LMHF Game Report #33

EDMONTON OILERS 2

VS.

COLORADO AVALANCHE 3
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It's funny, I finally have a night where there are no other demands on my time and I could relax and write a really long and detailed game report.

But I won't. Not analyzing those clowns that were on that ice tonight.

We probably didn't deserve a goal. Nilsson got tremendously lucky on a bad play by a Colorado defenceman and Souray got a triple-screen on a double-clutch. Aside from the first ten minutes of the first period we had nothing.

I hope everyone caught the only shift for Penner-Horcoff-Hemsky. Ales almost scored, then Horcoff got a great chance (he blew it, but still) and then Hemsky missed an open puck and Penner couldn't manage one, but at least they generated something good together. Much as I want O'Sullivan to play with Hemsky, get the Penner-Horcoff-Hemsky line back together. They're the best shot we have right now regardless of what the coach thinks of Penner. MacTavish is getting in the way of the most effective line available.

Next year I think it'll be O'Sullivan with Hemsky, but not as it was tonight. I have no idea why MacTavish chose to use Gagner as the centre there. I know he's been playing really well lately (and continued that to some extent tonight) but the answer there at the moment in Horcoff.

Good God is Strudwick looking bad on D right now...and for him to be out there so late in the game is just plain criminal. He could have cost us this thing at any time. Peckham's already a better hockey player and should be in when Smid comes back. We'll never see that though. Our coach would rather have reliable even if its worse.

The winning goal was pretty shameful. Staios was horrid all game including some of the stupidest fire-it-around-the-boards plays I've ever seen and a horrid display of passing all night. I'm not shocked at all he blew it. What the heck he was trying to do out there I have no idea. If he backs off and picks up his man the rebound likely doesn't happen and the game goes on. Sure the rebound shouldn't have happened anyway, but still. Every D-man knows not to do what he did. With that said, it was a bad rebound night for our goalie, they were everywhere.

Ever since Cogliano's become invisible, this team has been a lot worse.

Pisani still hasn't done anything. I know he's trying to work his way back in but he's got to find a way to be effective.

Did anyone get a better view of Penner's "penalty" than me? It looked like he'd drawn one with a great drive to the net from my angle. I thought he played pretty decently along with his linemates. Good play specifically by Brodziak leading to Souray's goal.

Nilsson sure got screwed tonight. He was playing fine and then suddenly didn't get to play.

Finally a forward has more icetime than Horcoff! O'Sullivan is disturbingly versatile. This guy could be big-time for us once he settles in. I hope there's a new coach to help him along, that's for sure.

Grebeshkov's defensive coverage has come a really long way, and on nights like tonight I notice that he uses his body to defend the puck in an amazingly efficient manner. We've got to find a way to keep this guy.

Management was kidding themselves or flat-lying when talking about our D being okay without getting some help. We needed another vet BEFORE Visnovsky went down, with him gone it should have been 100% automatic.

It is so hard to watch a team with so much talent (and they do have it) struggle so mightily. This is the exact opposite of the hockey I watched that '05-'06 team play. We're at the absolute minimum of where our talent can get us.

All we can really do is hope it improves...I guess.

Man is this depressing. Colorado? Atlanta? Montreal? Ottawa? REALLY?!?!?!