Oilers dismantle Hawks on HNIC

Hall celebrates Hattrick goal

Talk about a break out game for the young Oilers.  Throughout the week the media and fans kept reminding them about their miserable offence and injuries to the blueline.  Even with Teubert and Chorney in the lineup the Oilers posted an incredible 9-2 victory.  This game had nothing to do with defence.  The kids addressed their offensive woes with a free flowing display that the 80's Oiler dynasty would be proud of.  Straight up domination in the offensive zone was the cure to the flu last night. 

Edmonton notables:
- Hemsky led the attack with an early goal lifting a beautiful shot over Emery's glove after stealing the puck at center ice and going around Montador.  
http://video.oilers.nhl.com/videocenter/console?hlg=20112012,2,285&event=EDM57&fr=false

- Hall registered his second hattrick of his career with beautiful top right shelf shot through Montador's legs.
- RNH had 5 assists, 3 primary (Hall, Eberle, Gilbert), 2 secondary and created chances all over the ice.  This kids compete level and on ice vision is beyond comprehension.  His back checking and defence is completely underrated as his offence is all the attention.  He only payed 13 mins and was 7/9 in the faceoff dot for 77.8%.  Victory. 
- Tom Gilbert was a beast in every zone and facet of the game.  The most complete game I've ever seen him play.
Khabby was hung out to dry many times but made key saves.  He would probably like the second goal back as it was a weak writster from his right side wall through a partial screen. 
- CBC loves RNH.
- Keith boarded Hall so hard he felt the need to apologize immediately.  No doubt Shanny will be taking a look at the footage because it was so blatant.  Hall was in a compromising position and Keith still drilled him.  Luckily Hall is made of elastic. 
- Peckham jumped in to beat on Carcillo after he took a run at Hemsky.  Great job Pecks.  The instigator is always worth it to send that message.   
- MPS had some nice moves through the neutral zone but once again shot muffins at the net.  The kid needs to drive to the net and stand in the paint more.  Right now he's playing a perimeter game.  If he says he'll do anything, well, do everything.  Get into the goalies face on the rush and through the corners.
- Sam Gagner is a concern.  Through 18 minutes (most of all the forwards) of icetime with Hemsky, he still managed to do nothing out there.  Many times he just loses the puck on his own accord bracing for a hit that never comes.  In the third period he was along the boards, saw a defenceman come over to jockey him and he just lost the puck.  He made horrible decisions on the power play, either shooting when he shouldn't, and flubbing passes to the wingers.  He has zero confidence.  Did he change his stick length from his rookie season?  That's my theory.  Tonight he was being showcased. 
- Teurbert looked "ok".  He didn't want to make any mistakes out there and certainly tried to man them off the pucks.  There was one play where Belanger was cycling it behind the net and threw a 50/50 pass to the point, Teubert should have pinched and easily had enough time to get it, but he backed off the blue line and let the Chicago player go in for a 3 on 2. 
- Eberle had a masterful game.  He converted on his chances and made the right passes all night.  You can see how much respect the he has for RNH, he gives him the puck every chance he can in tight, knowing something will happen.
- Eager played better.  He was using his forecheck quite effectively, although I don't remember him running anyone.  He's in the right positions for goals, but seems snake bitten as well. 
- Smyth, hard nosed as always.  Going into the hard areas of the boards and coming out with the puck somehow.  He's insanely strong on the puck in the corners.  With the new way that the NHL is calling penalties, this suits his game to a "T".

Peckham vs Carcillo after hitting Hemsky

Chicago notables.
- Duncan Keith looks rough out there.  He got burned numerous times by our speed and made some bad decisions with the puck that led to counterattacks.  He will regain his form though. 
- Bickell is bad. 
- Kane is what Gagner should strive to be.  Same size of player, but he's so elusive. 
- Toews was the only player that did anything all night.  He created everytime he touched the puck and is impossible to knock off.  Peckham, Teubert and Chroney had a rough time. 
- Montador got burned all night.  Bad pinches that led to 3 on 2's and consistently made defensive zone passes that put the receiver in a bad position.  Reminded me of Tom Gilbert the past 3 years. 
- Emery can be blamed for the second goal by Jones as he threw a backhand off the rush from Emery's left side.  He leaned to the pass option which was enough room for Jones' backhand to find the fivehole.  CBC announcer Weekes said it's been happening to a lot of goalies this season. 
- I like Carcillo.  He's what our young Oilers team needs.  Brings grit, hits and is an antagonizer.  Is he good in the room though? 
- Leddy looks like a stud.  I'm assuming he's taking over Campbell's role on the team.  The Hawks definitely missed Seabrook tonight.  But to be honest I don't think it would have made much of a difference in the score line. 

I was browsing the Chicago Blackhawks Hockeysfuture message board last night after the game and found this quote, made me laugh. 

Jayznsmith
"Worst. Game. Ever.
That was like a video game, where Edmonton has been playing every day and knows all the tricks and good moves ... and the Blackhawks are playing w/ an upside-down controller."
http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=1033659&page=12

Oilers need to build on losses

Banff Gondola

What a relaxing long weekend.  I ended up in Banff with some awesome people for a birthday party and although it is a “tourist” town, we still managed to have a great time.  Gotta give a shout out to the cafeteria cook at the top of the Gondola for giving me an extra piece of fish in my Fish and Chips meal.  Tasty!  I managed to catch some UFC, but missed the Pacquiao vs Marquez  fight.  There was no hockey at the few bars I hit up, which was a travesty.  Anyways, it was great getting away and not think about the Oil’s fall from grace.        

On with the blog. 

The Oilers went on a 6 game road trip that started off with a 2-1 record before losing the last 3 games to the Elite of the NHL.  This is where they were truly tested, and before people say the roof is coming down; consider the circumstances they were in.  The Oilers played 5 games in 9 nights into hostile, almost reverence territory, with teams that are considered the established perennial favourites of their divisions every year.  These wide-eyed rookies visited 4 of the Original 6 teams in the NHL which is quite daunting. 

In each loss, the Oilers started too passive.  They sat back, played defensive and tried to react to turnovers.  They didn’t forecheck and had absolutely no puck support.  Trying not to blanket statement, but one thing I’ve noticed this year is they rarely initiate a hit, instead the players have been reacting with rub outs along the boards, never putting themselves out of position.  I believe the only person I’ve see take a run at someone is the rookie Petrell.  What I’d like to see is a simple dump and chase from the 3^rd or 4^th line into the corner and make the defence think twice about an easy play.  Trying to play a Phoenix styled game without any puck pressure is ludicrous.  Ben Eager where are you?  Jonesy, stop trying to guide them around the corners, lay someone out.  Sometimes being a really nice guy shouldn’t translate onto the ice too.  Look at Iginla.  The Oilers really need Eager to be aggressive on the forecheck by using his big body and surprising speed into the corners.  Speaking from experience, this would help the other lines create turnovers in the offensive end.  I digress. 

Special Teams:

vs Phoenix- 0-2 power play, 1-2 penalty kill

vs Boston- 1-5 power play, 2-5 penalty kill

vs Detroit 0-3 powerplay, 0-5 penalty kill

vs Chicago 1-3 powerplay, 1-3 penalty kill

Overall they went 2 for 13 (15%) on the powerplay and 4 for 13 (71%) penalty kill.  The worst part is they took bad penalties at inopportune times.  When they had momentum and making a comeback, penalties in particular by Peckham have cost them.  Peckham has to learn how to be aggressively smart.          

Barker’s penalty against the Bruin’s was one of the most selfish plays I’ve seen from a player in a long time.  With the Oiler’s furiously mounting a comeback his penalty opened the floodgates in the final 3 minutes where the Bruin’s responded with a 2 goals by Lucic and Marchand 0:44 seconds apart.      

The Phoenix game was a close game, Whitney scored an empty net goal.  The Oilers sat back and lost to the very style they are trying to emulate.  Lack of forechecking by the Oilers and strong, but borderline wall play by the Coyotes resulted in turnovers in every zone.  Felt like playing my buddy DC at Chess in junior high.  He just sat back and replicated every move I made on the board until I made a mistake and he would eat my queen.   

The Bruins presented the best challenge to the young team as the mostly intact Stanley Cup Winners came at them hard.  Chara shut down the Hemsky line, while the kids were ineffective against their second line defensive pairing.  A costly penalty by Barker nullified a come back.  The Oilers fought hard but didn’t have the ammo to fight back.  In a game of war, the Bruins had an ace to every king the Oilers drew from the deck.  They needed more push, more spunk in their game.  Raask was solid in net, he made some remarkable saves, but there was no second chance efforts.  He left some juicy rebounds that needed to be buried.  The Oilers have gone away from crashing the net like they did during their win streak.  Lazy shots from the point by Gagner should have been corner dump-ins or low deflectable passes.               

The Oilers had every chance to make it close but fatigue was a problem in the Wings game.  They don’t get much credit, but the Wings are elite forecheckers.  Their super quick forwards are able to close enough ground on our defenceman to create turnovers, and their rock solid defence corp pinched along the boards.  The Oilers looked sluggish and disinterested at times, but I can’t really blame them.

Lastly, the surging Blackhawks were out to prove a point against our young kids.  Kane’s slick style and Toews relentless assault was too much for Oilers.  This was a learning curve of epic proportions.  This is the team that the Oilers have been compared to for the past 2 years as the recipe for success.  In reality, a couple of bad bounces and Montador playing out of his mind, turned into a loss.  Seemed like the Oilers were fishing and just couldn’t reel it in to stay even.  Everytime goal the Oilers scored, the Blackhawks responded to keep the lead by 2. 

They stood a chance to win each game they lost.  They were not blown out as the scores suggest.  Some mental lapses resulted in a goal against, but overall their play didn’t deviate from the 6 game winning streak and the current 3 games losing.  Khabibulin couldn’t steal any games, but kept them respectable. 

The sky isn’t falling, perhaps it’s getting a little cloudy, but that’s fine.  This is where you find out how resilient your team is.  When the low is low and the koolaid has run out.  Championship teams build from this.  What they learned and how they stand up will determine what personnel they have for the future. If that means sending MPS to the minors to work on his game, so be it.  I need to know right now if he can accept that role for the betterment of his future or not.  I believe that Smyth’s role in the organization just became more important as he is inevitably spreading calmness to the kids.  Hemsky needs to regain his form, Gagner needs a change of scenery more than Cogliano ever did, and Smid is a stud.                

This is the Sam Gagner we all miss.

Top pick stats

How good is a top 10 player?  Just because a team has picked in the top 10, it doesn't guarantee anything. 

The Senator's selected first back to back in '95 and '96 and finished with a 31-36-15 barely making the playoffs.  They were led by Yashin.
The Islander's selected 15 top 10 picks from 1989 - 2000, 7 picks in the top 5.  Obviously they were not good teams with so many high picks, but Mad Mike certainly didn't help.   
Florida has had 9 top 10 picks and 5 top 5 picks in the past 10 years .  They still stink.  I take it back, I really like the make up of their roster this year and they will make the playoffs. 
 
Let's name a few notable first pick overalls:
Roman Hamrlik- Tampa
Alexander Daigle- Sens
Ed Jovanovski- Florida
Bryan Berard- Sens
Chris Phillips- Sens
Patrik Stefan- ATL
Rick Freaking Dipietro- Islanders
Erik Johnson- St Louis

All within the past 18 years. 

Having said all this, Ryan Nugent Hopkins has shown in his brief stint an uncanny skillset that is far and above his size.  An ability to doggedly pursue and strip the puck from players, all world ice vision and passing, and a determination to be better every game.  He is the real deal. 
As much as I love Hall, I've seen some glaring holes in his game that can be a cause for concern.  His inability to change speeds on the rush makes him predictable to check from the defenceman, and his decision making in an offensive situation coupled with some lazy penalties in the offensive zone.  He will be a great player if he doesn't try to do everything on his own.

Are the Oilers finally contenders?

As the weeks go on and the Oilers hold their place atop the standings the biggest question around the NHL is, are those young Oilers for real?  Do they own a legitimate record amongst the elite teams?  Where teams like the San Jose Sharks, Detroit Redwings, Washington Capitals, Vancouver Canucks, Pitsburgh Penguin's and Chicago Blackhawks have been occupying for the past 5 years.

The Oiler's are currently 1st in the Northwest Division and 2nd in the Conference with a 9.3.2 record.  They have the leagues best goal's against and 6th in goal differential with +10.  However they are 24th in goals scored with only 33 through 14 games.  Netminder Khabiboulin is the top goaltender in the league with a 0.98 goals against and 0.964 save percentage.  We all know this, it's been beat down our throats the past 2 weeks. 

So are the Oilers for real?  If we're going by stats alone, it looks like the old stifling defence of a Dallas team in '96-'99 that only averaged 167 goals per season and Mike Modano was the scoring leader.

I've been criticizing the Oilers quite a bit the past few weeks, refusing to drink the fan-made Oilers koolaid, and getting chirped for not "enjoying the wins".  I do enjoy the wins, I love every single second of it.  I love rubbing it in the faces of  the Calgary Flames and especially the overrated Vancouver Canucks.  However, that doesn't mean we should book the Stanley Cup parade through downtown as some have already.  Wait...Let's be real, even if we won the Stanley Cup, City Council would abolish any parade as it only impacts a certain select group of tax payers.  Tony Caterina would need to make sure the roads are properly dusted, the parade route is economical, and only if the engineers have laid out a couple different options.  So why am I critical?  Well because they're playing like a team that isn't pushing a win, but trying not to lose.  This is deja vu from the old Mac T days, where he was under fire for not allowing the "offensive potential" to shine by implementing a defensive system.  Heaven forbid.  The only difference right now is an insanely hot goalie and the creative juices of the kid line (we still don't have a bonafide name for them).  I was the biggest Mac T critic.  I hated how we would go into a defensive shell in the third period, I screamed profanities when Toby Peterson played more minutes than Hemsky, I yelled WTF everytime I saw Ty Conklin, and laughed when Ethan Moreau took penalties but was never benched.  Let's not forget how stellar Tommy Salo was for us, as Khabby is now.  I really don't want to jump into comparisons, so I will get back on topic.

The kid line is exciting, getting hard minutes on the road and soft minutes at home.  When will they break out on the road while facing the other team's top defence pairing every night?  Would that line still be a success if they score 30+ points at home and 10-15 points on the road?  Or will they fall into the Gagner-Cogliano-Nilsson trap again?  Obviously the skill level of RNH, Hall and Eberle is not even close.  These kids will be NHL'ers for the next 18 years if they keep improving on their god given skills and drive.

Right now the Oilers are arguably the best counterattack team in the NHL (I'd put Washington up there as well), solid team defence where the forwards are pinching down to help the defencemen in the zone, and stellar goaltending.  The second line with Horcoff and Smyth has been outstanding.  They take over the game when the kids are not producing and fight for every inch on the ice.  It's been great seeing Smyth dart from the boards to the net in a relentless pursuit of the puck.  You can't teach that passion.  He lives it everytime he's on the ice.  So what can the Oilers improve on?         
The Oilers need to work on sustained pressure through smart forechecking, and what I mean is good puck support on the player entering the zone via dump in from the winger.  The center can hang back and pick off any outlet passes, and the defencemen can step up to cut off passes at the line.  However, when the Oilers have a lead, they're sending 1 winger high, and the other 2 forwards are covering the defensive side of the faceoff circles, which is essentially a 1-2-2 in from the center line out.  It's almost like a wait and see approach that Phoenix has been implenting for the past 3 years post-Gretzky.  We've seen this success for the Minnesota Wild for far too many years.  The Tampa Bay Lightning implemented a hard 1-2-2 system from the neutral zone out against the Flyers, which turned into the greatest debacle since Avery's face washing job on Brodeur in the playoffs.    
The Oilers need a third line.  It is without a doubt that Gagner is not in the long term plans of the Oilers.  He's too small, too slow and easily checked off the puck.  He tries headfakes through the neutral zone without moving his feet, and he's rubbed off the puck in the corners.  He's trying, but something just isn't right.  Belanger is the defensive specialist we've needed since Peca left, and MPS is struggling like something fierce.  Once this line is tweaked so that Gagner isn't being showcased, then we'll see how good this team can be.  For the Oilers to be contenders, I truly believe the key is this line.  So what would I do?  I would move Jones to the fourth line with Belanger and Eager/Petrell.  And give Lander, Magnus Paajarvi and Omark a real shot.  Not benching him for every mistake he makes.  Renney needs to show him patience and confidence. as he has done for Gagner, Cogliano and Paajarvi.  The kid wants to work at it, he hasn't flown back to Europe or demanded a trade. 

So are the Oiler's are for real?
Yes they are, they're playing solid team defence that is sustainable.  The kid line will continue to draw hard minutes, and Horcoff/Smyth is not a fluke.  The fourth line is consistently good.  They might not get unbelievable goaltending every game, but if they can get points for every 2 of 4 games, they'll be just fine and in the playoffs.  Anything can happen in the playoffs.

The Walking Dead

My first real personal post will pay homage to my favorite series on TV, and how I feel like I can jump right into the zombie extras without any makeup right now. 

As usual I wake up, make my strawberry-banana milkshake with the Magic Bullet and head to work.  And work went like this: Work, e-mail group chat with the most hardcore Oiler fans I know, work, some more work, some more awesome emails.  Somewhere in there, I decided to eat my salad.  Yes, I made a salad, gotta start this healthy eating thing.  My friend Trish used to have a salad every single day, she'd eat it with just vinegar.  Didn't look appealing, but she is in great shape.  Might have to try that.         
Anyways, I have soccer right after work at 7 pm, and then an ice hockey game at 10:30 pm.  I know right?  FML>SMH>WTF.

There's a little gap so I sleep in my car, hobo-like in a semi crowded parking lot.  There's a mom across from me talking on her phone but I don't care.  Rip off the shoes, lean the seat back and pass out...for like 5 mins before a horde of kids start laughing as they walk to the soccer center.  Stupid runts.  I look over and they're probably 6 year olds in their soccer uniforms, half tempted to roll down my window and scream some profanities.  Tell them that Beiber is really a boy, or that their parents are Santa Clause.  Crush all their dreams.  Meh, I'm too tired. 

I can't fall asleep so I saunter to the soccer center, maybe catch a game of our youngest upcoming stars.  I fully realize how much soccer has grown in Canada since I was a kid.  The stands are jam packed with parents and fans of all religions.  Look over and notice a tiny 6 to7 year old girl in her winter boots kicking the ball against the wall with whom I presume is her brother.  The ball is as big as she is...almost.  A random guy who's also watching them comments that she's going to be a star one day, and he wasn't joking.  Check this, I'm not even exaggerating, I wanted to take a video (thought better of it for legal reasons!) she does a step over and unleashes a top foot power kick.  Seriously?  This girl has better handles than some grown men I know....she's literally 2 foot nothing in pink winter boots, a fluffy jacket a little too big and Hello Kitty toque with the protruding ears.  She looks over at us and smiles, then does a crossover side foot and scores. Team Canada, scout this girl right now.

My soccer team is in a new division and it's been ultra competitive, but we've posted a win and draw in the first 2 games.  As we step onto the field, I notice the other team is entirely made up of asians.  And because I'm half chinese, I know they're hardcore mainlanders, Mandarin.  Definitely Fob's (Fresh Off the Boat).  Last time I seen so many Fob's in one place was in '99, my buddy Chai and AC were playing ball at Stadium, a guy shoved Chai, I jumped in, it turned into huge pushing match that WWE would be proud of.  I didn't care for Fob's since then, so this was going to be interesting.  Every Fob had a different haircut and hair color.  I didn't know red came in so many shades.  It was as if they all decided no one could look the same as the other.  I guess when you have a population of 3+ billion you have to try and be unique to stand out.               

Our team jumps out to a quick 3 goal lead on some weak plays by their defence and fortuitous bounces.  I expected more from them to be honest.  Usually these guys are quick little mofo's but we straight up shut them down.  As the game wore on, they started to complain more and dive on 50/50 balls, they must have cried foul on every jook and jive.  They couldn't compete with us, and were severely outclassed to a tune of 5-0.  The score should have been at least 8-0 if we could finish.  Joy.  I sat in the dressing room thinking of excuses not to go to Hockey later.  By this time it was about 8:45 pm.  I usually stay for post game chatter, drinks, but I definitely have to peace it.  Bill already get's up and leaves because he's asked to drive Tuskar home.  Hilarious.  Maybe I can fake an injury...naw, I'm not that kinda guy.  As my buddy Dustin would say, FM, FML.          

Oilers win!!  3-1 with an Empty net goal.  This day is going great.  Unfortunately I hear Khabby stole another one for us, which is good, but not where we need to be if we want to contend for the cup. 

I'm driving home and I call up Damien, hoping he'll tell me the game was cancelled.  Nope.  It's still on, and I'm feeling sick just thinking about having to gather enough energy to put on my gear.  If you've ever played full gear hockey, you'll know that shit takes some serious effort.  A full 20 minutes of suiting up minimum. 

It's 10:00 pm, was watching some Storage Wars, where the hell did the time go?  I quickly drive to the arena, thankfully it's only 15 minutes away.  Get in and hope to god it's cancelled.  Wrong.  The arena is small, the dressing room probably holds just enough for a pee-wee team, much less a men's team.  We manage to squeeze in with some bromance thrown around. 

We get on the ice at around 10:30 pm and surprisingly our roster is full.  There's no way I can double shift shit at this point.  I'm thrown on a line with 2 junior players that had a chance of being drafted in the NHL.  Our line dominates.  I'm not just talking a little bit domination, probably a disgusting 95% of the time we were in their zone with full puck possession.  I find another gear and go balls out  cause it's fun.  My freaking legs hurt so bad, a nasty buildup of lactic acid.  The ice is surprisingly perfect for such a beat up arena.  Final score, 8-3.  I didn't have a jersey so all my points get added to the "team player" on the score sheet.  Not going to lie, I've probably had 5-6 points jacked from my name this year because I don't have an official jersey.  I just want the win, but I'm disappointed I should have scored a few.  I feel snakebitten like MPS...maybe not that bad, probably Eberle. 

I zombie drive into Mcdonalds.  I swear I didn't mean to!  I've only had 2 bananas, an apple, my shake and the salad all day. 

Right now, marks one of the most exhausting days I've ever had...well maybe in the past 5 years post-fatness. As I'm writing this I just downed 2 chicken mcnuggets, half a pop and some of my super-sized fries...and it tastes so good. Freaking tired. So bad I don't even know if this will make sense in the morning. 

P out!

Hemsky and Barker Draw in vs the Habs

Hemsky will be playing with Horcoff and Smyth tonight.  I don't anticipate it lasting too long as it leaves the team without a traditional shut down line. 

So who draws out?  I'm thinking it will be Lander, as Belanger will slip to the fourth line and center Eager/Petrell, while the third line will consist of Gagner back to his "dominant" position with MPS and Jones.   

So who will the Oilers use against the Gionta tandem?  We'll see.  But my bets are on the Horcoff line to continue to eat up hard minutes if Gagner continues to struggle in every facet of the game. 

I'm expecting a breakout game from Hemsky as he's rested and anxious to return. 

EDIT: MPS moves to the pressbox where Jones will play with Gagner and Belanger.


Interesting quotes:

I can’t really think too much about it. I have to play on instinct, that’s how I got here. I play my best hockey when I don’t think. - Magnus Paajarvi

I think we’ve all kind of heard the talk that we’re bound to fall again, that we’re bound to get kicked back to the curb. We don’t want that to happen. - Taylor Hall