Announcement...
I have been asked to do some writing for Oil On Whyte. I am excited to say that I have taken Jeff up on his offer and will be blogging over there periodically now. I will still be posting here as well, but it will be hard for me to write on two sites. As you all know, I have been slow at getting posts out here. I am going to try and be better at both sites. There may actually be some duplication, where I post the same article on both sites.
What I will say is that I have posted a new article over at the new site. It's basically an introduction, and some brief thoughts on the recent Vancouver game. As I get to know the new site, I will be faster and have more media for it too.
As always...
GO OILERS GO!
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Monday, October 17, 2011
Friday, October 14, 2011
THE SEASON THUS FAR: TWO GAMES IN
Game One: Sunday October 9th Vs. Pittsburgh...
There are few things that were notable in this game that I would like to comment on.
It's been said that there is some symbolism, to which goalie gets the start in game one of a new season, this year Devan Dubnyk got that start. I am not sure what this is supposed to mean, but I am guessing it is some sort of nod to the Goalie, that they are the guy between the pipes going forward through the season?? Or at least that's the sense I get when I hear media types refer to this symbolism. I could be way off here, that's just the impression that I have.
Dubnyk played well against one of the premiere teams in the NHL, and got us the victory 2-1 in the shoot-out. Good call to put him in! I was hoping that he would get the start after Nikolai Khabibulin's brutal season last year. I think Dubnyk should get at least half the starts this year if not more, and I would like to see him start to move into the number one role in Edmonton.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins gets to play his first game in the NHL and scores his first goal! if you haven't seen it...
A great second effort by Hopkins to put it past Brent Johnson who was in goal for the Penguins! All in all, I thought RNH had a solid game and didn't look out of place at all in this league. We will have to wait and see how the next 7 games go to judge if he should stay up or go back to his Junior team in Red Deer.
Four years after the above picture was taken at Ryan Smyth's press conference when he was traded, Smyth played his first game as an Oiler again. As usual, we got a blue collar hard work effort from Smytty. He even through an old-school elbow on Chris Kunitz in the dying minutes of the third period and got a 5 min game mis-conduct for it. Fortunately our PK looked good all night and saved the game with Duby's help to get the game to OT and bail Ryan out.
In the shoot-out Jordan Eberle & Ales Hemsky both scored and Omark tried his YouTube sensation move, to lob the puck over the back of the Goalie when he goes down. Unfortunately missed the net and Dubnyk stopped Steve Sullivan's next shot to win the game.
A lot of people on twitter and radio, criticized Omark for trying that shot. Here's how it looks when successful... (sorry for the Swedish!)
Had he made that work in the game on Sunday, he'd be a hero and people would have been praising him as they did last year with that wicked spin move he scored against Tampa Bay.
Great and exciting game that had some momentous occasions to it, and an awesome game to be at if you are a fan of the Oilers!
Game Two: Thursday October 13th vs. Minnesota...
Going into this game there were some line-up changes made by Tom Renney. Omark was out as a healthy scratch for Lennart Petrell. This was touted as a move made due to the turn-over that Omark had in game one. There were quite a few. Not Omark's best game. I was upset about this as I feel that Omark gives ou PP a much fresher and creative look than when Hemsky is running it.
Omark aside, there was a bigger story unfolding with Khabibulin getting the start in goal, and the fact that we hadn't won a game in Minnesota sine 2006, the media was all over this in the pre-game interviews.
The game was going really well in the first period! it looked like the Oilers were going to dominate. Ryan Smyth scored his signature goal from two feet in front of goal, his first as an Oiler since his return.
Then the inevitable happened. Ales Hemsky was injured (again) and would not return to the game. Should we be surprised? Or should we start talking about how the injury bug continues to plague this team? After Hemsky's injury, the team seemed to revert to their playing style of the lat couple of years. No offence (one shot in the third period), lack of effort, etc...
I will say this, in two games our PK has looked outstanding! A total difference from last year. Hopefully this is a sign of improvement for the rest of the year.
We hung on to take the game to OT again, and another shoot-out. we lost the game but got a point.
Oilers fans should be happy that we have 3 points in two games! Think about it...Vancouver has played four games for a possible 8 points and are tied with us! I've said it before and I'll say it again, Vancouver Sucks
Go Oilers GO!
There are few things that were notable in this game that I would like to comment on.
Dubnyk played well against one of the premiere teams in the NHL, and got us the victory 2-1 in the shoot-out. Good call to put him in! I was hoping that he would get the start after Nikolai Khabibulin's brutal season last year. I think Dubnyk should get at least half the starts this year if not more, and I would like to see him start to move into the number one role in Edmonton.
A great second effort by Hopkins to put it past Brent Johnson who was in goal for the Penguins! All in all, I thought RNH had a solid game and didn't look out of place at all in this league. We will have to wait and see how the next 7 games go to judge if he should stay up or go back to his Junior team in Red Deer.
Four years after the above picture was taken at Ryan Smyth's press conference when he was traded, Smyth played his first game as an Oiler again. As usual, we got a blue collar hard work effort from Smytty. He even through an old-school elbow on Chris Kunitz in the dying minutes of the third period and got a 5 min game mis-conduct for it. Fortunately our PK looked good all night and saved the game with Duby's help to get the game to OT and bail Ryan out.
In the shoot-out Jordan Eberle & Ales Hemsky both scored and Omark tried his YouTube sensation move, to lob the puck over the back of the Goalie when he goes down. Unfortunately missed the net and Dubnyk stopped Steve Sullivan's next shot to win the game.
A lot of people on twitter and radio, criticized Omark for trying that shot. Here's how it looks when successful... (sorry for the Swedish!)
Had he made that work in the game on Sunday, he'd be a hero and people would have been praising him as they did last year with that wicked spin move he scored against Tampa Bay.
Great and exciting game that had some momentous occasions to it, and an awesome game to be at if you are a fan of the Oilers!
Game Two: Thursday October 13th vs. Minnesota...
Going into this game there were some line-up changes made by Tom Renney. Omark was out as a healthy scratch for Lennart Petrell. This was touted as a move made due to the turn-over that Omark had in game one. There were quite a few. Not Omark's best game. I was upset about this as I feel that Omark gives ou PP a much fresher and creative look than when Hemsky is running it.
Omark aside, there was a bigger story unfolding with Khabibulin getting the start in goal, and the fact that we hadn't won a game in Minnesota sine 2006, the media was all over this in the pre-game interviews.
The game was going really well in the first period! it looked like the Oilers were going to dominate. Ryan Smyth scored his signature goal from two feet in front of goal, his first as an Oiler since his return.
Then the inevitable happened. Ales Hemsky was injured (again) and would not return to the game. Should we be surprised? Or should we start talking about how the injury bug continues to plague this team? After Hemsky's injury, the team seemed to revert to their playing style of the lat couple of years. No offence (one shot in the third period), lack of effort, etc...
I will say this, in two games our PK has looked outstanding! A total difference from last year. Hopefully this is a sign of improvement for the rest of the year.
We hung on to take the game to OT again, and another shoot-out. we lost the game but got a point.
Oilers fans should be happy that we have 3 points in two games! Think about it...Vancouver has played four games for a possible 8 points and are tied with us! I've said it before and I'll say it again, Vancouver Sucks
Go Oilers GO!
Friday, September 30, 2011
Injuries, Wins, And The Swedish Connection
The Injuries...
In the game tonight against Minny, we saw three of our D-Men go down to injury. Taylor Fedun (right leg), Taylor Chorney (right knee), and Ladislav Smid (right shoulder).
When your infested with the injury bug, it seems impossible to kill the little bastard. Enough's enough already. It would be one thing if the injuries this team suffered were little things that lasted a few games and we could recover from them, but most of the injuries weve suffered in the last few years are of the season ending type. Case in point, Taylor Fedun tonight.
If you haven't heard yet, Taylor Fedun broke his leg in a foot race with Nystrom for an iced puck. Nystrom managed to get his stick caught up in Fedun's feet and Fedun crashed heavily into the boards and had to be taken out on a stretcher as he suffered a complex fracture to the femur. The NHL seriously needs to implement no touch icing!
We actually finished the game with only three d-men and Ryan Keller who filled in due to the injuries.
The Win...
Anton Lander gets a penalty shot and absolutely lets a bullet fly past Wild net minder Backstrom, to start the come back. With the shortened bench and down 3-1, Linus Omark decided that it was time to take the game back. Omark sniped a goal after Lander wins the face-off in the offensive zone, with a one-timer to make 3-2. Then he blows the doors off the Minny defense from behind the net and finds Ryan Jones in front and made a great pass that Jones puts away to tie the game. In over-time, Anton Lander again with a bullet, rifles past Backstrom for the game winner.
This finally ends the dreaded Minnesota curse where the Oilers haven't won a game since January 2007! Definitely a reason to celebrate. The positives that we came from behind against a team we have been snake bitten against on the road, and where they are playing basically their NHL roster...are paramount. Enough said.
Devon Dubnyk looked good again tonight and I can no longer find a good reason to let Nikolai Khabibulin get the start in game one on the 9th of October.
The Swedish Connection...
Anton Lander and Linus Omark were by far the reason we won this game tonight. Lander did get called for three penalties tonight and I was worried he was going to be the catalyst for losing the game. But in the end was one of the best players on the ice!
You all know how I feel about Linus Omark, tonight he made everything I write about him true. I feel very justified now. He was protecting the puck with his body along the boards as usual. And he was creating dynamic offense with his skill and vision. My only concern is that it didn't seem to come for him until the middle of the game. What am I saying?? he got a star tonight and was awesome.
Final Thoughts...
I hope Taylor Fedun can recover quickly from his injury and that he will be able to get back to the level of game he was having this year in camp. Let's face it, he was on the cusp of making this team.
Tomorrow in Vancouver, I pray that the kids play together again and that they let both Lander and Omark into this one as well.
I personally feel that Gilbert Brule is probably done as an Oiler. He didn't do enough, consistently to make a case for himself.
Darcy Hordichuk scored (sort of). The goal was eventually called off due to a penalty that was taken by Brule. It would've been a nice goal too.
Cant wait for tomorrow!
Go Oilers Go!
In the game tonight against Minny, we saw three of our D-Men go down to injury. Taylor Fedun (right leg), Taylor Chorney (right knee), and Ladislav Smid (right shoulder).
When your infested with the injury bug, it seems impossible to kill the little bastard. Enough's enough already. It would be one thing if the injuries this team suffered were little things that lasted a few games and we could recover from them, but most of the injuries weve suffered in the last few years are of the season ending type. Case in point, Taylor Fedun tonight.
If you haven't heard yet, Taylor Fedun broke his leg in a foot race with Nystrom for an iced puck. Nystrom managed to get his stick caught up in Fedun's feet and Fedun crashed heavily into the boards and had to be taken out on a stretcher as he suffered a complex fracture to the femur. The NHL seriously needs to implement no touch icing!
We actually finished the game with only three d-men and Ryan Keller who filled in due to the injuries.
The Win...
Anton Lander gets a penalty shot and absolutely lets a bullet fly past Wild net minder Backstrom, to start the come back. With the shortened bench and down 3-1, Linus Omark decided that it was time to take the game back. Omark sniped a goal after Lander wins the face-off in the offensive zone, with a one-timer to make 3-2. Then he blows the doors off the Minny defense from behind the net and finds Ryan Jones in front and made a great pass that Jones puts away to tie the game. In over-time, Anton Lander again with a bullet, rifles past Backstrom for the game winner.
This finally ends the dreaded Minnesota curse where the Oilers haven't won a game since January 2007! Definitely a reason to celebrate. The positives that we came from behind against a team we have been snake bitten against on the road, and where they are playing basically their NHL roster...are paramount. Enough said.
Devon Dubnyk looked good again tonight and I can no longer find a good reason to let Nikolai Khabibulin get the start in game one on the 9th of October.
The Swedish Connection...
Anton Lander and Linus Omark were by far the reason we won this game tonight. Lander did get called for three penalties tonight and I was worried he was going to be the catalyst for losing the game. But in the end was one of the best players on the ice!
You all know how I feel about Linus Omark, tonight he made everything I write about him true. I feel very justified now. He was protecting the puck with his body along the boards as usual. And he was creating dynamic offense with his skill and vision. My only concern is that it didn't seem to come for him until the middle of the game. What am I saying?? he got a star tonight and was awesome.
Final Thoughts...
I hope Taylor Fedun can recover quickly from his injury and that he will be able to get back to the level of game he was having this year in camp. Let's face it, he was on the cusp of making this team.
Tomorrow in Vancouver, I pray that the kids play together again and that they let both Lander and Omark into this one as well.
I personally feel that Gilbert Brule is probably done as an Oiler. He didn't do enough, consistently to make a case for himself.
Darcy Hordichuk scored (sort of). The goal was eventually called off due to a penalty that was taken by Brule. It would've been a nice goal too.
Cant wait for tomorrow!
Go Oilers Go!
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