Watch Tonights Game on Yahoo (Kings @ Oilers)

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

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?

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.

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

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.

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

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!

I did not make this, although I wish I did.

X Should Play For Less

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!

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

Let's Stay Positive!

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

Japanese comedian 'Hard Gay' at Yahoo Japan.

I Don't Want To Talk About It.