Showing posts with label Tampa Bay Lightning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tampa Bay Lightning. Show all posts

Friday, December 10, 2010

Omark, Penner, Khabibulin, Paajarvi Win It For Oilers / A Game Recap


Welcome to another fine edition of the Edmonton Oilers Beers & Jeers Game Recap. We hope you enjoy what we have to offer and that you find it useful. Or at least a little entertaining.

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Thank you for reading OilersJambalaya.com.

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FINAL SCORE

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING - 3

EDMONTON OILERS - 4  SO

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TONIGHTS STARTING LINES

Hall/Gagner/Eberle
Paajarvi/Cogliano/Penner
Jones/O'Marra/Omark
Jacques/Fraser/Brule

Whitney/Smid
Foster/Vandermeer
Peckham/Gilbert

Khabibulin
Dubnyk

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TWEETCAST REPLAY LINK

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE TWEETCAST REPLAY

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VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS



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FINAL SHOT TOTAL

Tampa Bay Lightning - 41 

Edmonton Oilers - 23

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GOAL SCORERS

TBL: R. Jones (05:03 - 1st) , R. Malone (PPG, 17:48 - 1st) , S. Stamkos (11:33 - 3rd)

EDM: M. Paajarvi (11:37 - 1st) , T. Hall (PPG, 05:46 - 2nd) , T. Gilbert (PPG, 16:30 - 2nd) , J. Eberle (00:00 - SO)

GOALIES

TBL: D. Ellis (L) EDM: N. Khabibulin (W)

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POWER PLAY

Tampa Bay Lightning - 1/5 for 20%

Edmonton Oilers - 2/3 for 67%

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PENALTY KILL

Tampa Bay Lightning - 2/3 for 33%

Edmonton Oilers - 1/5 for 80%

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FACEOFFS

Tampa Bay Lightning - 38/30 for 56%

Edmonton Oilers - 30/38 for 44%

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HIT/BODYCHECK COUNT

Tampa Bay Lightning - 12

Edmonton Oilers - 31

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GIVEAWAY TOTALS

Tampa Bay Lightning - 20

Edmonton Oilers - 25

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TAKEAWAY TOTALS

Tampa Bay Lightning - 14

Edmonton Oilers - 16

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BLOCKED SHOTS

Tampa Bay Lightning - 16

Edmonton Oilers - 28

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BEERS & JEERS PLAYER GRADES


The Cult of Hockey Grading System:
10 perfect game, 9 extraordinary, 8 great, 7 good, 6 above average,
5 average, 4 below average, 3 poor, 2 terrible, 1 deserves to be in minors.

#2 JIM VANDERMEER - (5) He was not so good. He had a team high 4 giveaways and only one hit. He played 21:06 and did block 3 shots, but I just thought he looked a step behind.

#4 TAYLOR HALL - (7) BEERS The kid can play. And score. His skating speed is very hard to stop and he seemed to have the jets burning all game long. He took 10 shots tonight including his wrap around goal, with 4 of those 10 shots hitting the net. Every 4th shot was from Hall. The team took 42 in all and 10 were Taylor's. He had 2 takeaways and even blocked a shot. He couldn't have played much better.

#5 LADISLAV SMID - (6) He was OK. He finished the night -1 but he played tough there for a while. He was trying to be physical and he did make a nice play in the 3rd to break up a scoring chance but he needs to find away to do that all the time. He made 3 hits and had 3 blocked shots, but also had 2 giveaways.

#6 RYAN WHITNEY - (6) He was pretty decent. I didn't notice any real bad giveaways from him (credited with 2 tonight). I do remember seeing him get caught out of position in the 2nd, but for the most part pretty safe plays. He took 1 shot and also had 3 blocked shots. He played 24:41.

#10 SHAWN HORCOFF - (0) DNP (Injured)

#13 ANDREW COGLIANO - (6) Cogs was OK. He played pretty hard and good things happened for him. He played just over 20 minutes and played well on the PK. Looking at the event summary, Cogliano has 1's all across the board. He went 8/11 for 42% on faceoffs. Good effort tonight.

#14 JORDAN EBERLE - (6) BEERS He plays smart. He does need to be more aggressive with shooting and going hard to the net. He needs no work on his play making skills, he has that down to a science. He had 1 shot and 2 takeaways. His shootout move was so slick. A little foot kick and a quick deke and it's in. He's credited with the shootout winner even though Omark stole the show.

#16 COLIN FRASER - (4) JEERS I'll be honest. I never really noticed him all that much. I'm not -- and I know I have tried -- a Fraser fan. I seen no point in keeping him around. O'Marra can do what he does, but better. Fraser had 1 shot, 1 hit and 2 giveaways in 9:49 of ice time.

#22 JF JACQUES - (4) He was OK. He tried to hit guys and he registered 3 on paper. He needs to rack up 6 or more hits a game like he used to.

#23 LINUS OMARK - (7) BEERS The kid earns an assist (his first ever NHL point) from a pretty sweet play to set up Gilbert and scores in the shootout with a spin-o-rama fake shot through the 5 hole to steal the show. WOW! What a show it was. He played 11:49 and had 1 shot, 2 takeaways and 2 blocked shots. While his defensive game needs work, he sure can move that puck. If he can play well again on Sunday, he may start to earn a permanent spot here

#26 KURTIS FOSTER - (7) BEERS I liked Foster. When he's doing something and he's productive, that's when he's on his game. Tonight he did a lot. He had 3 shots on goal (6 in total), 3 blocked shots, a hit and a takeaway.

#27 DUSTIN PENNER - (8) BEERS Penner had an edge to his game tonight and he really stood out as dominant. Omark was nailed hard and Penner stuck up for him and tussled with Kubina. That seemed to piss Penner off and after that he just bounced guys off of him. He assisted on Paajarvi's goal and created a ton of chances. Oh so close to the Gordie Howe hat trick. He had a fight, took 4 shots, had 4 hits and 2 blocked shots. I'd say a good night.

#28 RYAN JONES - (6) He was decent. From sheer hard work alone he made himself an opportunity shorthanded. He's playing the best we have seen him since he's been with the team. He had 4 hits.

#33 STEVE MACINTYRE - (0) DNP (Healthy Scratch)

#35 NIKOLAI KHABIBULIN - (8) BEERS He kept the team in this game long enough to win it in the shootout. He made some great saves and for the most part, kept the rebounds away from the front of the net. His focus seemed honed in as he made some saves, I had no idea how he seen them.

#40 DEVAN DUBNYK - (0) DNP (Backup)

#42 RYAN O'MARRA - (6) His season debut and he picks up an assist. I thought he was way more effective than Fraser was and if that keeps on going, I can see him replace Fraser when cuts need to be made. I liked his game tonight. His line was burned early on a goal, but most of that was nerves I'm sure. I doubt that line before the game started and while it wasn't a great line, it was OK. In 11:30 of ice time, he had 3 hits and 1 blocked shot. He went 4/8 for 33% on the faceoff dot.

#43 JASON STRUDWICK - (0) DNP (Healthy Scratch)

#46 ZACK STORTINI - (0) DNP (Healthy Scratch)

#49 THEO PECKHAM - (6) BEERS He plays such a hard hitting game. He had 5 hits tonight and was a wrecker. He also blocked 4 shots and played pretty good on the PK. He's really adapting well to the NHL. He keeps growing on me.

#67 GILBERT BRULE - (5) He was average. He took 1 shot, pounded 2 hits and had a giveaway. He's deserving his time on the 4th line.

#77 TOM GILBERT - (7) BEERS Is it me or is he playing like he's tough? He seems to be more physical and more in your face. Only in the game though, he still doesn't mix it up after a whistle. He scores a goal and plays a team high 26:02. He took one shot, had 1 hit, 3 takeaways and 1 blocked shot.

#83 ALES HEMSKY - (0) DNP (Injured Groin)

#89 SAM GAGNER - (6) His new line wasn't great. They didn't flat out suck either. Sam had a rough go with 3 giveaways and only had 1 shot, but he did go 10/10 for 50% on faceoffs. That's damn good, for Gagner. He had PP and PK time tonight.

#91 MAGNUS PAAJARVI - (7) BEERS Another good game. He scores a goal and has an assist for the 2nd star of the game. While he wasn't blowing minds with you tube antics, he played a good solid game. He had 2 shots and a giveaway. Nice to see all the kids taking a turn becoming a hero.

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BAD TIMING PENALTY (What is a Bad Timing Penalty?)

The Oilers Bench - Imagine this. Overtime. The Oilers are tied and what happens? The puck goes to the guy that's coming on and the guy going off is lolly gagging to the bench. Tweet! Too Many Men. In Overtime! Lucky the Bolts didn't score and the Oilers went on to win in the shootout.

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GAMES 3 STARS

1st: NIKOLAI KHABIBULIN
2nd: MAGNUS PAAJARVI
3rd: ADAM HALL

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USEFUL GAME LINKS

EVENT SUMMARY

GAME SUMMARY

FACEOFF REPORT

SHOT REPORT

mc79hockey.com SCORING CHANCES

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BEERS & JEERS RECAP CREDITS

Thank you for taking the time to read OilersJambalaya.com.

We are trying to change the way you look at the Edmonton Oilers... one reader at a time.

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Special thanks to David Staples of Cult Of Hockey - Edmonton Journal for allowing us to use his grading system. I feel it's a great system.

-This Recap Was Written by Smokin' Ray Burnt-

2 For The Price Of 1 / OKC Barons vs Moose & Oilers vs Lightning / A LIVE TweetCast


Welcome to the Double Game Day, LIVE TweetCast of the
Edmonton Oilers vs Tampa Bay Lightning 
and
Oklahoma City Barons vs Manitoba Moose.

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OKC Barons vs Manitoba Moose
6:00pm MT Start

GAME STATS

GAME PREVIEW

BARONS ROSTER

MEDIA KIT

Listen to game HERE!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Edmonton Oilers vs Tampa Bay Lightning
7:00pm MT Start

GAME PREVIEW

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Manitoba Moose (12-9-0-3) at Oklahoma City Barons (14-8-1-3)
&
Tampa Bay Lightning (15-10-3) at Edmonton Oilers (10-12-5) 


This LIVE TweetCast is brought to you by

Thursday, September 23, 2010

The Kids Provide The Life / Oilers Game Recap


BEERS & JEERS GAME RECAP

Welcome to another fine Edmonton Oilers Beers & Jeers Game Recap.

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FINAL SCORE

EDMONTON OILERS - 5

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING - 2

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TONIGHT'S STARTING LINES

Taylor Hall - Sam Gagner - Ales Hemsky
Magnus Paajarvi - Andrew Cogliano - Dustin Penner
Liam Reddox - Colin Fraser- Gilbert Brule
Steve MacIntyre - Tyler Pitlick - Linus Omark

Ladislav Smid - Kurtis Foster
Richard Petiot - Tom Gilbert
Shawn Belle - Alex Plante

Devan Dubnyk
Jeff Deslauriers

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VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS



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BEERS & JEERS PLAYER GRADES

The Cult of Hockey Grading System:
10 perfect game,  9 extraordinary,  8 great,  7 good,  6 above average,
5 average,  4 below average,  3 poor,  2 terrible,  1 deserves to be in minors.


#2 JAMES VANDERMEER - (0) DNP

#4 TAYLOR HALL - (8) BEERS Hall was great. He was a little shaky and uncomfortable in the start but settled in nicely with his linemates Gagner and Hemsky. He played 17:09 and scored his first ever pre-season goal in Rexall. The crowd went nuts. Hell, we went nuts here at home. Taylor Hall for Mayor!

#5 LADISLAV SMID - (7) Very solid. He looked very good with Foster. Smid will play a big role this year with the Oilers and tonight was a good start to that. He would have had a higher rating but his 3 penalties kind of hampers the love from me.

#6 RYAN WHITNEY - (0) DNP

#10 SHAWN HORCOFF - (0) DNP

#12 ALEXANDRE GIROUX - (0) DNP

#13 ANDREW COGLIANO - (7) Cogliano looked like he was playing with a chip on his shoulder. He scored a goal and played a very decent game. He had some PP and PK time tonight. He looked best on the PK. Good game for Andrew.

#14 JORDAN EBERLE - (0) DNP

#16 COLIN FRASER - (6) He's feisty. Which is a good thing for a player who's trying to find a spot on a team that's loaded with talent. I found no real problems in his game. He's not a high level player, but he's very serviceable. He finished +1.

#20 BRAD MORAN - (0) DNP

#22 JF JACQUES - Injured

#23 LINUS OMARK - (5) He had some bright spots, but for the most part, he was a disappointment. I heard so much about him and I wanted to see how he would be in Rexall. He was -1 and played 9:30. I suspect we will see him again.

#25 BEN ONDRUS (0) - DNP

#26 KURTIS FOSTER - (8) BEERS I really, really like Foster. I was concerned that there wasn't a replacement for Souray. Foster seems to be that guy. In fact, he's looks like a #3 guy and not a 4-5 guy. He blocked a team high 5 shots and played 19:54. I like this signing.

#27 DUSTIN PENNER - (5) I noticed him at the start and after that, it was like he wasn't even playing. He didn't crash the net like he's good at. He didn't force himself at all on the Lightning. I was disappointed in Penner even with an assist. I expected more.

#28 RYAN JONES - (0) DNP

#29 MARTIN GERBER - (0) DNP

#33 STEVE MACINTYRE - (4) JEERS He played well enough not to get burned. But let's be real, he had no place in this game. For the 2nd game in a row, no fight from Big Mac. He took a double minor with less than 5 to go and was tossed. He had no impact on this game at all. Stortini should have played instead. Booooo!

#35 NIKOLAI KHABIBULIN - (0) DNP

#36 GREGORY STEWART (0) - DNP

#37 RICHARD PETIOT - (7) I quite liked Petiot. He played a very good hard nosed game where he landed some big hits. He possesses a strong defensive coverage. Petiot is going to give the Barons some stability. He played good.

#38 JEFF DESLAURIERS - (7) Played well for coming in cold (unlike Dubnyk yesterday). He seemed to have worked on his positioning this summer and he seems poised and ready to battle for that backup position. I want to see JDD in one more game to make sure I seen what I seen.

#40 DEVAN DUBNYK - (7) He had a much better game than yesterday. While he was shaky in the 1st and was scored on high glove side, he smartened up and played good for the rest of his time in net.

#41 TAYLOR CHORNEY - (0) DNP

#42 RYAN O'MARRA - (0) DNP

#43 JASON STRUDWICK - (0) DNP

#45 SHAWN BELLE - (7) I liked Belle. He was in your face and blocked 4 shots. He's trying to win a job and while I don't think he will get one right now, he's definitely a guy to watch for the future. He had an assist and was +1. All this while playing 19:51 of ice time. Solid!

#46 ZACK STORTINI - (6) DNP

#48 ALEX PLANTE - (8) Holy crap I like Plante! He played an amazing 21:23 and sure didn't look like he wasn't an NHL'er. He may just take that spot on the 3rd pairing. He had 2 assists and was a +1. He never made and stupid mistakes. Plante is a keeper.

#49 THEO PECKHAM - (0) DNP

#54 CHRIS VANDE VELDE - (0) DNP

#56 TEEMU HARTKAINEN - (0) DNP

#57 COLIN MACDONALD - (0) DNP

#58 JEFF PETRY - (0) DNP

#67 GILBERT BRULE - (5) JEERS He didn't do anything. He played only 8:48 because of it. Another disappointing performance. I expected way more out of him. Boooooo!

#68 TYLER PITLICK - (4) JEERS He had little to no effect on this game. He played 7:41 and was -1. Tonight was not his night. You could tell tonight he was a boy amongst men.

#77 TOM GILBERT - (7) He was good enough to not look bad. He never really took control and at times was out played by Petoit. Gilbert is going to have to be a rock with Whitney this year to be successful.

#81 JAKE TAYLOR - (0) DNP

#83 ALES HEMSKY - (7) He had a few great passes to Hall in this game. I thought that for the most part Hemsky had no razzle and no dazzle. There was no fancy moves. He's changed I think. It seemed like he mentally tried to not hold the puck and he tried to pass it around. I liked that. But I still want razzle dazzle.

#85 LIAM REDDOX - (5) He was OK. He did his thing and worked hard. He's just not a game changer, but he will be good in OKC.

#89 SAM GAGNER - (7) He was a good compliment to Hall. He made some neat passes to him and they seemed to have some chemistry. Gagner played 20:04 and did good with that amount of time. He could have been better on the PP and I thought he did not bad on the PK. Mind you, a lot of his laid back playing was directly linked to him having to make sure he back checked. It's not like Hemsky back checks.

#91 MAGNUS PAAJARVI - (10) BEERS The best player by a long shot tonight. In fact, this might be the only perfect game I ever hand out. He scored a hat trick and had an assist for a four point night and made it look easy in the process. Paajarvi has been playing with men for a few years and it really shows. I didn't find a single thing wrong with his game (unless I missed something). His speed was explosive and he's a very aggressive puck handler. Give him some time and we might have ourselves the next great Oilers superstar. WOW!

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EVENT SUMMARY

GAME SUMMARY

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BAD TIMING PENALTY (what is a Bad Timing Penalty?)

None - Steve MacIntyre's double minor was close to being a BTP. He late period antics could have cost the Oilers the game if the score was close. But it wasn't and for that reason it wasn't listed as a BTP.
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POST GAME VIDEO



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CLICK HERE TO VIEW TWEETCAST

Thank you for reading OilersJambalaya.com and OilFieldHockey.com. We are changing the way you look at the Edmonton Oilers. One reader at a time.

Cult Of Hockey - Edmonton Journal

-Written by Smokin' Ray-

LIVE TweetCast of Oilers vs Lightning


Welcome to the 2nd pre-season game for the Edmonton Oilers. Enjoy the TweetCast.

It's a puck bag full of fun!

Taylor Hall - Sam Gagner - Ales Hemsky
Magnus Paajarvi - Andrew Cogliano - Dustin Penner
Liam Reddox - Colin Fraser- Gilbert Brule
Steve MacIntyre - Tyler Pitlick - Linus Omark

Ladislav Smid - Kurtis Foster
Richard Petiot - Tom Gilbert
Shawn Belle - Alex Plante

Devan Dubnyk
Jeff Deslauriers



Sunday, August 22, 2010

Summer Winds Down




As summer winds down, it signifies many things, the most important being, the new hockey season. For the Oilers it has not been the whirl-wind offseason like it was last year with a certain selfish sniper named Dany Heatley. But, that is long forgotten (somewhat), and as we Oilers fans begin to speculate who has it to make the NHL squad, let's take a look back at what transactions took place in this rather satisfying offseason for the Edmonton Oilers after their historic draft:

June 29 - Oilers waive Captain Ethan Moreau, who is picked up by the Columbus Blue Jackets on June 30th
June 30 - Oilers trade Patrick O'Sullivan for more than he's worth (a bag of pucks in my opinion), and received Jim Vandermeer from the Phoenix Coyotes (O'Sullivan's contract is bought out by the Coyotes hours after the trade)
June 30 - Oilers buy out the remainder of Robert Nilsson's contract, he signs with KHL's Salavat Yulaev on July 23rd
July 1 - Oilers sign big D-man Kurtis Foster, who has a had a very tough career but is a very solid player.
July 1 - Oilers UFA Charles Linglet signs with KHL's Nijni Novgorod
July 2 - Oilers UFA Chris Minard signs with the Detroit Red Wings
July 2 - Oilers sign UFA Richard Petiot to a 1-year contract
July 2 - Oilers re-sign UFA Jason Strudwick to a 1-year contract
July 2 - Oilers bring back UFA tough guy Steve MacIntyre on a 1-year contract
July 3 - Oilers sign former AHL MVP UFA Alexandre Giroux to a 1-year contract
July 5 - Oilers sign Number 1 Pick Taylor Hall to a 3-year Entry Level Contract
July 7 - Oilers UFA Ryan Stone signs with the Calgary Flames
July 7 - Oilers sign UFA Brad Moran to a 1-year contract
July 9 - Oilers sign UFA Ben Ondrus to a 1-year contract
July 9 - Oilers UFA Colin McDonald signs an AHL contract with the Oklahoma City Barons
July 13 - Oilers re-sign RFA Devan Dubnyk to a 2-year contract
July 13 - Oilers sign UFA Shawn Belle to a 1-year contract
July 14 - Oilers re-sign RFA J.-F. Jacques to a 1-year contract
July 15 - Oilers re-sign RFA Theo Peckham to a 1-year contract
July 16 - Oilers UFA Slava Trukhno signs with KHL's Novosibirsk
July 16 - Oilers sign UFA Gregory Stewart to a 1-year contract
July 16 - Oilers re-sign RFA Ryan O'Marra to a 1-year contract
July 23 - Oilers UFA Marc-Antoine Pouliot signs with the Tampa Bay Lightning
July 27 - Oilers re-sign RFA Gilbert Brule to a 2-year contract
July 31 - Oilers re-sign RFA Jeff Deslauriers to a 1-year contract
August 6 - Oilers sign UFA Martin Gerber to a 1-year contract
August 9 - Oilers re-sign RFA Liam Reddox to a 1-year contract
August 11 - Oilers UFA Dean Arsene signs with the St. Louis Blues
August 18 - Oilers UFA Fernando Pisani signs with the Chicago Blackhawks

Oilers UFA's unsigned: 6 (Mike Comrie, Josef Hrabal, Aaron Johnson, Matt Nickerson, Geoff Paukovich, Ryan Potulny)
Oilers RFA's unsigned: 2 (Andrew Cogliano, Sam Gagner)

If you look at last years roster, and then this years roster, you will notice that there are huge changes. It's a new era in Oil Country folks. We've finally gotten ridden of the small, inconsistent players that we've had for the better part of four seasons. Here are my projected lines for this year:

Forwards

Penner - Gagner - Hemsky
Hall - Eberle - Brule
Paajarvi - Horcoff - Cogliano
Jones - Fraser - Stortini/Jacques/MacIntyre
Scratches: the two tough guys that aren't in the lineup

Defensemen

Whitney - Gilbert
Smid (Souray*) - Foster
Vandermeer - Strudwick
Scratches: Chorney
Note: Souray will have to accept the fact that no one wants his contract, and will play in Smid's spot if so, leaving Strudwick the odd man out.

I will hold off on fully evaluating the roster until the final roster is announced after pre-season, but I can promise this, there's something special going on here in Edmonton.

-Nick "Oilers Fan" Walker

(As posted on NHLTALK202.com)

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

(Edmonton Journal) Cult of Hockey Player Grades - Oilers vs Lightning (12/09/09)



Once again David Staples of the Edmonton Journal's Cult of Hockey has allowed me to do the player grades for this game. You can read it here at Oilers Jambalaya or you can read it HERE.



Now I hope you understand how hard it is to grade a game that's choppy.  It was cool that we were able to see the game, but it was so choppy at times I missed little sequences.  But here is what I saw.

The Cult of Hockey Grading System: 10-perfect game, 9 extraordinary, 8 great, 7 good, 6 above average, 5 average, 4 below average, 3 poor, 2 terrible, 1 deserves to be in minors.



 #27 Dustin Penner (7) - I didn't find too many faults in his game tonight.  He played pretty good and scored a typical Penner in front of the net goal. Heck, he even led the team in faceoffs.  He sure plays a complete game this year. I hope he gets more than a nod for Team Canada.

#89 Sam Gagner (6) - He played well but was still over matched in the Oilers end at times. He has been better in these last two games and he needs to find that "next level" if he's to do well as a #1 center.  He had 3 shots and his pass/shot gave him an assist on the Penner goal.  Overall, not a bad game.

#10 Shawn Horcoff (5) - He was near invisible.  He played 22:12 and although most of those minutes were decent minutes (1:46 of PP time and 2:36 in PK time) he needs to be more effective.  This was not the same Horcoff as we seen the last two games.

#13 Andrew Cogliano (5) - Cogliano had some good moments in this game.  Nothing that was over the top or anything.  He has this way of looking like he does a lot out there, while really all he is doing is skating fast.  He reminds me of Todd Marchant, only he can't win faceoffs.

#19 Patrick O'Sullivan (4) - He was not good at all.  He brought down the 2nd line with his sub par play.  Hedman scored that goal and that was O'Sullivan's guy and he didn't take him. He just seems lost out there right now.  He only had 3 shots and if he is going to earn his money he needs goals.  And how do you get goals? You shoot.

#67 Gilbert Brule (6) - He was pretty good.  He kept trying to make nice plays to Penner and instead maybe should have taken more shots himself.  But all in all I don't have much to complain about.  He's way better than I ever thought that he could be.  And this is just the beginning for him.

#18 Ethan Moreau (4) - The Captain didn't do much tonight.  I don't know about you guys, but he's not really contributing much.  It's almost like he's just taking up minutes when someone else could eat hose minutes.  Don't get me wrong, he's not terrible right now, but he also isn't a contributor.

#22 JF Jacques (6) - He was the best player on his line.  He had 5 hits and it seems like if he is doing that, then he's doing his job. 

#16 Ryan Potulny (5) - He was another one of those looked average type of players tonight.  He did what he could and it definitely wasn't fantastic.  He was just plain jane average.

#46 Zack Stortini (9) - The man had a Gordie Howe hat trick and still added another fight to his resume near the end of the game.  This was the best that I have ever seen him.  He had 3 hits and I didn't notice a single error (other than 0 for 6 on the faceoffs) on his part tonight.  So that's why I'm giving him a 9. All this and he only played 6:22.  Should this game earn him a 10?

#32 Ryan Stone (8) - The other bash brother was also good tonight.  His fight was a good one and it impressed me that he could chuck them like that.  He was hitting everyone (I don't know how the NHL doesn't count more hits) he could and even created some scoring chances.  He also played just over six minutes tonight, but he made the most of it.

#12 Robert Nilsson (7) - He was pretty good tonight and picked up another assist.  I maybe should have given him a 6 but he plays so well with Stone and Stortini and it's helping him shine.  I'm sure that he's thankful to get back into the lineup.  He seems to be trying to not make those little mental mistakes that have plagued him in the past.

#44 Sheldon Souray (7) - He was left alone on a wicked 2 on 1 for the Lightning's first goal.  Not totally his fault, but he made a decision to take the passer and that left St Louis all alone with JDD.  He and Gilbert were on for three Oiler goals and the on for the first Tampa goal.  Although he wasn't all out aggressive, he played pretty darn good.

#71 Lubomir Visnovsky (5) - All the defence were pretty average tonight including Visnovsky.  I've seen him be better.  He played 21:00 minutes and had 1 shot and 2 blocked shots.  Not really a night to remember.

#77 Tom Gilbert (6) - It was his error (pinch) that caused the 2 on 1 and essentially, the first goal of the game.  He did however score ten minutes later to even up the score.  So does that balence things out?  He actualy was decent tonight.  It appears to me that he's been getting better as this road trip goes on.

#24 Steve Staios (5) - Quite an average game.  Not much to say here.

#5 Ladislav Smid (5) - He had a fairly decent game.  He blew a spaz and knocked some guys down.  I kept waiting for him to score another goal tonight but it never happened.

#43 Jason Strudwick (5) - Also an average game.  Oddly enough, no goals were directly his fault.

#38 Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers (7) - His willingness to battle for 60 minutes helped the Oilers win this game.  He made some good saves all throughout the game.  But once again the Lightning went up high on him and scored.  How is that possible when the guy is that tall?  He's playing better than anyone expected.

#40 Devan Dubnyk (N/A) -  He did not play.

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**Normal Beers and Jeers-Edmonton Oilers Recap to follow.**

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Beers and Jeers #63 (Sept 24/09 vs. Tampa Bay Lightning)



After a disappointing last two games, the Oilers tun it up here and actually played a good game.  There was so many bright spots and a little low spots.  Pat Quinn has his job cut out for him.  This isn't some make a change and POOF, Stanley Cup Champion.  Faceoffs are killing this team in the pre-season and I don't see it changing. 

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Tonight's Starting Lines

Moreau — Gagner — Cogliano
Penner — Schremp — Eberle
Nilsson — Brule — Stone
MacIntyre — Reddox — Stortini

Grebeshkov — Staios
Chorney — Gilbert
Smid — Visnovsky

Deslauriers and Dubnyk

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FINAL SCORE
 
Edmonton Oilers - 3
Tampa Bay Lightning - 4  OT
 
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Bad Timing Penalty™
 
Steve Staios - What kind of a leader checks a guy from behind in front of his own net and the play is already headed back the Oilers way?  Steady Steve, that's who.  Good god man.  The Lightning get a PP chance with 10 seconds left in overtime. To top it off, the ensuing faceoff was located in the Oilers zone.  Faceoff win by the TBL and wham boom!  Game over on a St. Louis goal.  ~Atta boy Steve.~
 
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BEERS
 
Andrew Cogliano - The kid was flying on the wing.  He seemed pretty happy to be with Gagner again and it showed.  It was nice to see that pairing passing and skating together.  It was nice to see them "find" each other.  For awhile there, the Kid line was back together one last time (maybe not?!?). Even Nilsson looked good with them and he hasn't been great at all.  Seeing the three kids again made a little sad that that may never happen again.  But for tonight's hard working effort... have a cold one on me Cogs.  Cheers! 
 
Gilbert Brule - He wasn't flashy at all but he played a heck of a game.  He was solid in his own end and did manage to have some chances on the rush.  I was surprised to see him play like this.  Good to see "some" players still want to "make the team."  I think ol' Gil deserves a frosty for the effort.  Cheers!
 
Dustin Penner - The Flying Fridge no more.  He was finishing checks and playing his butt off.  It was nice to hear Quinn say before the game that he was one of his better players so far in the pre-season.  That's a huge compliment for a guy that was the coaches toilet paper last season.  For another solid game... a super sized beer for a super sized effort.  Cheers!
 
Tom Gilbert - He was definitely the best of the worst of the Oilers defence crew.  He managed to play better than the rest of them and was used often.  He really needs to find his groove in order to get the job done.  However, I do like Gilbert.  Well enough to sling a beer his way.  Cheers!
 
Honorable Mentions: Taylor Chorney (He didn't do any game breaking stuff, but played well.), Sam Gagner (He was great with Cogliano.  He played real well.  His passes were perfect.), Rob Schremp (He started off not so good but by the middle of the 2nd he was making plays on 5 on 5 and finished game more at the level Quinn wants.  Was this the last game for #88 as an Oiler?), Jordan Eberle (The young rookie battled hard and in return gains more of the coaches respect.), Robert Nilsson (Maybe just a little too late for him?  He was good tonight.)
 
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JEERS
 
Lubomir Visnovsky - The worst of the worst.  He's slow and useless.  He's not making smart plays.  Maybe I was wrong when I said he was good a few games ago.  Maybe I forgot how good he really can be.  Common sense would say he's not in shape.  If he wants to start the year as the 5th or 6th guy, keep playing like that.  Booooooo!
 
Denis Grebeshkov - The second worst of the worst.  Pretty much the same as Visnovsky, but worse giveaways.  Grebs had some very sloppy play tonight.  Losing the puck at the worst time (not like there is a good time), getting caught up ice pinching and his overall defensive game was terrible.  I sure hope that someone other than Souray is going to step up and help this team win some games.  Get better Grebs...  in a hurry.  Booooooo!
 
Steve Staios - I just think he's past his prime and if there is anyway to make a trade for him I'd take it.  He was a big ball of stinky tonight.  He just plain sucked... that is all.  Boooooo!
 
Honorable Mentions: Ethan Moreau (Did he even play tonight?  How do you spell invisible?), Zack Stortini (Did nothing), Ryan Stone (He clearly won't make the team.  Not an NHLer.)
 
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Who Should Be The Next To Be Sent Down?
 
Ryan Stone, Rob Schremp Marc Pouliot and Kip Brennan
 
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THE GOAT WATCH™
 
Ethan Moreau - He stunk.  I think I picked the right guy.  Need I say more?
 
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What an emotion filled game.  This team is like picking pedals off a flower.  We love them, we love them not.  Once again, we love them.  Until next time...

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Beers and Jeers #37 (Feb 24/09 vs. Tampa Bay Lightning)


To begin, I predicted on OilersNation a 5-3 win. I usually don't like to say anything out load, but I'm changing it up a bit. Why not. What's it going to hurt?


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1st Period

Why is it that the crap teams come to E town and teach the Oilers a lesson on how to win games? I sure hope that that isn't the case tonight. *fingers crossed* So the game starts off in the favor of the Oilers. Erik Cole blasts down the right side and beats his man and scores his 15th of the year. Yay! 1-0 Oilers. (Cole unassisted at 2:20). Pretty much right after the ensuing faceoff, Big Mac and Koci drop the gloves. It was a pretty darn good fight. I would have to give the decision to Big Mac even though Koci fell on him at the end. At 5:40, Strudwick fires a knuckle puck and scores. Yeah! 2-0 Oilers. (Strudwick from Gagner) Unbelievable! This sure isn't how I pictured this game. The game then continues at a good pace. The Oilers clearly are the better team this period. It's kind of refreshing. TB takes a penalty at 13:09, and the Oilers fail to score. The PP did look a little better, so that's a good thing. The crowd seems to be unusually quiet tonight. Not sure why? The Oilers are winning 2-0. TB takes another penalty just as the period is about to expire. The Oilers will have 1:45 of PP time to start the 2nd. Hopefully another goal? As the period ends I can't help but think that the TB team has a fantastic 1st line. Beyond that they look like a beer league team. Wow! And the Oiler fans think we have it bad...


2nd Period

The Oilers don't score on the PP but they continue to play good. I hope our 1st line can get it going. We need them to be going every game. Scratch that. We need at least 2 lines going every game. If we want to be taken seriously that is. So the Oilers can't cash in on the PP and Nilsson takes a goalie interference penalty on the other end of the ice at 1:49. Wouldn't you know it. Tampa Bay scores. Boooooooo! 2-1 Oilers. Well that brings the Lightning back into the game. At 3:25, Gary Roberts takes a goalie interference penalty. Oilers can go up by two if they can score here. No dice. But Souray lets off quite a few bombs. Some hit the net. Some don't. Either way, if I am Dustin Penner, I probably stained myself a few times. Seriously... how scary must that be? During a face off, Gagner high sticks a TB player and then sits for two. Luckily for Gags, the Oil kill it off. Ok guys. Momentum time. But Steven Stamkos gets a breakaway and scores at 12:23. Booooooooo! 2-2 Tie Game. Glove High on Roli. Does everyone in the league know that it's five hole or glove high on Roli? However the Oilers storm back. Souray blasts another shot at the goal and this time it goes in. Yay! 3-2 Oilers. (Souray from Cogliano at 13:15) Right on. Back in the lead. Staios nails Recchi and makes the Lightning want to fight. No real takers but Souray let's all those female dogs know who the alpha dog is in this house. Make sense? Haha. A short while later Roli makes a huge save. Roli! Roli! Roli! Still 3-2 for the Oil. Just as the period is about to end, Cogliano busts in to the TB zone and gets hauled down. PP once again for the Oilers. But the period runs out.


3rd Period

Well they start out on the PP and the lightning kill it off. But at 2:20, Cogliano has the puck find his stick in the crease and pops in an easy one. Gooooooaaaaallll Oilers! 4-2 Oilers. (Cogliano from Stortini and Moreau) The period has some real good flow to it. The Oilers continue to fire the puck at the net. That is also refreshing to see. We usually get out shot. Nilsson slams his knee with a TB player and seems shook up. Hope he isn't gone for a long time. At 8:09, Souray and Koci each take a roughing penalty as they mixed it up in the Oilers zone. I love Souray for his hardcoreness. I wish all the defenseman on the Oil were like that. At 11:09, Halpern takes a penalty and the Oilers go on the PP. But seconds later, Gagner takes a Hi-sticking penalty to make it 4 on 4. There was some good chances but nothing really transpires for either team. At 13:46, TB does score. Damn! 4-3 Oilers. Oh no. I hope this isn't a waste of a game? Again. So the action picks up a little with the new found closeness in the score. Tampa Bay is trying hard to tie it up. At 18:15 Peckham and Reechi come together. They both take penalties and sit for two. What is it with Peckham and the Grandpa's? lol. *in my best Rosco P. Coltrane voice, "I love it, I love it"* So with a minute left in the game, TB has their goalie pulled, and Horcoff shoots it and St. Louis makes the save. What? Yeah... He didn't score. But just as the game is finishing, Souray shoots it from just past the red line and scores with 2 seconds left. Yeah! 5-3 Oilers. (Souray from Brodziak) What a finish. OILERS WIN!

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Game Summary (CLICK HERE)

Stats Sheet (CLICK HERE)

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Tonight's Starting Lines

Penner Horcoff Hemsky (This line had tons of ice but came up short in the goal department. Penner was actually not bad tonight. He wasn't the squeaky wheel tonight. Horcoff wasn't all that bad. He just wasn't all that good either. Faceoffs good. Shots good. -2 bad. Hemsky was not Hemsky tonight. He seemed weird to me right in the beginning of the game. He was hit a few times and that kind of made him puck shy. Maybe it's just PMS?)

Nilsson Gagner Cole (I liked this line tonight. (2nd best line) They were real strong in the begining of the game. They were playing as a unit very well. Nilsson was shaky at times, not quite himself tonight but still good. Gagner was good. He played his position well and got an asssist on the Strudwick goal. Cole was also good tonight. He had seemed to do everything right tonight. I really enjoy watching him play. Only 3 games left. :(

Moreau Cogliano Stortini (This was the best Oiler line tonight. They were awesome. Moreau didn't take a single penalty. In fact, he managed to finish up +3. Cogliano had a goal and an assist tonight. A real sloid game for him. Stortini only played 10:55 but was great. No dumb penalties for the big guy. Nice Game 3rd Line!)

Reddox Brodziak MacIntyre (Ahhh... it's the 4th line. They really didn't do much as a line. Reddox was ok but not really noticable. Brodziak wasn't that bad. He did earn an assist at the end of the game. Big Mac only played 2:03. He did fight though. And a good one at that.)


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Final Score

Tampa Bay Lightning - 3

Edmonton Oilers - 5

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BEERS

Sheldon Souray - The man was awesome tonight. He was a mean hitting machine. He was a shot firing cannon. He was a true team leader on the ice. The Edmonton Oilers are damn lucky to have a guy like Sheldon Souray on this team. He represents the team well. Have a frosty beer Souray. Great Game. Cheers!

Andrew Cogliano - The speedy center was due for a good game. And today was the day. He scored a pretty easy goal, but a goal nonetheless. He also had an assist tonight for his efforts. A 2 point night and 12:55 of ice time. He did have 3 giveaways but I'm turning a blind eye and I must have missed them. *wink* Have a beer Cogs. Cheers!

Ethan Moreau - I have been giving Chopper a hard time all year, but tonight he showed me who the real Ethan Moreau is. He was excellent all over the ice. He played a real smart game and took no penalties. I'm sure people were waiting for it. I was. But for ending the night at +3, that deserves a nice cold one. Cheers!

Honerable Mention - Erik Cole (He had his legs going tonight. The goal he scored was a real factor in this game. It gave the Oilers the momentum.), Sam Gagner (The guy was pretty good all around.), Steve Staios (he did what he had to. He played a simple game and that works for him.) Zack Stortini (Is this the same Huggy Bear? This guy is impressing me.)

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JEERS


The 1st Line - When the game looked like they were playing a beer league team, I thought that the 1st line should kill these guys. But they didn't. In fact they looked average. This line needs to click every game in order for the Oilers to make it to the playoffs. Boooooooooo!

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That's all folks. That was an exciting game. I am relieved to get the 2 points. As of right now the Oilers are tied with 3 other teams for 7th. Minny, Anahiem and Dallas are tied with us with 65 points. One game at a time boys.

Next game is Thursday against the Columbus Blue Jackets. We need this win as well. Let's Go Oilers!!!

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