach is the kind of player that does everything you ask of him. His fighting is down this year but he still gets the puck deep, throws big hits and is not hurting his team defensively. Zach is an excellent energy/4th line NHL forward.

Liam Reddox: Lots of try, not so great results. If only Liam had some size to go along with his game, I think he could really cut a nice role for himself as an NHL energy forward. However, as it stands he's a call up fill in guy, and will probably remain as such for the foreseeable future.

Mike Comrie: The offense fell off after he picked up the flu/mono. I like him in a limited role (soft minutes, 2nd unit PP). He did have a nice nack for creating offense.

Robert Nilsson: With the Hemsky injury ol' Rowbert now has a chance to help us improve our draft position. I say play him a lot Quinn, it will only help us pile up the losses.

Oil @ Flames: Comments From Lowetide's GDT

2009-10-24T22:19:00.000-07:00

I thought it would be somewhat interesting for me to share my thoughts on the game from LT's gameday thread. At the very least it will bring a bit of content back to the blog.

Pre-Game:

A couple comments on tonight's game:

- 22 needs to get back to playing simple hockey. He's making the kind of mistakes that a guy in his position can't afford to make (failing to get the puck out of his zone, losing offensive battles, needless icings).

- Quinn has been slowly poaching 'real' NHL players out of the bottom two lines. Can they hold serve against Calgary's lesser forwards?

- Is the new top line for real? CBJ was missing its top two defensive stoppers (Hejda and Commodore), will these guys be able to compete against a superior Calgary blue.

- How will 91-10-19 fair? By my eye they looked pretty good in CBJ up until 18 replaced 91 on the wing. If 91 is absent and Quinn goes with 18, look for this line to get clobbered.

- Can 46 and 22 make up for the loss of beefcake in the line up (44, 32 and 24 to an extent). After opening the year with some pretty physical outings I think we've looked soft in our last few.

In-Game:

- Why doesn't the (bush league) NHL have a camera that sits at the cross bar level?

- 18 needs to wake the fuck up and get into this game.

- I'm not an 18 basher mostly because I really liked the physical element of his game. I could deal with the stupid penalties, as long as he finished his checks and stood up for his teammates.

Something has changed, he looks like he just doesn't give a shit on 80% of his shifts. Maybe he's pouting over the treatment Quinn has been giving him (less minutes, no longer playing a featured checking role), or maybe he's just past his due date.

Post-Game:

- I thought 37-77 had their worst game of the season. I've always liked them as a pair (this and last season), but maybe Quinn's comments about their play is affecting them negatively. He's come out and called them soft and accused them of just keeping guys to the outside rather than trying to win battles. I actually like the way Gilbert plays D (keeps the play to the outside, uses his stick to chip the puck away and generally makes a great first pass out of the zone). Perhaps Quinn is guilty here of some undue criticism (emphasis on what style of play he wants them to play, rather than what is effective).

I did notice a strange play early in the second where Gilbert uncharacteristically stood up a guy at the blue line. He didn't get enough of that player and it led to a 2-1 down low.

My first thought was good for him for showing a physical element, my second thought was how much more effectively he normally plays those sorts of rushes.

Forward Evaluations: Week 1

2009-10-09T13:19:00.000-07:00

It's early but I would like to share my player evaluations so far.

Shawn Horcoff: He's had an admittedly slow start to the year. I have noticed that both he and Hemsky have not been able to get in sync. It is popular opinion that having Jacques on the line is part of the problem; however, I tend to think where Hemsky goes this line goes, and he has not been going anywhere.

Ales Hemsky: He has not been sharp in the first three games of the season. It looks to me like he's trying to do too much individually and not utilizing his teammates. Numerous neutral zone turnovers and offside inducing dipsy doodles come to mind when I think of his play.

Jean Francois Jacques: I think he's played well. The bar is far lower for him that his other two line mates, and while his toolbox is limited, he has made good use of it. He looked both sheepish and hesitant in the game versus Dallas; perhaps this had something to do with the petulant looks Hemsky threw his way a few times during the season opener.

Mike Comrie: I am pleasantly surprised with his play. I love his ability to find the soft spots on the ice and put himself in scoring position. This is a very underrated ability that not many players possess. A bit concerning to me is that he looks like he has lost a step or two, and his conditioning may not be up to par. Regardless, he has done his job.

Patrick O'Sullivan: I hear concerns about shooting percentage but frankly I like a guy that throws the puck at the net. The ugly goals count for the same amount as the end to end ones, and the best way to score ugly goes is to throw the puck at the net. Another thing I've noticed is that he has excellent acceleration but just above average top speed. A number of times I have thought that he was going to break in alone only to be caught from behind.

Ryan Stone: I'm going to go against the grain of most of what I've read so far and come out praising this young player. I read that he scored the highest on the VO2 max during training camp and I think it shows. While never to be mistaken for a speedy hockey player, Stone keeps up with the play just fine. Further, he has landed some thunderous hits in limited minutes. I've also noticed that he is excellent at protecting the puck through the neutral zone and getting it deep. On a couple different occasions he bailed out his pinned line by bulldogging the puck out of the zone.

Andrew Cogliano: I'm fairly indifferent to his performance so far this year. To my eye he has been mostly ineffective. Perhaps when Quinn decides to reunite him with 89 he will be able to elevate his play.

Gilbert Brule: I think he has shown that he belongs on an NHL roster. Both his speed and shot are all world. Sometimes I think he tries to do too much physically, going in for hits against players of far greater size. I like how he carries the puck through the neutral zone and he seems competent in his own end. My hope is that Quinn takes him aside and has him focus on the defensive side of the puck. Brule strikes me as the type that will never be a big difference maker offensively, but could be successful as a physical checking center with some scoring upside.

Dustin Penner: He looks faster and to be in far better shape. Although I did notice him dogging it a bit in the second Calgary game, his fitness has certainly improved. Before the season I was supportive of him on the top line, now I am not so sure. I don't think 13 and 67 can get it done without 27. Despite the praise, I'm not quite ready to celebrate the turn around, and would like to see a few more games.

Sam Gagner: He has had a great start to the year. The Coach's comments about how the young 40 point guys don't do enough was obviously directed at Sam, and has he ever responded positively. From challenging Conroy to elevating his linemates (perhaps Ales could learn a lesson here), 89 is playing with a lot of fire in his belly. In Dallas I was particularly fond of how he went after Robidas and caused a scrum in front of Turco. This is one smurf that's not taking shit from anyone (including his coach).

Zachery Stortini Esquire the III: The Animal is playing the best hockey of his career. He's winning battles in the corners, pushing guys around in scrums, throwing big hits and having an impact offensively. He's also reliable in his own end, winning battles along the boards and clearing the puck.

Ethan Moreau: A lot of people are unfairly critical of Moreau. Certainly he deserves to be chastised for the undisciplined penalties, but I've seen numerous people call him soft and accuse him of not standing up for his teammates. I do think Moreau plays a selfish game (by my memory he always has) and I also believe he belongs on the fourth line. Yes he is overpaid, yes he takes bad penalties; no he is not soft, nor is he a detriment to winning games when playing on the 4th line.

Robert Nilsson: Not a lot of jam, he's toast.

Tom Gilbert: Man's Man.

2008-10-19T20:35:00.000-07:00

Kyle Brodziak is my roommate and we decided to go to the mall to do a bit of shopping. I’ll admit that I’m a bit of a shopaholic but I managed to only buy a couple of T-shirts and no shoes. It’s pretty rare that I go into a mall and don’t come out with a pair of shoes.

After we flew into Calgary Robert Nilsson and I decided to go see a movie. I don’t know if I should admit this but it was a bit of a chick flick. Nights in Rodanthe I think it was called, with Richard Gere and Diane Lane.

Source.

Entertainment.

2008-10-09T23:50:00.000-07:00

Gotcha! Journalism.

2008-09-30T16:39:00.001-07:00

I don't usually involve myself in American politics, but I think everyone should see this video.

More Preaseason Thoughts

2008-09-24T16:41:00.000-07:00

Just a couple more points to add to what Kinger said below.

-I thought Trukhno started strong and faded down the stretch. He looked like he was trying to do too much through the third. Also I'm not sure he's really cut out to be a PP point man, although the issues there might have as much to do with having Roy on the opposite point as anything. There's definitely some skill there, but I was a little hot and cold on him all night.

-Colin McDonald might have an NHL career, but I doubt he's a scorer. Either way, I'm now officially cheering for him. He just personifies effort out there.

-I liked Sestito. A little like McDonald in that he was clearly trying pretty damn hard. I'm not sure he's got much to work with talent-wise, but at the least he'll be a good AHL role model.

-From what I've seen I think Brule is the best player available for that end-of-the-roster spot. However, I don't think he should get it. I'd rather see him get 30-40 games in the A to find his offense again. He's still only 21 and his development is more important than whatever marginal improvement he brings to the roster. Better to do it now, before he's waiver eligible, than regret it later.

-I heart Crazy Roli. He's worth his cap hit for that blocker punch to Bernier's head alone. You could see the first time he touched the puck how much he wanted to bat it down the ice. Kinger and I cheered like crazy when he got the chance later. We noticed that it was more a line-drive than his typical pop fly approach. A mishit? Something new being tried out in the preseason? Curious.

Preseason: Oilers @ Canucks.

2008-09-23T23:13:00.000-07:00

MattM and I attended this evening's game at GM Place. While it was a decent game overall, the 1-2-2 that the Canucks employed after they took the lead made for a pretty dull finish. A few comments:

General:

- We dressed an awfully young lineup and it showed. With the exception of Strudwick, even the legitimate NHLer's were only second and third year Pro's (37, 77, 12, 13, 67, 51, 46). Once the Canucks took the lead the team really deflated.

- The Powerplay had some nice puck movement and I'll be interested to see how the 37-77 pairing fairs on the second unit.

Players:

- PDO mentioned it over at PJO's , and I have to agree, Colin McDonald is a MacT type player. Every time he picked up the puck he moved it up ice with both speed and power. He also wasn't afraid to put pucks on the net. So much so that by the end of the night Matt and I were referring to weak shots from the outside as "McDonald's".

- Trukhno by my eye had a rather up and down game. He showed considerable passing skill and an ability to operate in tight. However, he was noticeably slow and often turned the puck over needlessly (while not under a lot of pressure). I liked what I saw from him but I'm not as impressed as others in the Oilogosphere. I think his game is a long way from 'NHL ready'.

- Bryan Young was not as good as MattM or I expected. After one full year in the 'A' we thought that his game would have a bit more polish. He had pretty much the inverse of 'calm feet'.

- Matt Roy hasn't changed one bit. I noticed on two separate occasions that he turned his back on his forecheckers. The guy showed some grit but he's just not an NHL defenseman.

- Strudwick was solid and hardly noticeable. I think he's a good fit for the 6/7 spot. I do however also think that Smid's job is safe.

- Gilbert Brule put together a very solid game. He played with a lot of energy and his checking style is nearly identical to the recently departed number 14 (he takes those quick short strides just before laying his shoulder into his target). He doesn't however have the obvious flaws in Torres' game: puck handling, agility (Torres has good top speed but doesn't move well side to side), and shot. I was very impressed with this kid, at just 21 years old I think he's set the bar for the 12th F spot.

- Kyle Brodziak looked like a man amongst boys. His skating has improved and he doesn't seem to have regressed from the Brodziak we saw late last season. I think he was the best Oiler forward.

- Jordan Eberle was a boy amongst men. You can see the talent but he's just not there yet.

The Rest:

- Not really much to say, Gibby and Grebs were feeling each other out and had pretty poor games. Sesito, Spurgeon, Young, Taylor, Benson looked out of place and will be cut soon. Stortini played the pest role perfectly and Potulny had his moments but was overshadowed by Brule.

- Roloson was playing with a lot of fire and I was very impressed with his gamesmanship.

Preseason: Canucks @ Oil.

2008-09-22T21:31:00.000-07:00

A few comments on this evenings game:

General:

- Don Taylor is a poor play by play announcer.

- The Oilers carried the play but the Canucks got a couple garbage goals. The fact that the shots were even at the end of the contest had a lot to do with the five minute penalty kill and the Oil taking their collective feet off the gas.

- The Powerplay was pretty poor. I don't think Cole is the right fit for that unit. By my eye the play seemed to die with him and he wasn't getting in front of the goalie on a consistent basis. I'm interested in seeing Gagner or Penner out there in the LW spot. I think those two big shots could make use of a big guy in front of the net (27) or a better puck distributor (89).

The Players:

Sheldon Souray:
Had by my eye his best game in Oilers silks. He was all kinds of physical and wasn't afraid to put the puck on the net. An excellent game by any measure. A part of me hopes that last years Souray was 'playing hurt' Souray. I was very impressed with his performance in both ends of the ice.

Steve Staios:
A pretty mediocre performance. Made a couple decent forays into the offensive zone but also coughed up a few pucks in his own end. We will need him to be better if we hope to make the playoffs.

Lubomir Visnovsky:
Put together a solid performance on both ends of the ice. Schneider robbed him with the glove on perhaps his best save of the game. Positioned himself well and defended the rush with both his stick and body. My one complaint is that he missed the net a number of times on the PP.

Ladislav Smid:
The dog is off the leash. This guy looks a lot bigger and stronger than the previous two seasons. I remember tjree distinct moments when he asserted himself physically. First he put Cowan into the post to negate a scoring chance. Second, shortly after Kesler tried to jam it in late in the third he gave Daniel Sedin a nice shot to the melon in the scrum. Third, Ladi ended up on top of Raymond after he turtled vs Benson.

Theo Peckham: Shaky start, strong finish. Pecks looked real out of place in the first period. However, he really got it together in the second. He made a few nice passes out of his zone and played the body well. If it was just nerves at first (I think it was) Peckham seems like a real player. He's a year away from the big show, but from the looks of it he will make it.

Taylor Chorney: I was surprised by his passing ability, it was on par with his excellent skating. Right now he's too small to win battles in the corners, but that should work itself out over time.

Ales Hemsky: Had a pretty bad game. He seemed disinterested and particularly careless with the puck.

Shawn Horcoff: You can tell he needs to get his timing back. Scorecoff was not in the lineup this evening. He seemed reluctant to shoot and when he did it was pretty poor.

Erik Cole: An excellent player. I'm not sure if he's the right fit for the first unit PP, but his skills at evens speak for themselves. A north south power forward if I have ever seen one.

Fernando Pisani: He really looks 100% out there. To me the real difference is that he has his strength back, and can overpower players offensively and defensively.

Ethan Moreau: Captain Crunch (or Captain Hook) had a solid game. One particular play stood out to me when Moreau laid out Simek near the Canucks bench.

Dustin Penner: He was surprisingly effective on the PK. I also thought that he was a good fit on a checking line with 34 and 18.

Sam Gagner: That shootout move was absolutely sick. The guy has an incredible set of hands. It looked to me like he had very little chemistry with 78 and 88. Every time they gained the zone it looked like a game of hot potato as they made frantic passes to each other and created little in the way of scoring chances.

Marc Pouliot: Had a solid game. He made very few mistakes and was pretty good on the boards.

Rob Schremp: He just seemed out of place out there. His lines play died with him the vast majority of time. I really hope for Rob's sake that it was nerves, because if it wasn't I don't see a regular NHL job in his future.

Liam Reddox: Has decent wheels and plays with some grit. Should get his chance with the big club in the next couple seasons.

Ryan O'Marra: He barely played.

Hans Benson: Knew his role out there. He didn't try to do anything fancy and was quick to jump Raymond after his hit on Gagner.

Mathieu Garon: Had a shaky start but settled down later. He seems to be shaking off the rust.

NHL on SopCast.

2008-03-20T15:06:00.000-07:00

1. Download and install the required applications:

a. Download the sopcast client from this link: http://www.sopcast.references.tv/2down/SopCast.zip
b. Unzip and open the SopCast Folder.
c. Double click and install Setup-SopCast-3.0.0-2008-3-10.exe
d. Download the VLC media player from this link: http://mirrors.optralan.com/videolan/vlc/0.8.6e/win32/vlc-0.8.6e-win32.exe
e. Double click and install vlc-0.8.6e-win32.exe
f. Download the Combined Community Codec Pack from this link: http://www.cccp-project.net/download.php?type=cccp
g. Double click and install Combined-Community-Codec-Pack-2008-01-24.exe

2. Watch the games:

a. Head over to the myp2p.eu NHL forum: http://www.myp2pforum.eu/nhl/
b. Open the corresponding "game day thread" (eg, Yesterday's thread is located at http://www.myp2pforum.eu/nhl/17267-hockey-today-march-19-streaming.html and the day before is located at http://www.myp2pforum.eu/nhl/17224-hockey-today-march-18-streaming.html
c1. If you are using windowsxp, just click the corresponding link next to the game inside the thread and SopCast should open and start to buffer (eg in the case of today's Carolina game, you would want to click on the part that says "PeltVision": 7:00 pm (23:00 GMT, 00:00 CET) Carolina @ Atlanta PeltVision on SOP, 250k VLC Req!)
c2. If you are using windows vista, manually open the SopCast player. With Vista, you have to right click the corresponding link in the gameday thread and select copy. Next, go to the SopCast address bar and paste the link.
d. Start the SopCast stream and let it buffer.
e. Open VLC.
f. In the "file" sections of the VLC menu, go to Open Network Stream, select "HTTP" option, and type in 127.0.0.1:8902 (If port 8902 doesn't work, try 8912).
g. The game video should now be playing in VLC.
h. You MUST leave SopCast running; closing SopCast closes the stream.
i. Make sure you mute the SopCast player audio (not VLC), so that the two audio sources don't bleed into each other.

Postgame: Stars @ Oil.

2008-02-02T02:50:00.001-08:00

LiveBlogging: Oil @ Canes.

2008-01-18T16:03:00.000-08:00

Looks like I'll be following the game via the the Carolina feed, this should be ugly.

For any of you out there without access to a video feed, feel free to join me on sopcast channel 39461

First period.

- Oilers give up a quality SC just seconds into the first period. Luckily Whitney shoots it wide.

- A second ridiculous Canes chance as Grebs gets stripped at the Carolina blue line. He recovers but nobody picks up the trailer coming down the middle.

- Predictably 12-89-34 are back together. It has been a few games since 18-13-34 have done anything, so a change seemed like a logical choice. Plus as Dennis mentioned over at LT's, 12's been playing pretty well of late.

- Hemmer makes a real pretty play and sets Horc up in the slot. Ward comes up with a good point blank save.

- So far Carolina is moving the puck really well, we need to do a better job in our own zone.

- 1-0 Canes. Just after I typed the last line, Brind'Amour beats Garon with a hard one-timer. Unless we can get control of zone possession, we are going to get blown out here. The Canes have 7 shots in the first 7 minutes.

- Oilers PP. Commodore, who is one of the best Canes PKers, gets sent to the box. Let's see if our PP can carry some of the momentum from last night.

- Hemsky takes an unsportsmanlike penalty behind the play. Wow, that's a CHINCY call. It looked to me that he complained after taking a slash in the slot. I saw it and it looked like a penalty to me. Instead of a long 5-3, well be skating 4on4 for a minute and a half then killing a 30s penalty.

- Horcoff with a real nice defensive play behind his net. He comes in and stripes Larose before he can take it to the front of the net.

- Souray gets away with a hold that negated a clear break away. It looks like we got our even up call.

- It seems like we are gonna play pond hockey again tonight. I'm not so sure that's a good idea against a team like the Canes; they have scored a lot of goals this year.

- Great little play by 12 sending 16 and 51 on a 2 on 1. 16 elects to shoot and misses wide. Hopefully that wasn't his signature 'one good play a game'.

- The top line draws a penalty. A nice little cycle by 27-10-83 generates some sustained pressure.

- Commodore wins a battle in the corner against 3 of our guys. Nice play by the Caronlina defenseman. I've actually always thought pretty highly of the guy since I followed the Flames run the year before the lock out. I think he's one of the more underrated guys around the league.

END OF THE FIRST PERIOD.

Carolina comes out with a lot of fire and so far looks like the team that wants it more. Deja vu. During the intermission, Brind'Amour comments that before the game the team was talking about how the Oilers tend to collapse too hard and give up the high slot. Fuck.

Second period.

- Souray looks to me like he's trying to do too much again. This is the sort of play that got him in a lot of trouble during his first 8 games with the team.

- 1-1. Gagner gets the monkey off of his back as Ward lets in a fairly soft goal. Some nice puck movement as the kids find some open ice.

- Scratch the above, they gave the goal to 28. Good on him, I've always been a fan.

- Carolina colour guys embarrasses himself as he laments on how Guerin was involved in the Samsonov trade to the Oilers.

- 51 with a clear break away. Too bad he makes nothing of it and shoots wide.

- Hedican takes a careless high sticking penalty. Oilers PP. Big chance here to take this game over.

- The Carolina PK looks real sharp. We just can't seem to get setup in the zone. Shades of last years PP.

- We fail to generate anything on the PP. Honestly, that was pretty deflating, the team was really starting to come alive.

- 44 has all the time in the world to clear it out of his zone and instead puts it off of Walker. That was just a terrbile play.

- 51 with a real nice hit on Commodore, shortly after, Nilsson with a great backcheck as he knocks down the 'Oiler killer' pass to the trailer.

- 2-1 Canes. My feed cuts out and the Canes score just as I reconnect. Lame.

- Oilers get a solid chance as Stoll bangs one off of the post. 27-10-83 hit the ice for an offensive zone faceoff.

- Back to back offensive zone faceoff draw losses for Horc. Plays like these are huge, instead of our top line getting any sort of offensive pressure, they spend their shift running around in the neutral zone.

- 16 takes a bad slashing penalty. If we can kill this off in the third, it might be the momentum turner that we need right now

END OF THE SECOND PERIOD.

Our powerplay killed our momentum that period. I missed Caronlinas second goal, but I'm sure someone messed up.

Third period.

- Oilers come up with a big kill to start the period. I'm really interested to see how much energy the team shows here.

- Smid does a nice job carrying the puck up the ice. It's nice to see when Smid brings this element of his game, helps to ease the pain of his defensive deficiencies.

- 3-1 Canes. A horrendous turnover by Souray at his own blue line leads to a Staal jam in goal. That's the nail in the coffin right there.

- The collapse continues as Thoreson takes a holding penalty in the neutral zone. This team can be so painful to watch.

- The Canes get a bunch of quality chances on the PP but Garon comes up big with a bunch of saves.

- 89 takes an interference penalty in his own zone. I think the Canes are going to score on this PP, furthering the embarrassment.

- Staal with a great swan dive to draw the penalty shot.

- 4-1 Canes. Staal scores easily, the prediction comes true!

- 5-1 Canes. Turnover, saucer pass, goal. GOILERS!

- 6-1 Canes. Kids everywhere in that replay!

- 6-2 Canes. Kids everywhere in that replay!

- 7-2 Canes. That little fucker Staal celebrates his garbage 7-2 goal like he just clinched the cup.

END OF THE THIRD PERIOD.

Sad.

LiveBlogging: Oil @ Caps.

2008-01-17T16:50:00.000-08:00

END OF THE FIRST PERIOD

Unfortunately, for the second time this week, school has interfered with my ability to catch the beginning of an Oiler game. However, much to my surprise, it looks like we had a real strong first period. For any of you out there without access to a video feed, feel free to join me on sopcast channel 38858

Second period.

- 2-2. I tune into the game a minute and a half into the period and I missed two Washington goals. Sigh.

- I am really interested to see how this Oiler team responds. It's important for these guys to show some composure here.

- Oilers PP. From what I've read it was pretty solid in the first period. A goal here would certainly send a message.

- 3-2 Oilers. Our powerplay looked AWESOME. The two bombs up high opened up the down low play. The team shows some great puck movement as Hemsky goes to Horcoff who goes cross crease to Penner. That's how our powerplay should look.

- While our powerplay does look really good, I think the Caps are playing us wrong. Both this season and last, it seemed to me that aggressive PKs had our way with us and we found a lot of success against a more passive style. Washington played us way too passive in that last PK.

- 77 saves us a goal as he stretches across the crease and shuffles the puck back into Roli's. We got our Bieksa.

- Haha, one of the Washington announcers had to be corrected when he commented that Cujo had signed in Phoenix. Sad.

- Horcoff takes a bad penalty off of the faceoff. He gets his stick caught up in Semin and skates with his head down to the box.

- Semin bails out Horcoff and takes a slashing penalty just after the Caps powerplay starts.

- Oilers take another penalty. This is going to be a 4 on 3. That looks to me like an awfully weak call on Stoll.

- 3-3. Ovechkin carries up ice then makes a nice pass to Mike Green sneaking in from the point. Green makes no mistake and takes a beautiful top corner shot.

- Washington is looking really dangerous. I love how despite scoring on the Powerplay, the caps will get an extra minute of man advantage after half a minute of 4on4. Getting scored on in a 4on3 situation sucks.

- 37 with a STUPID give away at his own blue line. This kid just does not get it. It's a good thing it was Brashear who had the eventual scoring chance. Still, 37's screw up has led to over a minute of caps pressure in our zone.

- 83 goes around Erskine and draws a tripping penalty. So far we've had stellar success on the PP (2 goals, plus another just after expiration). A goal here would really help to turn the momentum.

- Powerplay was largely ineffective. Some nice puck movement but the only real chance hit Penner in front of the net.

- 4-3 Caps. This is sad. After 37 gets stripped behind his own net, Roli let's in a STUPID ASS GOAL. Look to see Garon starting the third.

END OF THE SECOND.

Generally speaking I consider myself a MacT supporter. I think that so far this year he's done a really good job with this team. With that said, what the HELL was he thinking starting Roloson. When was the last time this team played well in front of him? When was the last time he played a full 60 minutes without giving up a weak goal? I actually don't really think it's important how well Roloson plays, it seems to me that the team plays worse in front of him. Garon constantly comes up with HUGE saves that keep us in games. Roloson just can't come up with a big save, AND has been letting in real weak ones at key times (instead of going into the third tied, we are now down a goal thanks to a terrible goal with only 50s left in the period.

Third period.

- The pond hockey resumes and Stoll absolutely creams Ovechkin.

- MacT is done fucking around. 34 hits the ice with 19 and 16 against Ovechkin's line. 34 answers with a great chance down low.

- What the fuck is Roli doing out there. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

- The Caps' plugger line hems 27-10-83 in their own zone. Great stuff boys.

- Oh my God, HF must be going nuts right now 12-13-89 all hit the ice together. That's just insane. MacT has been quoted numerous times stating that he couldn't put all these guys together because doing so would be bat shit crazy. By his own reasoning, MacT is bat shit crazy.

- 4-4. The big line redeems itself and runs rampant in the Caps zone. Horcoff hits the post on golden chance, then makes no mistake on a 2nd chance about 10 second later. Smid made a GREAT play during the sequence when he took a hit to make a real nice pass down low to 83.

- This game has so much stupidity in it. Despite having already giving up a PPG and numerous chances, the Oilers take a too many men penalty.

- Moreau gets a partial breakaway and a quality chance shorthanded. The best part of it all is he followed up the chance and killed some time down low.

- Stoll makes a real good play as he intercepts a centering pass to Ovechkin. That was a real solid read by 16.

- 37 with a good defensive play after 12 turns it over at the Caps blue line. In Gilbertian fashion, he cleanly removed the puck from Fleischman's stick and calmly moved it out of his zone. Hydebeshkov is in full effect.

- Hydebeshkov makes another solid play as he forechecks and frees up a puck that Hemsky picks up and feeds to Horcoff for a quality chance in the low slot.

- Penner looks so good out there. He just willed the puck out of his zone. This guy is playing with a TON of confidence right now. I wish I was recording this game, Penner is just a different player right now. He pushes his way through the neutral zone and gives a cap defenseman a shove.

END OF THE THIRD.

Top line, top line, top line. After having an off game versus the Kings (only one goal), 27-10-83 are back with a bang. These guys had a great third period. At this point in time, this line is the only line generating offense at ES. I'm not really sure who deserves more credit, Penner, Hemmer or Horc. Although I do subscribe to the idea that 27 really opens up space for 10 and 83, I think all three guys are driving the results.

I remember back when Hemsky was coming back from injury, 27 had been playing really well and I think it was Ferraro that commented that 27-10-83 had yet to be combined while they were all hot. Penner was cold at the start of the season, Hemsky was cold for a few games before his injury, and Horcoff was cold while Hemmer was out. I think this is what it looks like when they are all playing well, and I like it.

Overtime.

- Washington looks like the more dangerous team so far in OT. We need to create some sustained pressure.

- Roli makes a huge save on a Fleischmann break away.

- 10-83 have a sub par shift. One thing about Hemsky though, did you all notice how when he gained the blue line he got it in deep? This is a skill guy here folks who knows what to do to keep the GA down.

- Stoll looks confident on a break away but the puck rolls on him and he doesn't get a shot off.

- 83 splits the D with the clock running down. Wow, what an extra frame that was.

END OF OVERTIME.

Holy heart attack extra period.

Shootout.

WSH Shooter #1: Gordon had Roli beat but lost an edge. We got a bit lucky there.
EDM Shooter #1: Gagner with his signature move but Kolzig doesn't bite.
WSH Shooter #2: Semin gets stopped by Roli.
EDM Shooter #2: Kolzig makes a nice stop as Hemmer goes to the backhand move.
WSH Shooter #3: It really looked to me like Roli knew he was going to shoot. Ovechkin tries to go five hole and Roli makes a big save.
EDM Shooter #3: Horcoff tries to go five-hole and Kolzig shuts the door.
WSH Shooter #4: Roli makes a great toe save on Kozlov.
EDM Shooter #4: Nilsson tries to go low blocker but doesn't telegraph his shot well.
WSH Shooter #5: Roli gives up nothing and Backstrom misses wide.
EDM Shooter #5: Pisani with a pretty poorly directed shot, easy save for Kolzig.
WSH Shooter #6: Laich with a lot of moves but misses wide.
EDM Shooter #6: Gilbert tries to go fivehole and Kolzig reads it all the way.
WSH Shooter #7: Green shoots it right into Roli's glove.
EDM Shooter #7: Stoll breaks his stick and gets nothing on the shot.
WSH Shooter #8: Fleishmann tries to go five hole and Roli closes the door.
EDM Shooter #8: Penner with the fake to his backhand and the forehand shot. He misses wide.
WSH Shooter #9: Roli with a big glove save on Brashear. WTF Brashear?
EDM Shooter #9: Marty just misses as he tries to draw Kolzig over but hits the pipe.
WSH Shooter #10: Pettinger loses the handle and misses the net.
EDM Shooter #10: Cogliano stumbles and wipes out in the corner. That was funny.
WSH Shooter #11: Erskine tries to go high with a backhand but Roli makes the save.
EDM Shooter #11: Chopper hits the post. LOL, I totally saw that coming, one post a game for 18.
WSH Shooter #12: Matt Bradley with a nice deak goal.
EDM Shooter #12: It's all on Souray here. Kolzig makes a save on the Souray slapper

END OF THE SHOOTOUT.

We let one slip away. I definitely question a lot of MacT's choices this game, but at least we got a point. Also, it's nice to see the top line going again, we'll need them if we want to be successful on this road trip.

LiveBlogging: Kings @ Oil.

2008-01-15T15:19:00.001-08:00

The talk of the town is the resurgent powerplay. In the pregame podcast, both players and coach credit the improved play to "chemistry". I think I can buy that explanation; After all, two of the five players on our 'first unit' are new to the team this season.

Unfortunately I have class until 5:30 and a 45 minutes trip home, so I should be picking this game up shortly after the puck drops. For those of you that don't have access to the pay per view feed, you can join me and catch the game on sopcast channel 31511.

5 Minutes info the first period.

- 1-0 Kings. I turn the game on just in time to see Grebs with the blown coverage on O'Sullivan.

- 83 takes a bad penalty 50 feet from his own net. Kings go on the powerplay. This is a big kill, if we go down 2-0 this game is as good as over. The Kings have the 4th best powerplay in the league. That's not really surprising considering all the talent.

- Nice play by 44 as he knocks the puck down on the PK and clears it down the ice. 24 and 44 are starting to look gassed out there, we really need a whistle here.

- 25 with a solid play breaking up a Frolov break out pass. The Kings get numerous quality chances, but the Oilers successfully get the kill.

- PPV announcer (Kevin Quinn?) talks up 5's season. How far do you have to have your head up your ass to think he's had a good season.

- 12 shows he's not just a skill guy with a real nice dump and chase. Unfortunately it doesn't lead to much as LA moves the puck out of the zone and generates a bunch of chances. Garon comes up big with saves on Johnson in the high slot and a cross ice one-timer by Blake.

- 18 catches Handzus with his head down. As bad as we have looked so far this game, at least we have a physical presence.

- A nice long shift by 19-16-89. However, I knew it was over when I heard Quinn say that Staios had chipped it into the corner and Gagner was going to get it. Predictably Gagner lost the battle and LA cleared it down ice.

- 44 with an ill-advised clear up the middle of the ice. Vishnovsky gets a chance and Garon makes a solid save.

- Stortini does his best punching bag impression. Still, the kid deserves credit for going out there and sacrificing his body for the good of his team. Win or loss, I'm sure getting punched by a 250 lb. goon still hurts.

- WOW. Chopper absolutely destroys Jack Johnson behind the Kings net. That was sick.

END OF THE FIRST PERIOD.

From what I saw we played pretty poorly at the start of the period. Despite the bad start, we ended the first with some solid physical play. I really think that's a good way to approach a team like LA. Chopper talks about the bad start and the improvement over the last 5 minutes of the period. I gotta agree with his analysis, the team looked a lot better in the last five.

Second period.

- We need 27-10-83 to play like they did Sunday versus Calgary. A nice start to the period as Penner and Hemsky both have SCs.

- Great play by 77. After a minute+ of sustained pressure in the Kings zone, he chases down O'Sullivan and stops a potential break away. I'm really surprised he was able to catch him there, I thought that he would be gassed after such a long shift.

- 2-0 Kings. Pitkanen and Nilsson combine to give away the fuck at the Oilers blue line. It's really unfortunate that the Kings managed to capitalize on their first chance of the period.

- 24 bails out Garon and clears a puck out of the crease. Top line has a pretty brutal defensive break down, giving O'Sullivan a clear run to the net.

- Oilers put a bunch of shots on the net. Problem is they are all coming well from the outside and there doesn't seem to be anyone ready to bang in a rebound.

- It really seems like Hemsky LA is doing a good job shutting us down off of the rush. Hemsky has had numerous chances gaining the LA zone with speed but hasn't been able to do anything with it.

- Oilers barely miss out on a goal. 37 looks good as he walks in from the point and puts a puck off of Blake's leg that nearly goes in.

- Oilers PP. MacT leaves the top unit out there for an offensive zone draw despite 1 minute having already gone by in the PP. They generate a couple chances capped by a Souray blocked shot. Second unit also looked good in limited minutes, highlighted by Gagner taking the puck to the net and almost jamming it in.

- Souray with a real nice stuff of Brown at the Oilers blue line. Again, I think this is the key to beating LA (that and of course scoring some damn goals).

END OF THE SECOND PERIOD.

So far this has been a bit of a weird game. From what I've seen the Oilers have been unable to establish any sort of offensive flow. Most of the plays off of the rush seem to lead to blocked shots or pucks heading into the corners. The cycle game has been relatively effective but has still yet to lead to a goal. I think to win tonight we are going to need at least one special teams goal and a goal from our top line.

Third period.

- Slow start to the third period. We can't seem to generate any offense on the rush. Since when can LA play defense? I don't know how many times I've heard about LA getting their sticks on Oiler shots. Hemsky alone has had at least half of his shots blocked.

- Penner gets a great chance and LaBarbera comes up with a big save. It's really too bad, that's probably the best chance we have had this game.

- 18 takes a typical dumb penalty. Maybe we can score shorthanded?

- 3-0 Kings. That's a no on the SHG. LA gets a lucky bounce and Vishnovsky pots it into an open net.

- Chopper gets robbed down low by LaBarbera and Brodziak can't put the rebound into the open net. That's a huge missed opportunity. I think it's safe to say that this game is over.

- 89 does his best 'Joff' impression and fails to clear the puck out of his zone despite a lot of time and space.

- 44 has gone to the dressing room, let's hope it's just an equipment issue.

- 3-1 Kings. Penner with a steal down low and no mistake on the finish. Unfortunately it's probably too little too late. I think the Brodziak miss right after the Vishnovsky goal is going to be the difference in this game.

- Garon with a fantastic save down low against Nagy and then gets back into position to stop the rebound. It's good he's still making big saves, shows his head is still in this game.

- Dive, Dive, Dive. That should be two and two. With 3 and a half minutes left, you can't give cheap penalties like that. Good on Dustin Brown though, he has a Ryan Kesler Hattrick: a goal, some whining, and a dive.

END OF THE THIRD PERIOD.

The team came out of the gate too slow and gave up goals at key moments. I was really impressed by LA's defensive game, they stayed out of the box and kept most of the shots to the outside. Still, a 4-1 home stand is certainly a success.

LiveBlogging: Flames @ Oil.

2008-01-13T14:17:00.000-08:00

I'll be doing live commentary during tonights game.

In the pre-game scrum, MacT talked about putting a big stretch of wins together and getting back into some sort of post season picture. I know it's his job to stay positive, but I don't buy that he thinks this team can make the playoffs. For the first time in a long time, the team is healthy and has put together a stretch of games where they looked like the best team on the ice. However, they did it against two teams from the East that have been struggling and an overachieving Coyotes squad. Before I'm convinced the Oilers can go on a real run, they'll have to show me they can beat legitimate playoff teams (Canucks, Flames, Stars, Wings), and LOOK like they deserved to win.

As for tonights game, I think we can steal one if Garon plays exceptional. I'm curious to see if MacT tries to run 27-10-83 against Iginla or if he tries to keep them away so they can focus on scoring. Also, I wonder if the kids can have another big game against the largely veteran Flame bottom six. My guess is if we win it's going to be a low scoring affair, with points from the powerplay and the top line.

FIRST PERIOD.

- More sopcast problems. At this rate I might just have to sign up for Centre Ice Online at the halfway point of the season. The game is on channel 31511, but the buffer can't seem to get over 70%, so the image is pretty choppy. Hopefully it settles before the puck drops.

- Stream just shot up to 100% during the pre-game commercials. If you don't have the ability to watch the game, I'd suggesting downloading the sopcast player and clicking the link in the last post.

- Top line with a nice early rush. Looks like MacT is going to use Iginla to check Stoll. I suspected that would be his choice.

- Grebeshkov with a stupid give away then a lazy penalty. Where is Tarnstrom...

- The PK comes up big and the Flames get nothing out of their early powerplay.

- Stoll wtih a nice little move on a 1on1, the guy actually is starting to look like a valuable NHL player again. I wonder how much of his resurgence can be credited to an increase in confidence. Shooters in particular seem susceptible to confidence slumps. It would be great for the Oil if confidence was his problem, rather than lingering concussion issues.

- Hemsky with a nice move on Eriksson, turning him inside out and drawing a penalty. Oilers PP.

- 1-0 Oilers. I was JUST about to comment on how the Flames know how to effectively play against an Oiler powerplay (eg: pressure the hell out of the puck carrier) and then we score. Shows how much I know.

- 18 shows us why players like him are essential to winning games. He shows no fear as he takes the puck to the net. Lombardi, coming in on the backcheck, inadvertently takes out his own goaltender (shades of MAB anyone). Driving the puck to the net is a sign of a team that isn't afraid to get a bit dirty, something that this Oiler team has been lacking all year.

- Smid with a sick give away just inside his own blue line. Good thing he was out there against Boyd and Marcus Nilsson. As long as MacT can keep 5-35 away from anyone with any talent, they have a chance to get out of this game without hurting their team on the scoresheet.

- 89 shows us why he should never be on the ice at the same time as Iginla. A careless neutral zone pass leads to an Iginla charge and a Flame chance.

- MacT seems to be content getting 27-10-83 out there versus Tanguay's line. We'll see if Keanen tries to get away from that match up.

- Again Stoll looks like a reborn player. I honestly can't remember the last time he drove the net like that. He gets a great chance down low and forces Kipper to nake a big save.

- Oilers takes a bad penalty. Let's see if the PK can be as effective as it was in the first kill. Good start as Souray wins a battle down low and Horc carries the puck up ice.

- Robyn Regehr on the powerplay. I've seen him out there a few times this year, and he seems to have a decent shot. Now I know that the Flames don't have much offense on their blue line, but you'd think a forward would be better in that spot.

END OF THE FIRST PERIOD.

A fast paced physical first period. The Oilers convert on their only powerplay, and the PK gives up very little in two Flame opportunities.

SECOND PERIOD.

- 2-0 Oilers. WOW. I participate in a h2h yahoo pool. I am playing MattM this week, and as of 10 seconds ago we were tied in the goals category. Talk about taking the lead in style. Hemmer makes a ridiculous move and turns Robyn Regehr into a pylon. I remember an interview with Hemsky shortly after Regehr nearly killed him the last time these teams met in the BoA. He basically said that the hit was clean but commented that Regehr (and this is a loose quote) "didn't have to try and kill (him)". It's nice to see Hemmer get a little bit of revenge.

- Flames powerplay gets a number of quality chances as the Oilers start to run around a bit in their zone. MacT really needs to settle this team down.

- We are playing with 'fire' here. The Oilers take their 2nd too many men penalty of the game. Souray starts the PK right after a long ES shift. I question Huddy's choice there, time and time again I've seen Souray looking gassed on the ice. I think playing him as often as they are is counterproductive to the idea that players should be put in situations where they can be as effective as possible.

- 46-51-12 with a real solid shift down low. With Tanguay and Nolan on the ice, the aforementioned line generates a couple chances and keeps the puck in deep.

- Oilers get lucky as a bad change leads to a Tanguay-Nolan chance and Pitkanen comes up with a big skate save.

- We are starting to look a little too passive for my liking. Shades of recent blown leads are coming to mind. The team needs to put a bit of pressure on the Flames.

- 77 with a real nice separation play on Tanguay at the Oilers half boards. He calmly pins him to the boards and plays the puck back to Pitkanen. The play reminded me of how Hejda would separate guys last year. I really miss the guy and I think Lowe's biggest off season mistake was not re-signing the guy.

- 27 literally throws Lombardi off of him behind the Flames net. Ferraro comments on the mismatch and it couldn't be any more obvious.

- A couple nice shifts from 27-10-83 and 19-16-89 lead to some nice Oiler pressure.

- Staios gets beat wide and takes a penalty. Flames PP. Garon makes a brutal give away but comes up with a big save.

END OF THE SECOND PERIOD.

Another solid Oiler period. The team got lucky with some bounces and Garon came up big on numerous occasions. Tanguay's line had a couple chances, but with the exception of the late drive by Huselius leading to the Staios penalty, the Flames top line has been ineffective. If we can keep them from getting going offensively in the third, I think we have a really good chance at coming away with a win.

THIRD PERIOD.

- The Flames start the period on the PP and Iginla gets a golden chance down low. Later, Gilbert makes a real heady play and intercepts a neutral zone pass. We need this to be our last PK of this game. With every powerplay, the Flames have looked more and more dangerous.

- Hemsky makes another great play but unfortunately Cogs can't finish. I said it about Penner during the Isles game, and I'll say it about Cogliano. If you are on the ice with Ales Hemsky, keep your head up, stick on the ice, and EXPECT to receive a pass.

- 2-1 Oilers. The Flames get a bit lucky as Langkow's backhand goes off of Staios and into the back of the net. If the Oilers play like they have in recent collapses, we will likely be in for a disappointing third period. The team really needs to keep the pressure on.

- Chopper hits the post after some nice work by Pisani along the boards. This shift by 18-13-34 is EXACTLY what we need right now. The Flames ice the puck to relieve the pressure.

- MacT goes to the top line against a tired Calgary five. Unfortunately, they fail to generate any scoring chances.

- A real nice rush by Iginla's line. Staios does a real nice job tying up Huselius and preventing an easy bang in on the rebound.

- A quality 2 on 1 with Pisani leading the rush. 34 shows some real patience and forces Kipper to make a huge save. 18-13-34 have had a real solid game together.

- More solid offensive zone pressure generated by 27-10-83 and 5-35. I've noticed that MacT loves to put 5-35 out there with the top line. I think it's a great choice, not so much because Horc et al help on the backcheck, but rather because they keep the puck up ice and thus out of our zone.

- For the third time this game, Gagner carries the puck into the Flames zone and promptly gives it away. If this kid is going to stick on a line with 16 and 19, he needs to understand that their strength lies on the cycle, and that he needs to get it in deep to generate offense.

- 25 shows us why he is considered one of the premium young offensive defensemen in the NHL. A small sneaky play leads to a nice Oiler chance and forces Kipper to cover the puck. Offensive zone faceoff coming up for the Oilers. Look for 27-10-83 to hit the ice for the draw after the lengthy TV timeout.

- An odd choice by MacT. He puts 19-16-89 out there versus the Iginla line after the TV time out. It seems to me that there is a time to check and there is a time to go PVP. Gotta get your best scorers out there for offensive draws with 5 minutes left.

- Penner fights off two Flames and holds the puck in deep giving his mates an opportunity to change.

- Crowd starts a Calgary sucks chant. I really hate those types of chants. They are awfully popular here in Vancouver at GM place.

- 19-16-89 get pinned in their zone for an extended amount of time. 16 makes a great diving play to clear it out. Keanen gets 12 out there and Gagner wisely FINALLY GETS OFF THE ICE. I am absolutely POSITIVE that he is getting an earful from MacT right now. Horcoff and Penner had already changed and had been out there for at least 15 seconds. Gagner looked as if he was going to join the rush, but probably heard MacT screaming at him to get off the ice. Shortly thereafter 83 hits the ice and DOUBLE DION comes up big with two saves on Penner down low.

END OF THE THIRD.

An epic hockey game that left me with chills in the final minute. I love how MacT had 27(and 18)-10-83-25-77 out there for the final minute. While 25 made a gaff under pressure in his own zone late, 77 made a great play on Tanguay and stopped him from taking it to the front of the net just before time expired.

LiveBlogging: Isles @ Oil.

2008-01-07T17:14:00.001-08:00

I'll be posting notes during this evenings game. I hope that the sopcast stream is more reliable this time around. For those of you wanting to catch some of the action, tune into sopcast channel 31511 (or click here if you have sopcast installed)

- My feed cuts out just as the game is about to start. Excellent.

- I seem to have missed the first five minutes. My feed cuts in as Hemsky gets smothered by 5 Isles at their blue line.

- Gagner playing with Reasoner. I liked the energy I saw out of 89-51-46 last game, I'm not sure how I feel about the change. Although 28-51-46 is certainly appealing as a line that can cycle and build up some energy down low.

- Hemsky with a great chance down low. 27-10-83 looks good early on.

- Grebs turns over the puck in his own zone which leads to a bit of Islander pressure. This kid constantly is making something out of nothing.

- Gagner et. al get pinned in down low by Satan's line. Ugly shift from the Oilers.

- MacT throws 27-10-83 out there against the Comrie line. I think he will try to get that match up all night.

- Gilbert with his best Grebeshkov impression as he gives it away to Park for an A+ chance in the slot.

- Some Oilers pressure draws an Islander penalty down low. Let's see which Oiler powerplay shows up tonight, the bad one or the really bad one.

- Apparently the Islanders have the 6th best penalty kill in the league. This doesn't bode well. Horrible powerplay, currently Richard Park is playing keep way in our defensive zone.

- Gilbert gets a weak shot on goal with the powerplay winding down. We managed to gain the zone and setup in only one of our five tries.

- Gilbert again puts a shot on goal that Pisani manages to tip. Dipietro forced to make a good save. At least we got one solid chance out of the man advantage.

- Hemsky with another good chance down low. Surprise, surpise, Comrie and Bergeron on the ice. MacT must salivate when he sees those two out there.

END OF THE FIRST

Some solid chances from 27-10-83 at ES. Beyond that, not much offense outside of a nice rush by 18 in the middle of the frame. As for the Islanders, they didn't manage to generate a whole lot of offense. it looks to me like it's going to be a button-down type game.

SECOND PERIOD.

- 1-0 Oilers. A great little snipe by Hemmer. The top line is humming tonight.

- 2-0 Oilers. Top line, top line, top line. Horcoff getting back on track with Hemmer in the line up. The top line is looking great.

- 3-0 Oilers. Reasoner pots a quick one on a Stoll feed.

- Oilers are really coming alive here. You can see the weight drop from their shoulders.

END OF THE SECOND

Had some problems with my stream, wasn't able to follow the play too closely. However, it looks like things are solved for the third period.

THIRD PERIOD

- Islanders nearly put one away, Garon gets lucky as Sillinger rings one off the post.

- Oilers back to the powerplay. Souray gets trapped in deep leading to an Islanders chance.

- Long 5-3 coming up here for the Oil as Hunter draws a goaltender interference penalty. Stoll gets two great chances with DiPietro moving.

- Lots of quality chances that we didn't capitalize on. That powerplay looked really good. Souray hits the bar as the PP shows great puck movement.

- A quick fight between Stortini and Jackman. Give the decision to Jackman as the aptly named "huggy-bear" strikes again. I actually think that Stortini was pretty gassed at the beginning of the fight, he had already been out for a full shift.

- I think 12 is a better fit than 89 to play with 16 and 19. I think Gagner is just too weak on the puck to play with Stoll and Reasoner.

- Islanders PP. Pies takes a holding penalty as the Oil spend some time running around their own zone.

- Chop and Marty do a great job killing the first 45 seconds of the powerplay. 18 with some great work at the blue line.

- Smid hits the ice and the Islanders get a great scoring chance. Colour me surprised.

- Satan's line builds some nice pressure and gets a few chances. Souray almost gets turned around at his own blue line but recovers in time get back into position.

- Staios with a real nice play breaking up a Meyer centering pass. Oilers go up ice and Hemsky and Horcoff combine for another solid SC.

- Oilers go to the powerplay for the third time this evening as Guerin gets called for interference on Smid. Pretty weak call, it seemed that Smid was holding/interfering Guerin. I think the credit for the powerplay should go to the pressure generated by 27-10-83.

- The Kid powerplay hits the ice. Gagner is ROBBED x2 by DiPietro right on the doorstep.

- Penner has missed about 3 golden opportunities this game. I think he forgot what it was like to play with Hemmer, you really need to keep your stick on the ice ready for a pass at all times.

- 4-0 Oilers. Stoll unleashes a rocket on a Horcoff feed. Could he be regaining his confidence? I hope so, it will really improve his trade value ;).

- Brodziak shows us all why we dealt Marc-Andre Bergeron. Bergy plays him soft and stops moving his feet which gives 51 a clear run to the net. DiPietro comes up big and bails out his teammate.

- WOW. That was a ridiculous grab by DiPietro. Pitkanen with a golden opportunity down low on a Brodziak feed. I have Joni in my pool and it would have been nice to get that one.

END OF THE THIRD

Garon shuts the Islanders down and the Oil win a rare one in regulation. All in all a quality win; the top line comes up big, we scored a powerplay goal and Garon shut the door.

LiveBlogging: Oil @ Blues.

2008-01-02T17:49:00.000-08:00

Thanks to some technical difficulties with sopcast and Ubuntu, I'm just now tuning in with 13 minutes left in the third.

- Looks like we are off to a terrible start, only one shot on Legace and we are down a goal.

- This sopcast feed is really unstable, I might have to try and find another one.

- Back online with 9 minutes left.

- This sopcast feed needs more peers, it's cutting in and out. If you are reading this at game time, it's on 22668. Download the client at http://www.sopcast.org/

- Nilsson takes a stupid penalty. Let's see how our PK looks tonight. I wonder how long it's gonna be before Robert draws out. It's been 8 games or so since he's had an impact offensively. If he isn't bringing offense, why else is he in the line up?

- A pretty solid kill. Nice play by Marty down low to break up the centering attempt. Those cross crease passes have been killing us of late.

- TV timeouts are so ridiculously long. Does anyone know when the league implemented these things? In the early 90's I attended a lot of games and I don't seem to remember these long breaks.

- A nice forecheck and cycle shift by 27-10-28. It's no secret that I'm a fan of 28's, nice to see him get a chance with the big boys.

- Chopper shows great patience on a nice rush, too bad Souray made nothing of it by blasting a shot 5 ft. wide of the net.

- Another Oilers powerplay. Johnson goes to the box for hooking. Looked like a pretty weak call. Hopefully we can get a shot this time around.

- Some pretty good puck movement, but it was all around the perimeter. Blues clear it down the ice.

END OF THE FIRST

From what I saw it looks like having Johnny back in the lineup isn't making much of a difference. The team looks pretty flat.

Second Period.

- 1-1. A solid forecheck leads to a Gilbert goal. Let's just try and forget that first period.

- Oh man, that was hilarious. As I said after last game, Smid is playing with more of an edge. The guy gives Backes a forearm shiv and then ends up dropping them. A pretty good fight too, I don't know much about Backes, but I'd give the decision to Ladi.

- Another fight, Stortini drops them with King. Storts is really hanging on for his life. Rob Brown: "both guys are really doing a good job keeping things in tight", hahahah.

- My feed seems to have completely cut out. Gonna try Matt's windows suggestion from the comments.

LiveBlogging: Oil @ Jackets.

2007-12-31T15:06:00.000-08:00

With Matt out of town with the family, I'll be watching this one on sopcast. You can download the player here and find out what games are showing here. Tonights game is on channel 36000.

First period.

- I didn't expect to see Roli in net, you'd think MacT would have gone with Garon after the 5 goal Wild game.

- Pies is in the game despite the injured foot, that's good to see.

- Souray leads a rush and puts a weak shot on net. Honestly, I wish the guy would just stick to his strengths and avoid his weaknesses (carrying the puck up ice).

- Columbus announcers talking about how Hejda is logging a lot of minutes and leading the team in plus/minus. I'm lookin' at you Kevin Lowe.

- Penner gains position on Foote on a dump in but nobody comes in support. I'm not convinced Gagner is a great fit for this line, he's probably the weakest player on the team on the boards.

- 1-0 Jackets. A fairly innocent looking rush leads to a rebound goal. Can't really put that play on anyone, although the offensive cycle ended with Gagner being in poor position to receive a Penner pass.

- Judging by the early results, I'd say our chances to win this game are extremely poor. We have not managed to generate any offense (rush or cycle) and Columbus has looked dangerous on the rush.

- I'm really puzzled by the Roli start, I don't think the team feels as comfortable with him back there as they do with Garon. It's not that Roli is playing particularly poorly, rather, I think it's more that Garon has stolen some games, and the team knows they need their goalie to be exceptional to win games.

- Westcott takes a poor holding penalty on Nilsson, Hitch won't be happy.

- Souray sucks when he gets pressured on the PP. He needs time and space to either make a pass or take a shot. I think the guy at the opposing point really has to be comfortable handling the puck. Maybe Toronto would be willing to give up Kaberle for 'five assets'. I mean if five assets can get you Pronger why not Kaberle?

- Nash and Zherdev hem our top line in it's own zone for an excess of two minutes. It's not pretty.

- Souray takes a couple bombs at ES. The only problem was Leclaire saw them both and made what looked like two fairly easy saves.

- 18-28-46 is a very weird line. Still, they just put together the best offensive cycle I've seen so far in this game.

END OF THE FIRST

After we had watched Smid's game a few times last year, I remember a conversation between Matt and I about his upside. We didn't think he had the offense to be a guy like Kaberle, and agreed that Ohlund represented a fairly solid high point. I mentioned this comparison a month or so ago on HF, and some guy shot me down saying that Smid doesn't have the same physical edge. I beg to differ, the only positive thing I can see out of the young kids game this year is that he's playing a lot more physical. He just gave Rick Nash a couple shots to the back of the head during a puck battle behind the net. I think a lot of people forget that he's still just a 21 year old kid. I can remember that at 21 my body was still growing in terms of strength. Smid possesses a big frame and there is no reason he can't play with and Ohlund-like edge. I'm really interested to see how he plays with Gilbert. It seems to me that every guy that has played with 77 (Pitkanen, Tarnstrom, Grebeshkov) played their best hockey while paired with him. Perhaps I'm giving Gilbert too much credit, but I've certainly seen a pattern.

Second period.

- Grebeshkov with a stupid giveaway that leads to a Jackets rush and a Pisani penalty. He does at least one momentously stupid thing a game. I think the BoA glossary needs a new term.

- Columbus powerplay looks really good. Roloson bails out his team with a great save on a Chimera one-timer.

- 46 and 28 with another great cycle down low. I don't understand why ANYONE rags on 28's game. He always brings the effort and energy that you need out of your cheap 4th liners. Also, he's surprisingly strong on the cycle and brings a bit of offense.

- 1-1. Chopper bounces on a rebound in the slot. Great job by Staios to keep the puck in and by Souray to recognize that it was time to put the weak wrister on net.

- Chimera takes a hooking penalty on big Penner. Oilers powerplay.

- Columbus kills the first 40 seconds with up ice pressure. Souray with a bomb and Penner takes the puck to the front of the net.

- 2-1 Jackets. SHG. A harmless rush up ice turns into Souray committing at his own blue line leading to a Nilsson vs Nash mismatch on a rebound down low. Nilsson drops to block the shot and Nash goes top corner. Certainly a more experienced forward would have been all over Nash but Robert's effort was still there. He hustled back into the play and took away the bottom of the net with his attempted block.

2-2. Leclaire is handcuffed by a weak Staios shot. Merry Christmas Stevie.

- Jackets with some sustained pressure. Oilers get bailed out by a Delay of game call. Oilers PP.

- I think MacT has decided to leave Souray out for nearly the whole powerplay. I support his decision, it certainly isn't going to make the powerplay any worse.

- Horc gets stripped by Nash leading to a golden chance at the conclusion of the period. We really can't have our veterans making these kinds of mistakes.

END OF SECOND

A better period for the Oil. Some early pressure leads to some chances and a powerplay. Unfortunately, we gave up a shorthanded goal on one of those powerplays. Jackets recover and carry the last 8 minutes of the period. We need to come out fast and strong in the third. A regulation loss here would be heartbreaking.

Third period.

- Nash gets his stick up high on Horcoff. Oilers pick up a short 5-3. Hopefully we can see Souray at his best on this PP.

- I can NEVER understand why a team would dump and chase on a 5-3. The Oilers get lucky and manage to retrieve the puck.

- Stoll takes a slapshot that gets blocked and cleared down the ice. Bye bye 5 on 3.

- That was a pathetic powerplay.

- Columbus with more sustained offensive zone pressure. Horcoff with a RIDICULOUS give away to Nash in the high slot. Smid bails him out with a diving play to knock the puck away. Columbus broadcasters talking up Smid's performance.

- Gagner takes a lazy penalty and Columbus goes to the PP with a lot of momentum. We dodged some bullets in the first kill let's see if we can do it again.

- Columbus gets some sick pressure late in the powerplay. Lucky for us they couldn't seem to hit the net.

- Tarnstrom looks lazy out there. I wonder if it's a conditioning thing from sitting out, or if he's just not motivated to actually try out there. Perhaps both?

- I loved that down low angle of Stortini fighting off the Jackets defenseman on the cycle. You can pinpoint the exact moment the play broke down: right when he decided to chip it over to Gagner.

- Souray looking pilon-esque as he gets beat for a Jackets SC.

- Gilbert shows a lot of poise carrying the puck out of his zone. Matt and I were just talking on the phone and we discussed Gilbert's ability to take pressure off of his partner. I think his ability to win one on one battles and safely carry the puck out of dangerous areas really takes the panic out of his defensive game. There is a certain calm when he is on the ice

- Great cycle game by 18-13-34. Unfortunately, the momentum ends with Chopper taking a stupid penalty.

- Good start to the PK, Columbus gets setup with a 1:20 left. We manage to keep it to the outside and clear the zone. Columbus gets possession in the O-zone with 30 seconds left.

- 3-2 Jackets. Another Rolibound leads to an easy Nash goal. The real shame was that our PK looked far more effective than on the previous two kills. Just goes to show sometimes you do things right and your goaltender lets you down.

4-2 Jackets. Nash pots one into the empty net from just over the blue line. Nothing like a game versus the Oilers to cure a goal scoring slump.

- Some excitement in the last minute of the game, capped by what must be Souray's 10th missed shot of the game. The puck went all the way around the boards and out of the zone. I know he has a big shot, but it's painfully obvious that he needs time and space to make anything happen offensively. It's no surprise that he brings very little in terms of ES scoring, so why have the guy out there 6-5? Seems to me that most goals scored in 6-5 situations are bang bang plays down low. With 11 guys in the offensive zone, there really isn't much space to get stuff through.

END OF THE THIRD PERIOD

Smid had a pretty good game. Just under 20 minutes, most of it as ES, even on the game. I didn't see any real holes in his game and he made a couple solid plays. In the last 7 games, the Oilers have been utterly terrible in the third period. I'm not sure anything can be done to help this problem, it looks to me like it's a product of too many kids and not enough vets. It's painfully obvious that we can't have guys like Hemsky and Pitkanen out and still expect to compete.

Possible?

2007-12-17T03:22:00.000-08:00

Stoll, Nilsson, Schremp, and Smid for Brad Richards.

Sanderson to PHX for a 4th.

Roli to PIT for a 2nd.

Sign Gilbert for 15.5 over 5.

Sign Pitkanen for 22.5 over 5.

Pray the salary cap goes up.

Postgame: Oilers @ Blues.

2007-12-11T22:56:00.000-08:00

Just a couple notes from tonights game:

- I couldn't believe how white my knuckles were after that two minute 5-3. Great job by Horc to knock down those two passes and get the puck out of the zone. Garon also came up with a couple big saves.

- Robert Nilsson continues to produce offense without hurting the team defensively. This kid really deserves some credit at some point. That pass to Fernie on the game tying goal was a beauty, he patiently out waited Walker to free up the lane.

- I really think Souray is the kind of guy that needs his coach to put him in a position to succeed. I think MacT needs to keep him off the ice at EV and run him dry on the PP and PK. Further, I don't think Souray should ever lead a breakout on the powerplay with Pitkanen on the ice, it just doesn't make sense.

- Pisani is playing great. I remember a specific play in the second where Nilsson skated into heavy traffic at the St Louis blue line. He got stuck and looked like he was going to turn it over, but at the last second he frantically threw it in Fernando's direction, who promptly got it in deep then went off for a line change. Certainly reminiscent of Smid and Staios' dynamic. I don't think it's any coincidence that Gagner and Nilsson have picked up their game since Fernando's return.

- Garon had a solid outing. The first goal was stoppable, but the other 3 were 5 star chances. His success in the shootout is actually starting to look repeatable; could it be that his unorthodox style is more effective in the shootout? All I know is that I feel pretty confident when we end up in a shootout. When the score was 4-3 for the Blues the cameraman on the St. Louis feed cut to some cute kid holding up a "It's my Birthday" sign. I joked to Matt that the kid was going to receive a shootout loss for a present. I'm glad I was right.

- Smid and Staios both had ugly games, but at least in the case of the former, we can expect some improvement over time. Unfortunately for Staios, he is unlikely to get any better. Steve made two egregious mistakes on the Weight tip-in goal. First he rung the puck around the boards late in a shift when he had time for a controlled breakout. Then, he left Weight uncovered and unchecked for the tip in.

- We have a legit top line that other coaches are going to have to respect. Penner managed to carry the momentum he gained while playing with Horc and Nilsson into his second stint on the PHH line. Further, Horcoff is excelling in a offensively focused role at ES, while still coming up big on the PK.

- Grebeshkov is great as long as you limit his ice time. He does create some offense and as long as you aren't asking him to check Iginla, seems to be able to hold his own in the D-zone.

- Pitkanen with another solid effort. Matt and I are both ecstatic with his ability to jump into plays on a consistent basis, yet still get back into the play when the puck heads back the other way.

- Tommy Gun had a bit of an off night, by my memory he made one rather big mistake that led to a giveaway and a SC early in the second. However, he still made a great play offensively where he stepped through three blues defenders and out waited another to setup Gagner on a beauty chance. It's too bad that a trailer had just got to Gagner to break up the play, it looked like we were going to get a solid SC out of Tom's efforts.

- Stoll and Torres continue to do very little. I missed the Dallas game, but if this was the kind of effort they put up, then those two still have a long way to go.

LiveBlogging: Blues @ Oilers.

2007-12-07T18:19:00.001-08:00

- Missed the first 5 minutes of the game, Matt told me we were playing well.

- Great looking first powerplay, it's too bad Penner didn't read off of Hemsky taking it to the front of the net just as the man advantage expired, that could have been a pretty goal.

- Johnson had Garon beat, but put if off the side of the net. That would have been a real momentum killer.

- Horc hits the post with a great looking release. He has been great this season.

- 2-1 turns into a 1-1 down low for Thor. Cogliano makes an ugly pass and Thor doesn't much on the shot.

- 1-0 Blues - This game is looking High even so far. Stepniak makes a nice play as Rourke finds himself in no man's land. Boyes then cleans up the garbage.

- Hemmer and Penner on a 2-1. If Hemmer makes the pass, I think Penner puts it in, Matt agrees. Hemmer's second drawn penalty so far, he's having a solid game.

- Grebs and Smid out to start the PP on the point. Matt thinks it's a shorty waiting to happen. Next thing you know Johnson and McClement create a quality SC. Matt thinks that was a penalty on Pitkanen, he's happy we are still on the PP.

- Great chance and Gagner breaks his stick. Hopefully we'll start to capitalize on some of these opportunities. It's looking like another "blues backup" kind of game (fuck you Sanford).

- Nice little play by Cogliano to get Brodziak a nice chance

- 1-1 Beauty play by Hemmer. Gets in there to get the faceoff win, draws in basically the whole Blues team and dishes to Horc, who takes a great shot for the gaol. Kinger think Horcoff's shot has drastically improved since last year.

- I love watching Pitkanen play. Pinches down low to support the puck with such confidence, and he's got the skating ability to get back when things go wrong.

First Intermission 1-1
-Good period. I think the team deserves better than a tie game, and the St. Louis broadcast team agrees with me.

On Stoll and Torres, here is Kinger and my chat log from earlier today
Kinger: weird eh
Matt: Crazy.
Kinger: did you hear about that yelling match
Kinger: from last game
Matt: I heard. Not sure what happened there. There's so much hearsay in the whole thing. But this benching leads one to believe the hearsay may have some merit.
Kinger: yea i agree
Kinger: the fact that they both ate it
Kinger: leads me to believe in the stortini rumour a bit
Kinger: seems to make sense
Matt: Yeah.
Kinger: i can see raffi calling him out too
Kinger: and stoll backing him up
Matt: The timing is about right too. Because before Pies came back, who would they expect to have on their wing?
Kinger: the whole public side of it from MacT is a deflection
Kinger: i think
Kinger: about struggling or whatever
Matt: But with him back, they got pissed off when they still had Stortini
Matt: Yeah
Kinger: there must be a catalyst
Matt: I tend to agree,.
Kinger: i gotta say if it's true
Kinger: good move
Kinger: stortini has played with more balls than both those guys
Kinger: combined
Kinger: it's ridiculous for them to be calling anyone out
Matt: Agreed. You can't have guys questioning the coaching and blaming their teammates like that.
Matt: I don't care if they were playing well or not you can't have that.
Kinger: it's one thing for hemmer to say that stoll and torres needs to be better
Kinger: publicly
Kinger: or horc calling them out
Kinger: it's another thing to have the guys that you are counting on playing shitty and calling others out
Kinger: i mean don't get me wrong
Kinger: it's bad either way
Kinger: but it's especially bad if this is the case
Matt: I suppose. But I would be pretty choked at Horc if he was yelling at MacT on the bench about his anchor LW du jour.
Matt: Yeah, agreed.

Second Period

-WTF just happened? Garon gets dragged to the corner and manages to take a holding the stick penalty!

-Grabbing the stick is alright, but you gotta let go before you end up in the corner.

- Staios, great play on the PK. Good play by Marty to get it out on the next sequence

- Rourke makes a bad decision and decides to skate right in front of his net with McClement right on him. We normally like Rourke's brand of simple hockey, but he just doesn't have the foot speed to lose McClement on that play.

- Nice play by Smid coming out of his own end. He's had a strong game tonight.

- Another penalty drawn by a good shift by Hemsky and Horcoff. Brewer for holding. You could see it coming.

- Great play by the kids on the second unit. Kinger is furious McKee on the Blues didn't take a cross checking penalty for drilling Nilsson after he he took the shot on his chance in front. On the replay it looked absolutely vicious.

- Nice little bit on the Blues broadcast about Weight and Brewer signing autographs for 3rd graders in Edmonton.

- Kinger tells me Penner was awful against Pittsburgh, but we both agree he's looked pretty good tonight. If that pick can get out of the top 10, I'll be perfectly okay with that signing.

- Goalpost for Tkachuk on a wacky play.

- Oilers are getting killed on the draws tonight. The centers are getting waived out a lot as well.

- Couple ugly bounces here leading to sustained Blues pressure. Garon gloves it through a screen and gets a draw. Tkachuk vs. Gagner down low is a bad match.

- Blues powerplay looks pretty good. I don't like Pitkanen on the PK, I'd rather have him fresh for EV and the PP. When Souray returns, i'd like to see Staios - Smid and Gilbert - Souray as the top four on the PK.

Second intermission

Followed up a good first with a shaky second. Our PK looked pretty ugly.

Third Period

- "Pisani stole it", music to Oiler fan ears. His hard play on the board leads to a Oiler powerplay. Thank Doug, we know where your heart is.

- Intentional offside, that's a rare one. Matt is not convinced that Penner knew it was offside.

- Fans boo a terrible PP. A good choice.

- Looks like a pretty chincy call on Gilbert. 2-1 Blues just after the start of the powerplay. Our PK has looked pretty bad so far, it was liable to hurt us eventually.

- 3-1. Dougie gets lucky as the puck goes off Gilbert's pad and through Garon's legs.

- 3-2. Nilsson with his patented one timer goal. Great pass by Gagner to see the seam.

- Doug Weight almost quiets the crowd. Nice save by Garon.

- Pies on the top lines, let's see how this works out.

- 4-2 Blues. Kariya makes Penner pay for a mistake at the blue line.

- Matt thinks if we score 4-4 then on the PP we can win this. Lol.

- 4-3. Marty puts in a nice pass from Horc. We're still in this.

The Good.

2007-10-22T00:21:00.000-07:00

1. Sean Horcoff: He's off to a solid start (2-4-6 ESP in 8 GMs), and doing everything the team asks of him. The man is pure hustle on the ice. I've seen him make a few mistakes in his coverage, especially on the PK, but beyond that his game has been very solid.

2. Tom Gilbert: Honestly who thought that going into this years TC that Gilbert would establish himself as an everyday player? Taking into consideration our plenitude of "puck moving" defenseman going into this years TC, it certainly surprised me that Tom managed to play his way onto the opening day roster. He makes smart plays with the puck in his zone, and is consistently good in his outlet passing. An extremely pleasant surprise.

3. Matt Greene: I watched him play terribly in both Vancouver pre-season games (one live and one on Snet Pacific). Both performances left me very discouraged; I really felt that Matt had turned a corner in the last 20 games of the 06-07 campaign. Sure the team was horrible, but Greene was logging 20+ minutes and looking damn good doing it. In the 7 games I have seen so far this year, I think Greene has played very well (<3 PDO). He has yet to take a penalty that I wouldn't want him to take (9 mins, a 5 minute fighting major versus the Dys and 2 roughing + 2 instigator last night vs the Flames for telling David Hale not to stick out his knee at Ales Hemsky). He plays the body well and is doing a pretty good job at puck separation in his own zone. He's not perfect by any means, but I think he's played well.

4. Ales Hemsky: Up until Lowetide posted something about the Law of Averages, our young Czech star was playing like a madman. Since then, he's cooled down from "unreal" to "best player on the ice". I am shocked by all the criticism I read of him on here. His shooting is WAY up this year; he's been taking the puck to the net and I'll have to agree with Lowetide, the results can't be far off.

5. Kyle Brodziak: He makes simple smart plays with the puck, and certainly will help this team win down the road. It's important for teams to have young cheap talent that can contribute in the W/L column, and I think this kid certainly fits the category. He's playing so well, the opposition has yet to score at ES while he is on the ice. That's gotta count for something.

6. Marty Reasoner: No longer known by my buddy Matt and I as "The Ghost of Marty Reasoner", he has re-energized his NHL career. Much like Brodziak, Marty has been making smart and simple plays with the puck, and often manages to put himself in the right place at the right time in both ends of the ice. I have been very impressed with his play so far this year.

6. Sam Gagner: Wow, this kid is something. Just three months after his 18th birthday, the guy has earned himself a spot on the Oilers roster. I have been absolutely blown away with this kids moxy; he really has displayed (at a young age) an ability to read and react to the play at a very high level. There is a lot of talk about players straight out of junior needing time to adjust to the speed of the NHL game. Sam seems to have completely skipped this stage of development.

7. Andrew Cogliano: I "saw him good" in Vancouver during the pre-season and commented here that: "Cogliano makes a difference out there, his speed really opens up on the ice. I think he should make the team" . After watching him in 8 NHL games, I gotta say that my analysis was spot on. Around game 2 or 3 of the season, MacT commented that Cogliano displays a rare talent that he hadn't seen since Mike Peca's time with the Oil. Specifically, he was referring to their ability to create instant offense at any particular time. This talent is very hard to find, and I gotta agree with MacT here: Cogs has it.

Phoenix Game Day

2007-10-17T10:18:00.000-07:00

The word over at Lowetide's is that the Hockey Jesus is getting the kind of linemates befitting our Lord and Saviour. Hopefully Robbie spends more time on his feet and less on his ass in this one.

Normally, I'd be concerned about a line featuring 3 players who have questionable defensive abilities on the road. Especially considering Hemsky needs to get his minutes at EV, no matter who his linemates are. However, it's against Phoenix. I'm pretty comfortable running our high-skill high-event guys against theirs, and they don't really have anything else. What match up against the Coyotes really scares you? Shane Doan is a nice player, but who else? Mike York was a hell of a player in Edmonton, but I'm pretty sure he spent the entire lockout eating delicious Belgian chocolate cakes. Wayne might end up running out guys like Hanzal and Mueller, and I'll take that match any day.

To me, this is really Schremp's shot right here. He doesn't have to score tonight, but if he doesn't at least show some flashes I'm going to transfer all hope and attention to a newer, shinier prospect. Somehow I don't think I'd be the only one.

Also: Sheldon Souray is hurt. I have no idea how to feel about this.

MacT Is Pissed.

2007-10-11T02:34:00.001-07:00

Poor Ryan Rishaug.

“Nothing too big, he hit me there’s nothing I can do about it,” Hemsky said. “I don’t think I can fight with him”

2007-10-10T13:02:00.000-07:00

With a division tilt against Minnesota rapidly approaching this evening, all the talk in Oil town centers around the Wilds 'star' enforcer Derek Boogaard. Frankly, I think this years Oilers are better suited to punish Lemaire for putting the Boogie man out there. Speed was a factor in the preseason and in the first two home games, as long as we can keep the puck moving up ice, a guy like Boogaard turns from an asset to a liability.

I'll be liveblogging this game at 6:00 PM MT.

- Oilers spend 2 minutes running around in their own zone and get bailed out by a Wild penalty.

- Pitkanen with a nice rush early on the PP. I like that quick shot by Hemsky.

- Looks like they were able to get Souray a little more involved on the PP. That powerplay looked a lot better than the one we saw in Detroit.

- Hemsky with back to back ugly neutral zone turnovers. Second one leads to a Gaborik SC.

- Stoll with a nice play in the defensive zone, strips the puck and moves it up ice.

- With the exception of that play by Stoll, the Wild are winning all the battles down low in our zone. It's just a matter of time before they get one out of all this pressure.

- Greene makes a nice play breaking up a Gaborik pass then skating it to center and getting it in deep.

- Hemsky with a great individual effort capped by a Pitkanen scoring opportunity.

- Pouliot in the right spot in the defensive zone breaks up a pass to Gaborik. Cycle is really killing us though.

- Big surprise, the Wild score after 45 seconds of offensive zone pressure. 1-0 Wild.

- Nilsson takes a high stick, no call.

- Pouliot with some really nice work down low. 22-16-78 looking pretty good out there.

- Tarnstrom - Souray pairing shows up on an offensive zone face off with Gaborik on the ice. It will be interesting to see if MacT keeps these two together.

END OF THE FIRST

Positives:
- Pouliot had a solid period, created some offense and was one of the few Oilers that looked decent in his own end.
- I thought Greene looked good again this period.
Negatives:
- Cycle is absolutely chewing us up. We are constantly one pass behind the play.

SECOND PERIOD

- Souray starts the period out there with Tarnstrom, looks like MacT may be tiring of the Goliath pairing.

- Some nice offensive zone pressure leads to an Oiler powerplay, nice shift for 8-19-51.

- 2-0 Wild. Oilers get caught watching as the Wild top line strikes again.

- The play has died a lot on Sanderson stick in the offensive zone so far this game.

END OF THE SECOND

Positives:
- Not much
Negatives:
- The Wild look like a far better team.

THIRD PERIOD

- Way too many offsides, by my casual eye it looks like 8+ so far this game for the Oil.

- I'm tired of hearing Cuthbert and Healy chirping off about how great Backstrom has played. I can count the quality Oiler scoring chances on one hand. Mike Morrison would be sporting a shut out at this point.

- The kids are really looking like kids in this game. Watching Walz toss Cogliano off the puck behind the net makes me sad ;(

- Where are the hits? JFJ and Torres have done absolutely nothing so far this game.

- What's with the obsession with "blind passes" (Torres, Nilsson and Sanderson). The Wild seems to feed off that sort of junk.

- Some excitement at the conclusion of the game but the Oil show no finish. Another veteran team makes our young club look silly. It's not really worth getting into the goats of this game, pretty much everyone played like junk. Solid games from Hemsky, Horcoff, Roloson, Brodziak, Pouliot, and Reasoner.

LiveBlogging: Oilers @ Wings.

2007-10-08T15:58:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Shaw Digital Cable finally offering a Center Ice package, I will be liveblogging a number of games from MattM's place this season. Tonights game should be a real test for the kids; no longer will MacT be able to shelter them from the Thornton's and Briere's of the league. As a side comment, I have been really impressed with Matt Greene so far this season. He looked utterly terrible in the preseason, but from what I saw in the season opener and heard about from the Philly game, he seems to have turned a corner. We'll see how he and the kids do tonight.

- TSN puts sportsnet west to shame in terms of production value, this broadcast is low budget all the way.

- Stoll messes up a clearing attempt and Pitkanen takes a hooking penalty, not a good start.

- Grebeshkov gets stripped behind his own net on the PK, not a pretty play at all. I'm surprised he drew in for Tarnstrom, possible injury?

- Pretty weak call on Staios, didn't look like tripping to me.

- Stoll makes a really soft play and fails to clear the zone, Roloson misplays a wrap around and it's 1-0 Wings. Taking two early penalties on the road in Detroit is a surefire method to get down a goal.

- Lazy stick by Maltby leads to the first Oiler powerplay. What the hell? Didn't Cleary touch that puck before Penner hit him. How is that interference? Either way, the oiler powerplay is negated. Also, it's good to see DP getting physically involved in the game, Hemsky needs someone on his line to put a scare into guys that take runs at him.

- 2-0 Wings. Grebeshkov looks like absolute suck as Chelios walks by him and gets 2 shots before potting the 3rd. So far this kid has NOT impressed.

- 2-1 Wings. The top line with some nice passing and Horc with the finish. Holmstrom takes a quick penalty and the Oilers go back on the powerplay.

- Powerplay ends with no real pressure, Kids have been invisible so far this game.

END OF THE FIRST:
Positives:
- Only down by 1 goal after being thoroughly outplayed.
- Brodziak made a couple really heady plays.
- Hemsky is flying
Negatives:
- The 'skilled' kids were invisibile
- Grebeshkov looked pretty bad.
- Ice looks really bad out there. The puck is bouncing all over the place.

SECOND PERIOD

- Ridiculous give away leads to a Staios penalty. 3-1 Detroit, this is getting ugly.

- Cogliano with a nice rush and shot playing between 14 amd 12. Looks like Stoll is either a victim of the blender or MacT has decided to give him a seat on the bench. Certainly has not been Stoll's best game thus far.

- Raffi gets his stick up and the Oil are down a man yet again. Greene wins a nice puck battle on the boards early on the PK. Horc makes a real nice play taking Holmstrom out in front of the net and negating a solid scoring chance created by Lidstrom.

- Hemsky loses the puck off of an Oiler offensive zone face off win, but has the sense to make a real nice play on the back check and pickup a man. This kid has come a long way.

- Puck is bouncing everywhere, Oilers get another post off of a tipped Chelios knuckle ball.

- Datsyuk makes the Greene - Souray pairing look absolutely silly. That's a matchup I'm sure that MacT wants to stay away from.

- 3-2 Oil WOW WHAT A PASS! Pitkanen threads the puck through 3 wings right onto Cogliano's stick and he makes no mistake and pots it into the open net. A nice reward to 5 minutes of Oiler pressure late in the period.

END OF THE SECOND
Positives:
- Matt Greene is having a solid game.
- The Oiler defense has looked reliable at 5v5.
- The skilled kids came alive late in the period, capped by Cogliano's goal.
Negatives:
- Our PK has to do a better job clearing the puck and killing time. Detroit has had too many opportunities to setup and make plays in our zone.

THIRD PERIOD

- Holmstrom mauls Roli and takes a penalty. Ridiculous Wing pressure just before the call. Second unit powerplay needs some tweaking, perhaps Torres needs to plant his ass on the bench.

- 8-19-51 have looked sloppy on the cycle tonight. I'm seeing a lot of blind passes that aren't connecting.

- Even Nick Lidstrom can't get away with that kind of bear hug. We need to get Souray involved on the powerplay.

- Ugly, Ugly, Ugly. You can tell Souray wants to unleash the bomb, but the team isn't getting him the puck. What a terrible powerplay, second unit looks REALLY bad.

- Pouliot makes an awfully pretty play stepping through a few wings to setup Gagner for a nice scoring chance.

- The refs are really letting the 'boys play' here, couple hilarious non-calls for both the Oilers and the Wings.

- Cogliano really opens up the ice, with speed like that, it's hard for the Wings to keep him from gaining the zone.

- 4-2 Wings. Draper puts it into the net from just across the red line. A fairly predictable outcome.

Final note: The Oilers played pretty well all things considered; we're going to score a lot of goals this year, if we can find a way to limit the opposition from putting the puck into our net, we might be able to squeak into the post season.

Raffi Torreslol

2007-09-26T01:43:00.001-07:00

Mexican!

Oilers @ Canucks: Preseason Recap.

2007-09-21T11:03:00.000-07:00

I went to the game last night with a friend of mine and I liked what I saw. Here are a few things I noticed:

- Brodziak will make this team and dress on opening night. He looks like an NHL'er out there. His speed has improved since last season, and he puts himself in the right places.

- Cogliano makes a difference out there, his speed really opens up on the ice. I think he should make the team.

- I really liked what I saw out of Souray. His shot is huge and he stuck up for Gagner when Kesler took a run at him on an offside. There was one moment on a 1on1 between Souray and some AHL'er where I noticed his problem skating backwards. He kind of lost an edge and stumbled a bit. Beyond that, it was all gravy. I think he can be very successful playing 3-4 minutes at ES with a guy like Smid.

- Tom Gilbert is better than Matt Greene. Poor Tom Gilbert.

- The top line didn't do much at ES until the third, but that's because for the first period and a half MacT was running them Power vs Power versus the twins. Needless to say, the twins were chewing them up.

- I think Gagner should make the team and play soft minutes with Hemsky and Penner. Putting either Stoll or Horc with those two either forces you to take your two best centers out of the checking game, or puts Hemsky and Penner out there in a sitatution where they are not likely to succeed (tough minutes)

- Roy had a bad night. I think he should be sent down ASAP (I think he'll make it through waivers, and if he doesn't, no big loss)

- The Greene - Smid pairing sucks as much this year as it did last year.

Kevin Lowe, Pirate

2007-07-26T22:31:00.000-07:00

Damn. Twice now I've picked up the phone at work and had Kinger tell me Lowe has done something ridiculous. He's optimistic. As for me, not so much.

First off, I love that Lowe is willing to go for the RFAs. I may question his target and price, but his strategy and methods are, if nothing else, immensely entertaining.

Penner might be a solid player. He saw a lot of the soft minutes last year, but at least he got a taste of what riding shotgun with Todd Marchant is like. Getzlaf made that whole line look good, but I think I'd take Penner ahead of Perry for the Oilers. My main concern with him as a player was that in the playoffs he had about two games where he really impressed me. That being said, I do like the guy as a player.

It might be a little generous, but lets say he's an even bet to cover his contract number over the term. Then the issue comes down to compensation. Would you give up a 1st, 2nd , and 3rd for the guy? I think that the Oilers have the prospect depth that I'd toss the 2nd and the 3rd without a second thought. A mid to late round first and I think the prospect pool can absorb that. However, if that turns out to be a top 5 pick, this becomes terrible asset management.

What this really comes down to is how good that first is. Are the Oilers with Dustin Penner a playoff team? I have my doubts. Are they a lottery team? Lowetide seems to think so. I don't. Lets say I'm cautiously optimistic about this move as a whole, but I think this move has a much better chance of absolutely blowing up in Lowe's face than it does of turning out brilliantly.

I loved the Pitkanen trade, and I loved the Vanek offer sheet. I'm definitely behind the overall RFA raiding strategy. If Burke doesn't match, the Oilers will certainly be a better team next year. What this is really coming down to for me is this: If I told you two weeks ago that the Oilers were going to add 10 million dollars in salary for the next 5 years and send out a 1st,2nd and 3rd, wouldn't you have expected a better team than this?

I Can Get Behind Anything

2007-07-14T10:03:00.000-07:00

I was sitting at work the other day, and I got a phone call from Kinger.

"Did you see?"
"What?"
"Oh god, you haven't seen it yet."
At this point I immediately pulled up tsn.ca and saw the lead story.
"Oh god no..."

I had spent the entire commercial/preview time at Transformers the night before explaining to my Flames/Pens sports bigamist friend that there was no way in hell Lowe was going to be stupid enough to give Souray the kind of money he wanted. That Lowe and Co. were too good at analyzing dmen to do something so clearly foolish. Desperation wouldn't overcome their good senses. But it did. At this point, Kinger has managed to talk me off the ledge and now I'm rationalizing the ways in which this is a good thing.

27/5 is less than I thought he was going to sign for originally. That's a little like putting your hand through a table saw and coming out the other side with your pinky intact, but it's still something.

Even if Souray's PP numbers regress to the mean somewhat, we should still be able to pencil him in for at least 15 goals and 25 assists. Now, that's still being reasonably optimistic, but that's what we're doing here.

Montreal was an incredibly bad ES team, overall. One hopes that this should deflate that +/- a bit, but based on the other information I've seen around the Oilogosphere, maybe not. However, when rationalizing something awful, picking your evidence selectively is critical. I don't really know that Souray is awful defensively. I think that he is. The statistical evidence suggests that he is, but I haven't seen enough of Montreal play to judge the context of those numbers. A friend of mine who is a Habs fan loves the guy, so there's something. It's enough to give me hope and some optimism. I'll let the puck drop for the 1st game before I decide that this is not going to work.

This doesn't completely cripple the team's budget. If Lowe gets Pitkanen signed to something long-term, that only leaves Stoll as a major re-signing for next offseason. Assume that his raise is covered by Tarnstrom walking and Gilbert likely getting his spot, then we have however much money we're willing to spend over where we are at now to upgrade on Sanderson. Based on the Vanek offer of 10 in the first season, that seems to be about 4 million real dollars. A 5.5 million dollar left winger would look like a good investment...

So that's the most optimism I can muster. It might not be all bad. Sadly, I'm getting pretty used to looking at this team's moves that way.

Why Sheldon Shouldn't Give Casual Interviews.

2007-07-12T15:02:00.000-07:00

Part 1

Gino Odjick: My Hero.

2007-06-13T02:28:00.000-07:00

I stumbled across Gino Odjick's SAS Wiki page the other night and quickly found myself overcome with laughter. Here are some of the highlights:

The Quotable Gino Odjick

* Gino Odjick returns to the Montreal Canadiens lineup tonight and, from the sound of things, he has a score to settle with Florida goaltender Trevor Kidd. "I figure (Kidd) will wake up (this morning) at 9:30 and read the paper at 10. That leaves him nine hours to learn the duck dance," Odjick said yesterday. "I haven't played in a week and all I've been doing is shooting at watermelons - because that's the size of his head." "I figure to get 10 minutes of ice (against the Panthers). That means I should be good for three shots. And I was hitting the melon often last week. I'm an Indian, so I'm good at hunting." Gino planned to have revenge on Kidd for comments he had recently made about Pavel Bure, despite the fact that Odjick and Bure were no longer teammates.
* Odjick said he hoped to return to the lineup this season: "If you can teach a dog to run after a ball in a week, you can teach an Indian to run after a puck in a month."
* Gino Odjick on the effect of his suspension without pay and its’ effect on his wife Jolene, "She won’t be able to play bingo or shop for a whole month. Maybe Colin (Campbell) will get what he deserves when I tell her she can’t play bingo or go to the stores. My advice to him is to run."
* Not a quote, but when Gino Odjick was in minor hockey he did not possess an appropriate set of formal attire for attending games . His coach ponied up the cash to get him a fine suit, and then the next day Gino arrived with the suit in tatters and stained with blood. Apparently Gino and his father had encountered a deer on the road and had hunted it down and returned the carcass to their pickup's bed for later consumption.

Can You Believe...

2007-04-29T02:18:00.000-07:00

That if you exclude EN goals, the Canucks have scored 9 goals in their last 8 playoff games.

Oh, and they won 4 of those games.

Sick.

The Islander's First Round Pick.

2007-03-21T22:34:00.000-07:00

The Islanders could pick anywhere from 11th-17th in the upcoming draft (if they miss the playoffs or go out in the first round). Let's take a look at the quality of players that have been drafted in these positions from 2001-2004 (2005 and 2006 are moot, it's too soon to tell whether or not these players will have an impact).

Legend: Impact Player - NHL Regular - BUST - Too Soon To Tell

2001:

11 Phoenix Fredrik Sjostrom
12 Nashville Dan Hamhuis
13 Edmonton Ales Hemsky
14 Calgary Chuck Kobasew
15 Carolina IGOR KNYAZEV
16 Vancouver R.J. Umberger
17 Toronto Carlo Colaiacovo

2002:

11 Buffalo Keith Ballard
12 Washington Steve Eminger
13 Washington Alexander Semin
14 Mtl. Canadiens Chris Higgins
15 Edmonton JESSE NIINIMAKI
16 Ottawa JAKUB KLEPIS
17 Washington Boyd Gordon

2003:

11 Philadelphia Jeff Carter
12 NY Rangers HUGE JESSIMAN
13 Los Angeles Dustin Brown
14 Chicago Brent Seabrook
15 NY Islanders Robert Nilsson
16 San Jose Steve Bernier
17 New Jersey Zach Parise

2004:

11 Los Angeles Lauri Tukonen
12 Minnesota A.J. Thelen
13 Buffalo Drew Stafford
14 Edmonton Devan Dubnyk
15 Nashville Alexander Radulov
16 NY Islanders PETTERI NOKELAINEN
17 St. Louis Marek Schwarz G

2001 to 2004 mid range first round draft results:

Impact players: 9/23* = 39%
NHL Regular: 9/23* = 39%
BUSTS: 5/23* = 22%

* For obvious reasons, I subtracted the 5 too soon to tell players from the total.

I'm a pretty big poker player, and I love turning over AA all in preflop versus an under pair (KK, QQ, JJ). In this situation, I'm approximately a 5-1 favourite to win the pot. These are the same odds Kevin Lowe will have on draft day to turn the Islander's pick into an NHL regular or better.

Here's to Kev's rockets holding up.

MacT is the 2nd best coach in the NHL

2007-03-19T22:38:00.000-07:00

Inspired by this article from the 4th period: http://www.thefourthperiod.com/columnists/wyshynski070316.html

Here is my generic and useless list of the 'three things' NHL coaches have in common:

1. Obvious observation about how they work hard.

2. Obvious observation about how their interaction with the public is important.

3. Something stupid about how all coaches get fired.

Here is where I backtrack and say that retiring, stepping down and getting fired are the same thing. I don't bother to prove this, I just put it out there.

Here is where I assert that coaches have an impact on the game. I'm a really big deal you know.

Here i use the word "obstreperous" so that people will take me seriously.

Here I arbitrarily rank 30 NHL head coaches. I don't really have a formula; although I did ask some 'assorted hockey folk' I know to share their uninformed opinions. Here I make sure to attach the obligatory "one man's opinion line", just to make sure no one in their right mind takes me seriously.

30. Coach on a very bad team.
29. Michel Therrien. <--- I smoke rocks.
28. Coach on a very bad team.
27. Coach on a very bad team.
26. Coach on a very bad team.
25. Coach on a bad team.
24. Coach on a bad team.
23. Coach on a bad team.
22. Coach on a bad team.
21. Jim Playfair.
20. Brian Murray. <--- I smoke rocks.
19. Ron Wilson.
18. Coach on a mediocre team.
17. Coach on a mediocre team.
16. Coach on a mediocre team.
15. Coach on a good team.
14. Coach on a good team.
13. Coach on a good team.
12. Coach on a good team.
11. Coach on a good team.
10. Coach on a good team.
9. Coach on a very good team.
8. Coach on a very good team.
7. Coach on a very good team.
6. Paul Maurice. <--- I smoke rocks.
5. Coach on a great team.
4. Coach on a great team.
3. Coach on a great team.
2. MacT.
1. Jesus.

Sykora Wants To Stay, But Is He Welcome?

2007-03-14T16:40:00.000-07:00

Even with the Oilers out of the playoff picture a year after reaching Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final and mired in the throes an eight-game losing streak, Sykora isn't counting the days until July 1 when he becomes an unrestricted free agent and can sign with any team in the league. He says he wants to stay.

"I like it here," Sykora said Wednesday. "The first 40 games, when we had a healthy lineup, that was the best time I've had in hockey in a long time. I'm playing with players who suit me and playing the kind of hockey that suits me."

-TSN

I wouldn't want to be in Kevin Lowe's shoes when this summer rolls around. On the surface, it seems to be an easy choice to resign Sykora. He has produced at a pretty good clip this year, and if he wants to return for around 3M, resigning him seems like a no brainer. However, as outlined in the post below, Lowe has approximately 8M to spend on 2F, 2D and 1G. If indeed Lowe does want to bring in a big name FA, it is unlikely that there will be 3M dollars to spare in the budget. The only other option would be to move a roster forward to free up budget space. Of the possible forwards (Lupul, Pisani, Moreau, Stoll, Torres), only Lupul seems to make sense. Unfortunately, his value is so low that a trade would pretty much be a salary dump, and I just don't think dealing him under those circumstances constitutes good asset management.

Personally, I'd let Sykora walk and use the money to patch up the blue line.

Money money money money, MONEY.

2007-03-13T20:55:00.000-07:00

Let's check out the financial situation of the 2007-2008 Edmonton Oilers.
* Estimated salary.

Forwards
Lock to make the team:
Horcoff: 3.6
Hemsky: 3.6
Moreau: 2.75
Lupul: 2.535
Pisani: 2.5
Stoll: 2.2
Reasoner: .9
*Torres: 1.9
8/9F @ 20M
Likely to make the team out of camp:
Pouliot: .9
Thoresen: 0.5
Jacques: 0.6
Nilsson: .9
4/5F @ 3M

Defensemen
Lock to make the team:
Staios: 2.9
Smith: 1.9
Smid: 0.7
*Grebeshkov: 0.9 (Lowe stated that he is signed to a 1 year deal)
*Greene: 0.9
4/7D @ 7.4M

Goaltenders
Roloson: 3.6
1/2G @ 3.6M

Total committed Salary: 34M

Positions to fill:

Forwards: 1 top 9, 1 press box.
Defensemen: 2 top 6, 1 press box.
Goaltenders: 1 backup.
Budget: 34/42=8M (42M is a generous estimate)

How would you spend the cash?

The Springfield Isotopes.

2007-03-11T15:36:00.000-07:00

AHL sources say the Oilers will have their farm team in Springfield, Mass. where the league headquarters are, next season with, Tampa Bay moving to Norfolk, Va. The Blackhawks are pulling up stakes in Norfolk to move to Rockford, Ill., just outside Chicago.
- Jim Matheson

Good news from Today's journal, it looks like the Oilers will have a full AHL affiliate next year in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Let's take a look at the minor league depth chart:

Signed through next season:

C: Schremp (AHL), O'Marra (OHL), Pouliot (AHL->NHL), Almtorp (EU), Johansson (EU), Spurgeon (ECHL->AHL), Sestito (AHL->ECHL).
RW: Goulet (ECHL), Stortini (AHL->NHL), Bodie (ECHL->AHL), Thoresen (NHL)
LW: Reddox (ECHL), Jacques (AHL->NHL), Trukhno (QMJHL), Nilsson (AHL)
D: Gilbert (AHL->NHL), Svret (AHL-NHL), Young (ECHL->AHL->NHL), Bisallion (QMJHL)
G: Dubnyk (ECHL)

RFA:

C: Brodziak (AHL->NHL)
LW: Radunske (AHL->ECHL), Mikhnov (NHL-AHL-EU)
RW: None
D: Roy (AHL->NHL), Grebeshkov (EU)
G: Deslauriers (AHL)

It's safe to say that the Oilers will resign all of the RFAs except Mikhnov. Whether or not he wants to come back to North America on a two-way contract still remains to be seen. Further, Grebeshkov left for the RSL last year after holding out for a one way contract, it's safe to say that he and the Oilers have agreed to a one way deal, so it's unlikely he will be in Springfield.

Unsigned that could go pro:

C: Cogliano (College)
LW: Pettersson (EU)
RW: McDonald (College), Umicevic (EU)
D: Chorney (College), Hrabel (EU)
G: Fisher (College)

Cogliano has publicly stated that he wants to play another year in college. There is a good chance the Oilers will sign Pettersson, Chorney, Umicevic, Hrabel, McDonald and Fisher.

Hypothetical minor league roster:

Jacques* - Pouliot* - Thoresen*
Nilsson* - Schremp* - Stortini*
Trukhno - Brodziak* - Pettersson
Spurgeon- O'Marra - Bodie
Reddox - Goulet - Umicevic
Almtorp - Johansson - Sestito
McDonald
Radunske

Gilbert* - Roy*
Svret* - Chorney
Bisallion - Young
Hrabel

Deslauriers*
Dubnyk
Fisher

*Players marked with asterixes will likely compete for NHL spots.

NHL Roster:

F: Hemsky, Horcoff, Torres, Moreau, Stoll, Pisani, Lupul, Reasoner, UFA 9/14 = 5 spots (2 PB)
D: Smith, Staios, Grebeshkov, Greene, Smid, UFA - 6/7 = 1 spot (1 PB)
G: Roloson - 1/2 = 1 spots

What I would like to see is Brodziak and Jacques in the PB while Pouliot, Nilsson and Thoresen make the line up. I'd also like to see us sign 2 UFA d men, leaving Roy, Svret et al in the minors. Deslaurier as a 25 game backup to Roloson would also be nice.

Patrick Thoresen: Norwegian Extraordinaire!

2007-03-10T15:54:00.000-08:00

I thought Thoresen was one of the best Oiler skaters in last nights game against the Ducks. I really like this kid, he's struggled to score for 2+ months yet still has respectable numbers. That's quite an accomplishment for an undrafted player playing his first NHL season.

Desjardins has him 133 league wide in terms of adjust +/- (D and F)

Oilers when he is on the ice:
GF:2.14
GA:2.01
+0.13

Oilers when he is not on the ice:
GF:2.49
GA:3.05
-0.56

Adjusted ratio:
+0.69

He's also middle of the pack in terms of quality of competition (281/619).

Very respectable indeed.

UFAs To Target: Kimo Timonen.

2007-03-04T15:15:00.000-08:00

I think Kimo Timonen would be an excellent free agent for Kevin Lowe to go after this offseason. In his post defending Smyth's value, Rivers commented that he has "a sneaking suspicion that if the Oilers do get a UFA, they'll make a major mistake on someone obviously not elite like Timonen." This got me thinking, is Timonen an elite player? From what I can tell, if Smyth is considered elite then so should Timonen. Frankly, I think that 5.5/5 would be spent wisely if we went after Timonen this offseason. He's 31, and I think it's widely agreed that defensemen begin to peak somewhere around 30 years old.

Let's shoot high here, and compare Timonen's and Lidstrom's 2006-2007 campaigns:

Numbers are courtesy of Gabe Desjardins via his site behindthenet

On ice GF/GA

Lidstrom: GF: 3.76 GA: 1.59 Ratio: +2.18
Timonen: GF: 3.90 GA: 2.50 Ratio: +1.40

Both players' numbers are very impressive. However, it's clear that Lidstrom holds a significant advantage.

Quality of Competition:

Lidstrom: 0.0818
Timonen: 0.0793

This is pretty much a wash, both players are playing tough minutes and outscoring their opposition.

Powerplay +/- over 60 minutes:

Lidstrom: +6.05 | Teammates: +5.04 | Ratio: +1.01
Timonen: +7.20 | Teammates: +5.40 | Ratio: +1.80

A clear advantage for Timonen. Moreover, his superiority is still evident when you take into account the superior teammates Timonen is on the PP with.

Shorthanded +/- over 60 minutes:

Lidstrom: -4.50
Timonen: -3.86

Another clear advantage for Timonen.

All and all it appears that Kimo Timonen is an elite player. He significantly outscores his competition while playing the tough minutes and excels on both the PP and the PK. Moreover, when compared to a future HHOF like Lidstrom, Timonen not only holds his own at ES, but looks like the better player on special teams.

Ryan Smyth Tribute Video

2007-03-02T23:46:00.000-08:00

Courtesy of Youtube's Hemsky

Ryan Smyth's Worth: A comprehensive analysis.

2007-03-02T02:52:00.000-08:00

Lowe made the right choice.

I base my opinion on existing contracts, Kevin Lowe's budget, Smyth's production, his durability, his age, his status as an unrestricted free agent, his ability to play tough minutes while outscoring, his leadership and his loyalty to the team he clearly loves to play for.

1. Knowledge of Existing Contracts.

Best Examples:

Jason Arnott: Agreed to a five-year, $22.5 (4.5m/year) million dollar deal in this past off season. He was 31 years old when he signed the deal.

Career:
Arnott* - Smyth
Games: 824 - 770
Goals: 276 (0.33) - 265 (0.34)
Assists: 368 (0.45) - 284 (0.37)
Points: 644 (0.78) - 549 (0.71)

* Stats are based on the time before he signed his latest deal.

Season of negotiations:
Arnott - Smyth*
Games: 81 - 72
Goals: 32 - 42
Assists: 44 - 30
Points: 76 - 72

* Stats are prorated over remaining games.

Steve Sullivan: Agreed to a four-year, $12.8 (3.2m/year) million dollar deal in the summer of 2005. He was 31 years old when he signed the deal.

Career:
Sullivan* - Smyth
Games: 597 - 770
Goals: 175 (0.29) - 265 (0.34)
Assists: 274 (0.46) - 284 (0.37)
Points: 449 (0.75) - 549 (0.71)

* Stats are based on the time before he signed his latest deal.

Season of negotiations:
Sullivan - Smyth*
Games: 81 - 72
Goals: 23 - 42
Assists: 49 - 30
Points: 72 - 72

* Stats are prorated over remaining games.

Rod Brind'Amour: Agreed to a five-year, $18 (3.6m/year) million dollar contract in this past offseason. He was 35 years old when he signed the deal.

Career:
Brind'Amour* - Smyth
Games: 1187 - 770
Goals: 382 (0.32) - 265 (0.34)
Assists: 599 (0.50) - 284 (0.37)
Points: 981 (0.83) - 549 (0.71)

* Stats are based on the time before he signed his latest deal.

Season of negotiations:
Brind'Amour - Smyth*
Games: 78 - 72
Goals: 31 - 42
Assists: 39 - 30
Points: 80 - 72

* Stats are prorated over remaining games.

Saku Koivu: Agreed to a three-year, $14.25 (4.75m/year) million dollar contract during last season. He was 31 years old when he signed the deal.

Career:
Koivu* - Smyth
Games: 569 - 770
Goals: 137 (0.24) - 265 (0.34)
Assists: 323 (0.58) - 284 (0.37)
Points: 460 (0.80) - 549 (0.71)

* Stats are based on the time before he signed his latest deal.

Season of negotiations:
Koivu - Smyth*
Games: 72 - 72
Goals: 17 - 42
Assists: 45 - 30
Points: 62 - 72

* Stats are prorated over remaining games.

Daniel Alfredsson: Agreed to a five-year, $24.7* (4.339m/year) million dollar contract the summer before the lockout. He was 31 years old when he signed the deal.

*Prorated to reflect lockout rollback

Career:
Alfredsson* - Smyth
Games: 629 - 770
Goals: 219 (0.35) - 265 (0.34)
Assists: 350 (0.56) - 284 (0.37)
Points: 569 (0.90) - 549 (0.71)

* Stats are based on the time before he signed his latest deal.

Season of negotiations:
Alfredsson - Smyth*
Games: 72 - 72
Goals: 32 - 42
Assists: 48 - 30
Points: 80 - 72

* Stats are prorated over remaining games.

Martin St. Louis: Agreed to a six-year, $31.5 (5.25m/year) million dollar contract in this past offseason. He was 30 years old when he signed the deal.

Career:
St. Louis* - Smyth
Games: 444 - 770
Goals: 140 (0.32) - 265 (0.34)
Assists: 180 (0.41) - 284 (0.37)
Points: 320 (0.72) - 549 (0.71)

* Stats are based on the time before he signed his latest deal.

Season of negotiations:
St. Louis - Smyth*
Games: 80 - 72
Goals: 31 - 42
Assists: 30 - 30
Points: 61 - 72

* Stats are prorated over remaining games.

You can draw your own conclusions from this, I think things are pretty clear.

2. Kevin Lowe's Budget.

Although the salary cap was supposed to introduce parity for the Oilers organization, after two years under the new CBA it's clear that this team will not spend to the cap. Thus all monies must be spent responsibly, so that the team can remain competitive with other organizations that do spend to the cap.

3. Smyth's Production.

Over his career, Smyth has averaged 0.71 Points Per Game. Before this years campaign, his best year in terms of PPG was 2002-2003 where he scored 66 points in 61 games (0.92). This year, Smyth is exceeding this total, and is averaging a point per game. However, it's safe to say that in light of both his career PPG (0.71) and his output this season (1), that it's unrealistic to expect a continuation of the current PPG average throughout the length of a 5 year contract. It is prudent to expect Smyth to put up around 0.80 PPG during that term. Thus the contract should be structured around the expectation of 0.80 PPG. As you can see above, 5.75m/y will buy you a lot more than 0.80 PPG.

4. Smyth's durability

Not including his rookie season, Smyth potentially could have played 868 games at this point in his career. I am aware that this is an unrealistic expectation; however, my intention is only to use it as a basis to determine the percentage of games he has played in.

Potential: 868
Actual*: 786
Percentage: 91%

* Gives the benefit of the doubt that he will play the remaining 19 games this season.

This is a fairly good result. Smyth is neither particularly durable nor is he injury prone.

5. Unrestricted Free Agency.

All the comparable contracts I included were signed by unrestricted free agents. Refer to them for comparison.

6. Tough Minutes and Outscoring Ability.

Here is where you make up the ground between a Jason Arnott and a Ryan Smyth. Their numbers may be similar, but Smyth has taken a much harder road (especially in the last couple years). Still, is this ability really worth in excess of 1m dollars per season on top of the fact that Arnott outscores Smyth? I just can't bring myself to believe that it is.

7. Character and Loyalty.

The above is why I wouldn't have been upset if Smyth had signed for 5.4m/5. By all measurements, even that would have been any overpay. However, one that is understandable due to the intangibles that Ryan Smyth brings to a team. Can you put a dollar value on this sort of thing? Frankly, I think Kevin Lowe did, and that's why he went as high as 27m/5. It's just too bad that they couldn't work things out.

Ryan Smyth's Farewell Press Conference.

2007-03-01T00:51:00.000-08:00

Part 1

Part 2

Gut-wrenching

2007-02-28T14:17:00.000-08:00

My Thoughts On The Trade

2007-02-27T23:15:00.000-08:00

1. It is clear that Smyth wanted a 5 year contract in excess of 25 million dollars.

2. Despite his heroics this season, his loyalty to the team and his ability to play tough minutes, Ryan Smyth is not worth in excess of 25 million dollars over 5 years.

3. On an open market, Smyth will more than likely be offered a 5 year deal in excess of 25 million dollars; however, unless you define worth as what the highest bidder is willing to pay, point 2 still stands.

4. It is unfortunate that Ryan's career year in terms of production is coincided with his first shot at unrestricted free agency. Taking into account past production, at best what Smyth can be counted on is an average of 35 goals and 70 points per year over the span of a 5 year contract. Is that kind of production worth nearly 6 million dollars per season? I don't think so.

5. The return is on par with what Forsberg garnered, and I have no reason to believe that the market would yield anything more in terms of asset value. Sure, at this point neither O'Marra nor Nilsson are sure fire NHLers; however, they both have significant upside and are more likely than not to become regulars in the big show. Matt would have rather seen a single prospect of a greater pedigree than the two we picked up. However, there is no evidence to suggest that such a prospect was available, nor do I think many teams would be willing to part with a guy that is pretty much a lock to be an impact player at the NHL level for 20 games of Ryan Smyth. I am thus forced to conclude that Lower garnered as much value as the market would procure.

6. It is better to get something than nothing.

7. Whether or not Lowe used up funds by overpaying members of this team is immaterial. Even if he did, one overpay does not justify another.

8. Thus I simply conclude that Lowe made the right deal.

LiveBlogging From The Frog #3: Yotes @ Oil

2007-02-27T18:50:00.001-08:00

Messier's retirement went a bit long, got here an hour late and they still haven't done the anthem.

- Nice retro jerseys, too bad we can't see Smytty in Oiler orange.

- Roenick looks like he wants to cry. Nobody wants you JR, nobody wants you.

- Pisani on the left, odd.

- First 5 minutes have been pretty much devoid of any sort of flow. Ceremonies tend to have that effect.

- Nice chance for Pouliot, the kid has a knack for being in the right place at the right time. He really seems to see the lanes well. (1st @ 14)

- First line looks good, even without Smyth. Nice pressure shift (1st @ 10)

- Svret takes a hooking penalty without negating the scoring chance, yikes. (1st @ 8)

- JR Slew foots Roloson, no call. 1-0 Coyotes.

- I really hope this game gets some flow, it has been a real snoozer so far.

- Phoenix just looked like they were on the powerplay circling in our zone against a tired fourth line (1st @ 3)

- Joffrey Lupul with a pathetic looking spin move. That's the Joffrey I know. )1st @ 2)

- Good scoring chance as the period comes to a close. Nice defensive play by Morris.

- I guess I should air in on how I feel about the trade. It seems to be clear that a 25 over 5 deal was on the table, and it is also clear that Smyth was not willing to sign for that price. When dealing with that length of a contract, it's fairly irresponsible to tie up anything more than that kind of money for that many years in a player like Smyth. Now don't get me wrong, Smyth is a great player that can put up very good numbers playing in a tough minutes environment. But he also plays the type of game that is very hard on the body. Whether or not Smyth will be a 5.75m dollar player 5 years down the road is a fairly easy question to answer. No. Up to this point in his career, has Smyth ever been a player that commands that much money? Also no. The guys career year coincides with his first shot and unrestricted free agency. Smyth is NOT a top 10 goal scorer in this league, nor is he any better than a point per game guy. He does not generate offense on his own; he is not a game breaker; he is not a player that commands close to 6 million a year. Lowe made the right deal.

- Oilers come out flying in the second, great chances for Hemsky and Lupul (2nd @ 20)

- Couple fights, nice to see that the Oilers give a shit.

- 2-0 Yotes, bad bounce right to some prospect. PK looks a bit sketchy tonight.

- Either that was a dangerous shot by Roy, or Cujo just plain sucks. (2nd @ 14)

- Nice stick by Greene breaks up a 2-1. Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if he's dealt over the summer for defensive help. (2nd @ 12)

- 3-0 Yotes. Hejda gets turned inside out by Steve Reinprecht. This could get ugly.

- Stevie takes a bad penalty. So far the Yotes PP has been tearing us up. This is like watching a lit cartoon bomb. The Oiler's fuse is getting real low. (2nd @ 10)

- Thoreson with a good chance on the PP. I still like this kid. (2nd @ 9)

- This is a pretty terrible game. (2nd @ 4)

- Jacques with the TKO on Boynton. Wow, he really landed a couple solid shots. (2nd @ 2)

- Did Gratton really just punch Jason Smith from the bench? That's crazy. (2nd @ 1)

Well, that's all for now, the battery is toast.

LiveBlogging #2 @ The Black Frog

2007-02-23T16:39:00.000-08:00

Cam and Matt here again, doin' some live commentary from the Black Frog.

- Let's hope this game doesn't work out like the last back to back we played in Detroit.

- How was that not interference? Horcoff gets thrown down going to the net and the ref stands there looking stupid. Hopefully this is not a sign of things to come. Matt thinks that we just got away with a holding the stick (Staios) so I guess it's a wash.

- At least Horcoff's hooking penalty was in the defensive zone for once.

- Great, Reasoner puts us down two men for almost a full two minutes. Sigh.

- 1-0 Wings, Zetterberg makes no mistake and Holmstrom does his best Smyth impression. Hopefully we kill off the rest of this penalty.

- Let's see what kind of mettle the Oilers show. Down 1-0 on the road on the back end of a back to back, facing a very good team.

- Wow, what a weak call. "If that's roughing, then everyone should wear a skirt" - Ferraro.

- 2-0 Wings, I call shenanigans. Holmstrom with a great deflection on a well placed Lidstrom shot.

- Penalties are killing us, I've heard this story before.

- Hemsky draws a penalty and the Oilers 2nd unit hits the ice. A goal would be huge here.

- Hemsky heading to the dressing room, let's hope it's an equipment issue.

- 2-1 Wings, Thoreson makes a great play. Good pass by Horc... I got six million dollars... I got six million dollars.

- Kronwall leaves his feet and lays a pretty cheap hit on Lupul. Hopefully the Oilers powerplay wasn't negated by the ensuing scrum.

- Oilers on the PP, Lebda holds up Smyth for a few too many seconds.

- A Sean Avery-esque dive by Zetterberg negates the Oilers powerplay.

-I got six millions dollars... I got six million dollars. Ryan Smyth almost scores a shorty and draws a penalty.

- First period is over. If I were asked to sum up the period in two words, I would go with "terrible officiating". Hemsky still not back on the ice, I think safe to say he's hurt. Great.

- Yaa Hemsky!

- HOW THE HELL IS THAT NOT A PENALTY?!??!? SMYTH GETS HAMMERED STANDING IN THE CREASE WITH THE PUCK LAYING 5 FEET AWAY AND THE REFS DO NOTHING!??!

- Lupul concussed on an ILLEGAL hit. I want Stortini in this game.

- Petr Sykora with some solid defense on a two on one there. The pass came across and Sykora got a stick on it to tip it away.

- Hasek is crazy.

- Oilers need to get the 5 on 5 going again. There's been too much running around in the defensive zone the last few minutes.

- Torres! Tie game. Good effort all around. Good pressure by that line leads to the goal. Thoresen is having a very strong game playing in Lupul's spot.

- Thoresen with a brutal giveaway at his own blueline. Leads to an unfortunate bounce off of Smith's leg and a goal against. Boo.

- Great save by Roloson at the end of the period. They've been resilient tonight, but I still think of these Oilers as the kind of team that will pack it in if enough things go wrong. If that one had gone in it could have been really demoralizing.

- Oilers go on the powerplay, First unit hits the ice, I'll settle for a good looking PP and some momentum.

- Ales Hemsky pulls a "Joffrey Lupul' as he skates the puck to his own blue line then proceeds to give it away. Second unit hits the ice and doesn't look so good.

- 3-3 Oilers score. Pouliot out waits Hasek and Reasoner puts it away. Nice work by the kid.

- Hejda ties up Holmstrom on a dangerous looking shift. If you look carefully, as the shot comes to Roli, Holmstrom is paying more attention to fighting Hejda than putting the puck in the net. That's how to play a guy like that.

- Regulation over, Oilers heading to OT. Wonder if we'll see Toby Petersen out there in the 4on4 situations. Frankly, I don't think it's such a bad move. We are not a great shootout team, so ending it in a 4on4 situation is probably our best chance at coming away with 2 points.

- This officiating is FUCKING terrible. Bush league NHL at its worst.

- Shoot out, Matt just commented that he was glad we decided to take in this game, I agree.

- I got 6 million dollars... I got 6 million dollars.

- Roli goes 3/3 and the Mullet Man comes through yet again.

- You know, intellectually I conceded that the Oilers would miss the playoffs two weeks ago, but emotionally I can't make myself feel that way. Every win is still so satisfying. The last two games this team has looked a lot more like the team that I spent last spring cheering. Not in skill, but in that they refuse to give up. Much better.

I Just Close Eyes and Shoot

2007-02-22T23:07:00.000-08:00

Usually I am just scoring during the practice.

LiveBlogging @ The Black Frog

2007-02-22T16:30:00.000-08:00

Cam and Matt here, doin' some commentary from the Black Frog.

- We just arrived as the 2nd goal was scored on the PP. Smyth reminds me of Wayne and Garth in Wayne's World when they get their record company advancement. I got six million dollars... I got six million dollars.

- Shelly hit on Gilbert, Matt thinks he saw an elbow, I'm not convinced. Roy shows some 'mash' and lands some solid shots on Shelly. Shelly got the take down but considering who he's fighting, Matt and I give the decision to Roy.

- I fucking hate the instigator.

- Matt is happy the refs ruled that a high stick, he thinks the replay was inconclusive.

- Hitchcock is trying to turn Rick Nash into Mike Modano, good luck with that.

- Smid saves the day by clearing a sure goal out of the crease on the PK. It helps that Modin is not Ryan Smyth

- Pouliot looks good. Making good plays in both ends. Makes some mistakes, but he's young, it happens. Lupul finally gets his playmaking centre.

- Hemsky makes one too many moves, gives up the puck, goes for a 3 on 2. Story of his year, but I still love him.

- Thoresen vs. Nash? What the hell? Thoresen clipped him knee on knee. Can't fault Nash for going after him, but I'll take that trade any time.

- The broadcast just asked what the Oilers need at the deadline, a goal scorer, offensive defenseman, goalie, first round pick, or nothing. WE vote D.

- Cam told me not to be negative, so I'm not going to say anything about the Oilers' power play right now.

- Good first, I think. We only saw 1/2 of it, but we're happy.

- Cam is complaining that the broadcast guys are talking up the first goal stat. Considering how many leads the Oilers blow, he's probably got a point.

- Kevin Lowe apparently looks like Cam's grandpa at 48.

- Pay-per-view puts on a piece about a Zamboni obstacle course. People pay for this shit?

- 2nd period under way. Matt loved the stretch pass that turned into an icing. The Oilers should just concede the last 4 seconds and perform a proper break out (by proper I mean one that you generally see while other teams play).

- Lupul is really really ridiculously good at 'hanging out' on the opposing team's blue line.

- I thought for a second Jacques was gonna hit Norrena; Matt also thought he was lining him up. Imagine the shit show that would cause.

- Wow. Just wow. Hemsky fights off his check, gets inside into the slot and makes a great scoring chance out of nothing. I don't even mind that little 8 inch pass instead of a shot. That kid just has flashes of absolute brilliance.

- Hot damn, 3-0 Oilers, the play starts with a great defensive play by Joffrey 'Really Really Ridiculously' Lupul, and ends with Smid's first NHL goal. Sandwiched between those two unlikely events was an equally unlikely dangle and pass by Torres. What a goal.

- "Wow, this is actually looking like an NHL calibre powerplay, that's weird" - Matt

- What's with the goddamn spotlights. Every time Columbus has a scoring chance their lighting team jumps the gun. Reminds of that Calgary game (2nd in the season) where they ran that stupid red spot light for like 8 seconds on a shot that missed the net by 4 ft.

- Joffrey Lupul makes his second awesome play of the game; what the hell is going on?

- Horcoff with the DDT on the powerplay. Sean Horcoff don't take no crap from nobody, especially Norwegians named Olaf.

- Great shift on the PK for Petersen and Pouliot. Petersen gets in and puts a good shot on net for the rebound, then Pouliot kills 15 seconds fighting for the puck in the CBJ zone.

- That's the Joffrey Lupul we all know. Gets the puck right at the line and doesn't clear it.

- Nice to see Raffi Torres playing with confidence, dangling and making plays.

- End of the second. Another good period. Smid finally gets a goal. He was the last Oiler dman to get his first. Even Gilbert and Roy had scored before now.

- Cam is downloading Beauty and the Geek right now. I don't think I can respect him anymore.

- A gift on the PP right there. Good pass by Roli, Norrena trips on his own goal post and merry Christmas Horcoff.

- Hemsky looked like Superman on that shift "Get outta my way, Columbus!" - Cam

- The Oilers are a much better team without Nedved in the lineup.

- All the young guys doing their jobs tonight. Smid with his first goal, Pouliot playing well, and there goes Jacques causing some chaos on the forecheck.

- Unfortunately, the laptop battery is toast, and the barkeep only has plugs behind the bar. So with 13 minutes left, Matt and I are signing off. Matt's final comment: "it's nice not to be cheering for a bunch of losers for once."

Dr. Defense or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Hejda

2007-02-19T13:27:00.000-08:00

I first saw Hejda play way back in the last game of the preseason that a friend and I attended in Vancouver. I really liked his game:

"Hejda was great, stopped Naslund 1on1 without taking a penalty. Best defender on the ice."

Since then I talked about Hejda after the Montreal game:

"Jan Hejda is the real thing. He's physical, can shoot and most importantly, his outlet passing has been VERY good. I know it's only two games, but with what I have seen so far, Hejda has been our best defenseman at moving the puck. If I had the choice between Tjarnqvist and Hejda, I would have to go with the latter. He has played with a lot of heart in his first two games, and shouldn't be taken out of the lineup while he continues to do so."

I thought Hejda played great against the Panthers, and I was worred about him drawing out in favour of one of the real rookies:

"Jan Hejda should stay in the line up. There is no reason why this guy should be sitting in the press box while we field Smid, Greene, and Tjarnqvist. He played a solid game tonight, just like every other game he's played this season. His key pinch led to the all important first goal of the game, and he covered very nicely for Greene's mess up by forcing Jokinen to the outside."

I was happy that Hejda wouldn't draw out when Smid got hurt in the Dallas game:

"Smid is out 7-10 days, at least that means Hejda stays in the line up."

Now, what I love about Jan Hejda is his ability to win battles in corners. The guy gives 100 percent effort when he goes in there, whether it be one on one or two on one. More often than not he is the guy that comes out with the puck. He's actually one of the best defenseman I have ever seen at winning puck battles.

On top of that, the guy has above average offensive tools. He can pass, and seems to grasp the concept that a weak shot ON NET from the point is more valuable than a rocket that misses by 10 ft (clearly he does not subscribe to the Jason Smith school of defense in this category). Moreover, as a 27 year old rookie, he's playing the 2nd toughest minutes on the squad behind Jason Smith, and still putting up a solid plus/minus.

I would love to see Hejda locked up for 3 years at 1.2m/yr, I think it would be a brilliant contract for Lowe to offer him. If you're looking for something to cheer about from this disappointing season, look no farther than the case of Jan Hejda.

Bergeron Dealt To NYI

2007-02-18T14:27:00.000-08:00

The Oilers sent defenceman Marc-Andre Bergeron and a third-round draft pick in 2008 to the New York Islanders in exchange for blue-liner Denis Grebeshkov.

-CP

Let's face it, MAB has been given plenty of opportunities to succeed in his time with the Oilers, and with the exception of the odd top corner slap shot, he failed miserably.

He had a real tough start to the season, but he managed to get his shit together around game 10. For the next 20 odd games, he looked like a genuine NHL defenseman and powerplay threat. However, his last stretch of games have been nothing short of terrible.

Last 18 Oiler games (Up to and including January 8th):

Smith: 18 Games, EVEN
Hejda: 18 Games, EVEN
Staios: 11 Games, EVEN
Smid: 16 Games, +1
Greene: 17 Games, -3
Bergeron: 18 Games, -11

Also, it's not like he put up those numbers against quality NHL competition. According to Behindthenet, MAB has been playing extremely soft minutes this year:

Jason Smith: 16th
Jan Hejda: 28th
Ladislav Smid: 95th
Steve Staios: 122th
Matt Greene: 457th
Marc-Andre Bergeron: 517th

I think MABs recent stretch of poor play was the nail in his Oiler coffin. There's a point where you just have to say to yourself "this guy isn't going to get any better" and move on. Bergeron is a 26 year old bottom pairing defenseman, who possesses good tools but just can't seem to get his head in the game. Generally, if a player reaches that age and has not at the very least shown progress in his ability to think the game, I think it's time to move on.

Matt Greene Wants To Go On The Road.

2007-02-11T18:54:00.000-08:00

Glad to see Matt is in good spirits.

Rabble Rabble Rabble.

2007-02-06T21:18:00.000-08:00

Rabble rabble John Stamos rabble chicken fries rabble rabble Jetsons rabble scroll lock rabble...

In all seriousness, it's time to realistic think about selling the valuable parts of the this team come the trade deadline.

The value variable is my estimation of their overall trade value on a scale from 1-10 (1 being nothing, 10 being multiple picks and/or quality prospects)

UFA assets and their value:

Sykora - Second round pick (7.5)
Smyth - First round pick or top 10 prospect (8.5)
Markkanen - Third round pick (6)
Tjarnqvist - Third round pick (6)
Petersen - Nothing (1)
Nedved - Nothing (1)
Hejda - Almost nothing (3)

RFA assets and their value:

Torres - 1st round pick and top 10 prospect (9)
Winchester - Almost nothing (3)
Greene - 1st round pick (8)

1 year left (UFA) assets and their value:

Smith - 1st round pick and roster player (9.5)

I think we should sell whatever UFAs we can, and try and sign Hejda to a cheap extension. Beyond that, the rest shouldn't be dealt unless a significant veteran defenseman is coming to the Oil as part of the deal.

Fluff?

2007-01-30T23:04:00.000-08:00

I subscribe to the idea that if you don't have anything nice to say, it's best to say nothing at all. Getting Stevie back in the line up is a step in the right direction, but unfortunately the team no longer has any room for error. The next few weeks will determine the outcome of the season; let's hope it goes well.

I Don't Know I'm A Happy Guy, Playing In The NHL, Nothing To Be Frowning About.

2007-01-18T20:35:00.000-08:00

Chin Up, Soldier.

2007-01-14T00:22:00.000-08:00

Listen up people, I know it sucks to watch your team lose. Last nights loss to the Wild and tonights loss to the Flames were very hard to swallow. However, it's important that we maintain our perspective through these tough times. First, we played very well vs the Wild. The only difference between a win and a loss was they capitalized on their opportunities and we didn't; it's as simple as that. Second, despite the fact that it was on the road in a tough building, tonights game in Calgary was certainly our best performance in a back to back game this year. You could tell the boys didn't quite have their feet under them in the first, yet they still managed to stay competitive.

I am confident that if we continue to play at this level for the remainder of the season, we will not only make the playoffs, but challenge for the division. At game 45, our top 3 lines are now just starting to find some chemistry. Moreover, for the last few games we have remained competitive despite having 4 rookie defensemen in our line up. There was a point in the season, somewhere around the loss to the Ducks in Edmonton, that the team was really struggling. At the time I was starting to think that we were going to have a real hard time being competitive this year. However, what I've seen on the ice since the Florida game leaves me far more optimistic.

So, keep your chins up fellow Oiler fans. Tough times may be upon us, but no one knows it better than those guys in the dressing room. They played hard the last two nights, and I think they deserved to win at least one of the games. It's unfortunate that things didn't work out that way, but it's important that we not lose our perspective. The team is playing well right now; and if they continue to do so, the points won't be far behind.

Gonna Break That Goose Egg...

2007-01-12T09:25:00.000-08:00

2004 Young Stars: Lupul and Torres.

2007-01-08T02:24:00.000-08:00

Oilers-Canucks - Post Game

2007-01-06T11:45:00.000-08:00

Well, that sucks. The Oilers really could have used the extra point in this one. I think this means I'm going to have to quit my job. I work part time at GM Place doing the silent auction sales. Puts beer money in my pocket while I go to school. The problem is that most of the time I work in Section 121. How is this a problem? If the Oilers are playing the same night I'm working in this section, they lose. Only once have they won while I've been working there. Normally, I wouldn't be troubled by this sort of superstitious thing, but based on my power to predict overtime vs. Dallas (ask Loxy, it's true) I'm taking stuff like this a little more seriously.

This is going to be pretty positive, despite the loss, because I'm tired of being mad at this team.

- The team looked like they played fairly well overall, which is nice. The overall impression one gets from the last 3 games (yes, even the collapse against Dallas) is that the team is good enough to be winning games. Unlike, say, the last Vancouver game, where they looked like should be relegated to the AHL.

- Hejda is a pretty good dman. I have a sneaky suspicion that Smid will be one of the few Oilers not rushed back from injury. The optics of his arrival may prevent him from being sent to the AHL or sat for any length of time, but giving him a couple extra days to rest just makes good sense.

- It's nice to see the STP line being who I thought they could be at the start of the year. If Stoll had been playing this well when the goaltending was miraculously good, the Oilers would have had a much nicer cushion to completely blow with this losing streak.

- I didn't see Roy really screw up except on the OT goal. That's a pretty solid positive in my books.

Hopefully the team generally not looking like ass is a sign that this horrendous losing streak is over. Hopefully a 8 game winning streak is coming up. Hopefully that doesn't blind Lowe to the need for another good dman for this team.

And while I'm hoping for things, I'd like a pony.

Stars @ Oilers: Post Game Comment and Video.

2007-01-04T22:17:00.000-08:00

MattM and I decided to head down to the Black Frog once again this evening in hopes of catching another solid Oiler victory. While it was a wildly entertaining game, it was also a fairly disappointing performance by the Oil. Mistakes were made by just about everyone: forwards, defensemen, vets and rookies. Unfortunately on this night, Roli wasn't able to bail anyone out. A few observations:

- Horcoff looked great out there with Smyth and Lupul. He made a great deflection-pass to setup Smytty on Lupul's goal, and roofed a laser top shelf off of the rush. This line had a really solid night.

- Stoll's line kept up their stellar play. They were solid in the both zones all game, especially late in the third when we were looking for the equalizer. The STP line is pretty much gold.

- The Czechs weren't so great. They had a few nice offensive shifts, but didn't manage to generate any quality chances. Defensively, this line pretty much lived up to expectations: it was horrible. The second Stars goal was almost comical, Sykora is playing the role of the low man - generally the centers job in the defensive zone - and plays his check pretty soft behind the net. The Stars player throws the puck back to the point which results in a slap shot wide. Then two Stars then go behind the net to fetch the puck and Gator follows. The Star closest to Gator feeds it off to the 2nd man (the one that the low man is supposed to be on), which forces Greene to cheat away from the front of the net. Next thing you know, Mattias Tjarnqvist receives a pass in front of the net and no Oiler is within 5 feet. You can pretty much put this goal squarely on Sykora's shoulders. It was his responsibility to either check the guy behind the net or make sure Tjarnqvist was covered.

- Generally, a fourth lines job is to provide your team with some energy and not get scored on; any sort of offense is pretty much a bonus. Tonight, our fourth line didn't do it's job. In the first period, Jacques was out there throwing some hits and everything seemed fine. However, Dallas' first goal can pretty much be summarized as a couple rookie mistakes. First, Jacques missed a 3 foot pass deep in the Dallas zone, which then led to a 3 on 3 rush. Second, on that rush, Pouliot messed up his coverage and gave Stefan a clear lane to the net. Next thing you know, the Stars are back in the game.

- I'm pretty excited about the Smyth - Horcoff - Lupul line. It's just a matter of time before Hemsky and Sykora get their rhythm back. Sykora leads the team with 12 even strength goals, with Hemsky assisting on 8 of them. These two can do some real damage 5 on 5, regardless of who they are out there with. If they can get their shit together, our top three lines should be lethal.

- Gator got caught on a bad pinch on the 5th goal, it wasn't Greene's fault.

- Smid is out 7-10 days, at least that means Hejda stays in the line up.

- The tying goal is pretty much beyond words. I think the hockey Gods were evening up the McGeough score.

Ryan Smyth Mic'd Up.

2007-01-04T01:55:00.000-08:00

Panthers @ Oilers: Post Game Comment.

2007-01-02T23:10:00.000-08:00

This evening, MattM and I headed down to the Black Frog to catch this PPV game. We are both a bit down on the Oil lately, but hoped tonight would be a bounce back game. I can say with confidence that we were not disappointed. A few observations:

- Stoll's line played the toughest minutes tonight, and they looked great out there. With the exception of a partial breakaway after a Matt Greene mistake, Jokinen's line had basically no quality chances at ES. Coming out a collective +4 against the other the other teams best is pretty much the best case scenario. All around a great performance by Stoll, Pisani and Torres.

- Although I have mentioned in the past that it's not my ideal line, Hemsky played well with Horc and Smyth. It certainly is an improvement over MacT's insistence on pairing Horcoff with defensive liabilities and expecting him to play tough minutes. It's not how I would do it, but I'll take it.

- Jan Hejda should stay in the line up. There is no reason why this guy should be sitting in the press box while we field Smid, Greene, and Tjarnqvist. He played a solid game tonight, just like every other game he's played this season. His key pinch led to the all important first goal of the game, and he covered very nicely for Greene's mess up by forcing Jokinen to the outside.

- Pouliot had a decent game, and Petersen played OK. They had one good energy shift 4 or 5 shifts before our first goal.

- MAB is such a roller coaster player, he makes 2 bad plays and 2 great plays in the same shift. Luckily, one of the great plays led the Game Winning Goal.

- Roloson played OK. Although I'm glad we kept Florida hemmed in their zone, as he still looked like he was fighting the puck on a few occasions.

All and all a solid effort by the Oil. Let's hope they can keep it up.

Defending Shawn Horcoff.

2007-01-02T00:02:00.000-08:00

I got into a lengthy debate on HF after presenting my ideas for improving the team. One particular poster decided to take offense to my suggestion that Horcoff should not be paired with Hemsky and Sykora against quality opposition. He contended that it was Horcoff dragging down Hemsky and Sykora at ES, not vice versa. So I went and checked out some shift charts and compared Horcoff's ES results based on his line mates. Needless to say, what I found re-enforced my belief that Horcoff's plummeting +/- stems in part from his current line mates.

Out of Smyth, Pisani, Lupul, Sykora and Hemsky, I consider only Smyth and Pisani as defensively sound forwards.

Games 1 through 10 Horc is paired with Smyth and Lupul: -2.
Games 11-25 Horc is paired with Smyth and Pisani: -1
Games 26-33 Horc is paired mostly with Lupul and Sykora: -3
Games 34-Present Horc is paired mostly with Sykora and Hemsky: -6

Let's break it down:

Games with no questionable defensive forwards on his line: 15.
Result: -1.
On pace for: -5
Games with 1 questionable defensive forward: 10.
Result: -2.
On pace for: -16
Games with 2 questionable defensive forwards: 13.
Result: -9.
On pace for: -56

This certainly suggests that pairing Horc with more than 1 or more defensively irresponsible forwards and still relying on him to play tough minutes is a recipe for disaster.

Wake Up MacT.

2007-01-01T14:33:00.000-08:00

My gripes:

1. The Sykora - Horcoff - Hemsky experiment should have ended before we went into Calgary. Judging by their plummeting plus/minus, this line is not ready to go up against teams second bests. I've watched every Oiler game this season, and one fairly consistent pattern I observed was that more often than not when we are running around in our zone desperately trying to get the puck out, Sykora and Hemmer are on the ice. Now I'm a big fan of Hemsky, and I think his overall game has come a long way, but I still don't think he is ready to play tough minutes. Right now all I see is Horcoff's talents being wasted on a line that really shouldn't be relied on to play defense.

2. You struck gold with Torres - Stoll - Pisani, and you're still losing games. You tried to go into the year with Moreau - Stoll - Pies as your shutdown line, preferring to run checking vs power. That experiment didn't work out too well, all three players were in the minus when Moreau went down with his shoulder injury. After a few weeks of the blender, you came up with a gem. I'm not really sure why this line is performing so much better with Torres in Chopper's place, but I would speculate that Stoll has been playing at a much higher level since Moreau went down. To be honest, in the first 10 or so games of the season, I was really disappointed in Stoll. I had high hopes for him, believing he could step in and take Peca's role on the team. If I were asked to find a silver lining in the current mess, it would have to be the emergence of Stoll as a center that can play tough minutes.

3. The kids aren't ready; there is no way that JFJ should see the ice at the expense of Patrick Thoreson. Thoreson's offense may have tailed off in the last month and a half, but he still remained responsible in his own zone (+1 in 32 games). I Can't say the same for the -8 in 17 games Jean-Francois Jacques. You're kidding yourself if you think Thoreson doesn't give you a better chance to win.

4. Everyone knows we need to make a trade. We have good organizational depth at forward and a couple NHL ready 5-6 defensemen in our system. Use these assets to make a deal for two defensemen and a depth forward (just rentals).

5. Start relying on your horses. Put Horc and Stoll with quality ES line mates and let them drive the results.

My proposals:

Right now:

Smyth - Horc - Winchester/Pouliot
Match up against 2nd bests.
Torres - Stoll - Pisani
Tough minutes, out there against the opponents best.
Lupul - Sykora - Hemsky
Butter soft minutes; even if it means they play only 10 minutes ES a night.
Petersen - Reasoner - Thoreson
Whatever is left over.

In the next two months:

Trades:
1. Deal Roy, Winchester and Anaheim's '07 first to St. Louis for Brewer and Dvorak.
2. Deal JFJ or Brodziak and a 2nd to LA for Sopel.

Come playoff time:

Smyth - Horcoff - Dvorak
Torres - Stoll - Pisani
Lupul - Sykora - Hemsky
Moreau - Reasoner - Thoreson
PB: Petersen and Pouliot

Brewer - Smith
Sopel - Staois
MAB - Greene
PB: Smid

Watch Tonights Game on Yahoo (Kings @ Oilers)

2006-12-28T17:39:00.000-08:00

http://sports.yahoo.com/

Click the "Watch Live" link at game time. Depending on where you live, the game may be unavailable. I'm pretty sure it's set up so that those of us in Canada can't watch the games. Luckily, it's pretty easy to get around the security:

1. Log into your Yahoo account (sign up if you don't already have one).
2. Enable "HTTP Proxy"
3a. IE users click here for instructions.
3b. Firefox users click here for instructions.
4. Enter the address "128.112.139.108" and port "3124" into the HTTP proxy field.
5. If you'd prefer to use another proxy, consult the NNTIME Proxy List. The Codeen network ones from the major universities are generally reliable.

Troubleshooting:

Problem: I cant login to Yahoo once I setup the Proxy.
Solution: Make sure you login to Yahoo BEFORE enabling the proxy. To keep people from abusing their public proxy service, the Codeen proxies do not allow you to exchange login information with hosts.

Problem: The Video screen loads, but nothing seems to play.
Solution: It seems that Firefox has some problems displaying the Yahoo video feed. Give internet explorer a try.

Problem: All I see is a green screen or the audio is fine but the video is scrambled.
Solution: You probably have a codec problem, try installing the Combined Community Codec Pack.

Oiler Xmas Wish List

2006-12-22T22:27:00.000-08:00

1. A 20+ minute guy to eat up ES/PK time with Gator (Brewer-esque).
2. A 4-5 guy with some decent offensive skills to play on the 2nd PP unit (Sopel comes to mind).
3. A re-worked PP featuring Hemsky on the ice for the full 2 minutes.
4. A depth forward if we can get one for cheap (Dvorak).
5. The new lines:

Smyth - Horc - Lupul
Torres - Stoll - Pisani
Dvorak - Sykora - Hemsky
Winchester - Reasoner - Thoreson

Brewer - Smith
Sopel - Staois
Bergeron - Greene/Smid

Hopefully Santa delivers.

A Glimpse Into The Mind of Alexei Mikhnov?

2006-12-21T00:56:00.000-08:00

I think the Oilers are mishandling Mikhnov, and I couldn't help but think of him when I read this Russian interview of Alexei Kaigorodov. I'm not sure whether or not MacT has really worked with the guy, but what I do know is that the coaching staff hasn't seen enough of him at the NHL level to come to any sort of concrete conclusions.

Sep 05, 2006 Alexei Mikhnov - Signed - One-year contract
Oct 23, 2006 - First Game - ES: 3:25 PP: 0:56 (One Shift)
Nov 04, 2006 Alexei Mikhnov - Sent to Minors - WBS
Dec 03, 2006 Alexei Mikhnov - Called up from Minors - WBS
Dec 14, 2006 - Second Game - ES: 7:46 PP: 1:36 (One Shift)
Dec 20, 2006 Alexei Mikhnov - Sent to Minors - WBS

Alexei Kaigorodov: "I will not return to Ottawa!"

The Magnitogorsk forward became the first NHL player to return to Russia this season. In his six matches with Ottawa, he recorded just 30 minutes of total ice time.

After his first game with Magnitogorsk, Kaigorodov sat down to do this interview with SE.

Practically before the start of the Russian League season your plans for this immediate season were unclear. Nevertheless, you had chosen to sign a contract with Ottawa. When you arrived to Canada, did they really help you?

There can be no claims of Ottawa not helping me the best that they could. I am thankful my departure from Magnitogorsk had happened without a scandal, for that was very important to them.

Did you have a sense that hockey was not just a sport to Canadians, it was a religion?

Certainly! Even in the pre-season the arenas were always full! They all understand the game, they live the game. A funny story: only five days since I arrived in Ottawa, a taxi driver recognized me and began to talk hockey with me! It was surprising!

How hard was it to get used to the new country, culture and language?

Not a real life changing problem. I had lived in a hotel everyday and was driven by a team-mate back and forth. (Volchekov) It was hard to adjust to the time zones, but I was quick to adjust to it.

What were your general impressions from training camp?

There, certainly, everything is different: new exercises, new style, and so on. During training camp there we were all divided into two teams, including those who had come from the AHL team. These teams went on and off the ice after each other. It was, in one word, interesting.

Some Europeans don't feel comfortable across the ocean. Were you able to adjust to the NHL style from what you are used to?

Certainly. We'd enter these games with smaller pass and higher speeds. But I consider myself adapted. In any case, I could not tell which is a higher calibre of hockey - NHL or here.

Are you happy with how you were treated by Ottawa?

To tell the truth, I expected greater. Probably the fault of everyone for the unsuccessful season so far - the team went to last place in the division, from losing five out of six home games. Everyone has the right to want better, in fact the Senators have many talented players: there are average players and stars like Alfredsson, Spezza, and Heatley. But for some reason we were unable to win. In general, I noticed that general managers trust players with high salaries even if nothing is guaranteed. The obvious example is their goaltender, Gerber. He has been proven to be terrible in the first six matches. Eventually they tried the other goalie and they won a game, but in the following game they again put in the Swiss goalie and lost. Ottawa is confusing, they put in the young goalie and win, then put the Swiss one back in and lose again.

After the first game in the season, you were the thirteenth forward, people were not worried. But then there was a feeling that this was "not so"?

The first game, especially the end, was not indicative of my skill. And in the first game against Montreal everything was okay: the fourth line had outperformed and won this game. The next day, when we had arrived home, the video coach had shown me a video replay of the game and the how my line was doing. I tried to change what he had recommended, but I was growing more frustrated with the less and less icetime I had recieved. It ended when we played against Boston, which I had only two shifts in the first period then none at all. Most frustrating was how the head coach had never approached me to explain at all why this was the case.

Did you analyze your own play? "Maybe that wasn't so good"?

There was nothing to analyze! What serious analysis could be made with the little icetime given to me? By the way, I was talking with both Evgeni Malkin and Stas Tchistov. Malkin told me that his coach talks to him after every play and draws out what he means, then after the game goes through the video with him. I appear to be invisible! Though my teammates very much supported me, the language barrier was impossible. We communicated fine, but not with the coaches.

And how do you feel about the team's decision to exile you?

After one of the practices, my agent had told me that the general manager had wanted to see me. The conversation from the very beginning was strange - we discussed how in the Summer I said I would not go to any AHL club. Then my agent called me everyday I was in Ottawa, and he assured me that I could return to Russia if I did not make the club. So the conversations were unclear and unpleasant. I then said through my agent (I was already in Moscow and we discussed this over the telephone) that I did not agree with going to the farm team.

And how did the General Manager react?

He said I did not understand the game. I argued "and who was supposed to help me understand?" My agent agreed with me that I simply was not given the chance. Then the manager tried to find other arguments. The farm team was necessary to help me understand the game. But why should we trust him? If they did not let me play now, what would happen when the Senators began to win (on what hope?). Would they let me interfere with the winning lines? In one word, we were decieved. The desire to go through this is not with me.

Anything else? Did they help you leave?

Yes. The team had helped me order tickets. I solved some issues with the bank, it was all quickly done. We shall see, today I have the deadline to decide on the AHL club, but the day after tomorrow I will have already left.

Did you leave Canada with a bad taste?

Yes, how do I explain this ... I was not given the chance and I felt that if I "did not pull my weight" there would have been some other question given against me. But I believe I could have played in the NHL. It was confusing: why would they bring me over, promise I could return home if I did not make the team, then banish me for doing so? I do not think it's possible to return to the NHL for two, three, four years...

So you will be finishing the season in Magnitogorsk?

Certainly. I have returned to help Metallurg this season. But what about the following season? I have a two-year contract with the Senators, but if it is the same coach I doubt I shall return. I will probably seek a trade to another club.

Or if the Senators coach is replaced?

Well, maybe, we'll see. (laughs)

What I Would LIke To See When Smytty Returns.

2006-12-20T16:02:00.000-08:00

ES
Smyth - Horc - Winchester/Pouliot
- Tough minutes (Winch plays well in his own zone, Pouliot is decent, and Horc and Smytty can make up for their deficiency)
Torres - Stoll - Pisani
- Tough minutes.
- Our best 3 man line this year.
Lupul - Sykora - Hemsky
- Butter soft minutes (even if it means they play only 10 minutes ES a night; I hate watching Sykora and Hemmer run around in their own zone, and let's not forget Lupul's -14)
Petersen - Reasoner - Thoreson
- Whatever is left over.

PK
1. Horc
2. Stoll
3. Reasoner
4. Pies
5. Smytty
6. Petersen

PP
Unit #1: Hemmer (RW) - Horc (C) - Smytty (LW) - Stoll (RD) - MAB (LD)
Unit #2: Hemmer (RW) - Pouliot (C) - Torres (LW) - Staios (RD) - Sykora (LD)

Leave Hemmer out there for the whole PP, regardless of the circumstances. I'm really confused as to why the coaching staff hasn't tried this in the past. Hemsky drives the results on the PP, so why not have him out there for the full 2 minutes?

No, Matt and I Have Not Perished in a Freak Accident

2006-12-19T22:54:00.000-08:00

I have been too busy with exams to watch any of my downloaded games. Once I get some free time I will try to say something of substance.

Kiprusoff and The Flames: The Difference Maker.

2006-12-09T03:18:00.001-08:00

After reading some Canucks fans talk about how Luongo hasn't made the post season because the teams in front of him haven't been very good, I decided to look at Kiprusoff and his contribution to the Flames success this year. What I found is not real surprising; Kiprusoff makes a bad team look pretty good.

Look at how poor the Flames were when he was struggling at the start of the season:

Oct 5 @ EDM L 1-3
Oct 7 EDM W 2-1
Oct 9 SAN L 1-4
Oct 12 @ OTT W 1-0
Oct 14 @ TOR OTL 4-5
Oct 17 @ MON L 4-5
Oct 19 @ BOS L 2-3
Oct 24 PHO W 6-1
Oct 28 NAS L 2-3
Oct 30 WAS L 2-4

Flames go 3-6-1 in October, with their 3 wins coming from games where Kipper lets in 1 or less goals.

Now let's check out Kipper's play when the 'Flames' got hot in November.

Nov 1 @ DET L 2-3
Nov 4 @ STL W 3-2
Nov 7 DAL W 3-1
Nov 10 ANA W 3-0
Nov 11 @ VAN W 3-2
Nov 14 STL W 3-0
Nov 17 DET W 4-1
Nov 21 @ EDM L 1-2
Nov 22 CHI W 4-1
Nov 25 @ LOS L 1-3
Nov 28 COL W 5-2

The Flames go 8-3 with Kipper in net. All 8 wins come from games where Kipper lets in 2 goals or less goals. Also, he isn't too bad in the three losses either, posting a 2.67 GAA (a little better than league average).

Looks to me like Kiprusoff makes a bad team look pretty good. In every single game the 'Flames' have manage to win this year, Kiprusoff has let in 2 goals or less. In fact, out of the 13 wins the Flames have this season, Kiprusoff has allowed 1 or less goals in 10 of them. That's right folks, the Flames have only manage to win 3 games with Kiprusoff letting in 2 or more goals (two of them being 3-2 victories).

TVU-NHL Is No More

2006-12-08T04:14:00.000-08:00

The brain trust behind TVU-NHL has decided to call it quits.

Hi all,

It is my sad duty to report that we're shutting down the streams. Tonight will be the last night.

Other forums have been approached by NHL legal and asked not to link or reference TVU/Viidoo and I know most of the team forums have been asked the same thing, and with the visibility of the kago name and the NHL legal team getting more aggressive about shutting down tvu we've decided it's best to shut down the streams for a while.

I'm sorry for all those who will go back to missing out on hockey but NHL1 and NHL2 are now offline. JHaul and xFloyd_x78 are on their own to stream or not stream - you can still come here to chat about hockey, p2p streaming, etc. The forum layout will change over the next day or two - I apologize for any threads that get lost along the way. *Mods, if you're interested I'll find a place for you - pm me.

Again, I'm sorry. With any luck the NHL will wake up and realize there are a ton of fans out there that they currently aren't reaching, and hopefully will do something to fix that.

I guess that's all from us!

The Kagos

An unfortunate conclusion to what had become a very popular service. For me personally, it means no more live Oilers hockey, unless of course the game is one of the few that are nationally broadcasted. While an argument can be made that piracy in all forms is wrong, I hardly think that TVU was taking any revenue away from the NHL. There are numerous markets both in Canada and abroad where Centre Ice is not available, and I believe TVU was helping to bring the game to the fans in those regions, albeit in a grainy and low quality fashion.

I think the NHL can learn something from TVU; it showed that there is demand for the streaming of hockey over the internet. If I were Mr. Bettman, I would implement a low cost pay per view system much like MLB.tv; thus both promoting the game abroad and increasing league revenue.

For Those Who Squee!

2006-12-07T14:51:00.000-08:00

I did not make this, although I wish I did.

X Should Play For Less

2006-12-07T00:13:00.000-08:00

I've found that a lot of fans seem to think that players will/should take discounts to play for a particular team. They reason that if a particular player likes playing in a particular place, he would certainly be willing to take less money to stay. Let's call this the 'why Ryan Smyth was upset about his contract negotiations' argument.

Think of it this way: You work at a widget factory, assembling widgets. You assemble 24 widgets an hour, a rather remarkable pace. A friend of yours works at the widget factory across the street; he's a slow worker, and although he puts in the same effort as you, he can only manage 18 widgets an hour. Despite this, your friend makes 24 dollars an hour while you only make 18. At the end of the year, your boss calls you into his office to discuss a raise. He offers you 20 dollars an hour for your 24 widget an hour pace. Sure you're happy at your current job; everyone is nice to you and you really like your co-workers, but you can make a lot more money at the other factory, where it's likely that everyone will be nice to you, and you will like your co-workers.

Would you accept 20 dollars an hour, or would you go across the street and see if you can get a job at the competing widget factory?

People get caught up in the fact that hockey players make millions rather than thousands of dollars a year. Although this is true, it's important to realize that while the criteria for evaluation has changed - hockey performance rather than widget assembly - players still 'think' in the same way we do about these things.

Wouldn't you be insulted if your boss offered you a raise that was less than your under productive buddy makes across the street? I know I would.

***EDIT***

Clearly there are extenuating circumstances such as 'winning the cup'. However, let's say for the sake of clarity that the team (factory) competing for your services has an equal chance of 'winning the cup'. In this case, would you you be insulted by the lowball offer? Remember, your boss knows exactly how many widgets your friend produces across the street, and exactly what he is paid to do it.

Oilers/Canucks Day Late Recap!

2006-12-06T10:05:00.000-08:00

Apologies for the lateness, but I've managed to destroy my home computer and I had no internet access yesterday. Bleh.

Getting out to see your team live is amazing. Especially in enemy territory. The beauty of seeing the Oilers play at GM Place is the comraderie you feel with anyone in an Oilers jersey. Fun times.

- Horcoff looked good. Occassionally made some odd decisions with the puck in the offensive zone, but he was one of the few guys, especially in the first, who seemed to have their legs under them.

- Smid looked like a rookie with a lot of potential. He always wants to make a play, and he's generally pretty calm. That occassionally gets him in trouble, but it also makes me think he's going to be a hell of a player someday soon. Not today though. The kid gets a lot of minutes, and does okay with him, but occassionally you can tell that he's just not quite there yet.

- I thought Bergeron played well, with the exception of one poorly chosen time to wind up for a big slap shot.

- JFJ looked alright. Got out there, got in on the forecheck a bit. It looked like the game plan for those guys was more to not screw up than to try and generate any real offense. Poor guy got clobbered in his fight though.

- Pouliot looked somewhat discombobulated all night. Seemed maybe that he was nervous and couldn't really get in a rhythym with the way his line was used. It's unfortunate, but I'd rather watch the team win than watch MAP get into a groove, so he'll just have to get comfortable with irregular playtime.

- At one point, Stoll took a faceoff just outside the Oilers' blueline. The draw was kinda scrambled and he threw it back with his hand. There's a whistle, and the guy behind me starts screaming "You got one right Magoo! You got that one right!"

Overall, the Oilers weren't as bad as the shot clock would suggest. Roloson didn't have to make any spectacular saves. The best Canucks chances were spoiled by their own lack of finish. Most of their shots seemed to come from well outside and hit Roli right in the chest. Still, the Oilers will have to be better tonight to beat a team with as much firepower as the Canes.

Jarret Stoll's Game Day Routine

2006-12-03T00:10:00.000-08:00

Let's Stay Positive!

2006-12-02T22:42:00.000-08:00

The Good News:

- The rooks will get plenty of ice time. We should get a better idea of how bright our future is.
- The easy ride the slumping vets have been getting is over.
- The Juice!
- There is a lot of parity in the NW, we can likely recover from a slide.
- If we can play .500 hockey without Hemmer and Smytty, their returns will give us a huge lift.
- Smytty can focus on getting an extension done, plus his injury should lower his value a bit.
- Is Sykora for real? We get to find out! Also, a reduction in production while Hemmer is out should lower his contract value.
- Matt Greene hits like a truck, truck, truck, thighs like what, what, what baby move your... Damn you Sisqo.
- This is depressing.
- Who am I kidding, we're doomed.
- J/K had you fooled.

A Little Cheer Up

2006-12-02T01:11:00.000-08:00

Japanese comedian 'Hard Gay' at Yahoo Japan.

I Don't Want To Talk About It.

2006-12-01T00:24:00.000-08:00

Don't Forget The Quarter

2006-11-29T01:12:00.000-08:00

FCP Press Conference

2006-11-27T22:31:00.000-08:00

Link courtesy of MC.

FCP On TVU

2006-11-27T13:58:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned in my October blog on the subject, TVU is a peer to peer internet TV network that shows a number of NHL games. As per the NHL-TVU schedule, it looks like the Ducks-Oil PPV game tomorrow night will be shown. Unfortunately, it also appears that there will be some overlap with the Pens-Islanders game, so we might miss the first period.

The NHL-TVU forum has moved to a new host. It's worth noting that the previous TVU forum was overran by some asshole Leafs fan who demanded more Toronto content. I hope that those reading this appreciate the hard work both Kago and Kagogrl do, and will hold their tongues when criticism comes to mind. Remember folks, they are spending both time and effort improving your hockey experience, and they ask for nothing in return. While I don't believe it's necessary to thank them for their service, I do think it is unacceptable to criticize them for the way in which they go about providing it.

"Joints are for children"

2006-11-27T03:48:00.000-08:00

Pinto strikes again.

Oilers vs. Chicago

2006-11-24T11:11:00.000-08:00

I have a great deal of sympathy for Blackhawks fans. Mostly due to the man pictured here. They put up with so much for a long time now. They don't even get to watch their team suck on TV. Wirtz is a dinosaur that would be unrivaled as a terrible owner if it weren't for the pure evil of Harold Ballard. Going into the lockout, refusal to spend money had turned the once-proud franchise into a cellar dweller.

Then it looked like things were changing. This year things were turning around. They traded for Havlat and acquired Handzus and Smolinski for some more veteran forward help. With another year of development for some of the young Dmen they had, they started strong. 7-1 preseason, 4-2 in their first 6. Then the wheels started coming off. Havlat went down and still hasn't returned, Handzus is done for the year, Rene Bourque suffered a positively Malarchukian injury and Khabibulin, finally playing like the guy they paid 7 million dollars for, hurt his finger. He's back, but the other three are still out. And the Blackhawks have slipped back down in the standings.

The Oilers, on the other hand, have won their last 4. Roli may have stole a couple of those, but, as Mudcrutch noted, that's why you spend salary cap space on a 4 million dollar goalie. Still, a more consistent effort would be nice. So would a number of the players figuring out how to make a breakout play under pressure. A victory tonight is important. Things are far too close to throw away points.

4-2 Oilers. The Blackhawks are going to be desperate to salvage something on their western Canadian road trip and come out flying. The Oilers will probably start flat tonight and get behind a goal. Roli will keep it close and the Oilers will come back, get up 3-1, get complacent and start slacking until they only have a one goal lead again, and squeek out a victory with an empty netter in a game that will be far closer than I'd like.

Ryan Smyth is PISSED.

2006-11-21T19:59:00.000-08:00

Intermission Pump Up.

2006-11-21T18:57:00.000-08:00

The 'Torresian Head Fake'

2006-11-19T16:27:00.000-08:00

Stollie <3's Dvo

2006-11-18T01:55:00.000-08:00

Oilers vs. Blues

2006-11-16T09:58:00.000-08:00

All questionable coaching and player acquisition moves aside, St. Louis fans should thank Mike Keenan for vetoing this monstrosity. Even a roller hockey team would be embarrased to wear this.

Rematch tonight. Hopefully the Oilers can build on a good performance in Colorado and come out on fire tonight. There's really no excuse for losing to the Blues twice in a row. They aren't absolutely terrible, but with the league as close as it is now, you can't afford to throw away points.

St. Louis is sort of an interesting team this year. I think that they made some astute moves in the offseason. I wasn't a fan of the Team USA 98 reunion tour up front, but it looks like it's working out fairly well. They overpaid for McKee, but they could afford to do so. He got hurt, but you can't judge it based on that. Manny Legace was brought in to stabalize the goaltending. A bit of a gamble, because this forced them to expose Bacashihua to waivers, but I think it was a good move. Then, in my favourite move of the offseason, they gave Radek Dvorak a home. There were probably 10 teams in the league that this guy could help, but no one seemed to want him. Now it looks like he may be rediscovering a bit of scoring touch, which makes me happy. I'm pulling for the guy.

All that adds up to... not a whole lot for the Blues. They're more competitive, but they're not making the playoffs this year. On the plus side, it looks like they know how to put a team together, and that bodes well for the future. On the downside, they could really use the elite forward prospect they might have got in the draft if the management team hadn't been so competent.

5-1 Oil. Back at home, looking for revenge. Looks like Smyth survived Liles's Marchment impersonation with minimal damage and will play tonight. Hopefully the team can string a few together and get a little breathing room.

Cheapshot.

2006-11-14T03:35:00.000-08:00

The Ups and Downs of the Edmonton Oilers

2006-11-11T14:33:00.000-08:00

Some games don't deserve analysis, and that was the case with the game against Detroit. I think it's best that we as fans just put that one behind us and move on. However, I don't think we should get too excited about the bounce back game against Columbus either. The Oil were going to come out fired up for that one if they had any sense of pride. This upcoming back to back is the real test. We find out in St. Louis if this team actually has learned something or if they were just too embarassed to suck on Friday.

On the road in Detroit - Prediction and Bonus Video

2006-11-08T13:44:00.000-08:00

I think we win this one; the boys are going to come out strong and catch Detroit off guard. We took too many penalties in Montreal, I don't think will make the same mistake tonight. Also, I suspect that something has been done to improve the powerplay, and if it gets on track tonight, we should cruise to an easy victory.

4-1 Oil.

Post Game Montreal

2006-11-08T13:05:00.000-08:00

I'm going to go out on a limb here: I think the Oilers current slump can be blamed for the most part on their anemic PP. After watching us dominate the first 17 minutes of the game vs Montreal, I did my best to find the source of the 2nd and 3rd period drop off, and I found the horrible oiler PP consistently lent the Habs the momentum. I believe most fans would agree that a successful PK for their team often causes a favourable shift in momentum. Keeping this in mind, the consequences of a poor PP are two-fold: first our boys are disappointed in their inability to even generate a quality scoring opportunity, and the opposing team is stoked because they just completed a big kill. Once the PP is dangerous again, look for the Oil to bounce back with a string of victories.

Some other thoughts:

- Jan Hejda is the real thing. He's physical, can shoot and most importantly, his outlet passing has been VERY good. I know it's only two games, but with what I have seen so far, Hejda has been our best defenseman at moving the puck. If I had the choice between Tjarnqvist and Hejda, I would have to go with the latter. He has played with a lot of heart in his first two games, and shouldn't be taken out of the lineup while he continues to do so.

- Matt Greene is getting a lot more tough minutes on the PK. His game has come far this year, he seems to improve every game. I would like to see him be a bit more physical, beyond that I have no criticisms.

- We were hitting again in Montreal, I wonder what MacT said/did to resurrect our physical game.

- MAB was jumping up in the rush, I was really happy to see this. I think that our offense has been stagnant in part because of a lack of pinching by the defense (not the outlet passes, the horse that the masses are beating on). Sure, we will give up more 2 on 1's, but I think the risk-reward is worth it.

- Horc and Pisani had great games. Look for them to come up big tonight in Detroit.

- Raffi and Lupul were subpar, however, if somehow all our offensive weapons can get going at the same time, look out NHL

- I hate seeing fans bitch about MacT's shootout choices. If Sykora hadn't hit that post, they would all be praising him.

- I never say anything about Sykora, because I don't think he is a 'true oiler' or that he will be here next year. I also don't buy his hockey happy speech, I think he's in a contract year and signed with the oilers because he knew he would get a lot of powerplay minutes and be on the ice with Hemmer. With that said, he's been a great addition, and it will suck when he signs with Columbus for 3.8m in 2007.

On the road in Montreal.

2006-11-07T17:36:00.000-08:00

The Oilers visit the Habs tonight in Montreal. I think this is gonna be a big bounce back game for us. After the McGeough debacle, the team has good reason to play hard. I mentioned in my Dallas pre-game post that the Oil really need something drastic to happen to get the team out of their early season funk, it is my hope that Friday's events will provide that spark.

Prediction: 3-1 Oil.

Support The MacT Relief Fund

2006-11-05T00:02:00.000-08:00

The boys over at The Battle of Alberta have started a MacT relief fund as a show of support to our beleaguered coach. While the "retarded" comment was clearly in poor taste, if you consider the circumstances I think our boy Craigger's handled himself rather well. I've chipped in my $20 bucks, and I encourage those who have the means to do the same.