Oilers at Flames, G57/07-08
I don’t know the betting line on tonight’s game but the Calgary Flames are going to be bitchy.
They are a way better team than they showed in Edmonton this week and seem the suck of late no matter the opponent.
I read somewhere that Sutter came down from his office (one imagines his office being more like a coffee room where people work efficiently and eat their lunch from a brown paper bag without saying a word for the entire hour) and had a talk to the team.
Sutter’s delivery is such that the message usually gets through and since Keenan is acting like the good cop there’s every chance a fire has been lit under 20 bums.
I was looking at the Oilers roster this morning and the list of draft picks in the KP era (2001-2007) who have made the grade is impressive:
- 2001-Hemsky
- 2002-Stoll, Greene
- 2003-Stortini, Brodziak
- 2004-
- 2005-Cogliano
- 2006-
- 2007-Gagner
A nice selection of players with two quality talents as bookends. The other role players are on their way. Incredibly, one NHL career in the Prendergast draft era is already over. Jussi Markkanen will always have a place in Oilers lore.
This is the biggest game the Oilers will have played since game 7 of the SCF.
Winning would be nice, but it matters more how the Oilers play today. A character builder for all the Oilers young guys.
I read somewhere that Sutter came down from his office…and had a talk to the team.
Sutter did something similar last year when the Flames were struggling in March. They went on a 6 game winning streak afterwards. I don’t know what was said then – or now – but considering the club’s play of late Im guessing it was a “fear of god” kind of talk.
The Oilers have actually looked pretty good recently, despite the loss of Horcoff. That said, I hope we finally cream you guys tonight.
Go flames.
Metro: This is YOUR time for crying out loud. The Flames have to play like jackals this evening or Sutter will have them searching for nuts just after midnight.
I wonder what he said to Langkow and Huselius. “Listen you guys play better or you wont be on the ‘err’ I will trade you to ‘err’ F*** you two you need to play better.”
How bout that Smid! Wins a fight!
Now if he can just get his decision making process tweaked, i.e. actually make one and set it 12 speeds higher I’d absolutely love the guy.
Flames are in trouble. The Oilers should be mush by now and it’s 1-0.
If Calgary is a serious contender for the Stanley they need to bury Edmonton.
All of the Oilers skill players look like Nancy’s tonight.
Except Hemsky.
That period was suprisingly less painful than expected. The Regehr-hemsky-boarding-no-call was expected, other than that Calgay just don’t seem to have the extra gear I expected. I assumed tonight would be a full-on crucifixion.
Maybe Edmonton answering the fisticuffs early tempered the momentum a bit. Things may get much worse in the 2nd.
Wtf are Moreau doin’ has all the time in the world to clear the zone and just try to do some nifty move on his own blue line. Reasoner has been brutal this game, looking totally lost out there.
Anyway now it’s GAME OVER
MacT is matching either 12-16-89 or 51-8-46 up against Iginla. Good call.
The Oilers defense is killing them tonight. The forwards are getting pounded from the red line in and Gilbert and Pitkanen look like they’d rather be playing Nintendo or something.
And Greene.. ugh.
Few points, and please keep in mind the beer is flowing at this point
- Is anyone taking any sort of track of the scoring chances? I feel they’re actually pretty close right now, the difference being the Oilers can’t buy one while Nolan gets one off his crotch and a second where Garon falls on his ass.
- This is probably the worst game that Gilbert has played as an Oiler.
- How many names has Mark Lee mutilated tonight? Smid, Grebeshkov, Gagner, Moreau… Christ.
- Nice to see the team answer the bell, but someone has to feed Huselius a stick if they want to make Calgary stop.
- Robyn Regehr is dirty, and I hope that one day he ends up on the wrong side of a hit like that, and never plays again. It couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.
- I’m sick of the refs letting everything go… and then calling a gay little hook.
- Ethan Moreau and Dustin Penner are on my shit list. Get the fucking puck out of your own fucking zone.
- I don’t think I have much in common with Kevin Lowe. He played in the NHL, I’m playing Junior C. He was a defenseman, I’m a power forward. I’m going to school, he went to the NHL. I knew Joffrey Lupul was a POS before he came here, Lowe thought he could score 40 here.
But know what is true? We’re both proud, and we’re both pretty emotional guys. There’s no way in hell his blood doesn’t boil when he hears “Oilers suck! Oilers suck! Oilers suck!” in Calgary’s barn.
Hopefully it motivates him to do something.
… and hopefully, whatever that is, it’s not something stupid.
Tonight the Oilers really missed Horcoff imo and it points out that players who combine grit and skill are just extremely valuable.
With the exception of Ales Hemsky I haven’t seen one forward look like he was going to do much at all.
Penner a little maybe.
LT:
Fully agree, with one minor exception…
Cogliano. I think he’s had a pretty strong game, by my eye at least.
PDO: Yeah, except I’m pretty disappointed in his finish.
Garon should be allowed to kick his teammates in the junk after the game. Lordy.
LT:
Should he? He let in two vomit worthy goals tonight. He’s not getting a lot of support, but games like tonight are cyclical, and you could just see the entire team sag after the 2nd Nolan goal.
Cogliano needs more finish for sure. Hopefully he takes a page out of Fernando’s (or Scorecoff’s) book, and shoots 500 pucks after every practice…
Garon has been unlucky more than crappy imo and made a couple of beauty saves when this game was in doubt.
Lots and lots of poor decisions everywhere tonight.
Agree on Cogs, his Desjardins numbers imply a better player than we’re seeing but then again he’s a rookie.
Robert Nilsson is the new Petr Klima. Nothing for 55 and then bang!
I’d love to see Horcoff and Nilsson made roomies when they’re on the road…
If someone could put Horcoff’s heart into Nilsson, he’d be Dany Briere.
Impressive game by the Oil;)
Falcons won their second in a row.
Riley Nash with 2 goals tonight.
He would have had a 3 point night, but the scorekeeper took away his assist.
PJ Oil: Are you KIDDING me? I’m going 15 rounds with Bryan over at HF tonight over scorekeepers and assists.
When it rains it pours.
I’m enjoying that thread
That’s what we need more from you LT. A little more opinionated, willing to get your nose dirty
I’m too old to get into pissing contests on message boards, PJ Oil.
Having said that if there had been an HF the day they dealt Messier I’d have gotten myself a ban for life.
Forgot to mention, both of Riley Nash’s goals were on the PP, after the team was down 4-0.
Yeah, I can be a glass empty kind of guy.
When you look at Staios every night he eats the EV and usually has 4:00 PK. With Souray gone Smid is getting his 4:00 Pk. Can we currently unload any of our Dmen. I thought we could. I find it hard to believe. Gilbert and Pitkanen sure lost a bunch of battles.
It is games like tonight that we find out who can step forward in the trenches…
Gilbert and Pitkanen sure lost a bunch of battles.
Some people want to open up the vault for Pitakanen & Gilbert – pay them full value on a long term contract “on potential”.
For some reason I want to see proof of the potential…