Wild at Oilers, G7, 09-10
The “Little Team that Could” got a wakeup call the other night in Chicago. Coach Quinn mentioned the forwards he liked and didn’t like, by numbers (4 and 8, respectively). On the other hand, the road trip had some nice surprises from the young side of the roster (JDD, Chorney) and the Oilers seem to be muddling through as best they can with injuries to two veteran blueliners (Souray and Staios).
I don’t know that Mike Comrie has ever driven results, but Dustin Penner is going to be this team’s MVP if he keeps playing like this all season. Although it’s early, let’s have a look at 5×5/60 over the season’s first 6 games:
- Penner 5.04
- Brule 4.19
- Hemsky 3.00
- Cogliano 2.75
- O’Sullivan 2.37
- Moreau 2.15
- Comrie 1.80
- Gagner 1.77
- Jacques 1.63
- Horcoff 1.47
- Stortini 1.04
- Stone 0.89
I know it’s too early to examine these numbers too closely but it’s still interesting to see the gap between Penner and Comrie despite their similar boxcars.
–
The Minnesota Wild received a brain transplant over the summer and I have no idea what to expect. Jacques Lemaire’s players usually play in a trance-like state and once freed these men often resemble the runner’s in Monty Python’s “100 yards for people with no sense of direction.”
Let’s hope it is so this evening.
No more Wild on Jack Lemaire.
I think that this is probably a good thing.
Where does Penner line up tonight? For now he is what Pisani was a couple of years back – add him in and good things happen to those around him.
Oh and I missed that presser – who did he like?
BDHS: I have no confirmation on it, but a buddy told me "Moreau, Cogliano, Stortini and Gagner."
If anyone can confirm, it would be good.
Oh, and if Jonathan Willis pops by can you give me the address of your new blog at the Score? I've been trying to add it but can't make it work.
LT – if you go to my site and click on the link to the right it should give you a good address, one that blogger likes as a link anyways, works for me anyhow
interesting, if the Oilers score three goals tonight then if my math is right they will be tied for 2nd in GF per game, four and they will be alone in 2nd
of course the problem is the goals against, they are near the top of the list there too and by the top I mean near the bottom
if … you know what I'm saying
From memory only, Quinns teams in Toronto always were that pesky team that never went away. Always seemed to conjure up a late goal to steal or make it interesting.
Come playoff time always a pesky resilient bunch with great goaltending and a penchant for stealing games in the playoffs. They owned Ottawa for a while and had no business doing so.
I see traits of that in this team already. If they ever could jockey themselves into a 5th or 6th finish, an upset over Calgary isn't crazytalk.
The faceoff numbers came up in the last thread and so I ran the percentages:
Comrie: 26 faceoffs
Cogliano: 28 faceoffs
O'Sullivan: 30 faceoffs
Gagner: 44 faceoffs
Brule: 49 faceoffs
Horcoff: 137 faceoffs
To put that in context, Horcoff has taken more draws than the next three closest players combined.
It means Horcoff has taken 42% of all the draws so far this season.
The oilers have won 164 draws all year. Horcoff has won 48% of those draws. The rest of the team combined have won the other 52%.
The only players with equal or more faceoffs than Horcoff are Crosby, Statsny, and Dubinsky, all of whom have played 7 games. The closest players with 6 games played are Arnott (117) and Bolland (113).
In summary, Shawn Horcoff is going to get his bag worked off this year again.
LT:
Quinn mentioned that the fourth line played like the first line, so it's safe to say that 18,13 and 46 were among the four standouts.
BDHS: I have no confirmation on it, but a buddy told me "Moreau, Cogliano, Stortini and Gagner."
If anyone can confirm, it would be good.
What I heard OTC say was that Cogs was benefiting from playing with 18 & 43. He then pointed out that when 89 was going, it was with 18 & 43.
Now that 89 isn't with "guys who go to the tough areas" OTC said the drop off in his game is noticeable.
So 13,18,43 were in the good books, but not 89.
Do not know who the 4th was.
This is the link I have for JW:
http://my.thescore.com/hockeyordie/default.aspx
What an intersting story the whole Minnesota Wild transformation is. This is an organization that is extremely new that has:
1. Spectacular attendance numbers.
2. One long playoff run.
3. History of overachieving (wins>talent)
4. Hall of Fame/Cup winning coach
And yet they decide to blow it up because of entertainment value? Has that ever happened before? Typically the alpha males that own and run sports teams don't give a rats ass what The Hockey News*** says.
One way to gauge whether it was the right decision is to ask your opponents. I can tell you one fan of their opponents (me) that is extremely happy with the move, which means it was probably the wrong one when it comes to winning games.
***The Hockey News refers to all outsider opinions including fans, media etc.
What's OTC?
All I could come up with was Old Time Crustiness.
LT:
From Matheson's article today:
"I liked four of the forwards. Normally, the players you people (media) would be calling our fourth line (Andrew Cogliano, Ethan Moreau, Zack Stortini) has been our first line the last two games," said Quinn.
Maybe it's because the "fourth line" plays a simpler, straightforward game. Moreau and Stortini also helped Sam Gagner in the first couple of games when they were linemates.
"Those two have pulled Cogliano into the fray, instead of playing on the outside," said Quinn.
The fourth player Quinn liked in Chicago might have been Dustin Penner, who leads the Oilers with seven points in six games.
@ Woodguy
I assume you meant #46. No one, and I mean no one's game improves with #43.
Todd Richard's Wild will come at the Oilers hard under Todd Richards. The Oilers are younger, but I think we will beat this year's version of the Wild.
Hopefully they start Harding, we always seem to score flukey goals on him.
5-3 Oilers (with 1 EN)
Woodguy, you're making me chuckle with this effort to dub Quinn, OTC (Old Timey Coach). I'm not here to pass judgement as I'm not a nickname guy but the effort has been astounding.
Reminds of the Gretchen character (played by the kid from Party of 5 who turned out to be really hot)from Mean Girls. She spent the whole movie trying to make "fetch" into the next big slang term.
"Oh my God, that dress is so fetch"
In the end, the alpha Mean Girl told her Fetch, is not gonna happen Gretchen, let it go.
"Todd Richard's Wild will come at the Oilers hard under Todd Richards"
You know you didn't sleep much when …
I thought OTC meant Off The Charts.
I just figured it was another term you kids used these days. In my day OTC meant something a lot more foul, I won't spell it out out of respect for LT.
I think OTC is pretty fetch myself though.
Raven
what did you mean then?
Though I did enjoy the confusing nature of the post!
I am hoping for a 5-3 outcome as well, 1 goal by Penner to continue his re-habilitation in the Edmonton media circles (he's been my favourite since Dec of last year).
In my day OTC meant something a lot more foul
Over The Counter?
Oh wait. That's the OTC you're probably used to hearing these days.
On The Couch
Some
Chesterfield Rugby
Action
Speaking of Penner and the media, when does he get one back on Terry Jones? Or does "Jonesy" beat him to it with a suck-up article that I might have missed? For sure TJ took some needless swipes once he thought Penner was on the train eastward. Here's hoping he gets to eat some of them publicly.
Oh wait. That's the OTC you're probably used to hearing these days.
Hahaha, ba-zing!
I feel pretty comfortable about tonight's game. Havlat and Sykora are listed as out (via TSN) and I've been highly doubtful the Wild were going to be anywhere near their annoying selves without Lemaire.
Speaking of mean girls, when is The Duff going to show her mug at a game? Oh man, oh man, maybe she doesn't like Edmonton… Comrie's a goner!
"I just figured it was another term you kids used these days. In my day OTC meant something a lot more foul, I won't spell it out out of respect for LT."
Can I have a hint?
Mr. D – as always very fetch
dg – you're dead
knighttown – naw its repulsive and sure to offend, I don't want Louise yelling at me
Woodguy explained OTC as being "Ole Timey Coach" in another thread. He comes up with some crazy nickname for everyone and everything, it seems. Makes it interesting to decipher what the heck he's going on about. It's fun!
Oh man, oh man, maybe she doesn't like Edmonton… Comrie's a goner!
Think he sticks around next year, regardless? How much will he be asking for if he has a pretty good year here? If they wanted to keep him, could they?
KT:
Opps, yes 46, not 43.
I'm one of those annoying guys who uses acronyms too often in writing.
I don't think my motivation is to make it stick with others, its just someone I write. If its annoying, I will refrain.
Growing up everyone and everything had a nickname. It wasn't quite as obtuse as some Cockney slang (i.e. Apples & Pears = stairs), but for an example one buddy's nickname was Duck.
He was Duck because he once signed into a hotel in Banff (age 16 with cash) as Howie Feltersnatch. That got shortened to Howie, then stretched to Howard, then Howard the Duck, then just Duck.
So why was his nickname Duck? Because he signed into a hotel as Howie Feltersnatch…that type of thing.
So Ole Timey Coach (which I love) gets the OTC treatment because its faster to type. Similar to typing player's numbers instead of names at times.
I think the perception that I'm jamming OTC on the Lowetidians is because I have been posting a lot lately. I think I should slow down on that too, signal to noise ratio and all…I'm near out of signal (probably running on empty for a while now)
I will be adding in Fetch here and there though..
BDHS,
I'm 37 and a dad, so I'm not sure I still qualify to be a "young kid", but I'm sure my maturity level is about a 12 year old (according to Mrs. Woodguy)
You gotta spill the vulgar OTC to us please.
Does the C stand for crotch?
Well, some nicknames stick, others don't. Zorg is one ofmy all time favorites.
BD, there are now a number of filthy possibilitiesbeing generated in my head for OTC.
Shocking, to say the least.
Think he sticks around next year, regardless? How much will he be asking for if he has a pretty good year here? If they wanted to keep him, could they?
That's the problem with those no money down, no payments until 2010 plans. They always come back to bite you…
Beauty Monty Python reset. On that note, if you have satellite radio, there's a Monty Python Channel for 10 days, starting today. Sirius 105, XM 151.
Since I don't see a HBomb drink recipe posted, may I recommend a nice bottle of Chateau Nuit San Wogga Wogga.
I'm looking at that picture and Comrie has to be sitting in some kind of booster seat.
In summary, Shawn Horcoff is going to get his bag worked off this year again.
This is why Horcoff can't finish. He gets the puck on his stick and has to fight the urge to treat it like a faceoff and pass it back between his legs.
Grab bag of random stats. (Disclaimer: After six games, these don't mean much of anything so please don't read me making any sweeping points into them, I just think it's fun to play with and see what's up.)
-Khabibulin has been mediocre at ES, posting a .911 SV%, good for 20th in the league among guys with 2+ starts.
-Chorney (56%) and Strudwick (68%)have been the worst defensemen so far, in terms of Corsi % (Good Events / Bad Events).
-Gagner (125%) and Penner (113%) are the only positive forwards for Corsi %; Moreau (51%) can't play hockey anymore; Stortini (70%) and Cogliano (71%) would do well to get the hell away from him; JFJ (67%) has been killing the top line, as both Horcoff (80%) and Hemsky (92%) are well clear of him– and I doubt they were taking JFJ off the line so Horc/Hemmer could have easier matchups without him.
-Your percentage goat: Ryan Stone, with a 4% on-ice EVSH% vs an 86.4% on-ice EVSV%. Of the two AHL cavemen, it seems like Stone may be the better player.
-Four players have not been on the ice for a goal against yet: Chorney, Nilsson, Stortini, and Staios.
-Thirteen players currently have on-ice EVSH% above 15%. Seven players have EVSV% above 95%.
-Of the nine players that fall into neither above category, three are plus players, three are minus.
-Of the 14 players falling into one or both categories, 13 are plus players.
If we are going with OTC, I have to interpret it as Onion Toting Coach… I think that it would really be a loss to not include Onion in there somewhere…
You gotta spill the vulgar OTC to us please.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=otc
looking through what urban dictionary has to offer, I'd say it's the third one down..
Woodguy – no
I'm only 41 so I guess I can't get away with calling you a kid. You're older than my wife.
GT – you have a filthy mind, I've always said that and you need no help from me to get the sewage flowing I owuld say
Alice: Terry Jones is nothing short of a no-talent hack writer. He's not going to write a piece sucking up to Dustin Penner, he's going to wait for the first opportunity (i.e. a night where Penner doesn't play well) to write a "this guy still sucks diet". The true irony will come if he takes any sort of "overweight" cheap shot at 27.
Actually, I'm surprised that there wasn't a three page profile on how great Ethan Moreau is after that pass he made to Cogliano on Wednesday night.
Jones lack of professionalism is rampant. From his love of guys like Moreau to his contempt for Penner and his harassment of Katz, one is best off ignoring anything written by him on pretty much any subject.
(Short Translation: He sucks.)
@Woodguy
OTC is not the least bit annoying. Just seen it flying around here and how to throw in the "fetch" commentary.
And by the way, I have to add Howie Feltersnatch to my list of alias' with:
-Haywood Jablomee
-Craven Morehead
-Dick Fitzwell
-Juana Plower
-Betty Screwzer
and my personal favorite that was created after sitting through a double lecture on Pharmacokinetics a decade ago, Mahpenis Kareem Smehls.
By the way, must viewing is the DeNiro skit on SNL a few years back when he was the terrorist watchdog reporting on the nefarious characters high school and university students had reported to the FBI as potential terrorists.
Watching DeNiro keep a straight face when warning the public about "Hoos Bin Pharteen" is classic.
I knew a guy in high school named Michael Hunt.
Having said that we never went with the obvious because he was a very cool guy and a very nice guy and a tough as nails bastard to boot.
So not even behind his back.
OTC – love it. BD better cough up his Ole Timey version!
I'm looking at that picture and Comrie has to be sitting in some kind of booster seat. – Hahaha GOLD!
Over The Counter? Oh wait. That's the OTC you're probably used to hearing these days. – beautiful. You guys are on fire this morn!
BTW, has Greasy Gene infiltrated the dressing room yet to find out what this years theme song is?? CLAP CLAP
And by the way, I have to add Howie Feltersnatch to my list of alias' with:
-Haywood Jablomee
-Craven Morehead
-Dick Fitzwell
-Juana Plower
-Betty Screwzer
What about the law firm Dewey, Chetum, and Howe?
You're older than my wife.
Well played, sir!
Hemsky absent from morning skate. – from Oilers Twitter
Nillson draws in for Hemsky(fever), here's his chance.
I seem to remember a troika of Penner-Horcoff-Nilsson having some success back in November of 2007.
Sincerely,
Mike Oxbig
Penner has been unreal this year.
He was also unreal on the PP in 2007/2008 but MacTavish for some reason decided not to feature him regularly on the first two PP units in 2008/2009.
Its nice that Quinn finds Penner useful.
Horcoff has been bleeding at EV so far this year. Its clear that he's not good enough for the minutes. I don't mind throwing him to the wolves at EV but does he really have to be our #1 feature on the PP? He has no creativity and every team knows exactly what he's going to do – stand in the right circle and do his best Dany Heatley impression.
The problem is those magical sticks he purchased in Taiwan a couple years back have been discontinued.
Mr Oxbig,
Lorraine Enspane hardly leaves the aircraft.
I can't believe no one has mentioned Ben Dover yet.
And I also went to school with a Mike Hunt back in the day
Is it possible Hemsky is perfectly fine, and the 'fever' is latin for being benched?
For sure TJ took some needless swipes once he thought Penner was on the train eastward.
Geez – whatever happened to fat guy solidarity?
He was Duck because he once signed into a hotel in Banff (age 16 with cash) as Howie Feltersnatch. That got shortened to Howie, then stretched to Howard, then Howard the Duck, then just Duck.
I knew a guy named Luke Pickard, which inevitably got him nicknamed Jean-Luc Piccard, which then got shortened to JLP. The people started throwing around different things that the P might stand for, and eventually it his "JL Penis". Now he's just Penis. Bald guy.
Hemsky absent from morning skate.
Oh man, I hope he didn't sleep with Mike Comrie's wife and is about to demand a trade…
Lots to get to so here we go:
- I had a buddy from Labrador who claims there's a guy over there named Holden Hiscock. Now, the latter's a NF sir name so that the last part's plausible; as is I guess the first name though I haven't meant many NFers named Holden and I don't want to believe that God would produce two parents so oblivious as to give their kid that full name.
- That Micheal Hunt guy was super blessed to be such a popular cat given his name. I have to say, though, I would have to befriend the guy just so I could riff on the name:)
- hard to say who was the 4th forward on Quinn's list. 27 had a goal and an assist, so, yeah, that makes him close to Boss in a game such as Wed's but I don't remember noticing him all that much until he made the bank play.
KT: that was an outstanding point about how the Wild changed their style and the possible reasons therein. I also look forward to seeing them certainly being a bit more vulnerable.
- I'm just wondering how Comrie fits in here because I don't think OTC is an overly big fan. Comrie would probably go nuts in Det with a bit more depth and the chance to play against nobodies but on the Oil, no matter how many points he scores, it's gonna be hard for him not to get lumped in with all the small guys and that means that plays like the ones he was making in Chi will become even more of a bigger deal.
- Finally, as I said before, if I'm one of the younger and/or single guys on the club, there's no way I'm not trying to hang out with Comrie. You know Duff's got more young fluff that she hangs out with!
Duff's got more young fluff that she hangs out with!
Check out the 2 in the back of the SUV Commie's driving.
SMAC has to play tonight with Boogaard and Johnny Scott dressing, right? Who do you sit though, Jacques? I guess without Hemsky out there, there is no diva to protect though.
The Boogieman is out with a concussion (according to TSN).
Havlat is out tonight too apparently.
/SMAC has to play tonight with Boogaard and Johnny Scott dressing, right? /
To understand how empty this is, let's turn it around:
"SMAC is in the lineup – we better dress Boogaard, right?"
Because SMAC's going to go WWF on their skill guys without BG on the bench to protect them? Does anybody think so? If the heavyweights are both playing, then sure enough some kind of magnetic field comes into play and they'll probably have to skirmish.
But if one or both are out I think it makes not a bit of difference either way. So leave SMAC out I'd say.
Of course it would be a little easier to say that if Souray was in the lineup. What's the prognosis there, another week? Worse?
The Boogieman is out with a concussion (according to TSN).
how did this happen? hit by a train?
Dustin Penner is going to be this team's MVP if he keeps playing like this all season.
No kidding, this is the "Ducks" Penner that we are being treated to this season. If (BIG if) he keeps this pace until December then we might even see him on Team Canada's 4th line. A man can dream.
Monty Python's "100 yards for people with no sense of direction."
Was that part of the All England Upper-class Twit Competition? Been so long since I've flown circus, I can't remember.
Boogard's replacement is just as big, no?
I see Bogdan's name above. Does that mean we have a lady in the house? If so, welcome back! And please disregard all the OTC comments, we're normally a relatively civilized lot.
If only we'd drafted this
OTC
In any case, seems like both teams will be without key players tonight. My money is on Storts for another 2 goal night, and Nilsson getting into a fight to prove his crustiness.
If Brodziak scores the winner tonight, I might weep.
My two cents on Brule, Stone, JFJ, Comrie and The HS Row-bear.
So far Brule has earned his keep. He’s made some well documented blunders but that’s to be expected of players you are committed to develop. His boxcars to date deserve praise, as LT reminds us, the hardest thing in hockey is to put the puck in the net and if he can maintain a semblance of his early pace on the score sheet he will be a fixture in the line-up.
I like the Onion Belters – JFJ and Stone, they have their place on this squad. I would suggest that they best be deployed strategically and efficiently. Stone appears of late like he might benefit from a night or two in the press box. I like Stone’s game when we play the Flames, however it was clear that he had a hard time keeping up at the track meet in Chicago.
I’m beginning to believe that my 8 year old daughter is correct on her assessment of Mike Comrie. As LT’s photo suggests, Comrie’s biggest contribution to Edmonton may just be the quality time that Hillary Duff spends in Our Town. I would suggest that this contribution is more meaningful for the little girls in Edmonton than for our NHL team.
Lastly, (I know my place on this board) would it really kill this team to reunite the Kid Line and give them the soft parade, at the very least during a home stand as to minimize exposure? I whole heartedly agree that Nilsson’s size and skill are duplicated in abundance on this roster. However, I’ll maintain that Nilsson’s biggest value to this team is his chemistry with Gagner. Nilsson = Gagner “saw him good”.
Perhaps Quinn needs to take a page out of the Earl Weaver Platoon Handbook – Could not Stone and Nilsson best be deployed in a Roenicke / Lowenstein fashion? If for no other reason than to pump up Nilsson’s value as trade bait? For as his ass is sitting, he is a diminishing asset.
From Tychkowski:
The Wild are also on the limp. They're missing Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Martin Havlat, Cal Clutterbuck and Petr Sykora.
From Gregor:
The Wild will dress both 6’7” Derek Boogaard, and 6’8” Johnny Scott, so Zack Stortini could have his hands full tonight.
That's ok, Oilers have called up Yao Ming, Andre the Giant and the ghost of Chris Farley.
Minnesota is dead. Really dead.
So basically we are talking giants v munchkins tonight.
Weird.
So, which is it – Boogaard out with concussion or as Gregor says *snicker* in?
I couldn't agree more on the Terry Jones' comments, he and his ilk were the ones I was thinking about as prime Penner bashers. I was fortunate to find Staples' blog last year to help me put some numbers to why Penner was a good player, not merely relying on my 'seen him good.'
Woodguy, I love OTC as the acronym, but I always end up hearing a bluegrass version of the old hymn, Old Time Religion, after reading it. Which then conflicts with whatever song LT has posted in the title of the thread.
BD, thanks for keeping it clean(er) since I am in mortal fear of having one of my students walk up and read over my shoulder while waiting to ask me a question. The kind of thing that gets a 6th grade teacher fired, imho.
Always keep it clean, LT's kids read this blog, amongst others.
My inlaws have read mine at times which is slightly terrifying. Bruce's wife actually commented on a post a few weeks back as well.
I just figure if they find it jarring (Ty's sister noted that some of my content was 'jarring' when she linked to me on her site) they can always choose not to read it. But one can't be too offensive on another man's turf.
Respect.
BTW OTC=Old Time Catholicism, not sure what all you guys think it was all about.
Amen and all that jazz.
The Wild are also on the limp. They're missing Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Martin Havlat, Cal Clutterbuck and Petr Sykora.
No PM Bouchard? Woo hoo!
Lowetide:
I appreciate it; Woodguy's link was the one I was going to pass along.
Ribs:
It's my fault; I drafted Bouchard for my fantasy team, so naturally he hasn't played a game this year. Meanwhile, my first defenseman drafted was one Andrei Markov.
Oh, and as for Boogaard and the rest of those monstrosities, if Steve MacIntyre has taught us anything it's that you beat these clowns by skating around them, rather than icing an equally ineffective player.
OTC = "Off the Cuff"?
I don't see any reason why Boogard can't play with a concussion.
Tonight would be a good night to dress my favorite player:
#00
Bob-Angry-Mental-Patient-With-Lead-Stick-That-He -Swings-Stick-at-People's-Heads-Smith
Good work, Mr. Willis. Draft any other Oiler killers this year?
Quinn said that he's going to play Comrie-Horcoff-Brule while Tencer said, Comrie-Horcoff-Nilsson. Either way, there will be a ripple effect on our line combinations.
Comrie-Horcoff-Nilsson.
Comrie: Past 30 goal scorer
Horcoff: Solid on the face off, caeerr 12.5% shooter.
Nilsson: the 5th best set-up forward in the league 2 years ago.
Horcoff and Nilsson the only two outscorers the last two years.
Maybe?
So let me get this straight…
The Minnesota Wild are going to have 2 knuckledraggers in their lineup who have a combined height of over 13 feet, and may as well play with ringette sticks….
…and MacIntyre STILL isn't being put into the lineup?
Why is it that the Oilers are keeping him on the payroll, exactly? If he's not going to play tonight, then what's his purpose here?
Digger, TSN says that Boogard and Scott are not expected to play tonight.
Why is it that the Oilers are keeping him on the payroll, exactly? If he's not going to play tonight, then what's his purpose here?
Coach doesn't like him but GM refuses to waive him.
Oh, OK.
I just saw the update on Oilersnation, it sounds like it Rishaug mentioned it on TSN about a half hour ago. My mistake.
Maybe both teams are playing some games with their lineup cards, there's been a fair bit of conflicting reports from both sides as to who was suiting up tonight.
Question 1: Is anyone aware of stats that suggest Hemsky improves the play of his line mates?
OR
Question 2: Is this an inappropriate question because their role is to improve his play?
I always thought it ironic that Terry Jones should lecture Dustin Penner on being fat. Like, come on?!
@knighttown
You forgot 'Phil McCrackin'.
I know I'm late to the party, but felt obligated.
Yeahhhh Nilsson is IN!
And one of the biggest failure to be picked N4 is playing tonight!
BENOIT POULIOT!
For those not keeping score at home in the last 2 posts/threads we have witnessed:
-Mean girls references
-Hillary Duff on the cover
-Nilsson becomming the new Belgium
-The fetch branding of OTC
-and the Urban dictionary being pulled out to decipher one of BDHS's BDHSisms
Soon enough newcomers to this wonderful blog are going to need their own LT dictionairy to get along in these parts.
On the unfortunate name front, I went to highschool with a girl named Anita Dyck. Her younger brothers name was Corny. Some of you already have children, some may be in the process of it, and some may be thinking of it. Keep Anita and Corny in your thoughts whilst naming your children, their lives couldn't have been easy as kids.
Sweet merciful christ I am hungover. I tried the 2 x 4. I ate some bananas (potassium and all that). I rocked the advil. My eyes are still bleeding, my head is still pounding and I have about 3 or 4 hours until I have to get back on that train due to a friend and her sister being back in town for convocation.
Enough mindless rambling. Enjoy the game all and lets raise one to winning against the Lemaireless Wild and breaking another of those terrible Oiler curses in the vein of the Predators.
Derek: I think you forgot to Wackamole.
A game without Hemsky is less of a game, but it'll be interesting to see the Wild on Oil without Lemaire. I almost want to see the Oilers get down a goal in order to find out if the slow death is gone.
Why is Family-ties era Tina Yothers in the backseat of Comries car?
I am actually curious to see how less potent the offence is with Hemsky out of the line-up.
Yeah he's been AWOL this season for the most part, but he is a threat the other teams have to plan for. Im(humble)o, this opens space for the other players on the Oil that they won't have tonight.
On the positive side, Minnesota's toothless offense is even more likely to gum their food tonight with all their injuries. Maybe OTC will show them how to take care of their dentures after the game!
Ribs:
Tyler Arnason's been a big disappointment for my AHL Fantasy Hockey team
Exxxceellennt.
Seriously? Already slagging Comrie after one game without a point?
Un-freaking-believable. He gets points and creates offence. He does it better than almost the whole roster, and yet…the "he doesn't REALLY" contribute message is already being prepped.
WOW.
I'm gonna head to the game now and watch him contribute positively to the offensive again. I suggest the comment-leavers do the same.
Yeahhhh Nilsson is IN!
And one of the biggest failure to be picked N4 is playing tonight!
BENOIT POULIOT!
FPB: The Other Pouliot may yet have a career in the NHL as a roleplayer. As an Oilers fan there is the painfully awareness that the Oilers number 4 picks of recent memory pretty much have Benoit trumped. *cough* Steve Kelly *cough* Jason Bonsignore *cough*.
Although those 2 guys helped net Hamrlik, I feel somewhat cheated that those years the Oilers were drafting high were so poor in overall quantity of quality. 4th overall picks in the last two drafts would have been awfully nice.
I'm not even talking a Drew Doughty here, I'd be perfectly happy with a Tyler Myers.
His problem may be that he's not offensive enough to be a strong PP option and he's not good enough defensively to be a better man than Smid or Greene.
An old comment of LT on Grebs i saw checkin' out old articles.
I just love how the defensemans (Especially Europeans) are unpredictable as can be
.
Eskimos crushing Argos! 8-6, first quarter. Looks like most of the Argos fans went home, but that's what happens when you score that often early in the game.
We're missing over 10MM in salary tonight with Hemsky, Souray, and Pisani out. That's roughly one fifth to one sixth of our overall cap hit.
And sure, it's true that the first two are our main weapons on the PP and Pisani is one of our best PK'ers. So we're not as good without them,
But would having them in the lineup make us one fifth to one sixth better? Would it increase our odds of winning this game by a fifth, by 20%? I'm not sure.
Anyway, I'm not saying this to critique those three players or their contracts, but it suggests to me that having a winning team is more about making sure your lower paid players are better than the other teams lower paid players. That is, maximize the value you get out of your grinders, bottom 6'ers, depth scorers, etc.
No? Is this controversial or obvious?
Even more illustrative:
If we're an 85 pt team without those three all season, and they take up a 6th of the cap, are we going to win a 6th more games and be a 99 pt team?
I know this is a sophomoric question, but the more and more I think about creating a strong team, the less and less I think it's about finding the right big names and big cap hits, and the more and more I think it's about finding the right 1.5-2.0MM players.
Please correct me if this is idiocy,
Eskimos crushing Argos! 8-6, first quarter. Looks like most of the Argos fans went home, but that's what happens when you score that often early in the game.
I feel like I am missing part of the story here… there appears to be sarcasm, but I don't know why.
Did an Esk announce that they were going to score early and often?
kris – obvious to some
Scott has done some nice work comparing clubs and what they spend on different areas of their club. I think it was Scott, I am sure he will correct me if I am off
And LT has a recurring theme about players outperforming their contracts. The 2006 club was a perfect example.
That is one of the issues with Oiler management. Moreau making 2, Staios making 2.7, each with two years left on their deals.
Meanwhile Hejda, the BJs' top Dman, already +9, I think +46 over the last two seasons, makes less than five Oilers' defencemen. Glencross makes 1.3. Bourque is less than 2 million.
Now the Oilers have Smid on a nice deal. If any of the scrubeenies have nice years then those are good deals. Comrie will probably outperform his. Cogliano, Gagner.
The Oilers need to balance out their big contracts with cheaper players who can contribute. A lot of folks mock the call to sign guys like Moore or Malholtra, Betts or Rob Niedermeyer, heck even keeping Brodziak.
You need to have hockey players who can help you win hockey games but who are signed for little money.
kris – missed your second point because I was rambling
Not idiocy at all.
You have to manage your big contracts as well. I think Chicago probably looks at Campbell and figures WTF?
And the deals for Briere and such can really be anchors too.
bookie: My mistake, they were saving their offense for the 2nd quarter.
It's more fact, than opinion, that Ricky Ray sucks.
Oh well, Oilers game time. CFL is a 2nd tier football league anyways.
Paul Laurioux should have been in Slapsot.
Wow, free preview of the NHL channels. I did not know this.
I'm watching the game.
Hey I knew some Dyck's growing up, there was a Harry and a Henry, actually there were too many to remember.
Funny story I heard one time about Henry. He was in court and the clerk says: "Will Henry Martens Dyck please rise…". She then turned red and had to stop herself from laughing. True story.
With all the players the Wild are missing the Oilers should definately win this game. And I'm glad Penner is putting up the points, he's always been a favourite of mine. The only switch I'd make if it were up to me is swapping Brule and Cogliano. Sure hope Nilsson shows well tonight, he needs to force his way back onto this team, or at least up his value so we can trade him.
Goilers!
Wasn't he the goalie?
How come the lights didn't go up?
Where's my beer? What's my name?
You can tell who the old married guys are – Friday night and its me, you and the crickets LT.
Brodziak showing why he's valuable on faceoffs =).
That said Rajala and Roy were pretty decent return for them.
And why does no one mention that Vishnovsky has damned fine shot as well? Sure we don't have Souray's slapper anymore, but Vishnovsky's bomb isn't a bad 2nd option.
I'm neither old nor married. The lady friend is spending time with her family and sent me home though. Not sure what it means when I've gotten to the point where I'm not sure what to do with myself on a weekend when the lady friend isn't around =S.
My damn kids. Son must have been watching the SUN on television because the settings were so low I could barely see the ice.
Frick. Where's my wallet?
Hey black dog,
Where are you seeing this free preview… I only got PPV channels and they dont want nothing to do with a free preview…
Any word on that one online feed (dallas game)
Cheers,
uni – well this is a start, my wife is out so my plan is Oilers plus beer plus Showerhead's hangover cure, if you know what I'm saying.
Of course my father in law is sitting about five feet away from me so this could be tricky.
Now, where did I put that porno? Damn, the boy!
(http://www.channelsurfing.net/)
a minute of work worth doing…
oilmaniac – I'm in Toronto, this is on Bell, HD, although I would guess its regular def too.
Its NHL H4 – not sure if that helps?
Oilers vs. Wild Game
Stars vs. Bruins Game
Minnesota looks like us.
Who is this Smid guy? That was ridiculous!
beauty shift from Smid there.
Ah, Ethan. The old turn, shoot, don't give a shit where it goes play. Dink Dumshit patented that play in the '30s.
Got the special lady to watch the Hawks-Oilers game with me the other night. No easy doing since we had to get up around 5:30 AM the next day. She even singled out Hemsky as her favorite player on the ice and Grebeshkov as a player of note.
Something odd about hearing her say "Come on Hemsky! Win me a Kia!"
Smid looks really good today. Really he's looked solid all season… but that rush on his last shift was fantastic.
Thhat windows guy in the suite sounded like a Newfoundlander.
They were all wasted. Did you see the guy with the diet coke?
Hiiighhh.
They were probably Newfoundlanders then.
Why are the Oilers bothering to develop Smid? He's going to be part of the boards one of these days. Man he puts himself in vulnerable positions
Now, who is this young woman? She's speaking but it's apparently not English. Blah blah blah, sweater.
That is a very sexy voice.
Nice b-b-b-b-elt.
Hey Gene: You've got exactly as much chance at getting some of that as those of us in the basement with our cheesies and coke.
Give up, buddy. Nice hair, though.
I was kinda surprised that Gene wasnt giggling and stumbling like a mathelete tutoring a cheerleader.
That little dump-in by Gagner is something 83 would never have done.
Brule does have some nice offensive instincts. That was a fine play by two AHLers (last year) there.
Good speed driving the net by Brule
I love watching footraces that involve Strudwick. And by 'love' I mean something entirely opposite.
Nice question Gene, so Taylor, how do you feel playing against the Wild is different from in years past?
Thanks black dog, but couldnt find it… watching online… cheers
Now these are two fun haircuts.
Only saw the last 5 minutes of that period.
How did the AHL callup/bubble players look?
Brule has some jump, Stone made a nice pass to him and I thought Jacques handled the puck pretty well. Chorney is really doing some nice things. Not ready, but you can see why Prendergast likes him.
Yeah Chorney has been fine.
And Brule is a little bit of chaos but he's got confidence now and as LT says, nice offensive instincts.
Two posts too.
WTF is Super Kyle holding? Was that a Cat? Dog? Ferret?
It looks like the Wild's using the Blackhawks strategy of icing the puck on Strudwick's side then blowing past him to beat the ice. He's pretty scary on the ice even vs. the lowly and roster depleted Wild.
Huh, according to hockeydb Craig Simpson only scored 43 goals in the 87-88 season.
I've always said they should play Robert Nilsson more. Just wanted to get that out there, you know, in case.
Hillary Duff is pretty cute.
Was that Nilsson that fed Comrie that pass?
Who was just slagging Comrie?
LMFH:
I wrote pretty much the same thing on my blog about Comrie after G3.
Whoever was at the point to get that puck out is a hero.
Watching a steam of the Minnesota feed. Gotta say that the Minnie commentators are incredibly good, night and day from what I'm used to with U.S. broadcasts.
kris: Ethan rifles, with some great work from 71 and 5 on the same shift.
"weiner Wednesdays, of course." Now there's a sentence that doesn't get used much.
Wow this has been a dull one. Just not enough talent on the ice with the injuries. Is Cogliano playing?
Cogliano has played 5:02 so far.
nice pk
I also like Ms. Duff.
Riv., he won a faceoff to start the PK.
Pictures at 11. Parade tomorrow at noon.
They haven't shown Ms. Duff in the Minnesota feed…
The Wild aren't as defensive but they're still boring.
Not ready, but you can see why Prendergast likes him.
Ha ha. That was classic. Pretty sure Chorney's hockeydb entry would tell us why too.
Wow.. i dont remember anyone talking about penner wearing an A..
Now the turn around for dustin donair is complete… what a difference a summer makes…
Stone's as good a shot as Dick Cheney.
Oilmaniac: They are busy getting articles ready for when Penner is stripped of the 'A'.
kris: lol. Good one.
But didn't Cheney actually hit someone?
ok that was a sweet play
NICE!!!
god bless patrick o'sullivan.
Minnesota is terrible.
Great play by Sully. Great wheels, puck protection, and pass.
O'sully on a friggin mission there… Didn't someone say the best way to negate the knuckledraggers is to skate around them? Case in point.
Beauty sequence. O'Sullivan with the hit, the steal, the drive, the butter pass to Mahovlich.
POS pressed A on his xbox and a cross ice pass to Penner to make it 2-0.
Well, I guess that's why the smurfs are in against boogard and Smac isn't.
That was crust incarnate, mixed w skill.. great time for an elbow and a goal..
crust incarnate. Nice.
Comrie and Penner picked up cheap in one of my pools with low hits to my cap =).
Also I like the way Penner celebrates his goals, slight arm pump, back to business. Here's hoping he expects to score a heck of a lot more so he doesn't need to celebrate too much when he gets one.
It looks like the same thing has happened to Minny that has happened to Nashville.
They've lost some players and eveybody else has improved.
Any injuries to the wrong guys and they just don't have the depth to be a factor.
I remember an interview when Gretzky was asked what he thinks has changed in the game over the years, especially now with players getting bigger and bigger.
His response was that he used to love playing against the big guys, since they were usually knuckle draggers and he'd just move around them like pylons. He said that it wasn't so fun when he ran into big guys that could skate and play.
Why did Strudwick leave his position?
What are the Oilers doing that kees them from clearing or breaking out the puck.
Looks like no one on the points and no one winning battles on the wall, but it's weird.
Icecastles: I'm sorry. I deleted the other post just as you were deleting the fist one. Please re-post.
Why did Strudwick leave his position?
To get to the other side?
5-0 Calgary. I hope they learned their lesson.
S'okay, LT, Was nothing important. Not sure why it double-posted.
Tuned in 2 seconds before Penner's goal. Hope I've not missed Smackintyre vs. Boogard. Surely they'll have a real tilt one day…
The scrubeenies get one back.
Wait, we scored in the last minute of a period?
Isn't it supposed to go the other way around?
That was an OTCG right there.
Minnesota must really suck if it is the Oilers scoring in the last minute of the period.
Ryan Stone credited with the goal, looked like Brule again.
The Rob Schremp Watch Continues:
-1, 3 shots, 15:35 TOI, 1:03 PP in another loss.
That's 3 goal (and 2 posts) on 9 shots.
Luongo has allowed 5 goals on 18 shots.
Monday.
We are outshot 20-11, though it hardly seems as if we're being outplayed.
Any theories, you hockey pundits, you?
SK Oiler – regarding what you said earlier about Minnesota and Nashville both going downhill, I think Nashville has its own issues because of their financial situation, but we're starting to see parity. Look at Detroit and all of the talent that they have dropped.
Unless a club gets a rush of young cheap kids who can play all at once this is the future of the league. Each club has a half dozen good players, some kids, some scrubs, no backup goaltending.
Not much depth.
PJO – Its a weird one, the Oilers have carried the play for the most part, the Wild still have those old habits, sticks and bodies in the way all of the time.
The Wild have barely threatened I think while the Oilers have a couple of posts, Horcoff's chance in the slot, the goals.
We'll see what Dennis says I guess.
The Twins have maybe three skilled forwards out there tonight, this forward group isn't very good. I think that's the problem.
Yeah, the shot count is as odd as this game.
Minnesota really has trouble executing anything, but the Oilers can't clear the puck.
It's like the infinitr crappiness of the two teams play is nullifying each other, creating some sort of rift in the shot differential-quality of play continuum.
Interesting interview with Tambellini, suddenly I feel a whole lot better about him.
BDHS,
What did he say?