G51 Hawks at Oilers
Chicago’s hockey team is off the pace. The Blackhawks have allowed 30 more goals than conference leading Detroit but trail by only 4 points. Chicago actually has fewer losses, which I blame on the Bettman point but stand to be corrected. Corey Crawford’s SP is .902 and Ray Emery’s is .907. I keep thinking Chicago will make a move to address goaltending but it hasn’t happened yet.
The Scooter line was a terrific trio during the 60s. I believe (Bruce?) Ab McDonald was the original LW on the line and do know that Kenny Wharram’s career ending when he had a heart attack at training camp 1969.
Sept 25, 1969 Saskatoon Star-Phoenix
The Hawks had another line that was dominant at the same time. It was basically Bobby Hull and the other two guys on his line, although Bill Hay, Chico Maki, Phil Esposito, Pit Martin and others certainly had a lot of talent. The modern Hawks have some splendid talents up front, including Toews, Kane, the sublime Hossa, Patrick Sharp, Viktor Stallberg, Dave Bolland and others.
Ales Hemsky is a player teams covet, because he’s not out of place in very skilled company. Oh hell, I’m not saying he’s Bobby Hull or Stan Mikita, or even Jonathan Toews or Marian Hossa, but he’s a very good forward with miles and miles of miles and miles ahead of him.
And he’s available.
Oilers may get RNH and or Barker back tonight and it looks like Gilbert is a little ways from being ready. Oil look good lately but the Hawks must have some venom for the 29th place Oilers and losses in the last two get-togethers. Patrick Kane has vowed revenge and Chicago has some real firepower. If their goalies can stop some pucks this should be a W for Chicago tonight.
If I were a zillionaire I’d buy the Oilers and hire Scott Reynolds to dig deep into the minor, Euro and junior leagues. His look at OKC’s estimated time on ice and their scoring rates during that time on ice is a look inside a window we rarely enjoy. With hockey apparently unwilling to count at-bats in the AHL, this method (painstaking as it may be) offers us a very nice glimpse into how coach Nelson is using his team. I could link to something at C&B daily, but Scott’s stuff about OKC is always a real treat.
John Mackinnon writes an item about brave Peter Puck here. Mr. Pocklington will have to wait until all of us are dead if he wants to change the story to fit his book. ALL of us.
Yeah it was Ab McDonald and then Doug Mohns. Also the original guy to play with Mikita and Wharram was Ted Lindsay as he wound up his career. No wonder Mikita had a chip on his shoulder at the beginning of the career. Learned from the best
One more Mikita fact – the last year they won the Cup before their latest (61) he led the Hawks in playoff scoring at the age of 21 – 6 goals, 5 assists in 12 games.
One of the greatest players ever. Great at both ends of the rink and on draws. In the 72 series he was recovering from a bad back so his fitness was poor but in the games he played Sinden often sent him out for defensive zone draws at ES and on the PK. Win the draw and get off.
Datsyuk would be a good comp I think except Mikita was a sublime playmaker, one of the best ever.
OK I’m done now.
Just read Scott’s article before I read this LT, interesting stuff – and slightly concerning about the likes of Hartikainen if true.
Unrelated, but do you plan to get a post up about last night’s Top Prospects game? Would be interested to read your thoughts on the players involved (if you watched it that is). Couldn’t watch it from here in the UK myself.
Oilers may get RNH and or Barker back tonight…
One of those things is not like the other.
True, but is an indication of the sorry state of our D that I am actually looking forward to Barker being back. Just writing that makes me shiver, but someone who has some experience and is not a complete liability in his own zone at this point is an upgrade. Scary.
“Steve Smith”,
Definitely Steve. RNH is just a soft skilled playmaker. But Barker… He’s a real difference maker on the back end. THe Oiler’s record with him in the lineup speaks volumes: 7-3-2.
Can’t wait to get him back and start winning again!
Trololololol
I don’t remember where I heard this (either Stauffer’s or Spector’s show) but they were saying that Barker used this down time to get in really good shape. I think they said he lost 15 pounds during his recovery and his conditioning is much better than it was to start the season. I didn’t think that skating was one of his strong points but maybe there will be some improvement.
… someone who [...] is not a complete liability in his own zone at this point is an upgrade.
Stop changing the subject; we were talking about Barker.
Or they are, since both were playing when we were winning games.
Both of those things are not like the other.
LT:
The modern Hawks do have some spledid talent up front.But least we forget Carcillo was playing on the second line with Hossa and Toews before the “Gilbert Incident”.
The year the Hawks won the Cup Carcillo probably couldn’t have even cracked their starting lineup.This year he spends time in the top six?No wonder we had some success against them.
Londonderry Lou saw his shadow this morning.
6 more years of bad hockey.
Oh wait… I got htis one. RNH is just a rookie, while Barker has played nearly 300 NHL games, making him a “real NHL player”TM
*spits
pboy,
If you follow baseball you’ll know that the “in the best shape of his life” line is boilerplate stuff for reporters that have nothing to say. Inevitably the guy who is now in “the best shape of his life” remains the same shitty player he’s always been. See, Francoeur, Jeff.
Plante looks good in that analysis.
Edmonton is actually ahead of Chicago in goals against. Edmonton is tied with NJ for 17th. Chicago is 19th. Philly is 21st.
The big difference is on offense. Edmonton is 22nd in goals per game – this despite the third ranked power play . The Oilers are dead last in shots for per game.
As much as people like to whine about the Oilers defense, the reality is that this team generates little offensively.
Looking at our depth chart on d, i would think barker would slot in at 3-4.
When Gilbert gets back, probably 4-5 depending on where you put Petry.
I’m not sure anyone can make an arguement to convince me Sutton, Potter, and Peckham are better.
Makes me cringe either way…..
The Hawks are going to be one very grumpy bunch tonight. I expect Toews to have a couple of really dominant shifts right out of the gate. He’ll be on us like a pitbull on a meat truck.
Motivation is a funny thing. Sign a RFA contract with a new team= no motivation to get in shape an perform. Now, after an injury he has the motivation? Good for him. I hope it helps but have to wonder about things like commitment and professionalism.
Thanks for the link to the Pocklington article LT. Something tells me that if Katz is ever in the same situation as the three owners in the article, Katz would keep the player in Edmonton, even if it means taking a financial hit.
Tencer Tweets:
So, the Oilers are going with the same lineup tonight that beat Colorado on Tuesday. No RNH, no Barker. Expect them both on Saturday night.
Not sure how to feel about this… I can sure understand wanting to give Cornet antoher game, but I have to question the D crew we are running with. Pains me to say it, but I think this team is better right now with Barker in the lineup.
Unpossible. Barker is so bad he would make the Oil Barons worse. Anyone who thinks Barker is the answer doesn’t understand the question.
That said I want Barker to play so he can be exposed as the horrible player he is. That way we can be saved from him being on the team next year.
Well, was a first round pick.
Maybe the Oilers can package him with some other pieces for an upgrade?
I mean, if the Oilers we dumb enough to take him for a ride, surely there are other fools who would do the same, no?
The key to complaining about Barker is if you do it enough you forget that Shawn Horcoff still has 3 years left on his contract.
Speaking of reclamation projects, many supposedly plugged-in sources are saying that Howson is so desperate to get Carter off the roster that he’s prepared to practically give him away.
If Carter can be had for something like MPS and a 2nd, would it be worth it to gamble that he can get his head on straight here?
Maybe see if they’re willing to take Horcoff back in another deal?
Jordan,
I think this is the Oilers plan for sure. It’s a win, win really. If Barker comes back and plays well that’s good. We can keep him and play him or even better we can trade him as a rental to a playoff team as some extra defensive depth.
Tricky thing with Barker is that even if the Oilers wanted to resign him next year his RFA qualifying offer is too much. They would have to not qualify him and then try and sign him again as a UFA on July 1st. Since that is the case they are way better off trading him for a pick or something.
PIT has a better record this year without Crosby than with Crosby. TRADE CROSBY!!!ZOMGBBQ!
Seriously though, Barker is terrible.
How terrible? Glad you asked.
The Oilers get outshot by 23.4 shots per 60 minutes Barker’s ice time.
Worst of an Oiler who has played at least 10 games.
Whitney doesn’t look like an 80% player either, getting outshot 15.71/60.
He also drags RNH into his pit of abysmal hockey .
RNH is actually out-shooting or close when Smid, Potter or Gilbert is playing behind him, pretty good number for any rookie. Reminds me of Hall and Eberle last year outshooting when playing with Horcoff.
RNH, when playing with Barker, gets outshot by 33 shots per 60min ice time together.
Terrible.
You may say, “Not so fast Woodguy, Barker is +3. How do you account for that jackass?”
If you look at the first BTN link again, you will see that Barker 5v5 On Ice Save Percentage (SVPCT on the chart) is .980
.980!!!!!!!!!
I’m not sure a 4×8 sheet of plywood with exactly 1 puck sized hole in it could put up a .980 in the NHL.
Barker is not a real NHL player.
Barker may have a tough time being an AHL player.
I therefore expect Tambellini to re-sign him to a 3 year extension.
No. Carter might have negative trade value. I’m not sure I’d take him if he was free.
Note:
I realize that the above is based on a 12 game sample, and may nott reflect is true ability.
That being said it looks almost identical to his last 2 years in the NHL.
Woodguy,
What is “the above” to which you refer?
Barker +3 in 12 games.
MPS has the best scoring chance ratio on the team but nobody arguing that he is an elite forward.
#zeroconsistency
Ducey-the argument could be made that the keystone cops routine in your defensive end might affect you ability to score goals(and the ability to make a forward pass out of your own end) but yeah,I agree,we need more scoring, We need a lot of things.
Traktor-what’s your thoughts on Jeff Carter..?…not the contract or what we would have to give up for him, but the player. I don’t follow teams that closely– other that the Oilers– but I have a hard time understanding how a big, physical Center that scores more than 30 goals could be perceived as having negative value(10 year contract notwithstanding)
thanks
Bah!
My post that I was referring to is “awaiting moderation”
The only bad word I see is jacka$$
Yikes Woodguy. Pulled in mid post. Could a trade call be in the works?
Woodguy and a case of beer to Nashville for Suter. E4
Here’s the post without the links.
Will try to add them later:
cabbiesmacker: Or they are, since both were playing when we were winning games.
PIT has a better record this year without Crosby than with Crosby. TRADE CROSBY!!!ZOMGBBQ!
Seriously though, Barker is terrible.
How terrible? Glad you asked.
The Oilers get outshot by 23.4 shots per 60 minutes Barker’s ice time.
Worst of any Oiler Dman who has played at least 10 games.
Whitney doesn’t look like an 80% player either, getting outshot 15.71/60.
Barker also drags RNH into his pit of abysmal hockey .
RNH is actually out-shooting or close when Smid, Potter or Gilbert is playing behind him, pretty good number for any rookie. Reminds me of Hall and Eberle last year outshooting when playing with Horcoff.
RNH, when playing with Barker, gets outshot by 33 shots per 60min ice time together.
Terrible.
You may say, “Not so fast Woodguy, Barker is +3. How do you account for that jacka$$?”
If you look at the first BTN link again, you will see that Barker 5v5 On Ice Save Percentage (SVPCT on the chart) is .980
.980!!!!!!!!!
I’m not sure a 4×8 sheet of plywood with exactly 1 puck sized hole in it could put up a .980 in the NHL.
Barker is not a real NHL player.
Barker may have a tough time being an AHL player.
I therefore expect Tambellini to re-sign him to a 3 year extension.
This is a jackass test!
I don’t think Carter ever wanted to be in Columbus in the first place so its not surprising that he isn’t putting up career numbers. If he gets traded at the deadline I can see him going on a 40 goal pace for the rest of the season and if healthy next year pot 30-35 goals.
Apparently saying jackass is just fine – you are free to interpret my post above this one however you like!
MPS is better than RNH.
Scoring chance ratio says so.
Holy Grail!!!!11!!
If woodguy, PDO, hbomb, steve smith and blackdog played against the Hawks tonight would they have a high save % or low save %?
They would probably lose 30-0 and then point out that save % tells us they were unlucky.
5 skaters against the Hawks and only lose 30-0?
I’d be pretty content with that.
Hey, where did the edit button go? Didn’t quite mean to post that.
Anyway, Trak; I’m not sure how that’s overly relevant. Nobody is saying any statistical measure is perfect, but any statistical measure that’s talked about would be outright useless if there wasn’t parity in the league.
I saw Barker real bad early.
I really like Paajarvi, he just needs to learn to drive the lane to the crease instead of behind the net, and the real question remains how is he going to score goals at the NHL level?
Gerta Rauss,
You can’t ignore the contract with Carter. Obviously in a vacuum he is a positive player. However having Carter on your team means you can’t have other players. It is in this sense that he has negative trade value. His cost is the players required to get him + the players you cannot sign because you have him.
I mean I guess I’d take him and his contract but I wouldn’t trade anything with excess value for him.
I’ll be extremely interested to see what Carter goes for if he gets dealt, especially if they do end up givinig him away and Howson still keeps his job – protests and all.
That contract (lower cap hit than Horcoff, ends when he’s only 1 year older than Horc will be when his ends) looked awfully good when he signed it with Philly. Part of the reason he’s been sulking is because he wanted to play out his career there and gave them a bit of a hometown discount to do it.
That being said, he’s apparently a crazed, boozing, partying head-case…
Not sure how you can’t have other players-I don’t even know what that means–his cap is $5.2 for the full term…that certainly isn’t outrageous for a 1C-our very own Shawn Horcoff has a higher cap hit. At least the Flyers got the cap hit part right when they negotiated that deal…I’m not a big fan of those Extend-o contracts but if you’re offering those long term deals you’ve got to get the cap hit down. Those donkeys in Tampa offered Lecavalier both term AND dollars.
I’m not pimping for Carter and the cost would be high, but if Howson is as desperate as it sounds, I’d be in there pitching.
Gerta Rauss,
It’s true you can’t ignore the contract, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t value to extract from it.
Say for example Shawn Horcoff and Sam Gagner for Jeff Carter and Ryan Johansen.
Swap bad contracts, and upgrade a center prospect.
If Carter doesn’t want to play here that’s fine, but I’d bet he’d rather be here than C-Bus, esp. if the idea is “You play for us for a year and see if you like it, and if not, you get your numbers up and we trade you next year.”
Jordan,
Like I said,I’m not pimping for Carter because the cost would probably be way too high-and I would definitely want to talk to him before any deal-no way am I trading away any assets unless I’m sure he wants to play in Edmonton.
So a .980 isn’t lucky? Even you don’t believe that.
But when I put up a -280 shots/60 you could definitively say I was bad.
Just like Barker.
b
woodguy:
MPS is better than RNH. I get it.
Between him and Gilmour we have the cup locked up.
I gotta run though, enjoy the game everyone.
So much Barker hate it’s ridiculous. Dude played 12 games? Scored a world class goal? Wasn’t anywhere near the worst Oiler this season?
How about you guys calculate oiler’s record since that ass-licking, snivelling excuse of an NHL captain took the reins from Moreau?
I mean, really.
Look kids!! Its Parliament!
You always get more obtuse when you realized you are wrong and nothing will bear out your opinion.
MPS’s corsi is +0.16
RNH’s is -3.33
That’s a not a ZOMG!!! difference, but its nice to see MPS not getting buried.
Barker being the worst among Dmen, by far, is a different kettle of fish.
Here’s the D Corsi:
COREYPOTTER -0.32
JEFFPETRY -0.96
TOMGILBERT -2.35
ANDYSUTTON -2.51
LADISLAVSMID -5.09
COLTENTEUBERT -5.5
THEOPECKHAM -8.06
RYANWHITNEY -15.71
CAMERONBARKER -23.4
Couple that with the fact that Barker played during the unreal hot winning streak (see his ONSV%), makes it even worse.
Hunter,
Brownlee said the other day that Barker looks like he is in much better shape than he was at the beginning of the year.
He’s an Oiler and I hope he improves, but Lordy, he’s not been good.
Nope. Just that poor lil MPS never gets quality linemates.
Trade them both then, Baddumdum..tish!
I commented the other morning that there’s a touch of Ebert in Bruce’s writing style.
Here in my little burgh we have a puck-banging espresso joint by the name of “2% Jazz”. Suddenly it clicked over some black ink concerning David Staples’ writing style: he’s 2% Peter Mansbridge, who can be–shall we say–a little portentous sitting there gruffly on his coat tails (not that I know any more, I gave my television the Second City salute decades ago, though he looks the same as ever when I spy him astride the CC crawl in my local pub). Staples has just the tiniest trace of this, enough that I can instantly tease him and Bruce apart.
Here’s Staples pulling a bit of a Tolstoy on the Puck wound:
The particular agony of the Edmonton Oilers fan.
It’s all true, however, let us recall:
Bills, Bosox, Expos, Cubs. There’s no monopoly on drink. After giving the black cat the backhand rub, Staples does open up an interesting point of discussion:
So who is the greatest Oiler to retire in the orange and blue? Are we looking at the Ryan Smyth boomerang here to roll out the red carpet for the first time on a long, local, and illustrious career?
But back to Bruce for a moment, since I just bumped upon this today:
Getting out of the way
That’s the thing I sensed exactly: when it comes to hockey, Bruce is always composing, since the age of cognition. And I mean this very broadly … the actual words are a late addition. So one hears it exactly as he thinks it, like The Ecstasy of Glenn Gould when Gould plays Bach. As Ebert spells it out, “This doesn’t make Bruce a genius. It has nothing to do with that. It simply means that having been given language and shinny, his mind supplies the caustics.” Hey, a caustic is a beautiful mathematical curve, for those who can’t recall when last we’ve seen one.
Willis I might figure out someday. Lowetide, however, I just don’t know. Out of my league, really. What do we say about the great crooner? I span Jeckyll to jester to jackass, but I ain’t got none of that. I can do the Ebert thing, and I do that often elsewhere. But here, I mostly show up to get myself twisted into verbal contortions, from which I sometimes emerge unscathed. Seriously, I don’t have Liberace on my mind. When you throw something out there where it least belongs that little voice inside goes “oh oh”. You feel a glove under the ribs as you go hard into the corners. Until out of the blue I leapt from Liberace to libel to Liverpool, I had visions of beating a hasty retreat. (Unfortunately, the buried hockey reference is far from the high point of this enjoyable spraypaint odessey.)
And guess what? Today it’s a short step from Peter Puck to Yoko Ono. Small world.
He needs to learn a lot of things. #1 is to stop being a huge vagina on skates.
Vagina test..
[Another submission vanished in a blank puff. Have I offended the gods eternally? Lazarus again.]
I commented the other morning that there’s a touch of Ebert in Bruce’s writing style.
Here in my little burgh we have a puck-banging espresso joint by the name of “2% Jazz”. Suddenly it clicked over some black ink concerning David Staples’ writing style: he’s 2% Peter Mansbridge, who can be–shall we say–a little portentous sitting there gruffly on his coat tails (not that I know any more, I gave my television the Second City salute decades ago, though he looks the same as ever when I spy him astride the CC crawl in my local pub). Staples has just the tiniest trace of this, enough that I can instantly tease him and Bruce apart.
Here’s Staples pulling a bit of a Tolstoy on the Puck wound:
The particular agony of the Edmonton Oilers fan.
It’s all true, however, let us recall:
Bills, Bosox, Expos, Cubs. There’s no monopoly on drink. After giving the black cat the backhand rub, Staples does open up an interesting point of discussion:
So who is the greatest Oiler to retire in the orange and blue? Are we looking at the Ryan Smyth boomerang here to roll out the red carpet for the first time on a long, local, and illustrious career?
But back to Bruce for a moment, since I just bumped upon this today:
Getting out of the way
That’s the thing I sensed exactly: when it comes to hockey, Bruce is always composing, since the age of cognition. And I mean this very broadly … the actual words are a late addition. So one hears it exactly as he thinks it, like The Ecstasy of Glenn Gould when Gould plays Bach. As Ebert spells it out, “This doesn’t make Bruce a genius. It has nothing to do with that. It simply means that having been given language and shinny, his mind supplies the caustics.” Hey, a caustic is a beautiful mathematical curve, for those who can’t recall when last we’ve seen one.
Willis I might figure out someday. Lowetide, however, I just don’t know. Out of my league, really. What do we say about the great crooner? I span Jeckyll to jester to jackass, but I ain’t got none of that. I can do the Ebert thing, and I do that often elsewhere. But here, I mostly show up to get myself twisted into verbal contortions, from which I sometimes emerge unscathed. Seriously, I don’t have Liberace on my mind. When you throw something out there where it least belongs that little voice inside goes “oh oh”. You feel a glove under the ribs as you go hard into the corners. Until out of the blue I leapt from Liberace to libel to Liverpool, I had visions of beating a hasty retreat. (Unfortunately, the buried hockey reference is far from the high point of this enjoyable spraypaint odessey.)
And guess what? Today it’s a short step from Peter Puck to Yoko Ono. Small world.
I had two post attempts vaporize. When I submitted “test” it worked, then I tried to edit and submit the original and now I see “Your comment was marked for moderation” so I’ll leave it at that.
Deadman, Louise, others: I have no idea what’s happening but sometimes posts are showing up as spam. I had FOURTEEN just now, many Louise and DMW.
My apologies and we’re working on it. Great stuff posted too, damn. Sorry again.
It’s gotta be Kevin Lowe, right?
Ryan Smyth, whenever that happens.
Please no Carter
There is a problem with him and it has nothing to do with hockey it’s life choices.
6 rings, LT. 6.
Fussy spouting….
Hawks inquire about both Hemsky and Gagner APG
Crha and Tambelini still talking contract extension
Oilers offering Khabibulin around looking for draft pick Jackets offered to take Khabibulin for Mason
I can see it now: Oilers acquire Nick Leddy and Marc McNeil for 83 and 89. That’ll move back the clock, but what a prospect list!
Adding those two to the Hawks roster would certainly make for a more interesting playoffs this year.
The Khabibulin for Mason thing is intriguing. I’m not sure why either team makes that deal other than for change’s sake. The Oilers would save a bit of money, I suppose.
Adam Oates.
And in the category of “Least Fluid Mention of Shawn Horcoff in a Gameday Thread”, the nominees are Traktor, Traktor, Traktor, John Williams, and Traktor.
Did all the spam posts have links? More than 1 link?
d
Barker in, Peckham out.
Barker will play with Sutton on 3rd pairing.
Not sure there is a slower tandem in the leauge.
Over/under on odd man rushes against that pair?
I set the line at 4.5
Woodguy,
Whatever, at least they’re not making Horcoff money.
Woodguy,
Yes, actually.
First row sports has been seized in US, Damn.
Okay, that was well-played by Barker.
Hmm. Dubnyk has to make that save. Exceptional sequence early gets flushed.
If the Oilers game plan was to have the Hawks tire themselves out from shooting so much,we’re right on track.
I want to attack the tsn guys.. seriously what does ward know about the oilers?? I don’t ever want to hear trades the Oilers should make by ward, crawford, or any of the troop. Dreger is trying with all his worth to have the Oilers ship Gagner, and Hemmer out. I wish they would put their effort in Khabbi, Horcoff, and Renney. I know those aren’t the names they want to talk about, but seriously if we are ever going to turn the corner and become the franchise we once were.. we keep our talent!!
Also.. Someone needs to crush toews, kane, or pummel mayers.
My post that needed to be moderated had multiple links too. Filter must be set to catch posts with more than one link.
Also,
Just turned on the game.
Shots 10-3, score 1-0.
Didn’t miss much.
Oh hey, Barker is -1.
Unlucky him.
Test.
This is a post with one hotlink
Dmen Corsi
Cam Barker, Top 4 NHL Defenseman.
*sigh*
Test.
This is a post with two hotlinks
Oilers home page
Hawks home page
Barker is writing top 4 defenseman on the ice with his a$$.
Hmm, that didn’t set it off.
Maybe there has to be a few posts like that to set it off.
PP looked dangerous when Eberle and co. were out there.
I guess that’s something.
godot10,
excellent penmanship, i’ll admit.
Anyone want to mention that Dubnyk is playing his ass off. Wow
i’m liking Gagner at Evens, but doesn’t it seem like on the PP the play is always dying with him, often in the very same spot it died on Keith’s penalty?
Bos8,
the one goal was a softie, but yeah, he’s putting in effort and his talent is showing.
Bos8,
use .eu
Thank you, Thank you
I found another one but it’s handy to know for next game.
It seemed like the goal was deflected but I’m not sure. Anyone see a replay?
Boy, Dubnyk faced a lot of point blank shots. Mind you, he’s so big, not a lot of net shows. But that left leg, right leg save was choreographed.
PP makes no sense, stone hands Horcoff on the 1st unit, no confidence gagner on the 2nd, hemsky on the point… next pp I put $10 on Barker being involved. Seems the logical direction.
That girl from big bang theory is very watchable. Also, Barker falling down was funny. Dubnyk can’t let that goal in if he wants to be a starter on an NHL team.
According to that numpty pang and 4 GM’s DD doesn’t have much upside.
The goal was a definite softie but one of the things I have liked about his game this year is that when he lets in an early gift he tends to play well and shut the door. looks like he will need to tonight as the oilers are looking a step slow
Dave Hodge dubbing Brian Burke the best trader in the league, partly on the strength of the Pronger trade.
(Also, interestingly, partly on the strength of acquiring Joffrey Lupul.)
That goal was all Cameron Barkers fault.
Maybe in contexts other than the Big Bang Theory.
Bos8,
no deflection. Sutton did screen it but Dubnyk wasn’t in a good position. not far enough back to react to the puck, but not far enough forward to cut off the angle. he may also have drifted to his left.
looked like it should have been a routine save, at least to me.
Burke is the best trader.. riiiight. Pronger was a gift. Who would take Kessel over Seguin? Hodge is really starting to show his age lately, or maybe Brian threatened to get him off TV too.
arg! smitty you scrub!
Completely Barkers fault, don’t sweat it smitty.
What in the world was Petry’s partner doing on that goal against? Maybe it was a linesman I saw backing into the corner of the ice?
Oops. Smyth loses the puck in the spokes of his wheelchair. The old gas tank is getting a little low.
Taylor Hall should get his head sliced open more often.
cabbiesmacker,
Love the guy, but he’s on fumes. They should take whatever they can get for him at the deadline.
SK Oiler Fan,
yeah… no.
Did I just see a Cornet-Eager line versus Kane/Sharp – This is in Edmonton right? – jeeessh Renney – earn your paycheque.
Sam Gagner. Trade his ass.
OilClog,
Yaeh…yes
Cogliano’d have scored that twice.
nice statue of liberty play by 94.
SK Oiler Fan,
notice how smyth blocked out the creases.. goal wouldn’t have happened otherwise. There is always a roster spot for smyth.
When you see how much Gagner cares it makes you wonder why anyone wants to trade this kid. He might not be the biggest or fastest, but man does he want to win. I have a feeling we would all regret trading this kid.
Belanger is looking a hell of a lot better. Maybe he did have a bad back. Showed some nice moves.
Boarding?!?!?! Com’ on ref!
What are the odds that Gagner gets traded to Chicago in the second intermission! -).
OilClog,
He is effective within a 6ft radius of the opposition goal. He can’t keep up anywhere else. He’s not the same player he was in the first 25 games unfortunately.
Bos8,
he had a bad back?
Yeah, that’s what I read somewhere on Belanger. Don’t remember where. Man, I am enjoying this game, love the skating. Is that Hossa a Hoss or what.
SK Oiler Fan,
i feel that he is also strong within 20ft of his own net, but sure, no wheels, not making a lot of strong plays either.
Good for Whitney – guy deserves a break
Gotta love that smile by Whitney. Eighty percent is still pretty good.
SK Oiler Fan,
have you been watching the season at all? he’s used on every penalty kill, makes very minimal mistakes costing the team on a nightly basis.. he’s allowed a mulligan. The goals have dried up, but the defensive leadership has not. No he’s not the player he use to be, father time is undefeated yet again.
Bos8,
http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2012/01/31/eric-belanger-leads-oilers-to-3-2-win-over-colorado/
he was out for a handful of games, sure .. wasn’t aware it was an early season or lingering issue.
beyond the goal, which i think he could have probably scored in whatever condition he was in before, Whitney seems to be playing much better defensively and distributing the puck more effectively than he has at any time this year.
They need to make Magnus watch the Hall rush to the net drawing the penalty like 1000 times.
striatic,
I’d agree with that – stronger than most of the forwards on this team in his own zone when he’s back in time. I was one of the many promoting resigning him for a good number for another year after his first 25 games. We”ll see how he finishes, but I’m afraid the last 20 games are a look into next year. Can’t believe I’m mentioning this, but if the Oilers actually made the playoffs next year would he have anything left?
voxwah,
No. They just need to play Paajarvi with Omark for a couple of years.
striatic,
pretty sure the back problems had something to do with that iginla cross check to the small of the back when he got beat on the draw earlier this season.
OilClog,
Have you watched the last 20 games at all?
SK Oiler Fan,
well it all depends on if Renney is still in town, if he is, anyone over 34 on the team will be worn out by game 30.
godot10,
right .. but in OKC?
SK Oiler Fan,
yea, he hasn’t scored, but he hasn’t been scored on much either. Usually the culprit on the ice for the goals against has a C on his chest.
Quick! Trade Gagner while he’s still worth anything!
PS: Who the fuck was that oiler who fell flat on his ass at the blueline in the 1st period? You have to wonder where they pick up some of these players.
even if we were to trade gagner, wouldn’t a trade for him make much more sense in the summer? but I don’t work at TSN, what would I know.
striatic,
Paajarvi and Omark can play anywhere, except the coach in Edmonton is a moron. Betcha Omark is over a point and a half with Paajarvi in OKC when he get back, and Paajarvi not far behind.
Well atleast the Smyth trade possibility has been cleared up.
OKC 3-0 against San Antone who had a 7 games win streak.
First Goal
Quote from HF Boards by one of the posters, Oilersdiehard
“Goal scored by Hunter Tremblay with assists to Magnus Paajarvi & Mark Arcobello.
The play was a nice one from Paajarvi deked past a guy behind the goal line, faked everyone he was going around the back of the net and made a nice one handed pass out to Tremblay.”
Personal observation; Why wasn’t MPS on the PK. Would seem to be a natural, would get him involved and give Smythe a breather.
Bos8: Sideburns. The answer is always sideburns.
OilClog,
Well I’ll leave a discussion on the C for another day. I’m too lazy to look up the underlying stats, but Smyth is getting a decent amount of ice time and this team in general is struggling to create offense – He’s partly to blame for that.
Almost all NHL coaches rely on their veteran players heavily. If Renney is going to continue this trend this team obviously needs better vets next year if playoffs are the goal.
Dreger mention that L.A. had put in a call on Hemsky. Holy fuck! That would be amazing if V.03 fleeced Lombardi again.
Nothing helps a sore ankle like a nice goal. Good for him.
I’m not sure you can win a Hemsky trade. Getting assets for 25 games of Hemsky is somthing, but trading away a very good RW when he would sign here is something else.
If they do, it probably means Omark is an Oiler for a while.
Would like to see Voynov come back, but you’d probably need to add to get him.
Nice to see F O D D E R gets 3pts in 2 periods against the Hawks.
Damn, I keep forgetting the mantra on MPS.
Side note – Never was a Gagner fan, but this is the best I’ve seen him skate, ever.
Barker is looking good, surprisingly. Even the pratfall was poetry in motion. Very elegant tumble, oopsy. Aargh..
How embarasking.
It would be even better if we then signed Hemsky as a UFA in the offseason
That Gagner sucks. Trade him now while we can still get a bag of pucks.
if Hemsky leaves, he won’t be back. He’ll enjoy the fresh start too much. #Truth.
BARKER!!! AHAHAHAHA.
Either
A – Traktor is wrong about how good a player sam gagner is
or
B – Gagner is maximizing his trade value for the Oilers
Also – looks like the Oilers are going to be 8 – 3 – 2 with Barker in the lineup. LOL.
Bos8,
Agreed on Gagner – I was hard on him when he took a while to fully recover from the ankle sprain. He’s moving his feet constantly now – nice to see.
Maybe the Hawks want to take NK home with them?
Haha! Good for Barker!
F O D D ER with 5pts.
cabbiesmacker,
that goal was Cam Barker’s fault : ]
BOOM!!!
Holy shit!!!!!! Good for Samwise.
Like Fk. DD – just no consistancy at all. Too bad
Holy hell – 89! Confidence is a strange thing.
Cogs would have 12.
what is happening? I don’t understand. I’m excited for tomorrow’s blog.
Ganger sucks
What a great night for Sam.
Can’t deal him now. Secondary scoring, come on down.
Talk about being hard on Dubey. Rolling puck and bad luck all around. Very little help this game.
For a supposed blowout – Good game.
I don’t know what it is with DD – I know nothing about goalies, but he’s just so slow to react sometimes – It’s like every 3rd or 4th shot is a screen shot. You’d think he’d see everything being a tall tree and all.
russ99,
well, they could deal him now, ‘selling high’.
they shouldn’t, but they could.
Gah, I should have stayed in the office! Internet is too slow to get the game at home.
Two 2 on 1 on a PP, up 2. “We want ten.
Hang on Dubey, Hang On. Woah
What a great pass.
SO awesome!
7 pt night!!!
4!!!!
Would be great to see Sam get the Safeway 5 and win someone a million.
wow.
Burke is on the phone now for 3.2. Probably offering 2 bags of pucks.
Gagner REALLY sucks
Where are DSF and Traktor?
What’s happening to Gagner? Wow, I can’t wait to see the highlights. 4 goals and 3 assists?
One wonders how much his PP/60, etc, would be affected by tonight’s game? He has 6 ES points now tonight, incredible!!
Awesome. Good for Sam.
Love Sutton’s offensive ‘forays’ – pretty smooth for a mountain of a man.
If Gagner doesn’t play at least 2:30 of the last 5:00 Renney should be fired on the spot.
Can the NHL take another shot at realignment and include Chicago and LA in the Oilers division?
delooper,
he’s getting lots of ice time, and with Hall and Eberle for once.
Eberle’s been extremely good, but 14/4 had a lot to do with this too.
Forty two shots on goal with six minutes left.
Firewagon hockey. Yeehah
I’m waiting on Fuhr to take off the mask.
Great game for Gagner, electric crowd and holy baby Jesus there’s another. WOW
Unreal. We are now entering the twilight zone for Ganger. Congrats to Samwise!
Sam Gagner !
Boston picked the wrong guy?
Unreal. Craazy. Can’t wait for LTs word tomorrow morning.
Holy cow. Keep this line together, please…
WHy don’t they bench Gagner? he’s terrible
Looks like he’ll be the first ever 10 grade from the journal tomorrow
8 point night?? What is Gretzky’s record?
Eight points!!
lol same old Traktor, I don’t even know what PDO is, never mind use it or save % this or that to rate players.
I would take 30 – nil though, Christ I’ve taken some pretty bad beatings in beer league. Plus autographs!
You have to leave 89 between 14 and 4 when 93 comes back right?
Unreal.
Good for him.
F O D D E R
y
delooper,
8!
though he did that twice.
striatic,
Agreed 4 and 14 have been puck hounds tonight. Maybe Quenville will pull their goalie?
Now, Renney has lost my respect. Why is he rubbing it in? That way lies injury.
Sufficient onto the day>
Is this Exciting Last Place Hockey yet?
On the down side, we have to throw this game out as part of the Oilers GF, since it skews the curve in some people’s minds.
Who’s 93?
Why didn’t Chicago pull their goalie? Did the coach stop trying to win ?
Nice to see. Special night. So glad I got to experience this.
Don’t throw that stick into the crowd Gags – it’s going to the HOF
That was remarkable. As evidenced by my remarking on it.
Trade him now! His value will never be higher! (Yes I’m fucking around, i love sam gagner)
danny,
yes, the coach did stop trying to win which i think is the ultimate compliment.
also, pride. at some point winning the game becomes secondary to not showing up in the record books as “the team ______ got 9 points against”
Gagner is only 2 goals back of Cogs
I’m happy for Gags and his supporters.
I suck at reading lips but I swear Kane screamed “Why didn’t we pull the fking goalie??”
say what you want about Renney’s line matching, but i just noticed that Duncan Keith is even +/- tonight.
coincidence?
Traktor,
Fantastic Trak. LOL….LOL
Ocho Neuve!!!!
haha nice