Flames at Oilers PS, G6/09-10
The Edmonton Oilers are slated to run a mostly-NHL lineup tonight against the Calgary Flames. It’s probably safe to say that any at-bats given to bubble boys from here on in means said players are under serious consideration for the final roster. Here are tonight’s projected lines and pairings:
- Horcoff-Jacques-Hemsky: The top line auditions continue, although at this point the smart money would be on Dustin Penner returning (the Comrie-O’Sullivan chemistry probably sealed the deal). Jacques’ seems to have improved conditioning this fall and he certainly does have some skills.
- Brule-Penner-Nilsson: Big game for Brule and Nilsson I’d think, if this line popped a couple of goals it might help the chances of Brule and Nilsson making the big club.
- Cogliano-Moreau-Brennan: Interesting line here, Pisani would seem to be the obvious choice for the Brennan role. It’ll be a tough night if Brennan ends up being overwhelmed by the Flames’ veterans.
- Comrie-O’Sullivan-Stone: I can see this line staying intact for opening night. Stone gives the line some grit and aggression, O’Sullivan has some experience in the NHL and Comrie can help an offense.
- Souray-Gilbert: It’s a logical pairing if we assume Gilbert is the puck mover/guy who pinches and Souray is the stay-at-home guy until they need the Field Marshal.
- Grebeshkov-Visnovsky: This has potentially hilarious possibilities. If Grebeshkov forgets the tinfoil hat and Lubo goes walkabout the Oilers might be looking on a few three-on-none’s going the other way.
- Strudwick-Smid: I wonder if Strudwick is in any kind of trouble on this roster. They have Chorney on the roster currently and Strudwick might be vulnerable. Not likely, though.
- Khabibulin: SO in his first game, make it two in a row?
Proof Quinn doesn't watch tape: Strudwick-Smid.
For the love of Yahweh.
I get that Lubo's a bit of a nancy right now after surgery but these guys were money together last year. I'm hoping that this is the pairing that we open and continue into the season with.
I'm standing back in awe of Quinn. Love that the roster is completely fluid right now with everybody moving all over in search of chemistry.
Props to Ryan Stone for coming out of almost-nowhere to almost-steal a spot. Will be interesting to see if he can keep it up.
Although… it's hard to tell if he's just been riding the POS-Comrie bus.
Raise your hands if you love our top four:
Smid-Babchuk for example would make it a sick top six.
Is Cogs really going to be a centreman? Can't see him, Comrie, AND Gagner up the middle to start the season. Poor Horc.
Let's see if the Bulin Wall is still a Kipper-slayer. Hope that trend starts early and continues until April.
J-BO and Regehr playing? Maybe JFJ can de-bilitate one of them before the season. He's on that line for a reason, no?
If Grebeshkov forgets the tinfoil hat
lol – I love that image in my head.
Do you think Quinn is pressing the Smid-Strudwick button really hard to squeeze out Steady Steve?
I think at this point whenever a veteran doesn't play it's likely he's either tweaked something or the team is satisfied that he's good to go.
The concern is for people like Schremp who aren't even getting into the lineup. I piss on him a lot but him not playing is a tell.
Rob Schremp has played 2 pre-season games, and the Oilers are about to play JF Jacques and Ryan Stone for the 4th time.
looks very much like the lineup he wants to run with to start. LT i think you are right about the top line. Put Penner there, put Pisani in for brennan. I think the player who may have hurt himself in terms of playing time is Gagner. he hasn't played well at all. Cogliano has clearly outplayed him, and so has comrie. At this point i wonder if Gagner may be moved to the wing, unless they plan on sending out Pouliot, and going with the smurf centres.
And if he wants to roll 4 lines, i wonder if he rolls out like this:
Gagner-Horcoff-Hemsky
Stone-Comrie-O'Sullivan
Penner-Cogliano-Pisani
Moreau-Brule-Stortini
Jacques-Pouliot
Eberle will stick for a few regular season games and may play with Cogs and Penner. if he doesn't blow them away i think he gets sent down (and that is what they should do). And you can sub in Jacques for Stone if Stone struggles. And i really think Nilsson gets waived. Unless he lights it up the next few games I think he's gone.
I'm standing back in awe of Quinn. Love that the roster is completely fluid right now with everybody moving all over in search of chemistry.
I'm in awe as well, though not in a good way. I thought maybe new coaches would recognise line combinations sooner and let them play together for a few preseason games so that we don't have a big BETA sign next to the Oildrop on the players jerseys when they hit the ice in October like we seem to always have. So far it appears Quinn and company are not any better than MacT and friends at this. Why are grinders playing on top lines every game? Does Quinn just really love to have pairs of players that can play together and the rest is just filler?
When do we see Horcoff Penner Hemsky?
I'm still willing to give Quinn some slack but I hope things start to fit together soon. I worry so.
Just to add to that, I do know it's preseason and all the top lines shouldn't play together for the entire time. I just wish they'd play some players that are likely to play together if the set units are slumping or there is an injury or whatnot. Is JFJ going to step in for Penner if that line isn't producing? Not likely. Why not play someone higher on the depth chart in the preseason games that might actually have to fill that position during the season?
I laughed for two minutes at that tin-foil hat bit…..and there I go again.
You're in mid-season form LT.
If we are playing the guessing game I'll chime in:
Penner Horc Hemsky
O's Comrie stone/Nillson
Cogs Gags Pisani
Moreau Brule Stortini
Here is a question i was debating with a friend:
Would you do Nillson, Grebs, 2nd
For D. Stafford
That would solidify our 2nd line and make a fairly well rounded roster.
Ribs – isn't that precisely what is happening here? Quinn said he preferred to think about complementary duos rather than lines. So Horcoff-Hemmer, Comrie-O'Sullivan and Moreau-Cogliano look set to roll into the season. He's still looking for the right fits on those lines, which is fair enough since MacT couldn't find them in over two years.
On the flip side if Quinn would have played JFJ 5 minutes a night on the 4th line like MacT we probably never would've known what we had under our nose.
JF is a player.
Nillson, Grebs, 2nd
For
D. Stafford
That is a over payment, if I ever saw one. I think Grebs (and maybe a 4th rounder) should get the deal done.
I don't know why the Grebeshkov-Visnovsky pairing would be a problem. They were a terrific tandem last year up until Lubo got hurt. In fact, this is basically the pre-injury defense we ran for most of last season with Staios being replaced by Strudwick tonight.
Good interview with Kip Brennan and Pat Quinn on the Oilers site from yesterday. Quinn is still looking for an enforcer that can play hockey, and thinks Brennan has that potential. Oh, and apparently goons do background research on their opponents on hockeyfights.com. I didn't think you needed scouting in order to punch a man in the face, but there you go.
Quinn's other interview has him saying that the veterans have to change their mentality, especially the forwards. Jordan Eberle's the best forward in camp? Some random shit about green tomatoes making a salad.
Jordan Eberle's the best forward in camp? Some random shit about green tomatoes making a salad.
Quinn didn't say that: he was asked if it was problematic (too soon? unfair? some negative adjective, anyway) to say that Eberle was the best forward in camp, and he burst into laughter and said that yes, it was. Then he likened him to a green tomato who wasn't ready for prime time salad. Then he looked at his belt and said "This onion, though…" and drifted slowly into a slumber.
For the first week of the pre-season, every team appeared to be icing a lineup of future cuts, so we're really only seeing meaningful pre-season for the next few games.
I do think that the Oilers have more prep work to do than many of their competitors, given that they are going to be learning some new systems and, hopefully, learning a new work ethic.
To be fair, I have seen what looks to me like honest effort out of many players in the early games and it might be that what is needed is to learn effective application of effort.
There are some bits of Quinn's interview that I heard on the radio yesterday that I don't think are included in the clip on the Oilers site. Highlights include some comments on the performance of the team over the last couple seasons and some observations on young players. Please be advised that I'm paraphrasing from memory:
Over the last couple years, the coaches have been playing 18 and 19 year olds and that's an uphill battle. Players that age have alot to learn and some of the things that worked for them in junior won't work at this level. In junior, you can still win without putting the work in – the guys from London are good examples of this.
We don't know how to win. There's an old story about Lowe and Gretzky passing by the Islanders dressing room after losing out in the Stanley Cup Final and realizing that winning requires sacrifice.
Is it a concern saying that Eberle has looked like the team's best forward? Yes! Absolutely. That's like taking a green tomato and trying to make a whole salad
Then he looked at his belt and said "This onion, though…" and drifted slowly into a slumber.
Bravo
Hate is a strong word, according to my Momma …
I fucking hate the fLAMES.
carry on
If Horc, Comrie and Cogliano are our top 3 centremen, where does Gagner play?
4th line centre, or winger on one of these three lines? And where would that place Mr. Penner?
Penner and Cogs have been a good duo in the pre-season thus far, but that would mean Gagner plays 1LW, and I'm not sure that's a good fit for Hemsky, nor for PvP match-ups.
So Gagner takes the winger spot next to Cogliano, and they take the butter minutes? Unless Stortini plays 2RW that pairing brings us back to the hobbit line again.
In today's Edm Journal Jim Matheson says:
"Former Columbus GM Doug Mac-Lean, on the FAN radio in Toronto, says the Blue Jackets are pitching Raffi Torres and Jason Chimera to get a puck-moving defenceman. Torres is out with back spasms and Chimera is recovering from being face-planted into the boards by the Minnesota Wild's Eric Belanger."
If Comrie came home it only makes sense that Torres and Chimera can as well. The Oilers have plenty of puck moving d-men (until injuries occur anyways).
Nillson, Grebs, 2nd
For
D. Stafford
And this one!
My previos two post on this were rude but Please!
Defencemen were top 40 in EV Production and PPproduction and above the league average in EVGA.
Rob Blake
Nick Lidstrom
Mike Green
Duncan Keith
Dennis Weidman
Dan Boyle
Brian Rafalski
Brian Campbell
Dennis Grebeshkov
Here's to hoping Jacques is good enough to hang with Horc and Hemmer.
You have someone to protect Hemmer on the ice. And you have someone who can lay the body on the other teams' best defenseman.
If Jacques is on the 4th line, he will never be on the ice at the same time as Regehr. If he is playing with Hemsky, Jacques can go head-hunting the other teams best defensemen like Regehr.
Jacques, Horcoff, Hemsky
O'Sullivan, Comrie, Stone
Moreau, Cogliano, Pisani
Penner, Gagner, Stortini
Nilsson, Pouliot
You know what the best part about being unemployed is?
On a beautiful late fall day, you can actually enjoy a lunch hour Corona without fear of getting terminated for cause.
I wish tonight's game was on TV. T-minus 10 days, 7 hours and 43 minutes until face-off of the regular season opener.
Jacques on the first line is the funniest thing ever.
//Jacques on the first line is the funniest thing ever//
If it were Lucic instead of Jacques, would it be the funniest thing ever?
i just found out that doug lynch is on a tryout in columbus.
So, if the Oilers get absolutely pistolwhipped tonight when both teams are playing fairly complete rosters, will that be just cause for Oiler fans to go emo and imbibe half a bottle of sleeping pills? Or is it OK to still wave the "It's on preseason!" flag?
You'd think that the veterans had damn well better show up tonight, win or lose. That's what I'll be keying on, which vets respond to Quinn's call to step up and which ones play like they still have MacT's "Benefit of the doubt" coupon in their wallet and are hoping it's transferable to new management.
I didn't think you needed scouting in order to punch a man in the face, but there you go.
I think it's more about knowing which hand is going to punch you in the face. Many a player has been bloodied in the past because they didn't know someone was a leftie. Plus, you can sometimes discern patterns in the way guys fight if you watch enough of their bouts, perhaps find a way to fake him into doing something stupid or take advantage of a particular tendency.
If Jacques is on the 4th line, he will never be on the ice at the same time as Regehr. If he is playing with Hemsky, Jacques can go head-hunting the other teams best defensemen like Regehr.
I would love to see Jacques level that twat with an ugly, borderline hit and get nothing more than five for fighting. It'd be just.
That being said, there's really no other reason to run Jacques out on the first line in meaningful games; I have a very difficult time believing he's the most effective option there, the one that'll best allow the team to win. If every other LW is playing well enough on their line that it balances out, and/or if he suddenly discovers his AHL hands in the NHL, then maybe yeah, we can justify it, but man, those are some hefty "if"s.
HBomb, that Contiki looks pretty good, except for Amsterdam. In all the other cities, you get to see a lot of the major sights.
In Amsterdam, where we all know there are plenty of things to see and do, you get to visit a "cheesemaker's farm". Woo. Hoo.
Unless that's some new code for something else, that's a bit of a letdown from the rest of the tour.
I also notice that the package there says "See the Tower of Pisa". They use "See the" a lot, and that's a pretty ambiguous phrase that I think I'd want clarified before ante-ing up the moolah. Why do you get to "visit" a cheesemakers farm, but only "see" Hradcany Castle?
As far as where to go… your instincts first told you Europe. Trust your instincts.
"Former Columbus GM Doug Mac-Lean, on the FAN radio in Toronto, says the Blue Jackets are pitching Raffi Torres and Jason Chimera to get a puck-moving defenceman. Torres is out with back spasms and Chimera is recovering from being face-planted into the boards by the Minnesota Wild's Eric Belanger."
Maybe we could flip Brule for Raffi.
Naw, that's crazy talk.
H Bomb – One cool way to see Europe is by train, which all run like clocks, and go everywhere and anywhere you can imagine. They've got a monthly pass that doesn't cost the sky, but you need to buy it before you leave, because it's so cheap. You can stay at youth hostels cheap, they're everywhere in Europe, and you get to meet all kids of interesting people in them. They're basic as per accomodation, but you get used to them in a hurry.
Amsterdam? You don't want to go anywhere there but the center, where the action is. Save cheese factories for your retirement, as you're supposed to be young, right?
Taking a coach(bus) around Europe might be what you want, if you enjoy sitting packed like a sardine for upwards of 10 hours per day in a hermetically sealed bus, then led around to one naff place after another, in a sheep like herd of people.
"Maybe we could flip Brule for Raffi.
Naw, that's crazy talk."
Brule, Staios & Grebeshkov
for
Torres, Chimera & Hejda
Bigger & Faster Baby!
Brule, Staios & Grebeshkov
for
Torres, Chimera & Hejda
Bigger & Faster Baby!
Bigger and faster?
How about just flat-out better? That would do it, although we'd still need a center who can play some tough minutes and win a damn faceoff….
Pretty sure an outfit like Contiki has a plan for Amsterdam.
You can't exactly print "Smoke your brains out then go next door and watch the live sex shows in Amsterdam!"
Went to visit a few flooring mills in Germany and we spend 2 days in Amsterdam before we left. Glad I did it.
People are great, architecture is gorgeous, food is good. The whole red light/pot/mushrooms/live sex shows/prostitutes in windows scene is pretty wild and everything its cracked up to be.
Ok so do go crazy on me for suggesting that Kurri/Gretz are comparable to horc/hemmer.. but can we compare dave Semenko with Jacgues (or rather, the potential of a player of this type)
I wouldnt mind seeing a freight train on the loose, causing chaos..
I'm not sure why there is such love for Torres around here. He doesn't add much offensively and I'm not sold on his defensive ability.
He was wildly inconsistent while he was here, has he ever shown the ability to dominate the soft parade or break even against the toughs? He has a 2.25M cap hit. Who is he replacing on this roster? Moreau, Pisani? At least those guys have played the toughs.
I'm happy to hear arguments in support of Torres, but I do not understand the appeal.
Torres was a fantastic player who could turn a game around with a shift or a goal. Really he was the perfect player.
For about 15 games a season. The rest of the time he was not very helpful at all and somewhat helped to kill any momentum that the team had.
We all think about the 'what if he could bring it like that every night', but there is no evidence that he can.
HBomb: Amsterdam's Red Light District is Disneyland with donkey shows. Frankly, that scene sucks, unless mobs of asshole tourists of every race and nationality shadowed by skulking knife-packing locals are your cup of mushroom tea. Better to find a coffee shop of the beaten track and chill out with some of the finer local produce and talent in a place where the chances of you getting whipped with a bike chain by an angry pimp are >50%. But then you are a young man, so maybe facial scars and VD scares are part of the experience.
I can't vouch for the solidity of this info, but 'Soli' over at HF is saying that these are the tentative lines for the TB game:
Penner – Pouliot – Eberle
Moreau – Gagner – Pisani
Nilsson – Brule -
MacIntyre – Schremp – Reddox
Yeah Robbie…you're pretty much done here when it's game 7 of 8 in the preseason and your linemates are MacIntyre and Reddox. That would be OK if you were Brule or Pouliot, but for Schremp it may as well be a neon "WAIVER BAIT" sign over his locker room stall.
Looks like Rubbydubtown just got a new resident.
LittleFury: Sorry to hear about your bad pimp experiences, lol.
You're probably right, all the same.
Leidseplein, Amsterdam is where to go. It's like an adult Disneyland. Cool nightclubs and bars(unheard of cool to anyone who's never been outside of Western Canada), a river of drugs in the cafes, and for our irish friends the place is crawling with Micks all who seem to have opened bars that sell Guinness and Irish food.
No fucking way does any poxy bus tour spend time there. It's also withing easy walking distance to the great Rijksmuseum Art gallery, and the Van Gogh Museums, both of which anyone from the chuck should check out with a hangover, for cultural immolation bar none, lol.
Torres is flat out a better hockey player than Ethan Moreau. That's how I see it.
digger:
I'm probably the second biggest Schremp booster out there, but whoever his linemates are, he'd better score some goals PDQ – he was abysmal outside the first period in that game he played in last week, against who I don't even remember.
I'd still keep him around, and cut or waive someone else. Please don't bother to question this "wisdom", it doesn't have any basis in reality other than I hate to see anyone with his skill set jettisoned without a seriously good look.
Hell, even Guy Lafleur almost stunk out the habs in his first couple of seasons, before he "got it". People are in some twisted form of zeal to jettison this guy, on a team with bugger all offensive talent.
The thing I find interesting about Schremp is that he's not even being talked about. In his previous three seasons there was more of a buzz–from the fans, from the press–and because of it a big secondary story was that he didn't make the team.
Now he's close to being waived and can't get a mention. I suspect everyone has moved on already, maybe even Schremp.
I think he could have done more in his 5 seasons after the draft to make himself into a player. Others believe the coach (MacT) is totally to blame while still others think it is a combination of the two.
Bottom line: in the words of Paul Anka (via Buddy Holly) it doesn't matter anymore.
LT, What did you think of the Matheson article on the cover of The Edmonton Journal sports section? I realize that you've been on trade watch for a while–though you seemed to stop on day 2 or so in terms of your posts.
To me, it's a pretty strong hint that we might finally move one of our offensive dmen… God help is if it's for one of the players listed in the article though.
I didn't see it. Let me go find it.
I think he could have done more in his 5 seasons after the draft to make himself into a player. Others believe the coach (MacT) is totally to blame while still others think it is a combination of the two
If Schremp could have been made to 'get it', MacT certainly wasn't the guy. I think MacT really has trouble empathising (which means something very different than sympothising) with players who have trouble being driven and/or motivated.
There are probably very very few people out there, if any, who could have really gotten through in time. Schremp needed to learn what it takes about 3 years ago so that he could develop the right skills (on top of his natural talent).
Personally, I hope he scores 5 goals in his next oppertunity and goes on to become a star on the Oilers, but I also hope that the Oilers win 5 cups in a row in the next decade to make up for the great failure of the 80's.
I sometimes have trouble with reality though.
Schremp and Mikhnov needed an above average intelligent organisation to baby their skill sets along, from junior hockey to the NHL. Slats would have probably known what to do(I mean 1986 Slats, not the bloated OAP currently receiving weekly blowjobs off Jim Dolan, running the S.S. NY Rangers).
For all the hype Lowe/MacTavish got from the EIG asslicking press over the past semi-decade, they never were worth shit developing players they drafted.
Then again, in these new fangled times hockey players aren't all from places like Flin Flon, Thunder Bay and Westlock, either.
Hunter:
You can't blame the Oilers for Mikhnov's development; if he was willing to play the game at a level below the NHL, there wouldn't be a problem.
As for Schremp, well it's been done to death, but people forget it wasn't an Oilers' coach healthy-scratching him his first year out of junior.
Jonathan: You're right. it's not the Oilers management, or coaches fault in any way shape or form. It's all the players fault.
LT, Khabibulin won't make it to SO's in a row since you Jyxned it!
But seriously, I really enjoy this site. Thanks for doing it and keep it up. Go Oil!!
Better to find a coffee shop …where the chances of you getting whipped with a bike chain by an angry pimp are >50%.
Man, LittleFury, whatever turns you on, I guess.
It's all the players fault.
He is not good enough
Never was
It ain't nobody's fault
Hunter:
Alexei Mikhnov's been playing professional hockey for 11 years. He's been coached for a sum total of 2 games by an Oilers' coach.
Like you, I blame MacTavish.
"Rob-Schremp-hockey" isn't hockey. Rob-Schremp-hockey begins when somebody passes him when the other team is a player short. So the window for "Rob-Schremp-hockey" is about 30 seconds per game at the NHL level.
NHL Games Played by the members of the 2006-07 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins who were 25 years of age or under:
Maxime Talbot: 261
Erik Christensen: 217
Robert Nilsson: 192
Tom Gilbert: 176
Kyle Brodziak: 175
Daniel Carcillo: 149
Marc Pouliot: 141
Tyler Kennedy: 122
Noah Welch: 73
J-F Jacques: 60
Ryan Stone: 8
Rob Schremp: 7
Jonathan Filewich: 5
Kurtis McLean: 4
Alexei Mikhnov: 2
Tim Sestito: 1
I've excluded Patrick Thoresen, Kris Letang and Chris Thorburn who didn't play very much in Wilkes-Barre that season, as well as the goalies.
Based on the crop of players there, I'd say Todd Richards probably knew what he was doing. Which means that when he scratched Schremp and called him out for using 'moves from junior', we can probably take him at his word.
JW with the Thunderous Slam Dunk!!!
I find it interesting that people still refuse to believe that MacT can make a player out of a junior hockey star with only one dimension and therefore Schremp's woes are not his own doing.
If only Dan Cleary was here, we could ask his opinion on the subject.
Hey, I blame MacT for a lot of things, but one thing I will not blame him for is for is scratching my sofa – thats my cat doing that.
hello?
Hi Dennis.
OK, this forum wasn't letting me type in comments earlier so I had to make a test post below.
Anyway, one of the least publicized stories from this camp has been Chorney's supposed ascension as the first call-up should one of the First 7 go down. I guess it could be a by-product of Peckham being a non-factor but the kid's stuck around for awhile and seems to be gaining some traction.
When I look at tonight's lines, I see 22 being the precursor for 27 taking back the 1st line LW spot.
Finally, Torres did some great work keeping his head above water playing tough min but the guy's making money these days and it looks like he's gonna be hurt each and every year and that dilutes his value.
Plus, if we're picking up salary, it should be for someone who can kill penalties and win faceoffs and stay healthy.
Malhotra for $700k.
*SIGH*
Yeah, that's disgusting coach. The Sharks pick up Malhotra and Heatley over the summer. Malhotra for $700k is just sick though.
If anyone's interested, Rob Bina is in camp with my Manitoba Moose. He's in tough given the talent that's being supplied by both Vancouver and Anaheim (we're getting some of their prospects because they have no farm team). But if he makes the grade, it'll be an interesting comparison between the decisions of a poor AHL team and a great AHL team.
Then maybe we question the judgements given other player examples like Cody Wild and Sebastien Bisallion.
Coach:
Actually, I imagine it's something like 630,000 for Malhotra and 70,000 for Malhotra's agent.
Get new advice, Manny.
Malhotra also turned down 8 million over 4 seasons from Atlanta.
Coach pb9617 said…
Malhotra for $700k.
*SIGH*
Only just a sigh? I have an F-word for that one.
Traktor:
I'd never heard about the length of the deal.
I think somewhere down the road Malhotra will regret that.
Jonathan Willis said…
Traktor:
I'd never heard about the length of the deal.
I think somewhere down the road Malhotra will regret that.
Yea… sometime down the road when he finally starts to forget how it felt to win a cup ring in 09/10.
;-D
I'm a competitive guy, but the difference between 2MM and 700K is a lot.
I'm a competitive guy, but the difference between 2MM and 700K is a lot.
Especially when your career is likely to be 10 yearsish.
Paul Lorieau needs to round into mid-season form damn quick.
He's lost weight though.
Yeah, JW, in financial terms that sure seems like a bad move by Malhotra.
It looks like he's hoping to do well and look great on a stacked team and then cash in next year.
But that's risky given that, due to the recent recession's impact on revenue, it's likely that more teams will have cap problems next year than this year.
Of course, someone will sign Malhotra next year, but it might be for less than he could've got this year.
But yeah winning a cup is nice.
—
No one has yet contemplated the true horror that Theo Fleury might score a goal on the Oilers tonight. I thought we'd buried the annoying-ness of "the little man" a long time ago. It's like a zombie movie.
But good on him.
Fuck.
Our goalie can't handle a puck.
So, unless my eyes are bad, hooking a goalie's stick while he's behind the net doesn't count as interference?
Why did Brule try stickchecking Glencross insteading of knocking him on his ass? I thought he was supposed to be a hitter.
Cheeseburger!
Penner (Strudwick, Nilsson)
Khabibulin stones Fleury twice in 0.5 seconds. For a moment there I thought I was back at Winnipeg Arena…memories.
Oh shit. Horcoff to the box with us already down a man.
Who goes out?
For those keeping track, O'sullivan followed by Stone were the forwards on the 5-on-3 PK.
JF JACQUES!
Jacques (Gilbert)
Jacques with a stat!
Kip Brennan just got 2 minutes for being Kip Brennan.
Roughing? Fuck off. You can't blame Souray for a 5'8" Dawes.
Nice refereeing. Maybe they can just play the entire game 2 men short, so the ref can show everyone what a big man he is.
Rod is just hammering into this ref, and for good reason.
< sarcasm > Wow, Rod Phillips is complaining about reffing, I have never heard him do that before. < sarcasm >
OK that's enough Rod. Announce the damb game.
Found out who's stolen Grebs' acid.
Ladi, what the hell are you doing out there?
I like the fact that Penner broke a stick, so he just threw Celine out of the zone like he was a little kid.
Visnovsky is sublime.
I fully understand that highlight videos are just propaganda for hockey starved masses, but Sheldon Souray is a wonderful hockey player.
Happy to see the Oil winning their share of faceoffs. I didn't enjoy the cycle that Iginla's line had going early in the period when it seemed like the Oil was just chasing the puck around their own zone, but the boys in blue have looked much better since then.
Early impressions on the bubble players:
Brule won a d-zone faceoff and had some o-zone pressure. Nilsson has looked good a couple times.
Weak goal for Jacques, who looked lost in the o-zone on one shift with 10 and 83. Good hit by Brennan followed by some good hitting by Moreau and then a run of penalties.
Stone invisible so far.
Was that Struds or Visnovsky streaking down the right side?
Is Hemsky playing drunk?
Weak goal for Jacques, who looked lost in the o-zone on one shift with 10 and 83.
Gotta disagree. He's doing exactly what is needed from him with 10 and 83. Drive to the net and get the puck on net. Granted that Penner can do this too, and likely better, but his stock is very high right now.
Hemsky at the start of this year looks a ton like Hemsky at the start of last year.
Not a good thing, btw.
IT"s always nice to see 22 dent twine but what about him being used as a primary PKer along with 10?
Penner on his goal:
We talked about that during practice. If you don't have a shot, just put it wide, we have some very lively boards
usually you score goals from the front of the net
How about another one, Captain Obvious?
I love his interviews.
Agree with the disagreement – Jacques does look tentative at times, but he's still making plays and hitting. Stone has also been alright by my eye – a few hits, driving the net, made a nice cross-ice pass under pressure. Smid has made a couple of bad passes and Lubo is amazingly skilled but as LT calls him, he's such a riverboat gambler.
When he's on, Hemsky is great PVP, but I wonder if he'd provide more value destroying weak opposition?
That's a question, not a statement.
Kris:
I'd say yes, but this team doesn't have the horses to not run pvp.
Hemsky looked like the best NHLer since Mario/Wayne for a handful of games after his concussion last season. He was unstoppable and making his opposition look silly.
Then he fell down an elevator shaft.
So far this preseason, it seems like he is still in the elevator shaft, and has no interest in finding the exit.
Ok, so first time im trying to watch a pre season game online and this shit thing is only playing oiler ads while the clock at the top clicks down… waassup with that?..
Is it cus im in calgary?!?!?
Dennis: 22 has quite the wingspan so he looks like he has the potential to get into a lot of passing/shooting lanes. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem overly mobile laterally to defend side-to-side passing and he generally looks like he doesn't know where he should be out there. Maybe a project there to work on, but I wouldn't want him being one of our top 4 PK guys at this time.
//IT"s always nice to see 22 dent twine but what about him being used as a primary PKer along with 10?//
He can't be any worse than most of the guys who were killing them last year.
MacT said he best himself in his TSN interview. To paraphrase: The players stopped believing in me. I stopped believing in the players.
Hemsky might be one of the players that will have to adjust most with Quinn's new 'style' of hockey.
It might take him a bit to get comfortable with his role and where to be on the ice.
Maybe?
Didn't Quinn say somethin today about not having enough quality defensive players to have a true 3rd line?
Anyone know this current song? I'm hearing it everywhere.
It's catchy, but quite poppy.
Oilmaniac: They don't have an intermission show. I'm okay watching it from BC.
Also, I've been paying attention to more sites around the league with the new job, and I have to give the Oilers credit: they offer a lot more, and a lot better, video features than most anyone else.
thanks JW
I have to agree with DG. Indeed, a couple more periods like that puts Jacques on the opening night roster, and not in the pressbox.
Granted, he was a bit lost, but he's pushing people off the puck really well and he's not slow.
Right now he looks like he should take Moreau's 3LW spot, but it's early, and it's preseason, so of course the vets haven't turned it up yet.
Interesting.
doritogrande: according to Shazam (iphone app) its…
Face Down
Red Jumpsuit Aparatus
… no idea which is the song name or which is the band name… not my style
Flames look halfway decent but there's this steroid kind of mannerism a lot of them exhibit, that spells regular season success/playoff failure.
Indeed, a couple more periods like that puts Jacques on the opening night roster, and not in the pressbox.
Granted, he was a bit lost, but he's pushing people off the puck really well and he's not slow.
Right now he looks like he should take Moreau's 3LW spot, but it's early, and it's preseason, so of course the vets haven't turned it up yet.
At this point in preseason, I'm thinking something along the lines of:
Penner-Horcoff-Hemsky
Cogliano-Gagner-Pisani
O'Sullivan-Comrie-Jacques
Moreau-Pouliot-Brule
I'm not yet convinced that Stone has chemistry with O'Sullivan/Comrie, rather it was just a lucky game against Florida's dregs. I think those two can do what they're doing with any big-man willing to create space. Jacques is waiver elligible, Stone isn't.
So I missed the first ten minutes, but based on the highlights it seems the Flames can expect another *strong* effort from their goaltenders this year.
doritogrande: according to Shazam (iphone app) its…
Face Down
Red Jumpsuit Aparatus
Gotcha. I'm hearing it from the Christian Rock station in between breaks from the real Rock station in town then.
Jacques isn't waiver exempt.
oh goodie. nickelback was cutoff just in time. Guerilla radio RATM. pretty cool.
Flame's goalie actually looks like their weak link.
DG:
Agreed,
But I think Jacques will get listed as the LW and POS as the RW.
Phaneuf looks brutal.
Hunter:
Sorry, I meant ~strong~.
Huh? Flames penalty? What are those?
godot10:
Read. exempt does not equal elligible.
The Brule experiment should come to an end after tonight. Fella just chases the puck like a mite kid.
Can't get setup so far, but I like the way they seem to be using the boards.
Both Stone and Jacques need to clear waivers.
Can we have the PK back please?
Brutal Horcoff. Absolutely brutal.
Scorecoff and die!
Man, nice resolution..
except i had to see that..
Whole bunch of ugly bringing it into the zone…
Grebeshkov: 'Here is puck for you giant M&M. Now go and score on that glowing unicorn."
Ugly.
Looks like Grebs found his stash of blotter acid, hopefully he uses up most of it during the pre-season.
Glencross may be one of the best players per $ in the NHL.
Of any mistakes that Lowe may have made, that is the one that bothers me most!
Penner is playing his ass off tonight.
Someone brought the brown acid tonight.
Damn, penner is looking quick…
Quick and Assertive!!
Nice..
Has Cogliano won a faceoff yet tonight?
Does Brennan always skate that slow, or just when I'm watching?
Ahh, a fight. Good job; make them forget that shift.
Anyone else get the feeling that half of Glencross' goals will come against the Oilers for the remainder of his career?
Grebeshkov: 'Here is puck for you giant M&M. Now go and score on that glowing unicorn."
In soviet Russia, puck drops you.
Seriously though, no goat horns for Horcoff on that? I saw nothing Grebeshkov could have done with that hand grenade of a drop pass.
"Looks like Grebs found his stash of blotter acid, hopefully he uses up most of it during the pre-season."
Except that play was 100% on Horc. And its not because I'm biased.
Cogliano won at least one faceoff in the first period.
Penner is playing his ass off tonight.
Last season that would have gotten a donut or cheeseburger reference…
Cogs had at least one clean faceoff win in the first period; neutral zone at the Oilers blue
Patrick O'Sullivan with the first of what will be many Brazilian Waxes.
Damn, penner is looking quick…
Quick and Assertive!!
Nice..
Penner is playing his ass off tonight.
Mmmmmmm-hm
"Looks like Grebs found his stash of blotter acid, hopefully he uses up most of it during the pre-season."
Except that play was 100% on Horc. And its not because I'm biased.
Fair enough but Grebs on acid jokes are infinitely more fun than the Horcoff isn't a #1 center saga….
Ugly, ugly powerplays. And from guys who should know better – not just Horcoff, but Gilbert on that last play.
Nice pass from Grebs to Lubo during the delayed penalty.
I mean, I used to kid about the acid, but…
How many games until Khabibulin gets a "delay of game" for playing the puck outside that moronic trapezoid line? He's been dangerously close all game long, especially on the high side near the side boards.
Yeah, I'll have to look at it again.
Stone looks like an AHL'er tonight. No?
Good grief.
The refs are already in postseason form, I see.
Brule went for the hit on the PK. Dangerous and pointless.
Smid/Strudwick: just not a good idea.
kris:
Especially given that he couldn't take the puck off Nigel Dawes.
Pretty sure this is the last game without Penner – Horcoff – Hemsky.
Jacques does pretty things once a game, but, let's be serious.
Haha..
"Fair enough but Grebs on acid jokes are infinitely more fun than the Horcoff isn't a #1 center saga…."
Yup.. but that doesnt stop the thought from coming to mind..
Smid/Strudwick: just not a good idea
Better then Smid/Horcoff/Strudwick, at least we have progressed past that point – we hope!!
Hemsky – He can't be hurt otherwise he wouldn't be playing. So what's his problem?
4 goals. Should that end Khabibulin's night?
The Bulin wall?
Man, how FKKKKIN more! Lazy could moreau be on that back check…
Hemsky – He can't be hurt otherwise he wouldn't be playing. So what's his problem?
*cough*nopenner*cough*
Is the 91/19/32 chemistry gone already? That last shift was underwhelming.
Ack. 4-2. The boys are looking kinda crappy this period.
Hemsky – He can't be hurt otherwise he wouldn't be playing. So what's his problem?
Preseason – pretty normal for Hemmer.
Visnovsky and Cogs mesmorized by the puck there.
Just not fond of Visnovski without the puck.
Man, how FKKKKIN more! Lazy could moreau be on that back check...
Standard.
Absolutely brutal shift for Hemsky.
I want potato chips…
This period proves you don't need Rob Schremp in the lineup to play "Rob Schremp Hockey."
Bookie:
I want to strangle an announcer…
I just hope Quinn is talking about theCaptainethanmoreau when he was speaking about the "entitled" feeling some of the vets seem to have. Than LT can title one of his threads, The Old Man and the "C"…..
Two shifts, both lazy for Moreau. Starting to feel sad that he will be on the roster instead of a guy that will be on waivers in 10 days or so.
Penner doesn't like this potato chip game. Cruel.
Quinn's comments should be intesting after this one.
Alot of vets in the "Way Off" category again.
Why are there TV timeouts for a game that is not televised?
Is Quinn known for publically calling out underperforming players, as MacT was wont to do?
Hemsky needs one.
Nilsson adding another pass
3 Points in 3 games, +2
Hehe
Go Robert Mah Boy!
seems like a lot of guys have their pest game when 27 is on the ice
Jacques The Destroyer
JACQUES STAYS!!
YEAH>>>>>>
YEAH YEAH YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
JF Jacques. Your new 1-line LW.
Take that you fuckhole Regehr.
CRAZZZZY TRAAAINNNN!!!!!
Welcome to Starting night lineup… if not suspended…
YEAH!!!!!!
Worth watching.. just for that!!!
Is Phillips right that Jacques got Regher or did he just fall down.
JFJ laying a beat on Regher…hmmmm…that might keep him around a bit…lol
That hit on Sjostrom looked dirty to me.
But punching Robyn Regehr forgives a lot of sins.
There was no such right hand Rod. They fell.
Rod's as brutal as the Oilers tonight.
Dangerous play by JFJ.
Cpt. Lou Albano on the big screen!
JFJ smacks Regehr with a hard right.
So awesome.
That's what someone was saying earlier. JFJ is infinitely more useful than Smac for the simple fact that he will actually play against the players you want him to fuck up, i.e. Regehr
No way Smac makes this team.