LoudMouthHemskyBlog

LMHF Report - Game #24

2012-01-31T22:46:00.005-07:00

EDMONTON 3

VS.

COLORADO 2
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The Oilers almost lost this game as the result of a play that I maintain NHL linesmen still get wrong a large percentage of the time. The icing with approximately half a minute to go should have been waived off as an intended pass. If you saw Taylor Hall's reaction and were wondering what exactly that was about, that's what was going on. Horrible missed call that could have been very bad for us.

At the start of tonight's game, the team looked quite fresh. Not perfect and not with a ton of crazy get-up-and-go, but very fresh, skating well and making solid decisions. It was interesting to see an Oilers squad start a game out this way because it seems to happen so rarely. Perhaps are players are vitamin D deficient and need to spend more time getting sun or an adequate supplementation (three-quarters joking of course).

Our biggest issue tonight was our defensive group. The forwards pushed the play and applied a decent amount of pressure on a Colorado defence that worked very hard this evening. Our goaltending was of course excellent. We had several long sequences stuck in our own zone and this was mostly due to defencemen not getting to the puck, getting there later than they should have and being out of position, or turning the puck over with very little fight. We need to make better decisions than that. Unacceptable.

Our powerplay showed some signs of practice (which is odd, because we had one, right?) and while certainly not perfect, it seemed to be effective. Some of the defencemen struggled on the point at times but not all.

I honestly thought this one was over when we got up 3-1, but a rather ugly goal turned this into a much tighter game very quickly. We got a little nervous and made some mistakes (including on the bench as our lines got all jumbled up unintentionally down the stretch, but we able to hold on.

Colorado has a really interesting team with a lot of talented players who have a knack for swooping to the middle of the offensive zone and making quick plays in that direction. You can see how their offence could strike quickly in this manner. They also have a ton of guys who can physically punish the other team, meaning they can wear you down. Where they might fall down is their attention to detail as they seem to get out of sorts now and again. Also, their goaltending leaves much to be desired.

The Oilers' first goal was a beauty play by Jordan Eberle, but began due to some excellent corner work by Cornet. Showing a decent amount of poise in his second ever NHL shift, he held the puck along the boards, fought off a Colorado defender and moved into the other corner before getting the puck to Gagner. Gagner went to Eberle who faked skating behind the net then wrapped in the near side and followed up after the first attempt hit pad.

Belanger's goal was certainly a surprise. While the puck movement by our second unit powerplay was certainly improved, you just don't expect #20 to hit his spot like he did. Jones and Smyth were both working in front of the net to create confusion, which certainly helped, but the key was Whitney's half-slap pass to Belanger that forced the Avs to respect the shot. #20 then went roof with that goofy snap shot of his.

Our third goal was a strong fundamental hockey play. Hall and Hemsky worked up the right wing with speed, #83 got himself a shooting lane while #4 headed for the slot, and a low shot off the far pad plus a rebound later the puck was in the net. perfectly done.
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Dubnyk
- Other than the second Avs goal, which was a product of not one but two UGLY rebounds, #40 was excellent. Come to think of it, he misplayed the first goal as well, thinking that he could get the puck to the boards and missing (which is why he reacted so angrily). He made a bunch of fine stops, especially with his glove hand and kept the Avs from scoring long enough for his team to get to 3-1. I mention the glove hand specifically because it is usually a point of weakness for him, but tonight he was capturing the puck nearly every time. Loved the aggressive poke check on the Avs breakaway chance.

Cornet-Gagner-Eberle
- Cornet is an interesting study as a player in that he is young and isn't projecting to make a real impact, but he's done some interesting things in junior/the AHL and he could still become something. His biggest strength appears to be positioning, as he was almost always either open or moving toward the open ice. Also, unlike many AHL players that arrive in Edmonton, he was patient with the puck and generally made decent decisions. He needs to work on his passing, as he does not put enough on them to make connections in the NHL game. The biggest thing he is missing is a strong, fundamental set of skating tools. By this, I don't mean speed but the fundamentals of skating. The nice thing is that he should be able to improve these areas as power skating needs to be part of any developing pro's work and hitting the gym should put some muscle on his legs (he looked a little storkish out there). We could have something here in a couple years if he continues to develop. The instincts are there and that can go a LONG way if you're willing to work. Eberle had a generally strong game but seemed to let frustration seep in at times. He took a penalty not long after his stick had been slashed out of his hands and actually appeared to get benched for a shift. This is unusual for him, and I think this is what we'd actually call an off-night for #14. Thing is, his off-nights are damn solid. As for Gagner, I've marvelled at the strange fact that he above all other Oilers in the past number of years seems to take the longest to trust new players enough to pass them the puck. This trait was on display again tonight, as he often turned away from Cornet or made the less obvious play to another teammate. It is very weird and I don't know what about Sam's psychology causes this, but it has been true regardless of who seems to come up. #89 had strong and weak moments, showing some nice stickhandling work but also losing the puck a few times. He didn't beat anyone clean tonight, but certainly held his own.

Hall-Horcoff-Hemsky
- Really solid night for this trio and it was good to see them rewarded with a goal. They had a number of other chances (highlighted by Hemsky's dangle into the slot and then ripping a shot off the post) and seemed to be just off the mark on a number of occasions. Horcoff struggled a little in the offensive zone, including doing seemingly everything he could to miss a great chance in the slot in the second period, but was solid everywhere else. Hemsky and Hall managed the rush very well, continuing to show an ability to read off of each other at high speed. They struggled at times on the powerplay, but also looked very good at other times. If anything I'd like to see Hall go to his office at the side of the net a little more than he did tonight as Hemsky certainly knows how to get the puck to that area. I'd also like to see Horcoff cycle in on the left wing during the breakout so that they can use Hall's speed and Horcoff's own zone ability a little more effectively. These guys (Hall and Hemsky mainly, but also Horcoff at times) have been fighting the big battles for us lately and winning, which is making a huge difference. If you ask me to pinpoint a difference in Hemsky's game that indicates to me he's feeling healthier, look at his skating compared to a few weeks ago. You will see a full body skating stride right now, whereas before it appeared he was having to push with his legs exclusively. This is making a huge difference in his explosiveness and elusiveness. I suspect the ice will open up even more for these two once Hopkins and Gilbert return. (Hopkins for an additional threat on another line and Gilbert for the transition game)

Smyth-Belanger-Jones
- This was certainly Eric Belanger's best game in some time. The goal is one thing, but what I noticed most is that he was down low in his own zone making plays (including hits) to get the puck, then either making a pass or finding skating speed to get past the opposition. He skated past a number of Avalanche defenders tonight in a way we haven't seen from him much at all this year. I will never understand why the man apparently believes the wrist shot is the mark of Satan (seriously, he refuses to take one in even the most obvious of circumstances) and it certainly does cost him in the offensive zone, but less so tonight. Belanger's strong effort allowed Smyth and Jones to concentrate on playing a simple north-south game and generally this is when they're most effective. I didn't see anything spectacular out of either of them, but they did their jobs. All three of these guys played well on the PK.

Petrell-Lander-Eager
- I loved the way #37 responded to multiple early big hits on him by the Avs...not only did he not back off the puck or the dirty areas of the ice, but he gave a couple hits right back and continued a strong effort. I liked his game a fair bit tonight and he was nearly rewarded with a goal. Speaking of nearly rewarded, Anton Lander burst into open ice and made a great move, only to be robbed by a combination of glove and post. He didn't have a lot of flash other than this, but tonight was generally a strong effort from him. Eager did a fair bit less than the other two, and I didn't have a good enough view of his penalty to see whether he was the victim of a sneaky defenceman's play (I know how to make that play to draw that penalty, it is a nice trick) or whether he just pulled a stupid, but he nearly took another one late in the game. I don't understand why he's not hitting more people as well; he's certainly getting the chances.

Potter-Whitney
- As a pair, they struggled more than we are used to seeing due to what appeared to be some positional confusion. They got crossed up on a number of occasions and this led to scoring chances and turnovers. Potter especially didn't have a great game as he contributed to the offence in a minimal way and struggled with his checks at times. He made up for it with a key shot block and some sound physical play, but he can be better than this. As for Whitney, this is the first time this year I've seen him skate aggressively into the offensive zone, not be afraid to stay there, control the puck patiently and make deft passes such as the one to Belanger. If this Whitney is here to stay until the end of the year and gets a little bit of the hitting in his own zone back, it will be HUGE for this team showing progress.

Smid-Petry
- Aside from one extended stay in the offensive zone where he controlled the puck quite nicely, I didn't notice a lot from Smid tonight. I suspect this means he was doing his job defensively, but again I've seen him be better at moving the puck up to the forwards. It always amuses me when commentators say negative things about his puck moving ability; makes me think they don't watch games anymore as #5 is an excellent puck transporter. Petry had a very common game for him, some excellent passes and generally decent defence intermingled with some brain cramps.

Peckham-Sutton
- While the result was okay for these two, the process was at times ugly. Sutton missed more pucks that were within his reach than I can remember in any other game, and made a hideous pinch late in the third that could have cost the team. He also gave the puck away a number of times in his own zone due to either poor or lazy passing. It didn't really hurt us for some reason, but it certainly could have. It impacted us most in the transition game. Positionally, he was decent. Peckham had a mixed game in that he was more aggressive physically than usual and made a few good defensive stops, but he also got crossed up at times and had to chase his man rather than be ready for him.
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Is this a team ready to rip off 30 in a row? Of course not, but it sure is better than the junk we've been seeing. We could get a real boost as we add Hopkins, Gilbert and to a lesser extent Barker back into the lineup, but only time will tell.

LMHF Report - Game #23

2012-01-23T23:21:00.002-07:00

EDMONTON 2

VS.

SAN JOSE 1

In a freaking shootout....
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Well, that was certainly better. The ship was not righted and we have not in any way returned to course, but it was good to get a break from the garbage that has passed for Oilers hockey lately.

The shot totals tonight were misleading. What you had was a combination of an Oilers squad that was outskating the Sharks' defenders until Hemsky was kicked out but couldn't connect and a Sharks team that was firing iffy shots from just about anywhere.

I'd chalk the Oilers' issues up to not having practiced in these line combos before. They were a step ahead of the Sharks for a lot of the game when on the attack, but couldn't seem to find a groove in terms of passing and finding each other. This led to a very strange sort of game where despite "generating chances", the Oilers erased their own opportunity immediately after. If this were a successful season I'd be nitpicking in a big way about that.

SJ looked tired and quiet for most of the night. They couldn't take advantage of a large amount of turnovers and showed exactly what will kill them in the playoffs; you can skate right past them.

Our defensive group had a very strange night. On the plus side, they kept the Sharks' attackers to the outside, didn't allow a bunch of odd-man rushes and were decently physical. On the other hand, almost every one of them had a 5-star unforced giveaway that required a quick recovery. It was a little strange watching them add up as we seemingly made sure that everyone got one.

It doesn't take much to get the fans going. There was certainly some cheering in the building tonight which was actually fun. There were also some solid performances and some new guys to take a look at.

One difference from recent games is that even though we certainly weren't world-beaters, the team sent out 4 lines that were close to appropriately staffed with NHL players and no plugs. This meant that the Sharks couldn't really slack off and was wearing them down and preventing them from cheating for offensive chances. Our top 2 lines did a pretty decent job when they were intact.

I'm quite puzzled as to why Renney didn't use Horcoff third in the SO. He's got either the best or second best career percentage. I'm also puzzled as to why we always shoot first and put so much damn pressure on our goalie. Not a good plan. Hall was going backhand-to-fivehole AGAIN and changed at the last minute when he realized he had no chance...how can such a gifted scorer only have one move? (and such a crappy one)

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Dubnyk
- What can you say, he was excellent. Only called upon a few times to make great saves, but make them he did and that is what matters. He was more aggressive than usual, didn't get loose in his positioning and absorbed pucks much more effectively to prevent rebounds. I hope he's able to string some game together but history tells me he won't.

Potter
- A fairly mediocre game for #44. He used body checks to separate guys from the puck a couple times, but also made the previously mentioned giveaways and struggled with his positioning at times. It is really too bad we can't deploy him appropriately as a #5 or #6, as I think he's burning out a little bit right now. I guess we'll have to see what that looks like next year.

Sutton
- Minus some giveaways he was solid. Chose his pinches well, including right after his excellent check on McGinn when he had the advantage of intimidation. Good decision there. He also did well with these in the third and in OT. Certainly one of his better defensive games as well.

Petry
- I didn't see a lot of him tonight to be honest. This is sometimes a good thing but it also means he didn't really make a difference offensively.

Chorney
- Umm, yikes. He really wasn't very good. Tentative from the beginning of the game, this led to giveaways and indecisive skating into bad positioning. He didn't game much ice as the game wore on and this is probably because of the giveaways. I honestly hope he's not in the lineup for much longer. There just haven't been any signs of him improving or turning a corner at the NHL level.

Peckham
- He was really really good aside from a couple giveaways. He too used his physicality to get the man away from the puck, then was more patient than usual and made generally solid passing choices. There was a play in the third where he made a mistake with the puck that could have led to a chance, it was near the Oilers bench and the old Theo would have panicked and done something silly, but instead he simply corralled the puck, made a pass and got back in position. Simple and lovely.

Smid
- What a game from him. He was everywhere. Hit people, defended, got shots away from the point including a great one-timer in the third, and was probably the best player aside from Dubnyk. This guy has stepped up in such a big way since #77 has been out and we don't win this one without his effort.

Hall-Gagner-Eberle
- I didn't like the decision to put this line together for tonight, but I think they might have to try it out for a few games. Aside from Eberle's goal which was a good read on a bounce followed by a quick release, they were a touch off all night. Passes were just being missed, lanes weren't being filled, and players were not getting open in the right spots. I'm not saying they were bad, just that they were not clicking. It is worth pointing out that for whatever reason Eberle struggled a bunch to move the puck up the boards tonight and Hall kept losing the puck backwards when he tried to deke. These two little things led to a bunch of stifled chances. None of the three was shooting it well or getting ready to shoot it all that well. As I mentioned earlier, I suspect this has to do with practice and comfort level. The effort was there and the Sharks could not skate with this group when it rushed the puck or got moving down low. They just kept losing the puck. Kind of like unforced errors in tennis.

Hartikainen-Horcoff-Hemsky
- This line struggled with problems similar to those of the first line. #56 was playing a bit of an AHL game in the first period...waiting for the puck to come to him instead of going to get it. This cost him some chances to make plays. In the second and third he got it going to some extent and did some nice things. I really hope he gets a similar chance in Vancouver. Hemsky was going really hard tonight to the point where I think his fitness may be nearing normal levels. He's still having to cut shifts too short but he's able to take hits and force his way past some players at this stage. The weird pass he made in the second that was not in the direction of the only Oilers player in the vicinity (I want to say Hall?) looked to have resulted from a tipped stick on first glance rather than any weird sort of fake-out by Joe Thornton but I'm not sure. The kneeing call was utter BS. He was trying to make a play on the puck and start a rush, not knee somebody. Burns knew it too and said so in his post game. The ref who actually made the call knew it too. I'm not sure if you could see on TV, but he'd called tripping before Burns was down and then some sort of weird conference took place and the original call because kneeing. What crap. It screwed up our flow and nearly cost us this one. The two lines as constituted were doing enough to the Sharks that they weren't able to generate many meaningful chances. Horcoff? He was okay. I didn't see a ton and he certainly wasn't flying, but he also wasn't bad.

Smyth-Lander-Paajarvi
- An interesting call with some potential for success but the combo didn't really translate into much. SJ had to respect the combo for Magnus' speed and Smyth's savvy, but they weren't able to string plays together either. Smyth played a tired game which is old news, characterized by lost races and inaccurate passing. Paajarvi showed some jump early on and I thought he might make some good things happen, but he wasn't able to hit the holes or drive through the Sharks D as the game wore on. They certainly had him played in terms of his speed. Lander didn't make much happen.

Petrell-Belanger-Jones
- While not exactly world-beaters, it is nice to see a 4th line that can play some hockey. #37 looked solid in his return, going to the net and making some physical contact while playing a strong positional game. It is truly sad that every time Eric Belanger touches the puck I am now saying to myself "there's no way anything exciting will happen". He got the puck in a few dangerous spots tonight and couldn't even take a provocative stride. He's having trouble even corralling the puck, BUT, for a fourth line C he had decent enough positioning and didn't get beat. If he's in this spot in the lineup, that is enough. Jones played a pretty quiet game and wasn't really able to use his speed to force the Sharks. He needs to remember that he can still contribute through physicality in these types of games and focus on that.
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The Isotopes win a game! The Isotopes win a game! The Isotopes win a game!

What now?

2012-01-23T12:27:00.003-07:00

Something that keeps coming up as I try to follow the Edmonton Oilers hockey team on a day-to-day basis is that no one is telling the important story or telling it correctly. All we ever hear is that "there is a plan", that whatever that is continues and can justify almost anything in terms of game results, that to deviate would be some kind of utter disaster and that success will come (just ask any of the GMs whose teams walk in and pound the crap out of us).

Now, if sports media guys view their job as to simply report what is said and what's going on, then I suppose that would be okay. The themes above certainly match the official line of management and others associated with the organization. I've never understood the job of a sports columnist this way. They are columnists and as such are supposed to ask questions (both directly and of themselves), then provide insight based on their experience, skill and thoughts. This is not happening. What we are receiving as fans is access journalism. This seeks to maintain an open flow of information from the team at nearly all costs by only going so far when it pertains to supplying information to readers. For somewhat interested fans this would be fine, and is already done admirably by team employees as well as the post-game type reports from each city's correspondent. There is no point to having a gaggle of writers and radio personalities out there saying the same thing. They serve no purpose for the more interested fans out there. The "hard news" will come out without wasting resources by duplicating it 19 times and shying away from what actually needs to be said.

So what if there is a plan? So what if our leadership buys into it? This plan, which went unquestioned from its accidental beginning and flawed premise to the intentional losing we've experienced in order to exploit the NHL's flawed and anti-sport draft lottery system, is showing no signs of leading to only rational goal of winning games, playoff series and the Stanley Cup. If a plan is driving your ship towards the rocks, you do not stick with the plan just because it is the plan. You have to justify yourself and constantly evaluate what is actually happening, whether you were making progress, and whether your premises were right from the very beginning. The answers are quite clearly that the Oilers are adrift as a team, and the starting premises may very well have been wrong. You won't see any of this in the local media. Instead you will see the news that our GM will be getting an extension portrayed as some kind of huge story (rather than being footnoted and then either loudly protested or supported) and justified by a simple and dismissive "why are you surprised? It is the plan."

It is not about being surprised...it is about the fact that everyone seems to know this decision would be wrong except the organization and those tasked with following them in the media. Maybe the media does know it is a bad decision and just won't say, but that is actually worse. If Steve Tambellini, Tom Renney and anyone else has been asked to lose hockey games and didn't turn down the job and walk away, they should be deeply ashamed of themselves as men. I don't know whether that reality is the case or not, but no one is telling me and no one with any supposed sway is asking the question.

No one has been pushed to explain why changing course now would be a disaster. Many (including the media who covers this team) can come up with all kinds of reasons that this is "hard" or, on a lot of days "impossible". That's really pathetic. If you've watched any professional sports with even a modicum of attention you know that this is not true. The excuses that are made for the Oilers not acquiring those they need or those that could possibly help are so numerous it is mind-boggling. You'd think making a trade or signing a third rate free agent were rocket surgery according to these people. If you get them on that point, they move onto the next talking point, which is "one player won't make a difference". What a complete load. The difference is made one player at a time every time and you can improve at any time. How anyone thinking with the least bit of logic can make such a statement is crazy and dismissive.

So, we can't adapt, can't add players because it is hard, and oh by the way, they won't make a difference anyway. We should all just give up and go home then right? Nope, because of "the plan" there is hope! Because of "the plan", we will have unprecedented success that no one has seen in years! It will be long term, but happen overnight (because one guy can't make a difference and there's no point), we know exactly what it looks like already because we've got "the plan" and it will work no matter what. We are guaranteed to win six cups and be the greatest dynasty ever with the same management team that has led us to two straight and possible three straight last place finishes!

I obviously drifted into some supreme hyperbole at the end there, but you get the point I'm trying to make. For dedicated fans who want results and know what a progressing hockey team looks like, this is all a sick fantasy. Even if we wind up having some relative success in the modern NHL, what is that, one or two cups? Maybe? With an extremely narrow window, salary cap restraints and the hope that everyone's healthy and peaks at the right time?

No. That isn't how you do this. That isn't how you plan in sports. You need kicks at the can and as many as you can get. Things can be changed, tweaked, torn down and rebuilt again quickly, players can learn how to win by winning and competing with good teams in a room with a good attitude, strong support and a hell of a lot of dignity and respect for the jersey and what it means.

We are doing this wrong, and odds are it is going to waste around 400 NHL games of times that could have been spent developing something really special. We want a freight train, not an Alfa Romeo. Even if we have success...where will our dignity be then? After THIS. When is this management group going to be forced to show it can do something right, rather than place itself in circumstances where it can't screw up and that is interpreted as success?

This is pretty rambling and I don't do it much anymore, but I needed to get it out there. I just can't believe the static surrounding this team won't stop.

LMHF Report - Game #22

2012-01-21T22:54:00.002-07:00

EDMONTON 2

VS.

CALGARY 6
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I'm not even sure how much it's worth talking about tonight's game but I'm gonna do so anyway. We've all seen this movie before; I can't believe I am writing about it twice in three games but that's where we are.

I'd like to start by talking about the coaching tonight which, even though the players played very badly, is central to why we lost the game tonight. Tom Renney is either trying to lose hockey games or has no idea how to deploy players he has. Starting the game with the line he had Eberle on was a joke. The fact that he plays the fourth line after nearly every goal is a joke. And finally pulling the goalie when his team had absolutely no chance to come back and win is a joke. I don't know what this man thinks he's doing. Either way he should not be the coach of this hockey team any longer. He has simply not shown enough skill at the job. I also heard his explanation of the play at the end of the first period...brutal. How can you not know how much time is left on the clock?

To lose to Calgary in this way on Hockey Night in Canada is nothing short of embarrassing. None of the lines put forward a strong effort but I think the first line still had the best game of a sad lot. The thing is, this line gets broken up on the power play and the key elements, that being 83 and 4 get broken up. This disrupts any flow they might have and leads to a whole lot of nothing.

It is not as if Calgary played an exceptionally strong game. They took a very small amount of shots they did not pressure us very hard. The generally struggled to establish a flow just like us. It was almost as if their players were kind of laughing at the success they were having tonight.

Where we go from here I really don't know. Our defense is so bad and allowed so many five-star chances tonight even though Calgary did not really play all that well, they could have very well scored 10. Our goaltending is horrible and I don't believe either of these men should be trusted to keep net for us in the future. Please trade 35 while he still has some value from the strong numbers he put up early.

This game was never really a contest. We weren't ready to play and by the time anyone cared or was organized enough to do anything, we were already well behind. Momentum seemed to be changing, not enough to win but enough to make it respectable in the third period. Then of course Hordichuk went and took a bonehead penalty as he does (he also hid like a damn coward behind the refs rather than confront the CGY defenders. Pathetic). I am really sick of our fourth line acting like they're superstars with guaranteed jobs. These boneheads go out, don't hit anyone and try to play the game like they have the skill that our young stars have. What a joke. If they did anything at all maybe there'd be some excuse for the way they're playing the game but they are contributing negatively every single night and if at all possible should be shipped out immediately. There's one thing worse than no toughness and that is stupid, useless toughness. I honestly can't believe any coaching method that would see these players come out after goals for or against has any chance of succeeding. I have never seen a good or even bad team do it. Why are we doing it?

The thing about the atmosphere in the building is that people don't know how to react anymore. I found myself getting angry at my fellow fans for cheering the first and second goals that we scored tonight as the team on the ice did not deserve to be cheered at all at any point during the game. I was upset that they were cheered when they returned to the ice in a second. In the third, they did not receive a cheer as they took the ice which was telling. They were also roundly booed as they left the ice. This squad had better get used to that kind of reaction from the crowd if they intend to put out efforts like the one we saw. We are not a great team it is certainly true but that is no excuse for being unprepared unready and playing such a sloppy game.

Belanger should find himself in the press box next game. Just because he's back from injury does not guarantee him ice time. He is the black hole where scoring chances, good passes, and any good hockey play go to die. I don't know what is wrong with him this year, but I don't see him fixing it or putting in any effort to fix it. He has played the same game, every game since he came to this team and that game is unacceptable. There are more worthy players playing on the third line in Oklahoma City.

I cannot believe that Jordan Eberle had to put up with those linemates. The one shift he got on a decent line he set up a goal. Other than that, he was completely on his own. How a good coach doesn't recognize this I have no idea, and to reach the NHL, our coach should be good.

What I keep coming back to is how horrible an experience this was as an Oilers fan. I'm really sick of this garbage. There needs to be some improvement; any improvement even as the game goes on if the team can improve it would be helpful. Instead it just gets worse. The frustration level must be high, but that is no excuse for the sloppy disgusting passes, skating, and everything else that is on display in our old old barn on a given night. I'm really sick of trying to retell the narrative after these games which seemed to make up about half of those I'm attending right now. Where do we go from here as fans?

You want to see his team succeed, you believe in some of the players and you believe in the idea of the organization but that is really all you have left.

I find it disgusting that before these games the journalists covering the Oilers mock the Flames, when as of tonight I believe they are in a playoff spot. Just because you don't finish first overall does not mean you're a failure doomed to lose out of the playoffs. How these guys continue to justify the approach that management has taken and believe (if they even really do) that success is the inevitable result I have no idea. Their eyes should tell them differently. Their brains should also tell them differently after watching the injuries and generally freak occurrences the Oilers have experienced for the past number of years. I don't know what else to really do as a fan; I mean I could yell until I'm blue in the face, I can boo, I can have a complete hope that things will be alright, but I don't know if there's anything that will bring any satisfaction or joy right now. This team is simply not improving.

When it comes to the players again I really don't think it isn't any value to highlight the individual efforts tonight. They were mostly bad save for a very select group. The defense specifically was horrendous. Is there really any point in spending any more energy on it than to say that? We could have acquired depth when the team was playing well early in the year to backstop injuries and prevent THIS. We didn't

I hope maybe some of you are a able to provide some answers as to where we all go from here, but I don't know if you're going to be able to. This team is just so bad and has sacrificed such a promising start (even if it were based on some crazy percentages). Doesn't mean that you can't change the game as you go forward. I truly cannot believe that wasting 400 games, which is what five seasons adds up to, will be worth it at this stage. There are no signs that is the case and that things will work out perfectly. If anything we've come to understand that things can go horribly horribly wrong.

Lastly, these guys need to cease pumping the tires of Taylor Hall. He's excellent and he's putting out an effort, but the attempt to gloss over horrible performances by talking about one good player (while totally ignoring our best player, #14) and continuing to make excuse after excuse after excuse for management is disgusting. Lumping Taylor into that narrative does him a disservice.

So, that's that. Another horrible loss to Calgary. Another wasted Saturday night. Another national embarrassment.

LMHF Report - Game #21

2012-01-15T21:54:00.002-07:00

EDMONTON 2

VS.

LOS ANGELES 1
----------------

Well, we were grinding away at an outstanding goaltender all night and were finally rewarded with a win. That they bring the effort to play games like that even with a crummy lineup is why I was so angry after last game. They weren't amazing tonight...but they were pretty decent and paid attention to the details. The lazy giveaways, allowing players in behind the defence and other inexcusable acts were absent from the game tonight. We still pretty much relied on one line to generate the offensive chances, but the other lines minimized mistakes, the D controlled the puck to some extent, and we actually got decent (though only decent in my estimation) goaltending.

I feel bad for Mr. Quick if that's the way the Kings have played in front of him all year. That squad is talented enough to have no excuses, yet showed hardly any ability to be dynamic in the offensive zone. Quick on the other hand was stellar all night long. He was beaten on a screened tip and a no chance outmanned play in front of his net. He was busy committing highway robbery the rest of the evening, including stopping Hemsky's nice little deke and a decent number of high quality shots with varying levels of execution. Great goalie they have there.

Both of goals came off of some nice puck movement, good shooting decisions and well-placed traffic in front of the net using active sticks. Magnus had been having a decent PP shift before the goal and looked much more comfortable than he did earlier this year. It is worth noting that I'm about 90% sure he's changed to a different model and slightly shorter stick, which is helping him control the puck. He made the play to Petry, who wisely chose to shoot through an open lane with Green in front, who managed to get a piece of the puck and it went in. I feel good for #12 even though I still don't think he should be here, but he made the right play there.

The OT goal was excellent. I was skeptical about not sending Potter out there (instead of Gagner), but it worked out. Though many will focus on the shot-pass-shot, I'd also like to note that Hall made an excellent read to pass across the triangle to Hemsky instead of the easier-looking pass to Gagner. A Gagner pass could have been tipped out of the zone and would have left him with little time and room, instead Hall saw that he could find Hemsky with lots of time because it was an against-the-flow pass. Ales took his time, steadied the puck and instead of forcing back to Hall, shot the puck hard at Quick's right foot, forcing a rebound to Horcoff (who was in perfect position and the place he operates best on the PP), Horcoff then knew that he should be able to find Hall in his office and passed quickly rather than flipping the puck on net. Hall thankfully hesitated a bit (he was actually going behind the net with Horcoff having to move to reach the puck) and was ready to finish was the pass arrived. He should never leave that spot on the PP. Beautiful goal.

As for what's wrong with the Kings? It must simply be underperforming forwards. Where exactly were Brown, Kopitar and Richards tonight? They didn't do anything particularly exceptional and they really should be able to. I didn't mind the games that Stoll and Penner (PANCAKES!!!) played. I'd gladly have both back next season at reasonable dollars. Voynov played a very interesting game. I found him a little hard to concentrate on, but he appears to move quite well at the opposition blue line, got a couple very nice shots (including the assist) on net with a nice quick slapper release and also laid a really nice hit (I believe on Smyth) in the third period. He would fill a need, but I'd still sign #83 rather than deal him if at all possible.

-------------

Dubnyk
- He obviously played a decent game tonight considering he was only beaten once by a shot he didn't have much chance on, but I think he should take his defencemen out for steak sometime soon. He allowed a number of large rebounds that could have been very very good chances, but the D kept the LA players from getting to them. He needs to be better when it comes to that as on many nights it will cost you and it has indeed cost him before.

Teubert
- I wanted to talk about #33's game early in this report because I really liked it. It is not new for a guy to step up and play really well against his former team, but it is not guaranteed. All night tonight, Teubert was physical, aggressive, well positioned and made good choices with the puck. I really loved the play in the first where he intercepted an LA turnover, carried speed and rumbled into the offensive zone, running right over Drew Doughty as he attempted a hit. The play wound up whistled down but it was a great little sequence and really showed the power this guy has. He's interesting for me in that he's got both the physical tools and the talent. If it ever clicks in for him (and I'm not saying it will...but it might), we will have something pretty nice on our hands.

Peckham
- Certainly one of his best games in some time. The most obvious difference from many of the games he's played this year was that he was quite patient with the puck a lot of the night and made some decent passes. He also positioned himself well and didn't get beat by the high quality LA forward group. Much better.

Sutton
- He did two of the things tonight that make me absolutely hate him. First, he refused to fight after an honest invitation from a much smaller player. I hate that a guy that big acts like a wimp when he's running around trying to bruise people with hits. Secondly, he looked totally lost several times tonight and simply froze during the play. It didn't hurt him in this one, but it sure was scary at times.

Petry
- I thought he was pretty medium tonight. He did some good things to generate offence and was okay in his own zone, but there was a lot of awkwardness to his game that would have been taken advantage of on other nights.

Potter
- He had a pretty quiet game. A turnover in the second on the powerplay (not a horrible one, just a tough one) that could have led to a goal was prevented by some hard skating and a great move to get inside position then check the guy rather than having to reach in with a stick. Very few dmen seem to be able to make the play he did without taking a penalty.

Smid
- There's no doubt he's carrying the mail back there right now. He was excellent defensively all night and moved the puck very well. He's raised his game while Gilbert has been out and tonight was no exception. Even I'm surprised how well he's playing and I've always been a fan.

Eager-Green-Hordichuk
- This line worked tonight because they all knew their job and play a fairly similar style. It is straightforward, hard skating and simple puck plays. They did a good job of making physical contact and very few mistakes. That is still no reason for Renney to put them out on own zone faceoffs or with 5 minutes to go so that they nearly cost us the game, but at least they stayed above water.

Lander-Horcoff-Jones
- These guys didn't show a lot offensively which is probably due to who they had to play against. LA's gifted forwards pose a distinct challenge for a line like this because none of these individual guys can create a mismatch. The try was there...but Horcoff missing extra step meant that Jones and Lander had to try to beat defenders which is something that neither is particularly good at. With all that said, they didn't screw up and looked better than some of the lines we've been running out there recently.

Smyth-O'Marra-Paajarvi
- A curious choice at 'C" here, but I suppose it worked out as they put forth a pretty decent effort. This is the first game in quite some time where for at least some of the game, Magnus was skating to the open ice in order to receive passes in the flow of the play rather than trying to skate the wings all night. It made a difference at the puck got deep into the opposition zone and scoring chances were generated. I suspect if they had a better center, they would have scored (likely Magnus). #91 also used his shot a little bit, which was a positive. Smyth is still looking pretty iffy to me. He was certainly better than the ANA game, but there are too many giveaways and he's letting himself get hit along the boards. He made passes tonight that were almost totally in the wrong direction. It was weird. O'Marra did what he could and you certainly can't fault him for what is out of his control. He didn't really create anything, but didn't cost the team either.

Hall-Hemsky-Gagner
- There's a little something missing from the play of this line right now, and that is the prime shooting chances aren't going to Hall and Hemsky as much as they need to. For whatever reason, many of the passing plays end on Gagner's stick and while he's never been the greatest shooter, he's having some exceptional struggles finishing right now. Several times tonight he was set for either one-times or quick-release plays that he either couldn't get away cleanly or just didn't apply much precision to. I hope he's working on that right now because he's getting many chances. To be fair, he's playing a very positive game and indeed helping to generate those chances as well as providing solid support to #s 83 and 4. I'd just like to see him be able to react a little more quickly and score on shots other than when he drops to one leg. Hemsky should have scored tonight as well. He was robbed by Quick a couple times and missed on a couple of other very nice chances. He made some lovely passes, backchecked hard to get the puck away from LA attackers and showed a ton of patience breaking into the offensive zone. He needs to relax and focus on his scoring chances...I think he'd gotten less used to having as many. Obviously I've already went through the OT goal for both Hemsky and Hall, great play. Hall had another really solid game even though he was battling Doughty a bunch. He came down 1-on-1 with a chance to win the game and nearly got away a pretty decent shot. He's really reading Hemsky's skating and passing choices well. These two need to stay together if at all possible when #14 and #93 return, as that automatically gives us 2 scoring lines. I'm wondering most if Renney can figure out that he needs to play them on the PP though. Running out 4-93-14-83-44 for at least a decent part of the 5-on-4 seems like a no-brainer.
------------------

I didn't even realize Belanger didn't play until the drive home...shows you how important he's been this year. I can't help but think he's still due to burst out...but who knows.

Anyway, on a day this chilly, a loss would have made the walk to the car pretty horrible. Thankfully, I didn't need to worry about that.

LMHF Report - Game #20

2012-01-13T23:14:00.003-07:00

This will be an attempt to register my disgust without blowing up the internet.

Who cares what the score was. We lost and it wasn't close.

The team we played is currently behind in the standings. I don't think that will last very long as we appear to have singlehandedly kickstarted just about every slumping player on the their squad.

I'm even angrier than usual because I had nearly perfect seats for this one (bottom of the second deck, center ice) and was ready to really watch some competitive hockey and pick up on the interesting things that happen. Even a game like the last against the Devils had so much to it...this one had nearly nothing.

When your coach has the attitude that you need to play exceptionally well, and get lucky in order to win, you're not going to win too much. It's not THE problem, it's just one of them but there's no reason to add that to the mix. "Hi boys, we've got to be perfect tonight and still get lucky or we're probably gonna lose! Let's GO!". UGH.

It is true that we stink right now. Moreso than usual. A lot of that is on the players but a lot is on management as well. There are no reinforcements available to this team. We've got two lines worth of players who WILL NOT score on almost every night...then one line is expected to carry an entire game and another is just way too damn tired.

I guess the first line gave an effort at least. There were shots and some iffy chances. They had a lot of trouble but at least it took them until the third to get really pissed and frustrated. You weren't worried about whether they were trying, but they were still bad as a unit. Every shot was visible for Hiller and no rebounds were grabbed.

That was a key thing tonight...none of the Oilers shots were particularly good and Hiller could see all of them. ANA did an interesting thing...after they'd realized the Oilers weakness at the blue and in terms of some of the shooters, they backed their defensive positioning off to about the top of the faceoff circle and let the Oilers miss and/or throw weak, unscreened shots on the net all night. Because the team wasn't rebounding, this meant that a turnover to ANA and subsequent chance to move up ice was virtually guaranteed. This pretty much went on all night.

I know we're understaffed on D with what was already a below par core of guys...but that means you get beat by good plays that good teams make...it doesn't mean you spend the game making mistakes, giving the puck away, and getting caught up ice. I'm not sure I've ever seen a stupider game from the Oilers defence...and I've seen some BAD hockey in that rink. This was among the worst stinkers.

Our goaltending certainly didn't help any as both of our tenders were horrible. Any night when the puck is going directly through your keeper on a clear shot that isn't an absolute rocket is going to be a bad night. The thing is, this game would have been just as bad if we'd lost 2-0. I must say I think I'm at the point where I'd cast aside Dubnyk. I was never his biggest fan to be sure, but he is showing little to no ability to step up and improve his game. The first goal he allowed, awkwardly waving his glove and giving up a gift rebound was utterly embarassing. Khabibulin has obviously peaked for the season...even though he was getting more help from the D before as chances weren't very good, he's still playing back at the subpar level we know.

Coming back to the riddle of our forwards...I guess it is not that complicated. Josh Green won't score...we know that. He's not good enough to be here and is proving that each night he's in the lineup. Tonight was certainly no exception. Ben Eager apparently can't be bothered to hit anyone or contribute in any meaningful way. Why he can't go out and get under people's skin suddenly I have no idea. He absolutely refuses to do much of anything. While I appreciate that Anton Lander had an okay game...he's in over his head. He should be in OKC learning more about the game. Mr O'Marra is great at missing the net. I suppose he at least went hard to the crease a couple times...but again, it is all about execution in this league and he had none. Blind try is useless. Magnus might be on the comeback trail as there were at least signs tonight...but he cannot put a team on his back at this stage. The fact that he's playing with an old guy who suddenly forgot how to score and now shoots every single thing into the goalie's pads is probably not helping. I can't believe some of the decisions Belanger makes...there was a pass in the third that got him booed pretty harshly...you could tell he had no thought of being able to score whatsoever despite being wide open, carrying speed and ready to fire.

Our second line could make or break a lot of games for us. If they're effective, they can plug up the other team's scoring and really make it tough. They're not going to do that when Ryan Jones is the best player on the line and #s 10 and 94 absolutely stink the joint out. Both accomplished absolutely nothing tonight. It was sad to watch their shifts really. I wonder very strongly if Horcoff is injured. He's got no speed. Smyth is dead tired already and has started to play dumb chase hockey that he's not capable of.

So what do you do with a squad that can't compete with the 29th place team in the league? I'm not sure. Well, that's not entirely true. I would blow out the coaching and management staffs (save for the AM scouts) and start fresh. Then I'd blow out a bunch of the bottom line talent and if I couldn't find replacements right now, I'd run goons for the rest of the year and make other teams HATE coming to Edmonton. At least then we'd accomplish something.

It makes me sick to have to write this way. There's no reason this has to happen, and there is absolutely no guarantee that it will work out in the end. If it doesn't...we'll be begging for the days of finishing 6th-8th. Some of us already are. Dynasties and perennial contenders aren't built by multiple years of nights like this. You had to see how frustrated the players were tonight...that can't go on for anybody. You lose your passion for what you do and then bad bad BAD things start to happen. What kind of irreparable damage are we doing right now?

This didn't even have to happen within the context of this year. When we went on our run at the beginning, it should have been obvious that we had an opportunity if there were reinforcements acquired for when some players came back to earth. This doesn't compromise any process or set us back or any of that other stuff. It just would have made it so THIS wouldn't be such a familiar feeling.

I'm going to go try to forget about this one so that Sunday doesn't seem like a disaster waiting to happen. I thought we were done with this crap. Get it together guys.

LMHF Report - Game #19

2012-01-11T15:10:00.003-07:00

EDMONTON 1

VS.

NEW JERSEY 2
-------------------------

While tonight's game wasn't particularly exciting, it was very interesting as there were many little things to look at and watch during the 60 minutes of play. I don't know if I'll capture them all, but there were certainly more stories than usual.

The deciding feature of tonight's game was New Jersey's ability to get sticks on the puck and break up scoring chances. Many players, and especially Parise and Kovalchuk did this very well all night long and it kept the Oilers from scoring despite the fact that they were getting the puck in good shooting areas and generally carrying the play. This was somewhat surprising considering the Oilers lineup, but the Devils don't appear to be very good at much else outside of their top line.

The Oilers had their chances to win this game. They controlled the first period (especially the first ten minutes) and also got two consecutive powerplay chances to start the second. That should normally be more than enough for a team to build a substantial lead against a weak opponent and take it home. I am in fact quite confident that if even only Mr. Eberle was added to this lineup, that would have occurred. Understaffed as the team was, they were not able to take advantage and despite a strong push in the third, they wound up on the losing end of things tonight.

The way Renney used his lines tonight was rather interesting. The first period and specifically early saw more use of the fourth line than usual. I was quite surprised by this, especially considering Milan Kytnar may have still been digesting his airline snack mix and working the kinks out of his plane/taxi legs. They played okay but it seemed strange to use them in this manner. After a somewhat lacklustre PP (mainly because his linemates stood still and were not open), Renney benched Hemsky for a PP shift. This only lasted one shift and when he came back he had the same level of jump he was showing 5-on-5. In the third period, Renney played the Hall-Gagner-Hemsky line more often, reading just as he should have that they were really the only line going. Overall it was a better coached game than others of late. The only thing late that baffled me was Ben Eager's shift with very little time to go, that nearly resulted in 2 slashing penalties.

It is tough for a team to win when it really only has one line that can score. I'll get into it more in the individual breakdown, but lines 2-4 didn't have much of a hope tonight. 3 and 4 were put together this way with what scrap parts we had lying around, and 2 had an off game both 5-on-5 and on the PP to some extent. They didn't necessarily put forth a bad effort, they just didn't have any real offensive jump tonight.

Defensively, both teams put forth a fairly solid effort using very different styles. I'm not sure what style the Oilers are deploying exactly, but aside from a couple of flurries the Devils didn't really get much. The Oilers got the chances, but as noted above, the Devils stick-play shut them down pretty effectively and they didn't have the personnel to wear down the opposition.
--------------

Khabibulin
- Can't complain. He made some excellent saves on Devils chances that seem to come in from much closer on average than other teams. The Devils set up little pass plays very close to the net (almost too close) and #35 had to be quick. Not much to be done on the Kovalchuk goal...he showed how a breakaway king does it right there. I suppose he could have pulled an NHL 12 style diving poke-check, but Kovalchuk is probably quick enough to dodge that.

Hordichuk-Kytnar-Eager
- I'm guessing these will be five and change of the most memorable moments of #64's life. He certainly didn't shame himself out there, only giving the puck away a couple times and nearly scoring a goal from the side of the net in the second period. He was certainly rushing the puck out there, and often passing back to his defencemen who were safer targets, but for a guy who leapt off a plane and sped to the rink? Decent enough. Hordichuk landed some hits but also let up on a couple others. He seems far too cosy in his roster spot right now and is not going out of his way to make a difference. On nights like tonight he simply skates around, hits a couple people, and returns to the bench. Eager was okay I suppose but mostly invisible. I would've liked to see him play with Lander and Paajarvi to be honest, as he tends to jump at offensive chances well, but there weren't many of those tonight. He is also neglecting his duty to play the physical game even more so than Hordichuk.

Paajarvi-Belanger-Lander
- Ahh, the line built to...I'm not sure what. Everyone was of course interested and glad to see Magnus back in town. Aside from one relatively decent scoring chance he had a pretty quiet night. I know people wanted to see him crash the net...though probably not his own net as he did in the second period. He was okay in terms of getting into the play and working for the puck, but there was nothing really new to his game, he didn't get much chance to shoot or pass, and he did not use his speed to get open in dangerous areas. It is just game one, but I hope there's more to his return than this. Lander got hit a bunch tonight. He usually takes the beating pretty well, but by the third tonight he looked quite shaky and tired. It is good that he plays a physical game and indeed laid a couple very nice hits, but he should also protect himself a little better. No real offensive action from him tonight. Eric Belanger got two very solid shooting chances. One went right into Hedberg's midsection and another went into the pad for no rebound. While the shot choice on the second was good (credit to Hedberg for controlling it), the first was horrible and was a better chance. I don't know why he doesn't have a wrist shot he can use. He was also on the powerplay and nothing new was going on there...PK was solid as per usual. Frustrating that #20 wasn't winning races to pucks tonight though. Might have had something to do with the way he had to position himself I suppose.

Smyth-Horcoff-Jones
- This line might have under performed most when compared to expectations. Horcoff had a really tough night. You could see the effort was there, but for some reason the body wasn't willing and he lost or quit on several races for the puck tonight. He made an awkward weakly-shot mess of a chance that Smyth set him up for, and didn't have much else to give in the offensive zone. On the PP he was okay, but drifted out of position and got lost a couple times. People tend to forget that #10 is actually a very good goalie screener and he's gotten away from that lately. Smyth obviously played a huge part in our only goal by providing a perfect screen (it looked like he was virtually sitting on Hedberg's right shoulder), but aside from that had a weak game. He missed several pucks that were directed towards him in front of the net, didn't win as many corner battles as usual, took a stupid penalty and also made a bunch of errant passes to absolutely no one. He had Horcoff open and all the time in the world on one play in the first and didn't even come close from behind the net. It was ugly at times. He looks so tired. Jones didn't have a lot of jump despite the promotion. I expected less of him than the others so I'm not going to judge him too harshly. He at least hit a couple people and pushed the puck forward in limited icetime.

Hall-Gagner-Hemsky
- Excellent effort from this line tonight. Hall and Hemsky a step above Gagner, but all-around they were very good. You could see Hemsky was going very early on, and save for a couple crossed wires and the fact that the Devils could focus all their defensive energy on these guys, they win the game going away in the first. Hall unfortunately whiffed on a couple passes in that period with his linemates open that were setting up as truly great scoring chances. He also made a mistake when Petry jumped into the play, made a brilliant fake-shot-to-pass move and Hall missed it because he'd stopped skating. Then he missed a Hemsky pass to Hall's office because he slacked for a second behind the net. I'm not ragging on the guy, just pointing out how much could have happened. I noted Hemsky's shift off earlier; he'd been great 5-on-5 prior to that, and was very good on the PP afterwards. He really controlled the flow of the play and set up both Gagner and Hall numerous times while having at least 3 scoring chances he generated on his own either stopped by Hedberg or deftly deflected by some of the Devils' best efforts of the night. As for his goal, I find it very revealing that so many people don't understand what happened there. It was not that Hemsky just shot because; he saw Smyth screening and the Devils forward had backed off of him, giving him a shooting lane. As well, there were not any good passing options because Potter had to make such an awkward play at the blue line. It was an excellent read by a guy who knows what he's doing, not just "firing it". I still believe he's supremely miscast playing that old MacTavish-style half board position, but that appears to be what we're stuck with. Gagner had a good game in that he played an excellent support role, stayed out to finish shifts and make sure there were no bad changes, fought hard for the puck and went to all the right areas for shots. It was disappointing that he misfired on several occasions and didn't dish the puck as good as he can, but was still very solid effort.

Potter-Peckham
- I was fairly impressed these guys survived the night. Potter I expected to play well but the pairing is a mismatch brought on by necessity. Potter was his usual self, jumping in a few times, making a key play to set up our goal, and making several hits that ended plays and got the Oilers the puck. I have to say that the penalty at the end of the third was pretty weak...especially after the way this game was reffed in the first period. If I were a player I'd have no idea what to expect most nights. It was a very clutchy-grabby New Jersey game in the first...and there was nothing. The Devils play a style that can often lead to penalties in the modern game (active sticks are frowned upon), but the first indicated it was a passive referee night...not so. Peckham did alright for himself, but he just can't contribute enough to the transition game to be useful when we need a boost. I'm still wondering where the big hits are as well...another game goes by without one.

Petry-Smid
- Kind of an all over the place game from these two. Petry made some utterly brilliant offensive reads including the set up to Hall and a couple of slap-passes that completely froze the Devils defenders. He also made shooting miscues and blew his defensive coverage a couple times. I"m going to chalk that up to growing pains and too much responsibility tonight. Loved the offensive passing from him, truly. Smid was having a very solid defensive game, but made a mistake that led to the winning goal. You cannot sell out flat like that on a 4-on-3 PP. It just won't work if the other team has any skill, and the goal by that shoulda-been-Oiler showed you why.

Sutton-Teubert
- They did quite well. Sutton made a horrendous giveaway in his own zone...only to make a brilliant set up pass on the very same shift. Aside from that 30 seconds, he kept it pretty quiet and didn't take any dumb penalties or jump badly into any rushes. Teubert played a solid, simple, physical game. He's passed Peckham (aside from maybe PK) and tonight's game was another example of that.
------------

Tough one. In a playoff season I'd be happy with the point on a night when we're that understaffed, but it is just disappointing at this stage. Need wins to feel good...at least it was an interesting game.

LMHF Report - Game #18

2011-12-22T22:54:00.002-07:00

EDMONTON 4

VS.

MINNESOTA 1
--------------------

So the key game tonight was that the oilers came out early and were very aggressive. You don't often see that kind of attack from them early on in the game. I think there's something about playing Minnesota now that has this team riled, because they tend to come out with a lot of pop and they're slightly angry when they play the Wild. This is something that you don't see when they play a lot of other teams even division rivals like the Flames and Canucks.

Minnesota, while missing a bunch of its better players still didn't put forth a very strong effort. They were slow from the beginning and never really had much of a chance in this hockey game. The Oilers were very good, don't get me wrong, at least for the first couple periods. Some of this is on the Minnesota Wild though, for having what was a fairly bad night. If you look at their recent record, it isn't exactly surprising. So I'm Ggnna give them the Oilers a lot of credit for the way they started tonight as I noted earlier.

Nick Backstrom didn't have a very good hockey game but he was also beat by some very good shots and I think we have to give the Oilers shooters credit for what they were able to do. They took advantage of loose pucks and pressure situations to score some very nice goals. I'm specifically speaking of of course Jordan Eberle's goals and Lennart's goal. Ryan Smyth's goal was not the greatest in the world, but good on him being persistent and identifying the puck was still loose and tapping it off Backstrom's Skate into the net. The Minnesota goal wasn't anything to really be concerned about, as we had just killed off a major penalty of course, which I'll get into in just a minute, but the Oilers were playing good hockey at that stage and a loose puck came to Heatley and he took a very good shot which #35 couldn't really see. Despite eventually catching the Oilers in shots Minnesota, didn't really play a very strong name and I think if the score we a bit closer you wouldn't of seen a lot of the play we did in the late second and third periods.

And speaking of the refereeing in tonight's game I have seen few games refereed as badly as that one. The Oilers bore the brunt of some absolutely atrocious officiating in terms of the call on Petrell the call on Gagner and some other things that were missed including Anton Lander taking some abuse, Ryan Jones being hit away from the play, and some other plays that really should've resulted in power plays. I really don't like how NHL referees take such liberty when a team has a substantial lead, and if you paid attention at all to the Nashville-Columbus game tonight I'm guessing there were some referee-effects involved in that score that ended up going from a 5-2 Columbus lead to a 6-5 Nashville win. Columbus is a bad team but the same thing could've happened to us tonight with the way the calls were being made if our penalty killing was as bad as it was last year. If you look at the Petrell major, which wasn't even a penalty much less a major, you'll see that Petrell not only let up, but tried to keep since Zidlicky from going into the boards. He either caught an edge or launched himself into the boards, I don't know what's more embarrassing. If you were actually at the game, you would've seen Zidlicky talk to Petrell after the hit in what looked like a very understanding manner rather than an angry manner, so I think he understood what was going on. If you want to talk about 89's penalty, well Sam lightly tapped the Minnesota player on his arm, and then the Minnesota player'ss arms went up and the stick hit him in the face apparently. Somehow that resulted in a four minute minor penalty. Everyone at the game was quite confused by what exactly had happened on this play and obviously quite surprised that we wound up having to kill off a double minor. The Eager penalty was also not a penalty. As usual our pal Clutterbuck dove into the boards as he was gently tapped by #55. I think this penalty was almost worth it as the Oilers were doing a very good job of imposing their will and making Minnesota keep their heads up as they played. So even though I don't think there should've been a penalty, even if there was going to be one called I don't have that much of a problem with Eager taking it. I will however criticize Darcy Hordichuk for stupidly hitting the goalie on purpose and thinking he can get away with it.

In the end though despite the fact that all these penalties meant we had to keep our most dominant line off the ice, we did enough tonight to win and that's really what was important. I don't understand why Tom Renney won't break out Eberle and Hopkins or something to that effect during some of the extended penalty kills to keep them fresh. This wouldn't hurt the team and would keep the young guys moving, which I think it's very important in a game like that.
------------

Hall-Hopkins-Eberle
There can be no doubt that tonight the key was the kid line. From the very beginning, Eberle and Hopkins especially were playing a fantastic game, exhibiting great puck control and driving through the Minnesota defense. As with the Detroit game, the Minnesota defense and forwards had no answer for either 14 or 93. Hall started off the game a little bit slowly. He gave away the puck I will say about seven times in the course of a couple shifts including on a power-play where he wasn't really under pressure for any length of time. It was very odd to see him having this much trouble. He was also falling all over the ice. That's not a particularly unique occurrence with Taylor Hall, but he was doing it even more so tonight. If I were him I would really think about putting more edge on my skates. I don't see how he can continue to think that he's getting that much of an advantage from what appears to be not much hollow on his blade if he's going to spend the whole game including several chances to break away from the pack, on his butt. His penalty shot effort appeared to be more a symptom of him being tired than making a bad decision. I was surprised he didn't break away from the defender more cleanly when he had the initial chance quite frankly as he would usually make that into a cleaner scoring opportunity. On the penalty shot he really appeared to be tired and took what I would describe as a pretty futile shot on net. He had Backstrom beat if he went high and I really wish you'd consider going upstairs more often on those opportunities. The good thing was his missed chance didn't cost us much because as I noted his linemates were having an excellent game. Although Hopkins only managed one point he controlled the puck excellently in all zones. He kept it away from the Minnesota defenders very well, creating time for both 14 and 4. I don't know if there are enough superlatives to describe the way Jordan Eberle plays hockey. It is amazing the feeling you get when he has the puck and time, because you know he's going to score a goal. On his second goal, you knew he'd finish about both three seconds before he actually put the puck in the net. He had the time, space, and angle. The play might as well have been over. I can't believe how bad Nick Backstrom, one of the best goalies in the league looked on that backhand deke. That was gross. On his first goal he made a very nice pick off of an attempt to clear the zone by the Minnesota player, walked into the middle, fought off a couple of slashes, stickhanded just the right amount of time to get around the defender and finished. It was an absolutely beautiful, exceptional, and elite-level play. I maintain the Jordan Eberle is right now the best hockey player on this team. There is simply no other way to describe how valuable he is and how complete the game he brings is on any given night. He is simply excellent. That is not taking anything away from Hopkins, Gilbert or any of the others, but he is just that much better. I am still a little worried about Taylor Hall as he did not pass the puck as much as he could've tonight. He could have generated several more scoring chances and did not. This is the reason why Jordan Eberle did not get a hat trick and while unfortunate is not a severe problem and clearly did not prevent us from winning. That's the important thing and this line is the reason we won tonight.

Smyth-Horcoff-Gagner
The Smith, Horcoff and Gagner line did their job in most areas tonight; especially on the penalty kill as that was a very important part of the game. They did very well in clearing the puck out of their own zone unlike some others. On five on five they weren't as flashy and I know Smith scored that goal but the interesting part of that goal was that Smid and Gilbert were the ones in on the forecheck while Horcoff and Gagner covered for them at the blue line. This is not a bad thing and if it works I will take it. The main thing that this line did all night was simply to move the puck into the opposition zone and keep it there for a period of time. They did not allow Minnesota to generate offensive chances while they were on the ice. That in a lot of ways is all they had to do because our first line was so good, but on many nights that would not be enough. I hope they can improve to where they were earlier in the year and believe they will. The thing to watch for the rest of the season is that if we are competitive we need to monitor Ryan Smyth's ice time very closely so that he is not overplayed. This would be a disaster come the playoffs, should there be any. If we are going to talk about Horcoff in a little more detail, I say he played a marginally better game than he did against Detroit in pretty much every area. Gagner is still in my opinion not the right man for this line but he did his job to a decent degree tonight. I don't know why he isn't being more effective or dynamic in the offensive zone. Perhaps he's just trying to keep his game more simple. That's okay for now but I'd like to see him be more dynamic in the offensive zone and take more of his shots. He needs to play a little more like Jared Stoll would on that line.

Eager-Belanger-Jones
- The worst line for us tonight was the third line. Ben Eager played a fairly solid game and he was the strength of that line. I don't think many people would have predicted that before the game. #55 hit a lot of people and won many races to the puck which was key to maintaining control of the play and the puck. I really liked how focused he was and that he went to the right spaces and generally did his job. As a bonus he also annoyed several Wild players and I must say that after the game as he was yapping at them and they were very annoyed I was smiling and chuckling. If you look at his linemates however, this story is not so positive. Ryan Jones had a very strange game. He bounced the puck off the metal pieces in the boards on three separate occasions. Once this generated a scoring chance but the other two times it generated turnovers. While he can't be blamed too much for this he can be blamed for being out of position on several occasions, missing chances to clear his own zone and not covering his man properly. He wasn't the worst member of this line however, as number 20 took that honor. He missed many chances to clear his own zone (especially on the PK), was out of position on several occasions and once again did not do anything in the offensive zone. Wait a minute, that's not quite true; he actually took a shot from the goal line that had absolutely no chance to score. He then skated away in frustration and confusion. I have said before that I do not know what is wrong with Eric Belanger and nothing tonight really changed. I just did not expect such a solid performer to be a constant source of disappointment. He plays a simple game that in the past has resulted in goals and I looked forward to watching him play it in Edmonton. Oh well.

Petrell-Lander-Hordichuk
- Anton Lander had a very solid game tonight. If you look at the way he skated, the physical contact that he made and the choices he made with the puck, it was all good. When Lander plays like this he reminds you that he is going to be fairly special at some point. Also Petrell played a really solid game until he was kicked out for his non-penalty. His goal was a great example of checking your man, winning a race and then taking an exceptional shot. Because he doesn't get a lot of good scoring opportunities you forget that #37 has a great shot that he showed in the preseason. He went roof on Backstrom with ease. It is great to see a guy like him have success because he does work hard. He is also smart and large which helps. Aside from the good goal he hit several people cleanly and played a generally solid game. Hordichuk didn't get a chance to do too much tonight other than take an incredibly stupid and unnecessary penalty. If he is not going to annoy the Minnesota players then he has no business in our lineup.

Gilbert and Smid
- Tom Gilbert and Smid played a really nice game tonight, which doesn't seem to be exceptional this year. The exceptional thing tonight was noted burst in to dominate the offensive zone and set up Smyth's goal. It is really hard to say anything negative when these guys are hitting, passing, shooting and defending so well.

Potter and Whitney
- Corey Potter also played a nice game. There were several instances in which he deftly separated the Minnesota players from the puck and made a play to one of his teammates. He's in the odd position of bailing out Whitney right now. #6 spent much of the night roaming, chasing the puck badly, and making iffy passes. I'd say he was a little bit better than lately but still really iffy. He refuses to shoot the puck or skate into the offensive zone. Potter was excellent on the PP, and it only really slowed when he wasn't on it any longer. The only bad thing #44 did really was that he nailed Taylor Hall with a shot, then after #4 had come back, almost did it again! OOPS!

Petry and Peckham
- Petry played a solid game in terms of his defence, but for whatever reason he struggled slightly on the powerplay point. It was the same sort of awkwardness as last game. Part of this might be his teammates playing to Potter's style, but that can only account for so much. Peckham was pretty average, which is an improvement.

Khabibulin
- Khabibulin was excellent tonight and you knew it from the very beginning. You know when an Edmonton goalie is stopping Mr. Bouchard that it is a good night. The way he robbed him in close in the second period was stunning. He was so patient to out wait the shooter like that. He was aggressive when he needed to be as well, kept his pads flat on the ice and was two steps ahead of everything. Absolutely sublime performance. Shame it wasn't an SO.
---------

Big win that we needed very badly. It really is unfortunate that things went the way they did in terms of having to kill penalties because this should have been a rout.

LMHF Report - Game #17

2011-12-19T22:49:00.004-07:00

EDMONTON 2

VS.

DETROIT 3
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Back from Maui, sorry for the absence guys! Hope you read it in the last report and didn't think I vanished!

So, a couple new tonight tonight: this is the first report I am making using my new iPhone 4S so hopefully it goes well and I'll be able to get most of this done on my drive home now which would be really nice and save me some time as well as capture my thoughts quickly and get the report out sooner. The other thing that was a little bit different was where I sat to watch the game; I was in section 119 row 4, so I was really low didn't have a great view the game in terms flow and breakouts etc. like I usually like to watch but does give a lot of interesting views of other things so we'll try and take advantage of that perspective tonight.

Going into the game against Detroit you don't really ever know what's going to happen for us. We usually play quite well against the Red Wings at Rexall, but these are the Red Wings and we do have trouble with them generally. Tonight's game turned out so heartbreakingly typical when it comes to Detroit in that they scored late again on a crummy goal and we lose a close one.

It wasn't a particularly bad effort but it wasn't that great either. To give a clearly view of some of the things I'm going to pass along, I was right behind the bench sitting just to the left of that little gap between the two benches. When our players come off the ice they do not look happy right now. They don't look angry (which would be okay honestly), but just listless and tired and depressed.

If this is what the problem is we we need to look at solving it in a bit of a different way. When Detroit comes to the bench, they are focused, their eyes are alert and their heads are up. When the play is on, they are all watching, ready and jump over the gate. Our guys are looking down or just slouching and sauntering our of the gate.

It's not just a single player or even a couple guys. Eberle and Hall are pretty damn intense, but the rest are pretty iffy at this stage. I guess I'm not totally sure, but the coaches never really seemed to do anything to give the players a kick in the butt at all. I was amazed how little the coaches said. Kelly Buchberger said and did almost nothing all game (now that might be a good thing)

The biggest difference between Detroit and Edmonton was watching their decisiveness. The wings were skating in strong and very decisive lines, whereas we are constantly looking around trying to figure what to do. That one half stride is making the difference over and over again all game long. It because obvious why we're losing games and it sure doesn't look like a matter of percentages at this point.

Khabibulin
He played a pretty solid game and made some really solid saves moving side to side. He couldn't do too much on the game winning goal as Dan Cleary seemed to have tied up his legs, but he still got a piece of it anyway, which took a solid effort. You certainly can't fault him for this one.

Hall-Hopkins-Eberle
Hall gave a strong effort and I was relieved to see his speed return because I thought the last couple games he'd been a tad shy a a little slow. Unfortunately he gave up way too many opportunities to pass and instead tried to drive through on his own. This often results in a bit of *wow*, but he doesn't seem to convert these into goals. He's also got great linemates who are open. Detroit really had no answer for these guys and their speed. Watching Eberle work through the middle against Detroit's best and seeing the best they could do was waive their sticks was pretty special. That's an elite player right there. Great little goal in the late second as Hopkins made a good choice to create a loose puck in the slot and Eberle cruised in to rip it where Howard couldn't get it. Beauty. Hopkins and Eberle both had generally strong games save for the last powerplay of the game. I wonder if Eberle had a headache or something tonight as I saw him get something from the trainer in the second period and chomp it down before putting his mouthguard back in.

Smyth-Horcoff-Hemsky
This line did a fairly strong job against their opposition, and Hemsky appeared to have a fairly strong game. The only thing he's really struggling with is that a lot of shots are getting blocked. You can see he wouldn't normally want to shoot so often but he's clearly been directed to force it and it's not going well. I wish that the coaches would take that pressure off and tell him to stop because it's not helping the team and you don't have the ability to create separation from the shot-forcing headspace. He did make some nice passes that unfortunately weren't converted. When he was coming to the bench, he didn't look any more down than any of the other guys. Even Smyth looks frustrated and kind of dead-eyed. 94 looked a little tired again tonight which is not a surprise but his defensive positioning and corner efforts were there. He also got to the front of the net but wasn't as effective as he has been. If anyone on this line struggled it was Horcoff, who couldn't find the lanes to set up for his shot and was a little iffy skating with the puck. Solid D all around from these guys though.

Jones-Belanger-Gagner
Jones gave a pretty good effort tonight, especially considering he took a good whack in the first and had to spend a decent amount of time icing his nose. He came back strong after that and obviously scored the breakaway goal which was a nice effort. I don't agree with putting him in the SO at this stage because his goals come due to speed and urgency on those breakaways, but I would consider him on the 2nd PP with Gagner struggling so much there. Belanger was passionless tonight and looks like he truly has no confidence. At least early on he'd give that great defensive effort and provide something. I wonder if there's some sort of bigger problem there for him right now. Gagner was okay five-on-five and was one of the guys giving the most effort. It really looked like he was hurt in the second and Buchberger asked him if he was okay going out for the third but he seemed to be. Nothing really exceptional but at least the effort was there til the end.

Eager-Lander-Petrell
Eager played a bit of a strange game in that he showed some speed but didn't bring the physicality. I've noted that at the end of games especially, he backs off hits that he needs to make. He's not effective if he can't land those legally. His line could have got on a roll early as they got a strong scoring chance in the first but failed to capitalize. #37 looks to be struggling some and could be due for a trip to OKC. Lander also got beat a couple times and wasn't very good with the puck when he got the chance tonight. One cool thing about being up close was being able to hear how powerful Lander's stride is...wow.

Whitney
Ryan Whitney is not anywhere near 100% and the things I'm noticing the most are that he is not pressing for offence and that he is angling himself strangely during the play. As 6 either receives a pass or leads the rush, where last year he'd get into the zone and make a play or shoot, he backs off and forces what is almost necessarily a bad pass. This is screwing up his teammates and leading to turnovers. I suspect he thinks he can't get back into the play. He's also positioning himself facing into the middle of the ice all the time, even when he should be facing the opposition goalie or even the boards. I don't know if he's bracing or what but it makes everything very very awkward. He needs to get this stuff figured out. Of all the guys, he may have had the deadest eyes at the bench which I can tell you from last year isn't normal.

Potter
Corey Potter is playing a very strong, very big game. I didn't realize how big he was until I actually got to watch so closely and you can see how he positions himself to use his size and reach well. It was also very impressive to see the way he's looking and moving his head, as it becomes obvious that he's following the game at the same speed as the kids. That's really impressive for any defenceman, much less one we picked up from the minors.

Gilbert-Smid
Gilbert and Smid played their typical and boring 2011 hockey game. That's not a bad thing at all. They played solid D and Gilbert jumped into the offence effectively several times. If his shot is a touch more on, we win this thing going away with the chances he got. Smid put forth a really solid game and skated miles.

Peckham
There's no hiding that he's a big part of the problem right now. He's not getting to pucks and when he does, he's making mistakes that aren't small. It didn't cost him too much tonight but it certainly could have.

Petry
He fought really hard on the play to set up goal #2, but I don't know if his efforts were the smoothest. The result came to pass, but not without 3 or 4 failures first. He did pretty well for having to haul around Peckham all night, but I still wouldn't have put him in there on the PP at that stage over Potter. Certainly a bucketload of talent but I'd really love an Igor Ulanov type for him to play with on that third pair.
-------------------

I've got to say, I'm weirded out by Renney's line sequencing late in the game. You'd think he would be looking to get the kids 3 shifts with 5 minutes to go and it doesn't seem that way.

Both Hall and Eberle were the angriest after this lost. They both went VERY hard and showed it on their faces. Thanks for the effort 4 and 14.

So far the Siri dictation method is pretty iffy...I had to do a lot of editing and it came out choppy. We'll see how quickly it learns.

LMHF Report - Game #12

2011-12-01T00:32:00.002-07:00

EDMONTON 2

VS.

MINNESOTA 3

In a freaking shootout...
--------------------

Driving home in the car tonight, I got to thinking that either I must be losing my brain, or the commentators were watching some other Edmonton versus Minnesota game that I was not aware of. There will always be disagreements...usually over nuanced things, but tonight there were some things said post-game that made me turn the radio off several times and wonder what exactly was going on.

I'd rate this as the third straight game that we simply placed in a sealed envelope and handed to the other team to open when they saw fit. The Oilers controlled more of the play in the first two periods than they did against Nashville, and did some really excellent things. It is interesting that someone remarked that they had been pushed around in the second period. I LOVED the way they finished the second and began the third in terms of being physical. They managed to knock two Wild players out of the game and sent a number more flying all over the ice. The first two periods were adding up to be one of our more physical games...then the tap was turned off for some reason.

I have a lot of strategy criticism to offer regarding tonight's game. It began with the puck drop...I would have started Hordichuk and got right down to business. I also wouldn't have effectively sat him down on the bench for the second straight game. Either find an offensive player you can dress, or play the guy. Late in the game, Renney had just sent out the Hopkins and Belanger lines, then with about 3 minutes to go, inexplicably double-shifted Hopkins' line despite the fact that the Horcoff unit had just had a strong shift. They didn't accomplish much of anything and looked quite tired. There was no reason to rush them back out when they were one Horcoff shift from a fully-rested shift with the game on the line. Then, Renney also played the third line AGAIN before the game was over. Moronic...In overtime, Jordan Eberle (who was our best forward AGAIN) didn't get a shift until the fourth line change (and who runs FOUR units in OT anyway???) and played with Ryan Jones...I couldn't believe what I was seeing. How he isn't out there with #93 right off the hop is beyond me. He only really got the one shift and wasn't able to muster anything. I'd argue with the SO choices on principle, but the fact is with the way the shooters performed we should have won anyway.

Even though these bad choices seem concentrated, they seemed to play a decent part in costing us the game. You should know that Kelly Buchberger was on the bench tonight and seemed to be very involved in all this, so I'm thinking it might be on him and not Renney, which would not surprise me as he's not exactly the smartest man they could have making decisions at that point. Either way, this is two home games in a row where the coaching staff has allowed their team to get stale as the game went on, despite two or three distinct rallying opportunities, and some of the blame must be laid at their feet.

As for the Wild, I remain incredibly unimpressed. They don't seem to do much of anything well other than tend goal and despite a whack of offensive talent they are not a dangerous hockey club for most of the game. It's very strange to watch. I was utterly gleeful watching Clutterbuck stagger around and the Oilers continue to push him around and ultimately force him to leave. It is so utterly satisfying to punish a guy who plays the game in such a wrong way. I still find it inexplicable that the referees call any penalties on his BS dives, as in the 1980s or early 90s, not only would these pathetic attempts to draw a call be ignored, he probably would have been sent off because he'd pissed off the ref. This kind of policing of dishonorable hockey players needs to be brought back. These guys deserve zero protection and should be punished for how they mock the game.
------------

Khabibulin
- During regulation and OT he was quite solid. The Brodziak goal looked bad, but I'm not sure you can really hang it on him. What you can hang on him is the difference between the SO win and loss. Koivu's goal was fairly good (although I'm still weirded out that #35 stretched when he had time to slide across), but the other three were pathetic. There's no excuse for the horrible leg-stick positioning on the Bouchard and especially Brodziak goals, and he had Heatley dead and still managed to screw it up. Not a good performance when your teammates get you some SO goals for sure.

Whitney
- He's really not the same guy at the moment. Just like last game, he's got no offensive presence in terms of taking good shots or making passes down low. He's standing at funny angles all over the ice and is not positioning himself well. Lastly and worstly, I counted nearly ten times tonight where he went into the corner and either lost the battle for an easily winnable puck or gave the puck away. That's unacceptable for a rookie...much less the guy who should be at worst our #2 defenceman even with all the rust. Loved what he managed to do to Clutterbuck and hope it was intentional. Very Souray-style thing to do and came at just the right time.

Petry
- First of all, I really liked that he stepped up his physical game. He made a number of strong hits where I actually had to verify again that it was indeed #58 making the connection. On the other hand, his positional game suffered and he was often forced to chase rather than employ his smooth skating game and also didn't make a lot of very nice passes. Very hit and miss from Jeff tonight.

Sutton
- Andy Sutton had the 2 nicest passes of the first, springing Ales Hemsky for a near-breakaway and hitting Hopkins with a lazer to set up our first goal. I don't know what they did with the real Andy Sutton but they can keep him. While Sutton's defensive play seemed pretty solid, the two plays that stood out for me were the massive hit he took behind our net (which should have resulted in a charging penalty) and a really stupid penalty he took in front of the Wild net when he (albeit fairly gently) crosschecked a Wild player to the ice. Such a weird game, but better than running Peckham-Teubert.

Peckham
- I don't know what it is about being down to 3 players that brings out the best in Theo, but once again he was excellent especially late in OT after Smyth's penalty. There were times tonight where got caught standing still and watching the puck, but generally he was okay. I'd still have played Teubert instead.

Smid
- Great job on Clutterbuck before and after Whitney got the kill-shot in on him. JUST missed a huge shot at him just before he left the game. Defensively he was strong but what else is new. He also dropped down and got a couple decent offensive chances again which is always good to see. Also great on the late PK in OT.

Gilbert
- Ho hum, another excellent game.

Gagner-Horcoff-Hemsky
- Okay, here's where this will probably get weird. I heard a lot of praise of Gagner tonight and some of it was absolutely effusive. I didn't see that from Sam at all. He certainly wasn't bad, but the guy couldn't get a decent shot off to save his life. Despite set ups from both 83 and 10, Sam was slow on the trigger and if he did get the puck away everything was either chest or wide. That's not a solid performance. He was also very hesitant when the puck wasn't on his stick, including on a rebound play set up by Hemsky in the third where he failed to score only because he stopped skating instead of getting to the area he needed to be in. Sam needs to be a bunch better than this in the offensive and offensive-neutral zones if he wants to be anything near a top six guy. I'm a fan, but this was far from a great night from him. Ales I found to be fairly average. He set up a decent amount of chances but didn't really drive much of the play himself and is currently struggling to get his patented drag-shot through defenders. I've never seen his shot blocked so many times as lately. If there are goat horns for this line tonight though, they have to go to Horcoff. He lost a ton of key draws tonight, thanks to the insane mentality of attempting the exact same approach even though he was getting beat cleanly every time. You have to trying something different...anything...when that starts happening. He did not. Minnesota's second goal sequence started because of an odd hesitation and failure by Horcoff to pick up his man at the blue line. He also had a number of sequences where he simply couldn't get the puck out of his own zone and had to have a linemate bail him out. Not to mention ANOTHER breakaway miss due to a poor shooting choice. Some of the issues weren't his fault entirely...for instance Gagner's bad positioning was requiring Horcoff to set up higher in the offensive zone to a point where he couldn't effectively connect on Hemsky's one-time passes, but #10 needs to recognize that and adjust rather than just plugging away. 10 and 83 need Hall back badly. He was the perfect linemate for them.

Smyth-Hopkins-Eberle
- This was one of Smyth's weaker games. He lost of lot of pucks in the corners for him, didn't really beat anyone with the puck, and looked visibly tired compared to Eberle and Hopkins. Some of this is on the coaching staff for overplaying him, but Smyth also has to be able to reach deep in games like this and help to gut out a win. Eberle as noted was once again the Oilers' best forward, scoring with what may very well be the best backhand in the NHL from his office and helping to set up another goal as well. I love that he takes winning and losing so personally and is so driven to getting the job done. He always demands more of himself. He had a few other chances and was just really good out there. Hopkins was a little less noticeable, but there are very few guys who could so seamlessly put away that pass that Sutton sent his way. He was also positioned perfectly. Great patience and moves to set up Eberle on what is effectively that same angled-pass play we've probably already seen 20 times this year. He did give the puck away a couple times, either in close or on passes and that is something he needs to watch out for. Teams are reading him in the defensive zone.

Paajarvi-Belanger-Jones
- The worst thing Ryan Jones did tonight was constantly get in the way. He disrupted a number of rush chances and offensive sequences by being out of position and generally awkward. Aside from that he was okay and did some nice things on the PK and in the neutral zone. I heard a lot of glowing review of Magnus after the game and I couldn't disagree more. While he tried some new offensive skating lines...he showed zero agility or ability to get around offensive forwards and create offensive space. He is still drifting WAY too far out of the play to cheat for defence, and this is costing him gap control so that he's then out of position and has to skate a bunch. For a positionally sound guy, he's on another planet right now and having to play nothing but catchup hockey. He got some shots away...but all weak and right at the chest. He's not doing any of the things that show up in his best games and that's very perplexing. It probably doesn't help that he's playing with Eric Belanger...who has apparently fallen down an elevator shaft. Watching Belanger early, he struggled offensively but made a bunch of subtle defensive things happen. He was bad in every zone tonight, never knew where he had to be and gave the puck away a bunch. Totally incomprehensible. He needs to see a sports psych or something because he's forgotten how to play the game and his disease is infecting other players.

Hordichuk-O'Marra-Petrell
- Good fight from Hordichuk and took/gave some solid hits in limited icetime. O'Marra looked slow and just okay positionally but also hit some people. Petrell was pretty good. I'd have considered moving him up the lineup at some point tonight.
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So, there we are. Six game homestand is not off to a good start. No good.

*ADVISORY* There will not likely be a game report on Friday as I am headed to the airport very very early Saturday morning and will be in Maui until the 11th. Sorry guys but the beach beckons!

LMHF Report - Game #11

2011-11-28T23:05:00.006-07:00

EDMONTON 1

VS.

NASHVILLE 2
-----------------

So that's two very frustrating games in a row for me. Obviously the one on TV was a little harder to take, but this one of course is an evening and a live event so it is always worse when a game like this happens. A lot of people are just going to declare that the Oilers played badly tonight...they did not. The game could be broken up into two rather clear halves. Pre-Major and post-major. This picture/time may be approximate as it also has to do when #35 went on a tear and ripped off a bunch of world class saves all in a row.

Before the penalty, we were playing a pretty solid game. The chances were coming reasonably frequently and it really looked like we'd win. 14 was going strong along with his linemates, Hemsky and Horcoff were tugging along a struggling Paajarvi, and Gagner looked to have found some of his stride along with Jones (who was having one of his best games as he often does against Nashville) and Belanger. Things looked really good in terms of attacking and we were generally keeping Nashville to the fringes despite being outshot. Our D were playing an aggressive but simple game. It was really looking like the recipe for a win.

Then Ryan Jones delivers a clean, solid, beautiful hit in return for the BS that Tootoo is busy perpetrating and it all goes down the tubes for some reason. We got that 5 minute major for bodychecking, but it specifically didn't hurt too much. This was because our continued aggressive play combined with some ref-guilt resulted in multiple penalties to the Predators. We couldn't take advantage of the less than 5-on-5 action and indeed our goaltender put on a display the likes of which you might see once a year, with a sequence of saves that were truly sublime.

I figured this series of events would simply boost our chances; especially after Tootoo took another penalty. For whatever reason we were suddenly useless. Every puck was just out of reach. Nearly every player overskated their check constantly. The puck was a hand grenade. It had nothing to do with getting shots...they were forcing absolutely everything from passes to possession to shots to dekes. It was just ugly. I'm sure some of this was the ice, but we also won 9-2 on that ice so that can't be all of it. I don't know whether we were suddenly tired and completely out of gas or whether we got completely off our game plan or what. It was just ugly after that. Despite some intermittent pressure, we never really contended for the game again. All the pop was gone. It's sad to see games like that because one individual effort could have taken it. One rush (we totally stopped rushing, btw. It was all dump and not much chase which DOES NOT WORK FOR US), one tip, one great shot....we had none of that left for whatever reason. It was very perplexing.

I'm not saying the game was in hand, but we were building a win for a decent part of this game. There's a comfort level there on most nights, which I say in the positive because it means we know we always have a chance.

Nashville didn't look good at all, save for a couple strong spurts and Weber/Suter. They just aren't very talented. Their goalie looked to have gotten hurt in the third and I'm fairly confident that if we could have tested his ability to go side-to-side we would have scored easily, but we just couldn't manage it.

I have to criticize Renney's use of the 4th line tonight. Hordichuk made some mistakes early, including having a man WIDE WIDE WIDE open in front and missing him because he couldn't be bothered to pick his head up and look, but #16 should have been out there in the second to cause some NSH player some grief. Instead...he comes out when we're losing in the third...NO.

I know we're going to lose games like this because we're far from a complete team as yet, but it is ones like these that make me angriest in many ways because they are there for the taking and we just give them away.
------------

Khabibulin
- He was all-world tonight. No doubt. At least 10 utterly beautiful saves and boy was he focused. He also prevented multiple scoring chances by positioning aggressively, pokechecking and/or stick lifting a couple guys and everything else. He was on tonight. His flurry of saves in the second period should have been more than enough to spur this team on to victory, but it was for naught. I hope he's not discouraged after this sublime effort.

Whitney
- While he played fairly decently, you can really tell he's not all there. He struggled at the opposition blue especially and didn't have any of the offensive game in him that we're used to seeing. I can specfically recall when he joined a rush and got the puck in the slot but instead of attempting a minor drag and shoot that I'm sure he would have last year, he made a low percentage and low quality pass to Horcoff. The puck may have still gone in anyway after caroming over to Hemsky and resulting in a pile-up, but Whitney should have finished that play and showed no interest. Come to think of it, he didn't seem to be patrolling his own zone with much ferocity either. Disappointing effort from #6.

Petry
- I don't recall any particularly spectacular plays, but he had some strong moments moving and controlling the puck. I didn't see any defensive lapses from him tonight really, which is always a positive. I'm still not sure he's getting the rushes started as well as he needs to, and this was more evident in the second half of the game.

Peckham
- There was a play in the third where Theo had a Predator lined up inside the blue line all the way from the bench. Theo of last year would have clobbered that guy and jumped back into the play...Theo of today backed off the hit and then got himself out of position somehow as well. Didn't move the puck well enough, didn't cream anyone and took that goofy penalty on Tootoo (which if he was having a great game would have been worth it just to make him look like the moron he is). Not a strong effort.

Teubert
- He was really strong in the first half; aggressive, physical and solid on the puck. In the second half, he was too aggressive, missed his checks, bumbled the puck and created odd-man rushes in the wrong direction. I suppose to some degree that's a rookie playing with a struggling young partner, but he still has to be better than he was as the game went on. Still like his trajectory and his chances to be a factor for this team in the near future, but he can't have many more nights like tonight without getting sent to OKC.

Gilbert and Smid
- Might as well group these guys together. They were both pretty good. I loved Gilbert stepping up to make a couple nice hits. Smid could have been more physical but I understand that he's got to much minute-responsibility to be laying random beatings on people in scrums around the net. In some ways that is unfortunate but at that is because he's good.

Petrell-Lander-Hordichuk
- As I alluded to earlier, #16 had a bit of an off game. He missed that pass, missed some hits and didn't get Nashville off their game in any meaningful way. He also didn't get a chance to do so in the second period, but we can only really judge his on-ice play. #37 and #57 played pretty solid games, each both giving and taking some bumps as well as generating a couple of decent chances. They weren't really given much chance to influence the game, but they did what they could.

Jones-Belanger-Gagner
- Belanger played bad enough that at one point he got taken out for Lander. He really couldn't find any offensive flow or positioning and bobbled the puck or made bad passes on a number of occasions. Usually this is compensated for by strong defensive play and staying high in the offensive zone to get the puck back to his linemates but I didn't see that tonight. Jones came out like crazy, winning races, landing hits and generating offence. The first half was an excellent effort. I really didn't notice him after the five minute major for whatever reason. I don't know if he backed off or what, but the effectiveness and the jump that was carrying his line and giving Gagner room to work were gone. Sam certainly played one of his strong games despite that fact that his senseless giveaway and the subsequent NSH goal will probably be what he is remembered for. He got to the net with the puck strongly, made some excellent passes and dekes, chose well in terms of when not to shoot and showed a lot of speed. What's still missing? He's got zero finish right now. Sam of a couple years ago scores 2 tonight easily.

Paajarvi-Horcoff-Hemsky
- I suspect there will be some negative reviews of Hemsky and Horcoff after tonight but I don't buy it. They played mostly strong games and put forth some serious effort to try and get another goal or two. Hemsky did more skating tonight than I've seen in quite some time and set some excellent plays up. Horcoff hit the holes, got open for shots and supported well. There was a problem though, as that #4 guy wasn't patrolling their left wing. I suspect that with him there, at least 2 goals come out of this line tonight. I know there were some giveaways and less than ideal plays, but many were the result of #10 and #83 having to do way too much of the skating and play both wings. It is really too bad Horcoff went weak-backhand on his breakaway...he had Lindback beat through speed and only needed to take a strong forehand shot. This was not exactly the seizure of opportunity that fans of #91 (and I count myself among them, but not as high on his offence as others) were hoping for. He was near-horrible in fact. He didn't get past anyone despite receiving several excellent passes in quality areas (he either had speed and backed off or never turned on the jets depending on the situation). He failed in close and lost the puck several times and also failed to get shots off when in the open. I maintain that part of this is because his stick is too long to make intricate plays with the puck or be a strong offensive player in close quarters. He can't get by on flying wide and making weak attempts at the net for long. You give #91 another chance next game, after clearly speaking to him about skating in different lanes, playing assertively, hitting people (he gave up at least 5 good hitting chances and 2 specifically resulted in ineffective D) and understanding that he's out there to produce offence. If he can't figure that out in half a game, he's back on the 4th. It is really a shame that both Linus and Teemu are hurt in OKC. I don' t think Magnus is actually ready for this. Too many fundamentals to work on.

Smyth-Hopkins-Eberle
- Eberle was the guy who nearly dragged us kicking and screaming to victory tonight. In addition to his goal, which was an excellent little play based on patience and shot choice, he generated several other excellent chances and just barely missed. He was the one constant and certainly could have gotten the job done given a couple small changes. Hopkins was just okay...he had one particularly bad shift in the second period where he got caught out too long, turned the puck over and nearly caused a goal. The thing is, he also managed to land a nice hit and make a goal-saving defensive play on the same shift. There wasn't a ton of fireworks from #93 tonight but he was fine. Smyth started strong but appeared to get very tired as the game went on. I can understand why, but this is something we'll really have to watch.
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I think the important thing to take from tonight's game was the lack of discipline and distraction that shaped the play in the back half of this one. It isn't that we didn't have the talent, weren't prepared or didn't have the chances...we just got WAY off the plan and no one dragged us back there.

LMHF Report - Game #10

2011-11-20T03:12:00.005-07:00

EDMONTON 9

VS.

CHICAGO 2

---------------------

I sat down last night to write this post at almost 3am after a long night of fun and celebrating. I honestly don't think I could have gone to sleep before then, as in some ways the smile from that game is still carrying me today. It was an incredible game and something I really didn't expect or see coming any time soon. I had really low expectations going into this one and was of course blown away.

There was a really cool moment in the third...while everyone was caught up in the moment and chanting "We Want TEN!", I had a flashback...we were playing Buffalo in January of 2009 and getting waxed...when Buffalo got to 9, a similar chant went up as a jeer and very sad cry about how our team was doing at the time. It's been a long long road since the summer of 2006, but I suspect the moments like last night, where the shoe is on the other foot and we're the crowd giving its team a standing ovation during almost the entire last minute of the game, will become more frequent as we go along. There was also a time when the Hawks waxed us in a very similar fashion to what happened last night and to give them a bit of their own back was very satisfying. I imagine the Hawks must be thinking it is about 1986 and Alberta is a crappy, crappy place to go for two games.

While there were a couple bad goals allowed by Chicago tonight, so much of the difference between a game like last night and the Ottawa game comes in the little races and puck wins along with making sure you take a properly placed shot. We won so many little races or reaches for the puck it was unbelievable. We outskated the Hawks all night long, which is not an easy thing to do. Instead of squandering early chances, we put the puck where it needed to go. We chose proper skating lines and made a ton of tape-to-tape passes. I think the most important thing we did though was that the forwards to a man all came back fairly deep into their own end all night long. They knew the defence were going to be in tough, short-staffed and facing a strong opponent. They knew that the past few games had seen a lot of struggles in terms of getting the puck moving. They also seemed to know that their only chance at winning this was going to be to score a lot of goals and either run away with it or trade goal for goal and come out ahead at the very end in a high scoring affair. Thankfully for all of our blood pressures, the second scenario never came to be.

I have to give a decent amount of credit tonight to Tom Renney and his line combinations up front. Though it appeared they were only drawn up the day prior to the game, it became clear immediately that the Hawks would have to deal with three fairly effective lines. Lately we'd been down to only two of those lines and that was killing us on nights when one of them wasn't going. The combination of Lander, Jones and Horcoff certainly didn't run around making a bunch of things happen offensively, they were able to control the puck, play smart positional hockey and generate some rushes. I imagine this line came into being because of Lander's strong game the other night, and it changed the matchups pretty drastically for us. While this line could handle some defensive responsibility, the Hawks had no answer for either 94-93-14 or 4-89-83. When these lines were re-combined for powerplays in more familiar combinations from this season, nothing much changed. There was a flow to just about all the combinations last night.

I hope everyone got to enjoy that game last night. If you didn't, find someone who PVR'ed it. I already know that LMHF#2 did and I'll be heading over there sometime soon to watch it again. Being there was pretty special. There was an atmosphere in the building that is unique to a Saturday game against a historic team that also happens to be very good right now; and one that has had to deal with a lot of disappointment lately. It received a heavy dose of joy, fun and craziness last night. Our boys also didn't let up. Early on, the goals fired them up and the referees made them angry. After that they were all over both the Hawks and the refs for the rest of the evening. There was an intensity that I haven't seen in a long, long time and it was great to watch.

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Hall-Gagner-Hemsky
- Well, I think the rust is off for Ales. As soon as you saw him skating with true authority through multiple Chicago defenders, dodging a well-positioned hit and driving to the net with no option but to score, you knew he had returned. That goal was big. Converting the first chance of a game really sets a tone; and when it is done in that way by one of the less-hyped players (let's face it, Chicago's whiteboard was probably all 93, 4, 14 and possibly a little 94) meant that Chicago had to be ready for multiple sources of offence on the night. Even though most of what Hall generated subsequently was driven by the PP and the other kids/Horcoff, I enjoyed watching Hall and Hemsky play because of their ability to use the "climb the ladder" strategy to advance up the ice with strong lateral movement. If Hall can learn to pass and touch pass in the same way Hemsky does, these two will be silly good together. Even already, they play in convenient position when relevant to each other. If Hall's driving, Hemsky's high up and open for the pass. If Hemsky's working his way up the RW as is his trademark, Hall swoops into the slot. When Hemsky gets the puck at his blue, there's Hall on a streak down the LW. I could go on. It was beautiful, fast, ruthless hockey. Hemsky was strong, though not perfect the rest of the game. He made a whack of solid passes and mainly found his comfort zone with the puck. Hall got locked in the zone very early in this one. You could see it on his face; when he scored his first two goals he barely even seemed to smile. He was on a mission in this one and wouldn't be denied. People think Hall is a rush scorer...he isn't. Not a wide rush scorer anyway. Guys like Hemsky do that. Hall is at his best when he uses his speed to be positionally strong and create offensive levels that the other team has to deal with. Hall's office is right beside the net where he scored two of his goals tonight. That's another reason that Hemsky playing with him works well. He's got such and excellent wrister when standing still and needs to specifically set it up more. His third goal was a thing of beauty. He was still locked in and motivated, steamed into the O-zone and delayed just long enough that he could go perfectly through the D's legs and shelf on Emery. Just outstanding and what a way to net a hat trick. Later he got sent in on a rush and nearly scored (I couldn't tell if Hemsky whacked the puck after Emery went down or not) and we were robbed of our 10th goal by an official who didn't realize Hall was just taking a mini-break beside the net after barreling into it head-fist. Apparently the stripes don't realize they're dealing with Gumby. That also robbed Ales of a multi-point game, which is really crummy. When it comes to Sam I'm somewhat conflicted. He clearly did not have a very good game in terms of what he did with the puck. There were a lot of iffy passes and the shots he took weren't particularly good. Both Hall and Hemsky started feeding him the puck to try and give him a chance to get something going and get a point or two but there was nothing doing. I liked how he moved through the neutral zone with speed, but he couldn't make anyone miss and couldn't take an elite-level shot. It has become clear that Gagner is at least 1-2 steps below our top level talents in terms of being able to create and force offence upon the other team. The thing is, he did clearly do a decent job of supporting what was a strong line. I'd give him a chance for a couple more games, but it will be important to watch closely in terms of what he's actually accomplishing.

Smyth-Hopkins-Eberle
- Two of the best games I've seen Oilers forwards play live from two of the players on this line last night. It was incredible. I remain adamant that Eberle should have been a star, and quite possibly first star because he made a ton of things happen early. The play he made to hold off the Chicago defenders, turn the corner and hit Smyth with the slickest of little passes was utterly sublime. It also seemingly came out of nowhere. The guy just makes things happen. Then he and Hopkins started making music...and it was over. The thing about the all-kid line is that much of the time Eberle gets overshadowed in Hall's attempts to rush and Hopkins deferral to #4. #14 plays the game at about the same speed as Hopkins, and in the same amazingly smart way. Not only was the finish on Eberle's goal an absolutely perfect shot, it was generated by a brilliant skate past the opposition and no-look pass by Hopkins, which was generated by some lovely transition play in the neutral zone. It was like watching a couple of race horses get loose and just GO. Then they combined for the 5-on-3 Gilbert goal with their behind the net play. I pitied the Chicago defence at that stage. Teams are going to have to put that on video and attempt to break it down, because it's brilliant. With Hall heading to the front of the net, and Whitney as a better shooting option once he gets back, that 5-on-3 will be SCARY. They can cut out front, hit a defenceman, or hit Hall in the slot. So long as they keep drawing penalties (and their skill says they will), this is going to be a challenge for the rest of the league. Lost in much of the euphoria was another strong game from Smyth. He played more of the support role that I spoke about in terms of Gagner, but did it at a higher level with very few mistakes. He was in his office for his goal and generally supported either offensively or defensively for the rest of the game. You could see he was having fun. As for Hopkins, what can you say really. He's a superstar. Every single time he got the puck he made something happen. Opposing players cannot adjust to him. Even in games where the other kids are shut down, he always makes something happen. In games like last night, he notches 5 assists (and had one taken away apparently or it would have been 6) and makes it look easy. He just gets around people and generates speed out of nothing like on his rush to set up Eberle. His passes are flat and perfect. There was a sequence in the third where the Oilers were going for their 10th and Eberle, Hall and Hopkins all got going...I kept yelling for Hopkins not to score because he needs assists...at that point he was 2 from the NHL record in a single game held by some guy who wore #99 whose jersey was hanging in the rafters a ways above where the play was going on. Thing is, #99 wasn't exactly subjected to video review of his assists. I suspect in 1980 the stat line would have read that #93 had 7 a's last night. That we're talking about a preposterously young and far from his peak #1 center doing these things is utterly amazing. Apparently he also has a flair for the dramatic and likes to show up huge for HNIC...no complaints here!

Lander-Horcoff-Jones
- I didn't know what to expect when I saw these guys lined up for the opening draw. I could see the appeal because if they're effective it frees the offensive guys to attack secondary lines all night long. I lost track of exactly who was matching who once the score went crazy, but I'm assuming these guys got some heavy defensive responsibility early on. Horcoff was huge in this game, keeping up with the kids on the PP and managing a goal of his own as the result of some hard work and solid positioning. He's really transitioning into an effective leader of this particular squad of guys. I've never had any problem with him being elevated to that status because he's always been one of the Oilers that even when his game wasn't very good, he said the right things and had the right attitude. In games like tonight, it's good to see that he can keep up with the offensive guys in some ways. He again, is playing a supporter role in a lot of ways, but doing it very well. He and Smyth are primary on the PK, where they are pretty much always good. Jones scored an ugly, ugly goal but I was more impressed by the fact that he did it right after taking a stick or something to the face on the shift before. He was back and driving again. Also, if you're going to put the puck on net, he did a good job of picking at least a tricky spot. In a game full of that much offensive flare, Jones' head down and skate approach doesn't exactly grab headlines, but he was positionally good enough and giving enough effort that things are fine. Lander was probably the most quiet of the guys on this line, but that was okay too. He was in the right spots, minding his check and keeping his game simple. It is quite hard to believe that he seems to have just quickly snuck by several players into a position of responsibility, but his pedigree is certainly showing in that he, even when given responsibility, doesn't seem to play bad games really.

Paajarvi-Belanger-Eager
- Honestly they didn't do much at all aside from one strong shift where they could have scored. Magnus got a strong push to try and get him some offence, but as I'm sure has been pointed out by many, all he was able to do was skate down the wing quickly. He was not back to making strong defensive stops or drawing penalties really, and thus just wasn't very effective. He needs to figure out that he needs to stop or cut laterally on some of those rushes if he ever wants to score there. I still think one of the problems for Magnus is that his stick is too long and he's not able to make quick lateral plays with it. So long as he's stuck in straight up and down mode, he'll be stuck not scoring. I could definitely take or leave Eager at this point. He avoided hits on several occasions last night and there's no excuse for that when the rest of the squad is playing such an intense game. I didn't exactly expect to have to question whether he'd play an enthusiastic game. Belanger didn't have a responsibility for much of anything last night and as such I didn't really notice him much. I'm not worried about his lack of offence to be honest, because to me he looks like the kind of guy that will go on a real streak at some point.

Gilbert-Smid
- As has been the case this season, they were our best defensive pairing even with the stats as they wound up. Gilbert made some excellent reads and was getting his shot through including his goal and the assist on Hall's second period goal. I honestly didn't see much from the defencemen last night as this game was largely about the forwards...which is amazing to say when Gilbert goes out and gets four points. Smid let Gilbert play his game, which seems to be his job pretty much every night now. Somehow in all the excitement and goal scoring, and despite Smid's strong puck moving, he was once again blanked on the board. Talk about crummy. Between the two of these guys they killed 14 minutes worth of penalties...wow.

Petry-Peckham
- What a night on the stats board from these two. It wasn't totally benign either...Theo was finally physical and moved the puck with a lot more care and attention than he has of late. When he plays like that he's useful, but early on he was still having a decent amount of difficulty. Jeff Petry showed how well he can move the puck to his forwards in a game where the forwards were getting into proper starting position. Pretty exceptional. What I hope really comes from this is that the confidence builds quickly for both of these guys.

Teubert-Chorney
- These guys had about the game I was expecting. #33 hit some people and was not quite as good as his previous appearance (likely due to the rush of arrival and the pairing) but held his own okay. I've been generally impressed with most of his efforts. Chorney was okay, but wasn't really able to contribute offensively. Hemsky found him twice with perfect chances to make something happen in the second period and both times he couldn't make it work. You're not going to get much better feeds as an offensive defenceman. He needs to deliver on those.

Khabibulin
- I thought he was decent. Chicago didn't really get a ton of great chances even though they threw a lot of shots our way. The first Chicago goal is one he certainly would have had a couple weeks ago. Our goalie situation could still be a problem yet, but I think we've found the strategic way we're supposed to attempt this winning thing. Khabibulin's job then becomes to be Fuhr and just stop one more than the next guy. I know that's easier said than done, but we appear to be able to run & gun.
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Sorry for the lateness guys, it's been a long couple days but because of the nature of the game, I still felt it was important to get written. What a game. Seriously, if you didn't get to see it, go find it. What a night. Here's to many more!

LMHF Report - Game #9

2011-11-17T23:11:00.002-07:00

EDMONTON 2

VS.

OTTAWA 5
----------------

So, those of you who have been around for a while will recognize this type of game report. On nights like tonight, I don't find it particularly relevant to break down the performances by player. As a team we were so bad tonight that even the bright lights if there were any are worth a quick mention and that's it. I was once +2 with 2 Assists in a 9-2 loss...funny story but it obviously didn't matter very much. The short time where the team played well and the very few players who did anything positive tonight are worth just about as much aside from perhaps Lander's beautiful goal (he looked to change where he was trying to shoot mid-fire because he had his head up and saw Anderson had dipped his shoulder, then took advantage, just PERFECT).

I was in a bad enough mood by the end of this thing that it really angered me when Ryan Jones got excited about scoring to make it 5-2...and off his foot no less. Head to the bench and sit down #28; you just scored a completely meaningless goal on a night when you and your team are taking a beating and you've done absolutely nothing to stop that. That was not the time to whoop it up. I was also disappointed in the other players who celebrated and the fans who were overexcited about it...yeah, I was mad.

If you watched the warmup, you could see this team is off. The smiles are gone. The passes aren't crisp and the players aren't skating with much authority. The shots also weren't very good. Ironically enough, the only guy who actually looked like he had some jump was Taylor Hall. He buried the puck in the warmup and made Khabibulin look like a statue...maybe that was an indication of things to come.

We came out playing a really offensively aggressive game tonight which is certainly something we need to do in order to win. There was a massive problem though...when it came to finishing we had absolutely nothing. It wasn't that #41 in the OTT net was making huge saves...it's that we had time and space and didn't make him make any huge saves. The shots were weak, rushed or misdirected. We had all the go but none of the focus. If a team keeps this up and it is the theme of the game...they'll probably bounce one in and win anyway, but it is very tough for even very good teams to win that way. Teams without any goaltending, and who lose half their defence during the course of the game have absolutely no chance.

Make no mistake, both goalies were horrible. The last 3 OTT goals specifically were just bad. Michalek's goal was a horrible shot. Winchester actually stopped skating and looked back as if the play was ending before he scored his goal and neither the D, nor Dubnyk were able to use that to any kind of advantage. They were all sleeping in a game that badly needed to be turned around into a win. The Oilers needed this win really badly. OTT, while playing decent hockey right now, has a whole lot of non-players on their team and you've got to take advantage when you've got Chicago coming in on Saturday. The final goal is 100% on Dubnyk; missing that puck was inexcusable. I had a very very close up view as I was in much lower seats that usual tonight and that was just terrible. (thankfully I had a great view of the only highlight of the night, Lander's goal, as well).

When the kid line is on, they stretch the opposition's D, either forcing them to back up or creating odd man rushes. On every shift tonight, they seemed to fail to get past the OTT defence in any meaningful way, and either took weak shots through the D or put the puck behind the net where the OTT defence was waiting for it. They were beyond ineffective and got very frustrated as the game went on, Hall especially. Hopkins wasn't too horrible, but he can't lug that line on his own. I don't know why they've shifted their attack strategy so much and they need to hit the practice ice in a serious way to get it back.

When we were winning earlier this year, we did it through solid defensive play from our forwards and defensive units. Odd-man rushes were held to a minimum, players made smart plays with the puck, and we often held the puck in the offensive zone for an extra possession after their first attempted rush. We had none of this tonight. Paajarvi as part of his line with Omark and Belanger was excellent at this, allowing the other lines to attack a more tired opposition. We had 3 lines going that could push the puck. Well, now we have a slumping line of kids, a line of vets who is mostly consistent, and a useless third line. 91-20-28 will not score goals or control possession. They are not built to do it; especially with the D we're currently packing.

Speaking of that D, we appear to have lost 3 of them now. That's terrifying especially when it comes to Potter, but you know what is worse? That Theo Peckham (who I've always liked and want to cheer for) is still in the lineup. He's been horrible. He's been directly culpable for multiple losses and played a huge part in allowing 5 goals tonight. Even with the injuries, I'd still either try to trade him for a different type of defenceman while he still has some value, or waive him. It makes me sad because he really showed he had potential last year, but that appears to have been his high point. He got comfortable and has lost his edge, and now his confidence. Sorry Theo, you're costing this team games.

Tom Renney is not free from criticism tonight; in fact I'd say he did just about everything wrong. It was abundantly clear that #35 was off after the second goal and you have to yank him there...he didn't. He knew Sutton was hurting and didn't insist on calling up a defenceman which made us vulnerable to what happened tonight. Once we were down to 4 D, and had an intermission to plan, he didn't cycle 1 or 2 forwards back to D to fill in and take some pressure off an overwhelmed and undercapable D group (specifically Peckham and Petry). That's effectively giving up. He then was positive after this game...there was nothing to be positive about. Either say nothing at all and start fresh tomorrow or rip the team a new one. If there were any justice, at least 3 guys would be headed out and several would be called up from OKC...I sincerely doubt that will happen.

What you are seeing right now is the risk you take when you don't go get an insurance policy for this team. After we beat Washington and subsequently, we needed to go out and get a defenceman to keep results positive and make sure that even if we hit some bumps, it wouldn't be too bad. Now, we risk doing serious damage to the progress of our players. Some are getting very frustrated and it is totally unnecessary. After those 2 quick goals went in, everyone hung their heads. Good teams don't do that. There's no doubt that it is tough to come back after that deficit is built, but good teams buzz for the rest of the game and at least come close. We quit. That's unacceptable.

I'm not sure if there's much more to say. I'm plain pissed off after that effort.

LMHF Report - Game #8

2011-10-30T13:41:00.005-06:00

EDMONTON 4

VS.

ST. LOUIS 2
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Seriously, this is so much fun. Even on an early Sunday where either afternoon or 6pm games are always slow starters for whatever reason and the fans are always a little bit out of it, this was absolutely awesome when we got going.

What I'll take from this game is that we can win with a seriously subpar defensive group even when playing a physical team...and that when teams have to open up and try to catch us, they are dead. The Blues realized part way through the second that they weren't going to squeak this one out and weren't generating enough solid chances. As soon as they tried to stretch out the play, we were rushing at them like mad men. It could easily have been 6 or 7 goals for us tonight.

To give some insight into how far the forwards have come...once Ales is healthy again, we'll have to sit someone and it may well be Sam Gagner...and we're not terrified. I'd greatly prefer it be Jones but that seems unlikely. The logical choice is Lander...but he sure is doing some nice things on the PK and in tough spots against tough players. We have some very very good problems right now up front.

They're certainly not perfect...but no team is at this point in the season. Most aren't also missing two of their very best players. What we are doing though is building a ton of confidence in the fact that we can make games go the right way for us. We have the ability to lock the barn door and wait for an offensive chance; or to push other teams into giving us one. In games where the refs haven't been a joke...we're drawing penalties. STL was allowed to get away with some serious liberties tonight, and we should have drawn a number of additional powerplays. That we didn't get them doesn't change the plays that should have drawn them.

We're obviously heading out on a pretty serious-looking road trip here...and this is both a massive challenge and massive opportunity. For once, we've taken advantage of a nice stretch of home games (even though we played some really solid hockey teams) and are in a position where we know we can run and now have the opportunity to announce our presence to this whole league. This is huge...and it's going to be a serious ride. If they went out and grabbed a #2/3 defenceman without sacrificing significant resources, I'd say they'd be totally ready to roll some teams. We shall see what is to come.

--------------
Khabibulin

- Just another ho-hum night for #35 this year. The two goals he allowed were both fairly exceptional; Backes shot was not only perfectly placed but straight through Petry and the other goal was an ugly scramble. Everything else was gravy. Once again, focused and active are the words I'd use to describe Khabibulin which is something I just couldn't do last year. I can see how it'd be hard to focus through our last two years...but man, it's just a different guy there. He didn't have to be spectacular tonight, but there were two specific sequences in the third where he was money and kept our lead at 2. He allowed our inexperienced and thrown-together D to play a much more comfortable game. Lovely.

Petry

- Stepped right in and played a really solid game when we needed it badly. Aside from not playing Backes' goal very well (that's a must block), he was really good. The most noticeable thing he did tonight was grab the puck at around his blue line and skate it with authority into the opposition zone on multiple occasions. He also jumped in very nicely on Eberle's goal to pressure the STL defence into allowing a mismatch. He needs to stay and to play. Too good to sit when among this current crop.

Peckham
- We needed him to step up very very badly and for pretty much the whole night he did that. Aside from a couple shaky corner battles late, he made solid decisions with the puck and stayed in position most all night. His pass to set up Hall's breakaway was a thing of beauty...quick read, couple quick steps and fired it right onto Hall's stick. Awesome. Also did a really nice job in supporting Plante. We need more of this from Theo plus a whack of physicality.

Potter
- The Corey Power Potter Play rolls on...lovely little pass to Hopkins at just the right time to allow him to set up Horcoff for the goal. He generates the lanes and chances that more experienced defencemen haven't been able to provide us with. Tonight was a repeat of his other games...solid D positioning, walked the line in the offensive zone and intimidates opposing forwards trying to contain him. So steady. Lock him up before he commands 3 mil.

Plante
- He struggled...but struggled well enough. Unfortunately for Alex and for us, he's just not an NHL defender. When you watch him play, you'll notice that he spends way too much time worrying about having one hand on his stick and staring out at the play rather than getting involved in it. What he managed to do though was not have any ugly blow-ups and that certainly is worth something for a guy pressed into action like that against a pretty decent hockey club with some big, powerful forwards.

Smid
- Beautiful game. He was in superb defensive position the whole game and even excelled when necessity required him to be separated from Gilbert. As usual when #5 plays a solid game, he skated the puck beautifully to positions where he could make a strong and safe pass. This is the key to his game and when he's on he's tremendous at it. Awesome shot-blocking tonight as well.

Gilbert
- I remember one awkward sequence in our defensive corner that resulted in a giveaway. Aside from that...if you'd like to see what the definition is of a perfect game from a team's #1 defenceman, go watch the game over and observe Gilbert. WIth the puck tonight he was absolutely stupendous...every decision was good and most were perfect. He was everywhere on a night when they needed him to be huge. So glad to see him back to playing this way and there's zero reason he can't keep up his game this way because it's perfectly within itself.

Smyth-Horcoff-Jones
- This crew got the job done very nicely for us tonight. I have to wonder if it is difficult for teams to transition from playing this line to playing Hopkins' line and then back again because it is so drastically different. Horcoff had himself a pretty stupendous game. His goal was a nice little read in a spot that has become a strong point of his game especially this year. When the play goes to the front of the net on the PP, Horcoff is either screening, driving or getting a stick on the puck. That's pretty much exactly what you need. He absolutely owned the faceoff dot tonight and seemingly out of nowhere is on a 7-game point streak. Second-best hockey of his career for sure. Smyth is doing what he does best; playing well and making it look incredibly awkward! Both goals were the result of him driving the net and went through Halak's pads. I won't complain though because it looks so much better than the super slow motion slapshot. I'm not sure what happened to him in the third, but that fluffed breakaway was just ugly...The thing that he and Horcoff have done though is brought a level of stability and responsibility to the defensive zone from their combined effort...it makes the D's job much easier. Jones was fairly decent tonight in that he won some battles and was physical. I'm still waiting for him to use some speed to get open, but perhaps this line just doesn't generate rush chances really.

Hall-Hopkins-Eberle
- Great little play by Hall on the Horcoff goal driving through to distract the D...such good fundamental hockey. It is these things that make the difference between wins and losses. I'm guessing Hall actually goes home tonight pretty frustrated because he missed a breakaway (stop going backhand-fivehole Taylor...it's a low % move and you have a great forehand), an absolutely filthy juke-and-feed from Eberle (why whack at that rather than holding it for a fraction of a second as Eberle would have?) and just about scored the goal of the year after making a STL defender look absolutely stupid. The pass he made to set up Eberle's goal was stupendous...but it says something about a player when he's a big part in two goals and we're able to look and clearly say he should have had more. Eberle was Eberle...silly-solid and constantly generating offensive chances. You don't have to worry about him in an even more solid way than you don't have to worry about a guy like Smyth. I love how he's adapted so well to his role of helping control the point with Potter and there were several excellent examples of that puck exchange tonight. The thing about Eberle is he was actually frustrated with having not been able to shoot that goal he scored in...he's so demanding of and confident in himself that he thinks he should have shot that puck into the net. Love that guy. Hopkins obviously made an absolutely perfect read and pass to Horcoff for the goal (all while showing that the Hall and Potter pass options were still there), but what I liked about his game were the subtle offensive plays where he turned on the speed on even if he didn't get a good chance he took the puck to a safe area, his wicked-hard shot in the third period that just barely missed, and his subtle D that kept STL from getting several solid chances. Lovely effort from these guys tonight.

Paajarvi-Belanger-Gagner
- For a line that got no points tonight, they were pretty impressive. Sam pretty much turned off the giveaway machine he's been operating these past couple games. He got his slapshot on net and generated some rebounds, as well as making a great little move and read that was stopped by Halak in the third. He needs to build on tonight's performance. Magnus blew by several defenders and used his speed once again to keep plays alive in the offensive zone. He was also very good in the defensive zone. I understand he's got to be frustrated and you could see that in the third when he worked himself into a really nice chance, was stopped by Halak and hung his head for a time. The thing is, it hasn't impacted the other aspects of his game on most nights and specifically tonight. Poor Eric Belanger had a really tough game despite playing quite well. He got his head bashed into the boards twice, then got the most ludicrous boarding penalty I've seen in some time. I'd have forgiven him if he snapped on someone before the end of that game. Thing is...he was once again very solid on the defensive zone including a couple of absolutely key defensive breakups and got some pretty solid offensive things happen. He owned the dot too.

Eager-Lander-Petrell
- These guys right now are precisely what a fourth line should be. They're generating a really solid forecheck and some decent chances while not really giving up anything offensively. While Eager had a pretty solid game in terms of skating with speed and being in the right place, I actually thought he could have been better as he whiffed on a couple shots and missed some passing opportunities. Still a solid game, but I wonder why he doesn't seem to take wrist shots ever...Petrell again was super solid defensively, hit when he had the chance and played his position wonderfully. Lander? Again, broken record. In position, took beating, moved puck forward. Excellent job from this crew tonight.

----------------------

The thing I think I like most about this team right now is their attitude. They are saying they saw this coming. They are very very demanding of themselves. They are very calm about things. The young guys and the veterans are on the same page and enjoying themselves. This is what the beginning of special teams often looks like.

LMHF Report - Game #7

2011-10-27T23:30:00.008-06:00

EDMONTON 2

VS.

WASHINGTON 1
-------------------

Okay. It is time. We have arrived. Re-build over. We do not suck anymore and it is time to win.

Some people will be discouraged and chalk tonight's game up to things like luck...naw. Good teams win games like this. They find a way. They win despite segments of their lineup struggling to score. They win even when they don't dominate.

What a great feeling. I don't care that it was a low scoring and special teams heavy kind of game. We beat the last undefeated team in the league. We beat Alexander Ovechkin. We beat the mighty Capitals. Everyone in now on notice. Apparently there were an absolute ton of scouts in the building tonight...I'm guessing they were trying to figure out exactly what's going on here. The birth of one hell of a hockey team is what's going on here.

Also, I've figured out what has happened with our goaltending. You see, when Nik went to jail in Arizona, he was visited by former Vezina Trophy winner Jim Carey, who was able to dispose of him through some sort of Face-Off style procedure, and having rehabilitated his brain through extensive sports psychology work, returned to the NHL impersonating Nik Khabibulin to dominate once more. What a story and what luck for us!

Let there be no doubt that the Caps are an excellent hockey team. Only through seeing them live can you appreciate some of the finer elements of their skill. The way they float to the dangerous areas and always have a backwards passing option in the offensive zone is just incredible. They are patient, fast, can fire the puck and are dangerous at all times. With all that said, I think they're still decently beatable. If they face a squad that reads the play really well, and is able to think through their D system and adjust, there are a lot of passes that can be picked off. It is also possible to frustrate them and get them to stop skating if you don't play into their game. Tonight we forced the Capitals to use their sticks where they would normally use body position or skating. Our strong effort gave us enough powerplay advantage time that we scored enough goals and didn't allow Washington to get into a groove. We really did some good things to them and they couldn't cope for some time, especially in the second.

There we some very good efforts tonight, and some not so good ones. Rather than being disappointed we didn't play perfectly...such as being outshot and not scoring on the 5-on-3 or that our bottom three lines still aren't doing anything, be glad that we won without all that.
------------

Khabibulin
- What can you say really? On the only goal he allowed, he appeared to be interfered with and the rest of the night he was active, focused and ridiculously solid. He stared down Ovechkin several times and made some great saves. Even on the bar-rattler with little time left, I'd argue he took away everything else. He was never shaky and made some absolutely stupendous side-to-side saves. The crowd chanted his name at the end of the game, then when he was announced as first star. He acknowleged the applause and that was appreciated. What a start. He looks like a different man.

Potter
- Sign him right now to an extension. Right now. On the plane, draw up a deal and sign him. The guy has been mind-boggling and tonight was no exception. His D was excellent. He managed to carry around Theo Peckham all night and ran the powerplay point like a seasoned veteran. His shot on Eberle's game-winner was an absolute thing of beauty that I as a former defenceman just marvelled at. He took the pass, found his lane, shot hard and low to the perfect side (that shot either goes in or goes to Eberle. all day long that is a goal either way.) through a screen with an open Eberle waiting for the puck. Absolutely perfect. Before that he'd made an absolutely gross slap-pass to Eberle who then set up Hall for a beauty. This guy isn't just surviving, he's playing like a star back there for a team that needed to find a guy like him so badly. Just an amazing joy to watch.

Peckham
- Pretty much the opposite of Potter unfortunately. I really like Theo...but he's been terrible and tonight was no different. The gift-wrapped second period giveaway pass to Ovechkin was just the most obvious point. He also took an early penalty, didn't impact the game physically, bobbled the puck a bunch and didn't make many good plays in his own zone where he needs to be effective. I don't know what's wrong with Theo but he looks like a totally different hockey player as well. Sit him. Petry needs to play tomorrow.

Gilbert
- He had a very quiet but very effective game. You can't really point to anything specific that I can recall, but there were really no mistakes from him tonight.

Smid
- I liked what he brought tonight; especially getting in the face of the Capitals forwards and even his elbow that resulted in a penalty. You do what you can against a team that good and Smid has become the kind of player that stays in the right position and never gets beat on anything weak. The only thing I'll dog him on is that I think it was him that missed the slapshot chance on the empty net.

Barker
- Probably his best game tonight. There was a play near the end of the game where the Capitals forecheckers were expecting him to make a panic clear and he just sat there calmly with the puck for a while...just a brilliant little play that makes the difference in one-goal games like this. He also got his shot on net and near the net several times, made some excellent little passes and played physically. He seems to be able to cross-check the hell out of people and not get called for it...which is essentially art for a defenceman. Came up pretty big when we needed him to very badly.

Sutton
- There were times tonight where I almost liked Andy Sutton. Watching him throw one Capitals player into another not once but twice was one of the funnier and more impressive things I've seen. He didn't make a lot of good passes...I think he needs a new stick because even when he has time he just doesn't seem to be able to work his correctly. The penalty at the end was pretty bad...there's no reason to get your hands up there at all. He had position and just needed to make a good, solid hit. Ugh...

Eager-Lander-Petrell
- Once again they played a nice, effective fourth line game. They seem to be very good at it. I was a little surprised that we didn't see more of Eager because you can certainly get the Capitals off their game through a distraction such as the kind he can provide. Petrell was once again extremely solid positionally, used his size to his advantage and contributed to the PK. He plays a broken record sort of a game and there's nothing wrong with that at all. Lander had fewer good moments in this one than he's had in the past couple games in that he didn't show a lot with the puck. He also didn't get beat, which is a plus but it seemed like he could have done more even in limited time. Good work on the PK though.

Paajarvi-Belanger-Gagner
- Sam gave the puck away all night tonight, and not even trying to make plays most of the time, he was just bad. I think I counted around 10 giveaways from #89...which is totally unacceptable. He too seemed uncomfortable with his stick as he was fiddling with it between stoppages in play, but his reads are off, he can't see the passing lanes and his timing is horrible. Until he gets back up to speed, Sam either needs to be the fourth line C so Lander can go play #1 minutes in OKC, or ride the pine entirely. I actually like what Gagner brings when he plays on the fourth line, and have found in the past that it helps get him going. Couldn't hurt. Belanger was really steady defensively and especially in the third period. There were a couple times where he swooped in and skated loose pucks to safety as I'm not quite sure anyone else on our squad could. He's definitely making a difference for us even if he's not showing up on the scoresheet. I am a bit perplexed as to how useful he is on the PP...I don't see it at all. Paajarvi wasn't really a big factor tonight. I can recall him skating some pucks in decently well but he really didn't make any big plays that I can recall. There's nothing particularly wrong with this but I'm betting people will make a big deal out of it. This line actually had some solid shifts early on and seemed to be a tough match for Washington, but couldn't capitalize before the special teams parade started. I agree with getting Magnus off the PP as he's just not cut out for it right now (though that doesn't mean I like the 94-20-89 unit either...yuck)

Smyth-Horcoff-Jones
- Smyth looked tired again...but saved his most focused and determined efforts for the defensive zone and the PK. That's where he's making a huge difference right now. He did set up a couple chances that Jones and Horcoff missed...but he wasn't effective on the powerplay and couldn't get any kind of transition game going. Horcoff did what he tends to do in games like this...miss some decent offensive chances, put up a great screen to help create a goal (Eberle's) and play really solid D. There were much fewer turnovers from him tonight and it really looked like he bore down. I'd say this was one of Jones' better games as his positioning wasn't so bad, he landed some hits and kept up to his linemates. I'm not sure where his loose-puck-chasing speed has gone exactly though...that seemed to be his trademark play last year and he's missed chances at it so far including tonight.

Hall-Hopkins-Eberle
- I'm getting to the point where I wonder what else can be said. These guys had their hands full in terms of keeping up in the defensive zone tonight and certainly allowed some extended possessions, but again they bent without breaking. In the offensive zone...I really don't think any team can contain them when given even a little time and space. The Potter-Eberle-Hall goal (which saw #93 touch the puck before that) was a thing of beauty which we could have seen at least two more times tonight. They also set up that diagonal line play I talked about after last game and Hopkins made an absolutely sick pass through that could have been banged in. The Eberle goal was the result of a sustained effort and again, Hall touched the puck before Hopkins and Potter. These guys are playing the game in the offensive zone at a level I haven't seen live from any Oilers before. Even on quiet nights they do what they did tonight. They all have 9 points now...just wow.
-------------

I'm struggling to finish this tonight but boy was that ever great. Winning these games rather than the inevitable disappointed feeling we've left the rink with for the last several years is so satisfying. I gave a pretty huge fist-pump after this one was done. Can't wait to see these guys play again. It is a new day.

LMHF Report - Game #6

2011-10-25T23:14:00.007-06:00

EDMONTON 3

VS.

VANCOUVER 2
-----------------

It is so much fun to care again.

It's been really hard these past few years for someone who wants the home team to win so badly and doesn't particularly believe in "rebuilds". The thing is, if you threw yourself into a game like tonight, you would always be disappointed. The missed chances would come back to haunt you. The team would allow bounces, miscues and panicking to beat them. Not so tonight, and possibly not so again for a long time. There will of course be nights where we lose games, but not without a fight, and not with the utter hopelessness that has been present until recently.

Tonight for a few minutes against last year's Stanley Cup losers (WOOOOOO!!!! I mean...LOOOUUUUUUSSSSEEEERRRRRRRR) we were absolutely unstoppable. We took off and came at them in waves. It was a semi miracle that Vancouver wasn't down 4 or 5 goals after that outburst. To watch our guys rock and roll like that was one of best sights that ice has seen in years.

The only reason we were able to reach that point is that our entire team weathered a rather vicious storm in the first period. The Canucks threw everything they had at us and we gave them absolutely nothing. There could be no honest whining from the Canucks coach about them playing horribly in this one. That was an impressive period and if we had been able to keep 6 healthy defencemen, would have meant that this becomes a 4 or 5 goal win for our squad. The Canucks were on the ropes badly.

The third period was certainly a trial by fire for many of our players, and I have to credit Renney for properly realizing that the path to victory tonight required the kids to keep playing a whack of minutes. Staying aggressive for most of the game made sure we got the win tonight.

We can certainly face the Canucks with a different look this year, as we can finally bite back when they play their typical, classless game. We absorbed a lot of punishment tonight but it did not distract us from our game plan. Getting popped didn't change what our players were out there attempting to do on the ice where it has in the past.

I'm going to take it pretty easy on the defence tonight. They were in it up to their necks and certainly made some mistakes that could have been bad...but they bent without breaking and gave every last bit of sweat they had to this game. It is tough against any NHL team when you lose your #1 Dman early in the game, but against a pesky rival with a lot of speed it is usually fatal. It wasn't pretty, but they found a way.

I actually prefer beating the Canucks to the Flames, because as I've covered before many many times, I really really don't like their Edmonton-based fans. This one felt great, and especially because it was our young guys that came out and took it to the Canucks.
-------------

Khabibulin
- Before he allowed the first goal, he was utterly stupendous. He was once again active, engaged and clearly fired up for this one. He had a couple sequences including the key one in the second period where he was so locked on it was amazing. An unfortunate stick that directed Cody Hodgson's shot into the net threw him off his groove a bit though, and to be honest he fought the puck pretty hard for the rest of the game. He gave up a giant rebound then overplayed the puck to allow the second goal, and made similar plays down the stretch that thankfully didn't cost us. I'm very interested to see how he rebounds next start.

Hall-Hopkins-Eberle
- These guys showed tonight that they can play some amazing hockey against a strong opposition. Vancouver had no answer for these guys all night, as they drove possession and created an absolute ton of chances. Eberle's goal was one of the best wrist shots you'll ever see and he was clearly incredibly happy to get it. Hall made a fabulous read and pass to set it up as well. 14 and 4 were pretty locked in tonight, with 93 often deferring to a support role (and playing it beautifully, this is a complement about his hockey sense not a slight). The second goal looked like a replay of several plays we've already seen from that line this year. Either Eberle or Hall had a wide open net and Hall made no mistake. I'm still surprised they didn't score on the 4-on-1 after Bieksa made the world's stupidest pinch, but that actually revealed one of the only troubles these guys sometimes have...they get aligned horizontally across the ice sometimes and don't have any depth to their attack. They'll find this soon enough, which only means they're going to produce more. It cost them on both that rush and in the third on the play where Eberle had no angle and shot it into Schneider's glove. The pass that Hopkins made on that play was just amazing. I'd actually like to commend 93 on his defensive and neutral zone efforts tonight. He was in such good position and made great stops and poke plays to disrupt the Canucks. He played an every zone game for the whole game. Hall took hits and it only focused him more. He was flying around the ice and is really looking for his linemates right now. I heard Eberle was angry to the point of expletives after the game regarding his missed chances...you have to love a guy who is nearly PPG and is angry at himself for not being better. What we are watching here is truly something special. 3 complete players playing hockey on a level we haven't seen in at least 20-some years at a very young age...it is something else on nights like tonight when they're really tested.

Smyth-Horcoff-Jones
- I'm a little conflicted on what to say about these guys tonight. On one hand, their absolute results look pretty solid as they logged a ton of minutes and did well to keep the Canucks top guys from hurting us too badly despite the situation on D. On the other...Horcoff for one missed a whole ton of passes in the first, gave the puck away several times late, and lost a ton of faceoffs. He didn't look right tonight, but went to the right place and scored a very similar goal to the triple OT goal vs. San Jose several years ago. Smyth looked very tired and slow most of the night. He didn't seem to be able to forge past the Canucks D very much at all. Again though, he makes the key play behind the net to set up a huge goal. Jones worked hard to keep things moving in the right direction, but tipped a puck into his own net and missed his check on several occasions. SO these guys were kind of all over the place tonight. I think it showed why it is so important that they get Hemsky back and get him on this line...they need someone to do more of the puck work and add some dynamic play. In the meantime...I'd try a split of Eager and Petrell in Jones' spot...but then again I'm crazy.

Paajarvi-Belanger-Gagner
- Sam was pretty bad early on...there's no getting around that. He made a bunch of weird passes that didn't connect or were picked off, and was making some really strange skating/turning decisions. His game improved as things went on until he got hurt, but 89 needs to put some work in before he's ready. He honestly looks overmatched on this team at the moment. Magnus was playing a decent game in the first and then got absolutely pasted on his typical board rush. I haven't seen anyone catch him on this play yet this year...and it wasn't pretty. After that play, there was a pronounced back-off in 91's game, which is not good because he's already not the most in-your-face drive-through-people guy. He did play a solid defensive game and maintained strong position, but really didn't use his speed in the same kind of way he has for most of the year. The one guy on this line who was pretty impressive was Belanger. His defensive positioning was excellent, he skated many pucks to safety and really took charge in his late shifts when others were panicking like crazy. Big effort from 20.

Petrell-Lander-Eager
- These three played an excellent fourth line game. Eager, despite the two penalties was effective on the forecheck and moving the puck down the ice as well as getting in the Canucks' face just enough. They hate him and it throws them off. He also got in some hidden elbows and stick shots, which are usually the exclusive tool of the Canucks in abusing our squad. No longer. 57 and 37 both played strong games on their line, on the PK, and when they were elevated to play with Belanger. Petrell specifically made some absolutely tremendous blocks, landed several hits and was seemingly always in the right position. Maybe he won't need to be sent down...could be he's learning on the job. Lander really stepped up as well and once again, took a beating and kept going. We seem to have rounded up a bunch of really tough young forwards.

Gilbert
- For most of the night GIlbert was excellent. He had a few giveaways as all the defencemen did tonight, but he got it done. You could certainly see that he was somewhat out of his comfort zone after not being able to play full time with Smid.

Smid
- He made some great plays including a huge breakup play late in the game to prevent a goal after a puck hit the ref's stick and went to Hansen in front of the net. 5 seems to step up in these Vancouver games so it certainly is not surprising but it is definitely impressive.

Sutton
- It was a strange mixed bag of a game for Sutton. He was so tired by the end that he was getting knocked around in utterly embarassing fashion. He actually won some races that mattered and moved the puck okay at other times. He also defused a couple situations where the Canucks would have gotten some cheap shots in against us in the past. There were also a couple solid hits but also some nasty giveaways. I don't know what to say...he had to play too much and did okay with it. His attempt at defending Burrows in the third might have been the saddest thing I've ever seen an NHL defenceman do. It was like watching a horrible curve ball hitter take the worst swing of his life and smash his face into the ground.

Barker
- At times it was ugly...he sort of skates into pinches with caution and tends to be too late to do much of anything. Thankfully on the most dangerous 2 of these plays tonight, he had enough sense to take the body. He also made some solid outlet passes and was okaya on the powerplay.

Whitney
- Dammit....

Potter
- Honestly he made more mistakes in this game than in any other he's played for us...but still put forth a tremendous effort. Amazing to see that he was the TOI leader tonight but he was indeed everywhere, moving the puck, blocking shots, hitting people, it was pretty terrific. Specifcally, he made an excellent little play to get the puck to Hall, who then got it to Eberle for the first goal. I heard a variation on this on an old Beta tape from the 1988 playoffs...."THANK GAWD FOR COREY POTTER!"
------------

There were moments tonight where it really felt like we'd arrived and I'll tell you what...if they find a way to beat Washington and end their winning streak, it's officially on in this town. At that point, management must go out and get a defenceman and get this show on the road. You cannot waste what these kids are doing and the efforts we're getting from vets right now. It's falling into place people.

Smid great defensive stop late

Potter lovely play to Eberle goal

LMHF Report - Game #5

2011-10-22T23:39:00.003-06:00

EDMONTON 2

VS.

NEW YORK 0
----------------

So...as I'm driving after the game tonight, they announce that Tortorella's going to be on the radio...I laugh and say to LMHF #2 that he'll just say "We SUCKED!" and storm outta there...then he did. I laughed pretty hard.

While the Rangers weren't exactly world-beaters tonight, to give no credit to the Oilers after that effort was a little bush. His team didn't give away the game we're clearly not last year's squad, so to act that way is a bit much.

Which brings us to our discussion...what is this team we've got in front of us? Seems like we've got some strange sort of responsible team playing hockey that verges on cautious and just beat one of the better teams in the eastern conference in a game we pretty much controlled. It wasn't exactly supposed to be this way. Are we "riding the percentages" right now and getting breaks in the defensive zone? Or are we building a strong 6-man effort from the goalie out and stuck with a bunch of talented forwards that are overdue. To put this in perspective, Jordan Eberle is nearly PPG right now and can't buy a goal to save his life...he's had a ton of chances...seems to me we may very well be on the favorable side of this equation and set to reap some benefits of our building...but only time will tell and a sterner test awaits us this week.

As has become standard practice this year, we controlled the opening period. It was quite impressive as we were very calm and passed the puck very well. It was unfortunate that we didn't come out of that period with a lead and felt a little like we might have let too many chances slip away.

The Rangers came out stronger in the second but we didn't get overwhelmed. There were a few bad shifts but our squad kept pushing and one wicked wrister later we had a familiar lead. Oddly, going up by one stirs a bit of dread for many fans at the moment.

In the third we were more forceful than last game. We didn't score on the powerplay right out of the shoot (in fact it was horrid), but kept after it and that bargain bin #3 defenceman we've managed to grab ourselves rifled one past one of the better goalies in the league. It was incredibly odd as a fan of this team to feel so secure when "holy crap we're leading by TWO!". The boys proved that notion right tonight, and took us safely to a 2-0 win including drawing a penalty while the Rangers had an extra two guys on the ice. That's exceptional hockey right there.

Tonight was a very complete game you felt very content watching. I know many people hate low-scoring games, but when they're played that way I can enjoy them very much. I'm glad we got the two points mostly, but also glad we did it on national TV, against a strong and high-profile opponent, playing a complete game, and forcing another coach into a hissy fit.

I'll take about 90 more of those please!
-----------------

Khabibulin
- DId all that was asked and was helped by another strong defensive effort from his forwards and defenceman. Made a couple really nice saves including Gaborik on a breakaway which is certainly not anything to sneeze at. I'm not sure we've seen two games in a row that were in control like that from Khabibulin since he got here.

Sutton
- I know he made a nice block near the end of the game, but when I hear people praising his effort after a night like tonight it makes me want to vomit. He was terrible. He let Brandon Prust make him look like a scared child in their fight (after taking a dumb penalty), took another dumb penalty later because he got caught standing still in the offensive zone, lost multiple races where he started with a BIG advantage and could have very well cost us this game tonight by the scoring chances he generated. Gross.

Barker
- He was kind of all over the place tonight. In the first specifically and slightly less so the second, he was really solid. He made an excellent breakaway pass that wasn't cashed, played physically and took his time with the puck. In the third he was a disaster half the time, including an utterly horrible pinch late in the game that created an odd man rush and again could have cost us big. I had a lot of optimism for him early tonight and then to see the way he finished was very disappointing. He managed to successfully cut in front of his own net twice late...but man that was scary!

Potter
- So at this stage we've got to be asking, what can't he do? The guy played 5v5, PP, and PK and did well with all of them. He was in position, kept his check at bay and scored on a lovely slapper to put this one out of reach. He was really fired up after that goal too, and not in an "I was desperate" kind of way but instead an "I've worked my ass off for this and it feels amazing" kind of way. He's looked even more at home since he's gotten to play with his old teammate Ryan Whitney. What a difference he's made over the alternative.

Whitney
- Despite a pass from behind his own net that eluded Hopkins and nearly wound up in our net, as well as another rather ugly giveaway I can't recall the specifics of, Whitney had a pretty strong game. The D and the passing are mostly there, with the aggressiveness at about a 75% level compared to normal I'd say. He made two excellent slap-pass plays that both could have ended in goals and showed tonight that he's pretty well back. He steadies things back there so much.

Gilbert
- He's just playing excellent hockey right now and that continued tonight. In one sequence I recall, he hit his man to delay him near the blue line, looped back, got the puck and made a great pass to start a rush. I haven't seen that play from him in a long time. He's also confident enough right now that on several occasions tonight he took that all important extra second to find the shooting lane and got great shots toward the net, where in recent years he would've had them blocked. Confidence is a tricky thing for some people, and I think Tom finally has it back because he was a rock tonight and looks to be in for the long haul.

Smid
- Paired perfectly again with Gilbert tonight. Smid was tough on the puck, made solid passes and even made a great little power forward rush and took a really nice slapshot. Not much else to say because he was plain excellent.

Petrell-Lander-Eager
- They were effective and responsible with limited ice time. The one thing that was a little off from past games with them is that they spent a little more time chasing the puck and wasted a bit of effort on some chase skating. While I felt Eager had a fairly good game and could've gotten some offence out of this one, he was the biggest culprit in this regard. Petrell doesn't really seem to make mistakes, but did get caught a little too slow for the play on a couple of occasions. With his role on the PK seemingly reduced, I'd be in favor of taking him out of the lineup at this point to try to give this line a little more pop and give him some motivation. Lander continues to impress with all the little things he does right and by (for whatever reason) making the other team's players quite angry with him. What is it with these swedes and drawing penalties?

Hall-Hopkins-Eberle
- The thing about these guys is they don't need to set the world on fire to be effective. They're moving the puck in the right direction all the time. Hall especially is a puck transporter and when he gets that extra bit of motivaion (as he did on multiple occasions tonight), he's something to see. It might seem an odd reference, but there was a point when NYR had their goalie out that Hall just kind of decided to blow by the guy who had several steps on him and proceeded to do it...very impressive. He also set up Hopkins again and I'm glad to see he's got his passing going this year. I still fail to understand why he'd go backhand-fivehole on that breakaway he got out of the penalty box when he had blocker shelf the whole way...but that's somewhat nitpicky. Eberle didn't score again, but again played a tremendously solid positional game and made a ton of excellent passes. He's just the kind of guy who never seems to have a bad game and that's why I like watching him play so much. I didn't know that Hopkins could shoot the puck like that...I don't think we've had an Oiler beat a good goalie that cleanly with a plain shot in a long time. He just made it happen...*SNAP*. Hopkins also made a really nice defensive stop in the first and generally had a solid game. These guys work together against solid opposition which is amazing to see at this point. The way they came out with so much confidence and nearly scored again right after #93's goal only serves notice that once these guys get in gear, it is very tough to stop them.

Smyth-Horcoff-Jones
- A quiet but very effective night from this trio. I'm starting to worry if we're overplaying Smyth some...he looked really tired near the end of the game. With that said he still managed to skate into traffic and draw a penalty with the NYR net empty. #94 didn't get a lot of great offensive chances tonight, but he doesn't really need to get them to be effective. This was probably one of Horcoff's best games in quite a while. In addition to an utterly perfect screen on the Potter goal, he was big on the PK and really efficient with his skating. He's not overskating checks like he used to on so many nights and the best way I can describe his game right now is healthy and comfortable. Healthy for obvious reasons but comfortable because he's not being asked to play a role that overwhelms him.

Paajarvi-Belanger-Gagner
- I must admit that Belanger is growing on me. He makes so many little plays that make a difference and you can tell he too is going to start scoring some before too long. I can see that it will often be tough to point to a specific instance in his games, but tonight the theme was that he was just always where you needed him to be. We haven't had a guy like that in a while. Magnus got a couple offensive chances and made his obligatory rush around a defenceman, but didn't have a lot of pop to his game tonight. In some ways that's okay because he's an effective regular already anyway (and this line's puck transporter. So far this year every line has one and that's making our D's job so much easier), but I wonder if he's not pushing himself hard enough as there's a lot of hockey player in there. I also still have an issue with the length of his hockey stick, as it really seems to be making him slower with the puck that he would otherwise be. Gagner was just okay in his first game back. He didn't make too much happen offensively and you could tell he has some settling in to do if he's going to be an RW. I wouldn't have minded at all if he'd played as 4th line C tonight, because some of his best games are playing with the bangers and crashers, but I see why he played where he did. Hopefully he finds his legs again quickly.
------------

So, by my count we've already had two teams captains/coaches throw hissy fits over how bad they played against us after we stymied them...I like that a ton more than the "they're talented and getting better!" prattle that we get after someone beats us. Big tests coming this week...I hope we're ready. Scarily enough...we might just be. There's a glimmer there.

LMHF Report - Game #4

2011-10-20T11:45:00.002-06:00

EDMONTON 1

VS.

MINNESOTA 2

In a freaking shootout...
-------------------------

Sorry in advance for the shortness tonight guys...I'm exhausted today for some reason and this will be a little less in-depth than usual.

Well, that was pretty tough to take. It's bad enough to lose that way when you don't play very well...but tonight we put forth a pretty solid effort and came up short. We deserved a win and didn't get it. It wasn't luck, but inches and some coaching decisions that cost us tonight. We were very very close to having a very good game.

I have to call out Tom Renney's decisions in the third period tonight. Not playing the kids and not trying to make this 2-0 was a bad move that ultimately played a part in costing us the game. They weren't lighting the world on fire, but they also weren't playing badly and had generated some excellent chances.

We obviously hit some posts tonight which stinks...we made some really strong plays and did not finish. On one hand that's upsetting as we need to focus and make the most of these...on the other...we are certainly generating more than I thought we would at this point.

Our team is playing solidly defensively as a five man unit right now. We kept Minnesota to the outside of our zone for most of the game, even on extended possessions and that is impressive. We'll need to keep that up while finding a way to improve our transition game.

Offensively...well...we're seriously overdue...but so were the Generals right?

Smyth
- He played a solid game other than that stupid goaltender interference penalty that negated a dangerous looking rush. Lots of solid plays, passes and checking. Continued to have an edge which is certainly something we need to see from him.

Horcoff
- Also played a solid game until late in the third when he made some fairly perplexing puck decisions. Horcoff seems to be healthy and that's making a big difference right now.

Jones
- Much better game from him tonight. He wasn't getting caught gawking or standing still and moved into much better offensive positions. I'm still looking forward to him going down the lineup some, but he held his own tonight.

Hall
- Not one of his better efforts as he had limited rushes and wasn't all that great at puck retrieval in the corners. He still set up Eberle and had a couple dangerous shots, but the fact that he's ill showed somewhat (and not just in his goofily unshaven look).

Eberle
- The poor man can't buy one right now. He was given a gift by Hall and couldn't cash, made a great little play late in the second and caught jersey, is just missing shots and no one could finish his passes tonight. I'm worried he's getting a little down on himself...he even changed up his shootout move and missed because he didn't go high like usual. Jordan's still playing some excellent hockey, but he needs to see some positives right away or we might be in for a prolonged slump.

Hopkins
- Not his best game, but he got a couple chances and broke up some plays in the defensive zone. Good to see he can contribute even when he's not on fire offensively.

Paajarvi
- Really liked his game tonight because he used his speed so well. Beat every defender he had to on the rush and kept the puck in the offensive zone with beauty reads and pure speed on at least 5 broken plays. A really veteran-looking effort from Magnus tonight.

Belanger
- Speaking of can't buy one...hits goalie pad...post...the SO disaster...it was a painful night for him, but he played some very good hockey, showing a lot of speed and adapting to the position of the swedes better than in the other games.

Omark
- Very solid game from Linus as part of a very solid line. Omark made some really veteran decisions late in terms of either dumping the puck or putting it on net when that was appropriate. Also set up a couple glorious chances for Belanger and Paajarvi that just weren't cashed. This line deserved much better tonight.

Eager
- I continue to be impressed by Eager. In addition to his keeping the Minnesota agitators occupied, he broke up a strong minnesota rush with a nice backcheck in the first, and got himself into good offensive position many times. I hope he's growing as a player and we don't see a regression, because he's very useful right now.

Lander
- Gave it his all in what might be his last NHL game for a while. Some really good offensive and defensive efforts, and also took a beating and kept at it. He'll be back soon and for a long time.

Petrell
- Simple and effective defensive game, as usual.

Whitney
- Showing really well in his return so far. Tonight he played a focused and sound defensive game with some well timed and judged jumps into the rush. Some of the dynamic offensive skills aren't back just yet but the fundamentals are there.

Potter
- Just keeps on impressing. Despite some small signs of nervousness early tonight, he settled right back in and played quite well.

Gilbert
- Aggressive physically and offensively tonight...another guy who probably should have scored. He gave the puck away a couple of times but other than that was excellent.

Smid
- Skated the puck out of some really difficult spots flawlessly and played a solid, physical game.

Sutton
- Quite good tonight actually, as he made some good puck choices other than 1 pass to absolutely no one, played physically and kept things sane around the goalie.

Barker
- He's playing like a very talented guy with absolutely zero confidence. He's getting by, playing simple with checking and some decent passing, but that's nowhere near all that he is. Good enough tonight.

Khabibulin
- The best I've seen him for almost the whole game tonight. He was aggressive, loose and active the whole game. I didn't think Minnesota had a chance with him playing like that, which is what made it all the more shocking to see him leave his five hole exposed with 2 seconds to go by cheating to the other side of the net with one leg and not covering with his stick...we found a way some how. Other than that 2 seconds, he was sublime.
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Another thing that didn't help us at all tonight was the pathetic reffing. We should have drawn at least 4-6 extra powerplays with the hard work we were doing and got nothing. It was pathetic right down to that moronic linesman screwing up so many icing calls.

Frustrating night guys...this team should have at least 4 wins by now.

2011-10-17T23:09:00.004-06:00

EDMONTON 3

VS.

NASHVILLE 1
----------------

*I almost forgot to add this* In what was nearly another freakish injury that only the Oilers could suffer...as the oil derrick was being raised to the rafters, something went wrong and it went swinging into the bench. Only quick thinking and players either getting out of the way or stopping it with their hands stopped someone from likely getting hurt. No idea what happened but boy were those ever a few tense moments as it wobbled up to the roof.

Alright, I'm hoping that through this report and the subsequent discussion in this thread that we can figure out exactly what went on tonight. I'm torn between two possibilities: that the Oilers were simply taking their time and waiting to be dominant in the third period, or were rather average for two period then simply played a little bit better and Nashville was bad most of the game. Which was it?

The thing is, and we've been on the wrong end of this way too often, sometimes good teams just lay in wait. They play iffy, within one or two goal hockey for 2 periods, or maybe even 50 minutes, then they crank it up and beat you before you knew what happened. We had a string of about 9 consecutive shifts where our top 3 lines battered Nashville in wave after wave like they'd just arbitrarily decided to crank up the volume. It was something else to watch because those lines aren't even the best we can throw out there and they sure looked good for a while. We'd also managed to keep ourselves in the game to that point and allow Nashville about 1 grade A scoring chance the whole game. That's not something I'm used to. The evidence seems to be pointing to the fact that we might actually be starting to become a good hockey team...scary I know.

As I watched, I kept thinking that maybe Nashville is just horrible. They were indeed missing Erat and Fisher, but the other skilled players they have, as well as their pests like Tootoo (who I didn't even realize was playing until seeing him getting ready for a faceoff in the third period) were completely invisible. We certainly negated them to a great extent tonight with an excellent puck-control game from many of our forwards, but did we really outplay them or did they just have absolutely nothing? I kept expecting our lack of offence in the first and second to bite us in the butt, but then there's the 2-1 and we're not letting up...what happened?!?!

The D were pretty good in one of the bigger turnaround games I've seen in some time. Looks like having Petry in on Saturday might have been enough to get us the win. They were not superstars, but they made the plays they needed to and really only got beat badly once (and even that was on a good choice pinch by Gilbert that caught a bad break).

Our forwards in the third period were simply something else. I could watch most of that any night of the week. The scary thing is, there are still a bunch of guys stuck on zero. We have at least 4 guys who are due for a breakout. That means that if we can hold the line on D (and with Whitney coming back the chances of that improve greatly), we should be able to string along some wins.

It is true that we're still not scoring a lot of goals and that maybe finishing is a bit of an issue for this team at present, but you saw the pieces of the tumbler start to click into place tonight. Things started happening with lanes and passes and angles and it looks like the door is about to swing WIDE open. This could get very fun in a big hurry. Here's hoping that third period was just the start.
-------------

Hall-Hopkins-Eberle
- For two periods these guys were the main positive piece. They weren't setting the world on fire, but they were moving the puck well and getting decent chances. Eberle specifically should have scored before the 40 minute mark. I really hope he's not getting frustrated and is able to take solace in the fact that aside from plays he's forcing to try and make offence, he's still playing excellent hockey. He's moving the puck, skating well and getting in position for goals. Once he gets just one (which is why they tried to feed him with the EN and Hall gave him a bit of a pick me up chat on the way to the bench), he's going to get a bunch because he's still ahead of just about every play. What Hall did much better tonight was add more side-to-side skating to his game, choose better shots, give Hopkins more of the puck carrying duties, and used his speed in the offensive zone to make puck retrievals rather than wasting it on skating down the wing and taking harmless shots. It was great to see him get the powerplay goal on a sublime feed from Hopkins after a great shot-sell with Horcoff in position to screen, but it was actually more important that he was keeping plays alive in the offensive zone and making passes to his two gifted linemates, This is one of the things Hall can to at an absolutely elite level and yet sometimes he gets away from it. I hope he sticks to it. When it comes to Hopkins, I've come around fast. Even though he wasn't spectacular in the same way as the other night, he looked so much like he was in the right place. NSH really adjusted to cover him and it just didn't matter at all. He made the plays anyway. He nearly forced his way into goals at least twice and made some excellent little defensive plays. I knew it would take some time to see what this guy has, but didn't think it would go this fast and this obviously. Make no mistake, Hall and Eberle will be excellent, but I think Hopkins is the first guy I'm looking at and saying "he'll be a 100 point man. Period". He just pulls the play into him and makes things happen. Awesome that we have a #1 C.

Paajarvi-Belanger-Omark
- Belanger seemed to pick up a lot more of what the Swedes want to do on the ice tonight. It's great to see he can adapt quickly and go to the right positions and lanes. He's certainly not operating at that skill level and never will, but he did what he could and provided adequate support. Magnus was able for the first time this season to really crank up his skating and drive the net a couple times which was great to see. I think he's overdue for some goals at this point and will do some good things very quickly. Omark had his best game of the season. Aside from two very short one and a half shift stretches where he was a little iffy and got pushed around a bit, he was just excellent. There is no one besides him on this hockey team who can do what he did to Weber in the corner in the first period. Watching a man that small take Weber to school and make plays like that was just absurd. Then later on he makes a through the legs saucer pass to almost set up a goal, gets an excellent one-timer off, and makes a few other really excellent plays and at least two very solid safe dump plays in the third period. The man gets the little things right.

Eager-Lander-Petrell
- Ben Eager's first game as an Oiler was a positive for sure. He skated well, tried to be physical even if the chance didn't really arise, should have drawn a penalty and held up on two occasions where he could have taken a penalty (one a hit he had lined up but the player was in a vulnerable position, the other a play where he'd been wronged and though about kneeing the guy in return). I liked what I saw from him to the point where I would have given him a shift or two with Smyth and Horcoff to see if that would work. His speed and style is more suited to them than Jones. Lander held his own for sure. I think it is a foregone conclusion that he's soon headed to OKC, but he is certainly not making glaring mistakes or looking out of place; he's just not quite up to speed yet and thus can't seem to create much. Petrell is doing his job and made some good defensive stops and a couple hits tonight, but he's not finding the extra gear he needs to find if he wants to stay. You have to be a very very good specialist to have the job he's auditioning for in the NHL, and he's just a good one.

Smyth-Horcoff-Jones
- Let's start with Jones and I really hate to be the guy bagging on him because I'm not a stats guy and that's who was all over him last year, but I have to be honest and say he's making way too many mistakes out there. The most glaringly obvious ones are the numerous times tonight where he got caught standing still as the puck passed him and he wound up WAY out of position, usually at our defensive blue line. He also make a huge mistake late, sending a free puck up the boards from behind his own net and allowing NSH to set up the attack. He made this same kind of play, always while he had time to make a better one, on a few occasions tonight. He also wasn't in good enough offensive position to take advantage of the game Smyth and Horcoff were playing. Sure he called for the puck a bunch (you could really hear him yelling out there) and it is good that he wants to be involved like that, but he was a stride off the rush and couldn't capitalize on too much of anything. He's too impatient with the puck and also isn't hitting people. I really don't want to be this negative, but I'm not seeing a lot of good from him. I'd also like to address the EN goal, which nearly gave all of us heart attacks...why Smyth passed I have no idea. He had a clear net and no excuse not to finish the thing and have it over with. Instead, he makes a risky pass to Jones...who makes an even riskier pass to the only forward who's nearly being checked (Horcoff), who thankfully doesn't smack it into the defender's shin pads and finds Jones to end it. That was a weird sequence that I hope will never be repeated. In the end it looked pretty, but it had all the makings of the famous Smyth icing vs. LA disaster and the last thing I need is that flash back. Horcoff's pass to Smyth to set up the second goal may have been the pass of his life. For once he tried something different, and connected on a saucer perfectly. To a man, absolutely everyone was wondering why he was slowing down because he never makes that pass...but he did. That's my favorite video game move BTW...to hit the streaking winger like that. Smyth scored as only he can and the party was on. There can be no doubt, these guys are the minute-eaters and when re-joined by Hemsky we are very likely to have 2 excellent forward lines, a solid supporting line and a very very very good 4th unit. If Smyth and Horcoff can keep things up as they did tonight and be that reliable and simple (despite some usual Horcoff awkwardness), we'll be alright up front. I also want to tip my hat again to #10 for the screen play he made before Hopkins' pass to Hall for the first goal...that was very very smart. Very good game for 94 and 10. As an aside - the crowd thought Smyth was the obvious 1st star choice and had begun chanting for him.

Khabibulin
- He did what was asked of him tonight. The goal wasn't great but it was also mainly caused by a defensive breakdown and there wasn't much he can do. Not enough shots to say he was great, but it does take a decent amount of focus to play well in such a quiet game.

I'll be honest BTW, I had a night where I was preoccupied with the forward units and might have missed some D stuff. Feel free to fill in.

Gilbert-Smid
- Our best pair again despite the GA. Gilbert is really pushing the offence and hitting right now...almost to a fault as one of his pinches went into our net (mostly bad break though and could very well have been a goal for us) and he hit his way out of position at least twice. I would much rather he not worry about the hitting and stick to strong positioning while being aggressive on the offence. He makes a positive difference when he's not required to be the defensive stalwart, which is what Smid was doing for him tonight.

Petry-Barker
- Petry showed why he needs to be in the lineup, as he had a strong night on the puck and made a couple strong, key defensive plays late in the game. He's very smart and skilled at using his body to break up the play in key instances and rarely makes a subsequent bad decision with the puck. Very valuable guy. Barker probably had his best game in that he made some good passes, hit some people, was generally mean and only got caught out of position a couple times. Good stuff.

Sutton-Potter
- I'm not sure you can find a way to send Potter down at this point. Even though he wasn't as good as in game 1, he moved the puck well, went to the right spots and absolutely wasn't a liability. That's good stuff from a bottom pairing dman. Sutton...I still have problems with him even on his stronger nights. He made at least 2 ill advised pinches and got beat to some pucks in races he should have won very very easily. I hope it is he they take out when Whitney returns...but I'm doubting it.
--------------

Lot of fun at the rink tonight and great to come away with a win despite some uncertainty early. Hoping the scoring floodgates open for Eberle, Paajarvi and Omark tomorrow in Calgary!

LMHF Report - Game #2

2011-10-15T23:55:00.008-06:00

EDMONTON 3

VS.

VANCOUVER 4
-----------------

I think we learned a lot about our team tonight, which is probably a good thing so early in the year. If we were intent upon competing, we'd know a lot and be able to adjust already. I'm not too sure that we're even at the stage of coaching to compete yet (though it certainly isn't so blatantly coaching to lose as last season) and we're definitely not managing to win, but we could make adjustments at this stage.

What has become abundantly clear is our D is terrible. Utterly terrible. I know we were already fairly convinced of this but a game like tonight shows it big-time. In addition to struggling in the defensive zone on several occasions tonight, there were so few solid breakout and rush passes made by the D, that the forwards had to do all the legwork and were worn out by the third period. Most of the efforts from our forward crew tonight were excellent and yet it was for nothing because of the effort of the guys defending our goal.

I really hate losing to those jerks and we didn't deserve that tonight. In addition to our shots there were a large number of chances generated that we just couldn't pull the trigger on. I suspect that several of our forwards will be more angry than disappointed tonight and that's part of our evolution as a team.

Looking at the goals Vancouver was able to score isn't particularly pretty. Dubnyk struggled with bad rebounds all night, creating many extra chances for the opposition including Salo's first. It's no excuse for the cover team not having their man, but he can't be letting the puck bounce out into prime territory and that happened on several occasions. The first goal also had another theme we'd see later: Sutton and Peckham standing around doing a whole lot of nothing.

On the second goal things weren't pretty either, but again Dubnyk had a chance to end the play and whiffed on an attempt to glove the puck, leading to an easy goal. Normally despite what's going on around him, he traps those pucks.

The third goal was created through multiple mistakes by Andy Sutton again. Where on the first goal he blew a faceoff win, then spun around, then missed a puck, on the third goal he nearly took a penalty, took his eyes off the play and a hand off his stick, then totally blew his coverage. The man in more useless than a pylon...Horcoff was also beaten badly on this play, but it shouldn't have mattered too much.

The fourth goal began with a completely boneheaded turnover by Theo Peckham. Even if he'd made the pass he was attempting, it would likely have been directly onto a Canuck stick and the best we could have hoped for would've been a big save. Cam Barker was in on this one too, losing his stick, standing around not knowing what to do, not getting it when he had the chance, then diving in front of a puck and hindering Dubnyk's efforts to stop the winner. Straight out of a horror film.

So the unfortunate reality we face is that three of our defencemen need to be sat...great...

-------

Dubnyk
- As noted, this was not a strong night for him and that's pretty tragic with #93's hat trick and being on HNIC and everything. He's played so well so far this year and I really don't know where all the rebound issues came from tonight, but the Canucks really could have had some more goals on those rebounds combined with a half-horrid D. I'm hoping he bounces back soon and doesn't let this game get in his kitchen. On the plus side, he was pretty strong on the puck tonight, and has become more confident and aggressive in this area lately.

Gilbert
- I was amazed he's only listed at just over 26 minutes tonight because Gilbert was everywhere. Without him they get absolutely thrashed tonight. GIlbert passed well (though even he struggled at times with hitting players in stride out of the defensive zone), hit a bunch of people, positioned himself well in the defensive zone and pushed the offensive side of things harder than I've seen him do in a LONG time. This kind of game is what he's capable of and he was excellent. Really sad that we can't have him hitting #3 in a strong defensive order. His pass-shot on Hopkins second goal was a really nice shooting choice and something that Tom hasn't done near enough of lately.

Smid
- Very ably supported #77's very strong night by being a very steady and defensively strong partner. I didn't see as much with the puck out of Smid as I would've liked, but nothing really to complain about. Smid always bring a little extra physicality to the games versus VAN and tonight was not exception, as he was always right in the face of their forwards in front of the net. He's been really solid so far.

Potter
- A very pleasant surprise tonight. As advertised, Potter was really solid in terms of passing, getting shots away and moving with the puck (including probably the weirdest looking shot fake I've ever seen) in the offensive zone. He really brought a dynamic that we were lacking in previous games. He was also very solid in his defensive zone for much of the night as well, which was more than I expected of him. He blocked several shots and passes, as well as staying in very solid defensive position throughout almost all of the night. If things operated solely on merit, he'd have passed several Oilers defenders tonight and be a lock for the lineup and significant minutes on Monday.

Peckham
- Theo is away from the strengths of his game right now in that he's not lining up big hits and sticking to simple defence and good skating. Instead he's trying to be perfect, unaggressive and make better plays with the puck than he's currently capable of. Though he wasn't playing with a strong partner tonight, there's still no excuse for missing assignments, turning the puck over, and not taking any shots at the Canuck forwards. I've let Theo slide for a time now because I thought he'd find his way again rather easily, but the thing is that I'm not really seeing any positive signs in his game these days. He's looking like a #7 and that's it...which would be very disappointing.

Sutton
- At least Theo isn't playing as bad as Mr. Pylon. The biggest impression you're left with from Sutton when watching him play, and especially after a night like tonight, is that he just isn't very smart. He gets into situations where he needs to react quickly and instead loses focus, panics or seems to be not paying attention at all. He did his best ballerina impression around the puck several times tonight including at least two plays that cost us. We probably have no choice but to play him right now, but he is hurting the team with both his defensive play and his complete and utter inability to move the puck effectively. At least he had a half-decent fight I guess...though I will always remember him as the pansy who wouldn't fight Laraque and went after Eric Brewer instead.

Barker
- He's also not showing any positive signs. He pinched several times tonight, but did so with no urgency or focus and thus came up with no result. He also almost caused a goal by getting caught on a pinch...then got caught again the very next rush. He's not getting his shot through, isn't hitting people and isn't making strong passes save for a couple each game. Is it possible for talent to just rot away in such a young player, never to be seen again? It might just be all gone right now. Marc-Andre Bergeron sure would look good in his role right now...

Hordichuk
- Well, he's got his first truly embarrassing Oiler moment under his belt after taking a goofy-looking run at a Canucks defenceman and getting sidestepped and injured. I liked what Hordichuk did in the preseason, but he can't be acting silly. He's effective when he makes in-position hits to get the puck or send a message, not when he tries to turn the whole tide by charging at some guy.

Lander
- He was okay and showed strong fundamentals like he always does, but I will be very happy when Sam's ready because #57 just isn't quite ready. He's still a little bit behind every play, can't break away from checkers and while he slows the game down very well, he doesn't make a ton of effective puck olays at the NHL level just yet. It will come.

Petrell
- While he struggled a bit early with positioning and a bit too much excitement, he settled down and made his time count. Canucks players knew they were going to get hit when he was chasing the puck, and he was generally strong defensively. It is a little bit weird watching such a specialized player, but the fact that he's big and can skate makes up for a lot. What you see on the ice in games like this is a talent player that could be molded into a specialist who's effective at the NHL for a few years. Whether we are up to that task is an open question.

Omark
- Linus had a really nice game tonight despite fairly limited ice-time and was unfortunately not rewarded. Whether it was his lovely flip pass to spring Paajarvi, his drag-and-shoot move that nearly fooled Luongo in the second, the jump out-skate-to-stick-and-pass-out-front play he made from behind the Canucks net, or the myriad of other offensive plays he made, it was very impressive. He also won corner battles as is par for the course when he's playing, but also did so in his defensive zone on a couple of occasions. This is a very positive sign because I'm quite convinced that #23 could become a truly excellent winger in the defensive zone by combining his great corner work with improved defensive awareness and positioning. Great first steps to bigger things if that's what was happening tonight. Other than a couple wonky passes, very nice game.

Paajarvi
- Renney shows that he is comfortable with Magnus by playing him a ton of minutes already. I understand this because he's such a solid hockey player, but I wonder if it is hurting his offensive game a little but. I didn't see any creativity from him tonight in the offensive zone, and he started to look very tired in the third period. I also think #91 has the tendency to get locked into an overly simple game and stray away from attempting to generate and capitalize on offence. This often meant that Belanger was in more opportune offensive position than Paajarvi, and unfortunately he's not exactly a finisher. So, I don't really think there's an issue with how Magnus played, but how he is being played. He needs to be reminded to attack, especially if they're going to keep him pasted to Omark, because the chances will come.

Belanger
- It's becoming clearer that he is indeed the type of player that winning teams have on their roster. He's very positionally sound and while not offensively gifted, he makes smart decisions and that was all on display tonight. I have a feeling most of my reports about him will be short because he doesn't even make spectacular defensive plays...but on nights like tonight that's because he didn't have to make them. That's good. I will be relieved though when he is our fourth line C with significant PK time instead of trying to be pivot for an offensive line.

Jones
- In way over his head tonight. He gave the puck away too much, was too slow to be effective on the rush and often got caught not knowing where to go, standing still, or even facing the wrong way waiting for a pass that would never come during one weird sequence in the third period. I don't mean to bag on the guy too hard, but he needs to get back to the basics of his game and start hitting some people and being aggressive on the forecheck. When he is elevated in the lineup he tends to get away from this and his play suffers, which is what happened tonight.

Smyth
- While I appreciate both Smyth's defensive efforts and the fact that he did indeed move the puck ahead on the ice tonight, there are some areas in which he needs to improve. These penalties need to be less frequent and he especially needs to control his stick. Including tonight that's already a couple times he's taken that penalty and there could have been more tonight. He's not skating enough and is using his stick too much. With that said, really good effort to control the Van players he was up against tonight. That was his job and he did it. I bet if they've got Hemsky on the wing, they get a goal or two.

Horcoff
- Some very good moments and some not so great moments for Horcoff tonight. As noted, he totally blew his coverage on one of the goals, and he really wasn't generating any offence 5-on-5 tonight. He did make a nifty (even if awkward) play that led to a goal on the powerplay point, and seemed to survive in that role going back and forth with Eberle. Like Smyth, Horcoff took on a big defensive assignment tonight and was most quite good with specific kudos to his work in the faceoff circle.

Eberle
- While most of the attention tonight will go to Hopkins, Jordan Eberle somewhat quietly had one of his best games as an Oiler. He stirred the drink out there tonight. He was the guy that identified very early on that #93 looked on and made it his mission to get him the puck for the rest of the night, doing so beautifully. He set up the first goal directly and the second through a sublime little play along the boards that got the puck to Gilbert. It was unfortunate that he couldn't pull the trigger on some of the goal scoring chances he got for himself including the one right near the end of the game that slid just past his stick. Eberle was positionally perfect, moving his feet like crazy and physical all night as well. Just a sublime effort.

Hall
- He was certainly better than he's been on other nights and especially in the passing department as he finally connected on some tonight. There was a little less rushing down the wing and a little more loop and look to his game. I still don't know why he keeps shooting five hole though...these are NHL goalie Taylor and you're a top shelf shooter anyway. Great driving to the net though and much better positioning from Taylor tonight. Anyone got a read on why he's falling so much though? It's awkward to watch such a talented player do that. He'd be served well if they set him up in a shooting position a little more in the offensive zone than is going on right now. One thing I really liked from him tonight was that he took an absolute beating from the Canucks and just kept coming back for more; he does not quit. Ever.

Hopkins
- Well wow, I must admit I didn't see this coming so much. Hopkins isn't like a lot of other dominant players you'll see in that he doesn't really come at you like a freight train. In some ways he was like Mike Comrie when he was really really on his game tonight...he just went to the exact, perfect area, set up shop and the puck came to him. It usually happened quite quickly and didn't look like it, but I bet it felt that way. He had so much time and space even after his goals, it was amazing to watch. The puck came towards him like a magnet and his moves were always quick and deft. Aside from the goals he made some excellent passes and read specifically well off of what Eberle was doing tonight. There were even some defensive plays in there and a couple missed chances including a break he passed up in the second when he only had 2 (still don't understand the decision to go to Hall there, I would smacked him on the side of the helmet and said FINISH KID! if I were his coach or linemate in that instance. Don't dish when you're on fire like that...shoot it. It'd be great if we had a guy who is already in Luongo's head. While you can't expect this from him every night, the thing I really noticed is that Hopkins is very very difficult to contain. Even after that Canucks had identified him as having a great game and assigned extra priority checking, he still got free and made plays. That's dangerous. His is a subtle game that I'll miss on some nights, but boy is he ever good and especially with Eberle. If you could get Hemsky onto that line as well and let Hall run with another line that's more north-south, I think we'd be in the money big-time. What a joy to watch #93 make it look so easy tonight.
------------

If I had to pick another issue besides the personnel on D I'd have to go with the coaching. Renney made some odd decisions late in periods and in defensive situations, as well as not getting some of his offensive guys out as much as he should. Jones playing with 94 and 10 was a total miscue...that winger has to provide supplementary offence and be somewhat dynamic whereas Jones is a puck-pusher when he's at his best. We need to be in this to win. I absolutely hate losing to the Canucks, all the more when we deserve better. So close folks...

LMHF Report - Game 1!

2011-10-09T18:43:00.010-06:00

EDMONTON 2

VS.

PITTSBURGH (The Pengs according to the scoreboard...ECH!) 1

In a freaking shootout....
----------------------------

For those of us who have forgotten somewhat, the point is to win the game. You PLAY to WIN the GAME. We did tonight and it really would've felt bad otherwise. Not only because the game wasn't particularly spectacular, but because we seem to be really really solid in season openers and for a while I thought this one might not turn out that way. I must confess that despite our abundant offensive talent, the lack of scoring is starting to worry me some. It looked as if they were having a difficult time in the preseason, but I was thinking that wouldn't carry over. The Pens D wasn't THAT good was it? We had a really hard time getting anything into prime scoring territory most of the game other than powerplays.

Speaking of the Pens for a moment...Kris Letang is one heck of a player. Anything the Pens did tonight he seemed to be in on. Sure don't remember him being that amazing last time we played them.

For those who are interested in these things; they went light on the pre-game show this year, sticking with player intros and the like rather than freaky acrobats or strange music. I thought that was a solid choice. Not having Paul there to sing the national anthem just isn't the same; I don't mind Samantha King but I don't see her voice as even somewhat iconic, whereas Paul singing O Canada IS my national anthem.

In the first period we had a pleasant surprise...ORGAN MUSIC! I actually requested it on my survey. Combine that with the NO ACROBATS in bold letters and maybe they actually read mine and took a shot? hahaha

The game didn't start out with a lot of pop, which was kind of disappointing. If Ryan Smyth had managed to put his patented World's Ugliest Slapshot top shelf on the first real rush, it would've been something special. The reaction to his return was deafening and the fans made him tear up a bit. Allowing the first goal of the year on what looked like a pretty harmless play was unfortunate for Dubnyk, who was on his way to a simply excellent evening of goaltending. It was great to see him start on merit and play solidly without any signs of nerves. The crowd was dead at this point though. It was a game without a lot of flow and Renney didn't seem to be able to get his effective units on the ice in any kind of a sequence that would allow them to make a difference. I'm guessing he was frustrated. The combo that showed immediately that it will work is the 4-93-83 unit on the powerplay; they were very good from their very first shift and will terrorize opposing PK units if allowed to remain together. When Whitney returns to QB that, they're in the money. Speaking of the D...frightening...but to the home fans. We had some scary times behind our own goal line tonight.

In the second it became apparent that this season may include a lot more stickwork. I don't know if it was just the Pens but there was a ton of hacking and slashing tonight almost to the point of it looking like a university game. This occurs because fighting isn't allowed down there, but I'm wondering if toning down the amount of allowable hitting will result in more stickwork. It sure looked that way tonight. For anyone interested...they still have that stupid ESSO race promo...though less people cheered thank gawd.

The third period was a little bit better than the first two. We seemed to be getting more cracks 5-on-5 even if they weren't great ones, we tied the game and we killed off Smyth's "5 minute major" (which was an utter load of crap, I've just seen the replay now. No one in the building had any idea what happened) thanks to some excellent efforts.

SO was fairly predictable. They seemed to identify Johnson's glove and attack. Omark woulda made it three-for-three but the puck stuck to his blade a touch too long.
------------------

Dubnyk
- He was excellent tonight. Calm, composed, positioned himself well and just let the play come to him. While the Pens weren't exactly buzzing, they did get some good chances and he shut them down. He'd better start the next one.

Sutton
- Made at least three horrible plays tonight. One was an own zone giveaway in the second that nearly result in a goal, another was a terrible dump up the boards in his own zone to absolutely no one while he had time (this was in the third), another was an ill-advised pinch and I'm guessing there were more. The problem I see in Sutton's game that was evident tonight is that while he positions himself well initially, he is unable to use that position to his advantage through skating, power, or puck access. He just can't capitalize for whatever reason and I don't quite understand. Most guys can't set up and then try to chase the play to make up for it, but he seems to have a problem with the play. Also chases too much, but ALL the Oilers D were guilty of that tonight.

Gilbert
- While Tom didn't make glaring defensive mistakes in terms of missed coverages tonight, he did also give the puck away a couple times in less than pressured circumstances and managed to get away with it thanks to teammates and goalie. This was not the more confident Tom we saw late in the pre-season which was unfortunate. He didn't have a lot of offensive confidence and thus didn't make the difference we need him to on the opposition blue line. What Gilbert almost always manages to do though is be solid enough...losses are very rarely on him.

Smid
- The most notable thing from Smid tonight was the game-saving extra effort shift he gave right near the end of the long PK. He gave everything he had, succeeded and the crowd gave him a huge ovation for it. Also, despite taking a couple shots and a puck to a rather sensitive area, he forged on and finished what was a pretty solid and complete game. This could really be the year he shines.

Barker
- I was worried Barker wouldn't get away with the mistakes he was making in the preseason when the games mattered and I think I was proven right in my worry tonight. Barker just isn't disciplined enough with the puck or his positioning and that causes trouble many times over for him. It's very weird to watch because you know you're looking at a talented player, then he does something kind of incomprehensible with the puck or an attacker and you're just baffled. He also didn't push the play on the powerplay, which will need to be his main asset to this team. Hopefully he finds whatever he's looking for, but there were some times tonight when his play was downright scary.

Peckham
- Fairly quiet game from Theo. The Pens were really hitting and sticking and I thought guys like Theo would respond with a big hit or six, but none were to be found really. He also tipped that puck into his own net...oops. I liked that he got the puck to the opposition net and created chances a couple times, which is something he needs to do more of (his shot is underrated). Theo will always be a bit of a chaser on the blue line, and it's all about how focused he is when we're talking about whether he has a good game or not. I'd rate him at medium tonight because of the aforementioned, and because he wasn't strong behind his own net.

Petry
- Had a great chance to win the game and rang it off the bar (which was even sadder because it was a beauty play, read and shot). He had what I'd describe as a very mature game tonight in that he sure didn't look like the least experienced member of the D-crew. He was in his position for the most part and fairly confident/aggressive most of the night. Whenever he stays confident he's a positive contributor to the games. It's never really a question of talent.

Hemsky
- Ales is still the best offensive player on this team. Tonight he made a number of excellent passes and reads to put his teammates in position to score, cashed in on the SO and probably should've opened the scoring on a nice little rush that ended in a stick lift. Ales made himself the rusher a few times tonight and that worked out. He also moved around on the powerplay and made things work from behind and in front of the net, which is where he's most effective. What Ales will have to get used to is having fast linemates who can think as quickly as he can. There were times tonight where Ales' natural reaction to slow down and wait for the slow-pokes who can't read offensive rushes kicked in, only to see 4 and 93 hurtling forwards. Once he picks that up, knocks off a little rust (he lost the puck a few times tonight and looked a little like he hadn't played enough yet) and locks in, that line is going to be tremendous. They're already elite-looking on the powerplay.

Hopkins
- He looked a little overmatched or nervous early on, getting knocked around a bit, making a couple defensive mistakes with the puck and taking a penalty (along with another play or two that could have been as well) but after that he settled in. I hope his goal (which at first it didn't look like he knew he'd scored) locks him in and makes him realize he just has to play his game. On the PP, you can see the magic, but it may take him some time to settle 5-on-5 and I'm not sure he's going to be able to play with strong linemates for that time because while Hall and Hemsky have strong shoulders, that could be a decent bit of carrying. I'm not saying I didn't like his game because you can certainly see a lot of skill and strength there (the goal, drawing a penalty, moving quickly on reads and being in the right places) but he will of course have to put in a bunch of work this year.

Hall
- Taylor is doing one of the things I find rather difficult to assess in that he's creating a bunch of chances but not taking advantage of them and not looking particularly dangerous when he attempts to. He's also shooting 5-hole far too much, which is apparently something Fredric Chabot told them last year (and a horrible piece of advice) and this is leading to harmless shots on net that also aren't generating rebounds. So...he's playing...well, but not actually creating goals. It's strange. What I do like is that he is making a point to attempt hits, get in people's faces a little bit and put others on notice that he won't be pushed around. This is something he's very capable of and needs to continue doing.

Hordichuk
- Didn't see enough of him tonight. He should have either been out there early setting the tone or responding when the Pens upped their physical game. I don't really understand putting him on the bench when you're not going to play him. He could have been useful tonight.

Lander
- Kind of stuck under the 3 offensive lines tonight which is perfectly fine. You don't really want Lander to have to have a great game in order for us to win. I thought he was just a smidge off the NHL pace in terms of reads, but he made up for it with talent and positioning smarts. Renney trusted him with a late PK shift tonight and he didn't disappoint which was good to see. I was kind of surprised he didn't get a chance in the SO as I believe he has a reputation as a solid shooter there.

Jones
- Not bad and not great. He was chasing the puck more than controlling in, but also made some chances happen and wasn't too bad on the PK. Workmanlike effort and I liked that he got back to some of the hitting and agitating that sometimes go missing from his game.

Smyth
- Where he makes the most difference seems to be on the PK. I didn't much like his powerplay line even if we finally have someone in front of the net, and his 5-on-5 was smart but not exactly dynamic, but on the PK he's so much better than the rest of our scrap that he probably helped in a big way to get the win tonight. You can imagine the terror we all felt when it was he who missed the 5-minute PK at the end of the game. I don't know what the refs thought they were doing...but they were inconsistent all night anyway and this is sadly par for the course. One thing that's completely true is that the fans love having #94 back...it also seems that he will help us win games...which is good for us who've been suffering for several years now even if we aren't exactly massive Ryan Smyth fans.

Belanger
- I'm going to have to watch his game a little closer to get a read...I suspect he's kind of like a defensive defenceman in that if your main recollection is not really having noticed him then that's probably not a bad thing. Belanger got some offensive chances too; some that ended in ugly and sad attempts while others were okay, but he will be judged by his faceoff prowess and his D, and it appears he did okay with that as well as his PK tonight. I'd like to see a move to make him clearly 4th line C though, as he did seem to be holding back some of his offensively talented linemates tonight.

Eberle
- He should have played more, pure and simple. His line also didn't seem to fit his game, either on the PP or 5-on-5. He was the main person I was thinking of when I said that Renney struggled some tonight. Eberle's a big moment guy and didn't really see the chance to grab many of them tonight. I hope he's on a line more suited to his talents shortly, and if not, I hope he starts getting double-shifted some. Did I miss any great chances he had or was there really not much of anything from him tonight? As always though, his "off games" are simply games where he's not excellent. He's almost never bad.

Horcoff
- I see he did really well on the faceoff dot tonight, which is of course great. Positionally he was solid and made a difference that way. He still cuts into the middle and messes up his offensive rushes though. I really don't know if he'll last with the Swedes as it's just such a different style of game. I also don't like Horcoff on the PK as he tends to misplay his position and that happened again tonight. Overall though, he was a positive force in the game. Is it possible we could use him only at 5-on-5 where he seems to succeed?

Omark
- Kind of like Eberle, he didn't get enough of a chance to show his game tonight. What time he did play was pretty solid, and it was interesting to watch how smoothly he and Magnus interchange positions on the PP, but he needs some time to work his magic during a game. His trademark board play was certainly on display, including a lovely sequence where he got knocked down, gloved it to himself and made the play anyway. Linus is almost at the stage where he could be added to a line above his weight class at strategic points during the game just to mix up the offensive look.

Paajarvi
- I'm not a fan of him on the PP point and that didn't change tonight. This is because he's an up-and-down skater rather than a lateral movement guy and sometimes struggles to play the position because of this. Elsewhere, I can only really think to say he was solid. He didn't do anything flashy, but he was in position, held the puck, made passes and skated well. No complaints.
-----------

So, one down and we're undefeated. I would have picked us to win tonight with the Pens lineup as it was, but that doesn't make it any less satisfying.

Random tip - If you're looking for a solid new beverage to try, Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey has arrived in Canada; mixed with Coca-Cola (or Pepsi Throwback) it is tremendously delicious.

See you all next game! Sorry for the lateness today...actually went out for a bit after the game for a change.

#1

Advisory - No Game Report Tonight

2011-09-27T10:48:00.001-06:00

Good day all,

Sadly I won't be at the game tonight for Ales' return and what looks like a really interesting lineup, so no report tonight.

LMHF Report - Preseason Game #3

2011-09-24T21:50:00.011-06:00

EDMONTON 2

VS.

CALGARY 1
-------------

I was a little worried early on that this was going to be just like the Vancouver game all over again. We weren't generating a ton of dangerous offence and were a little lazy. The difference tonight was how the defence played. They moved the puck much more smoothly, effectively and with purpose. They didn't struggle to make simple plays, and coupled that with solid D. They certainly were not perfect, but they were much better and good enough that Khabibulin really only had to make maybe 3-5 good saves. The rest of the limited number of shots he faced were quite weak. Some of the pairs seemed to balance out pretty well and that served to make this a pretty simple win so long as we got some goals. Thankfully we did.

When it comes to Calgary, we didn't get to see much of what they have to offer tonight. Bourque scored on us because he always does, and Sven did some interesting things, but other than that they're a pretty bland squad. I imagine they'll have a decent squad on the ice tomorrow night.

It was interesting that Yann Danis is still here but doesn't appear to be set to play another minute. I'm assuming this is so that there are goalies for two practice squads worth of teams possibly? I would have liked to have seen him get some time tonight.

As a unit, the forwards generated more chances and were in more useful combinations than in the previous two home games. Gagner's injury screwed things up a little bit but the coaching staff seemed to manage. What I don't understand is why they just run the same old lines out on the powerplay as 5-on-5. That's never acceptable, yet we've done it now all of last season essentially and during the preseason. Tonight that meant that we kept seeing guys like Jones and Belanger on the PP. Not effective and serves no purpose whatever.

There should be some cuts after this, and I really hope they are the appropriate ones.

-----------------

Khabibulin
- I have to admit he was good tonight; he controlled his positioning and made the saves he needed to make. The goal he allowed was pretty bad but thankfully it didn't kill us. I have to give him credit, but the scout in me who watches a lot more than one game knows that while he has these games in him, they are few and far between. There aren't any indications that he's either changing his approach or improving in any way. We can always hope (but I'm not optimistic, even though I'm always optimistic).

Tulupov
- He was paired with Barker tonight and he could certainly have had some trouble playing with such an offensively aggressive partner and been excused for it. He really didn't. He stayed in position (almost to a fault) and provided a steady defensive game and steady puck movement. I wish he'd pinched in and taken a run at somebody, because he had forwards covering for him a couple times. I appreciate the attention to detail and desire not to get caught, but you also need to learn to harness your aggression and take a shot once in a while. He was steady on the PP blue line as well. You might have seen him get knocked down from time to time, but don't be fooled; this doesn't always mean you're getting overpowered. Sometimes it is honestly easier to just bounce back up again than fight to stay up. I used to use this to avoid getting tangled and quickly get back into the play. There's a future ahead for this guy. We should really make room for him.

Barker
- He did some stupid things tonight. He took that strange penalty and at times looked to be skating a fair bit more slowly than he should be. On the other hand, he keeps taking chances and keeps not getting caught. This may be a function of his opposition, but if it isn't, then we have something really handy because he'll be able to be aggressive; especially late in games when we're behind. One thing he's going to need to do is not shoot so much on the PP. He often rushes the shot, leading to a lot of blocks, missed passes and easy stops for the opposition goalie. The stupid fans among us who yell SHOOT will love him.

Peckham
- Theo is struggling a little bit. He's not landing a lot of big hits, is getting caught out of position a bunch and isn't making solid moves with the puck. It didn't cost us tonight but he's really going to need to watch it because his spot is not completely assured going forward. He progressed last year but really needs to keep his foot on the accelerator. His skills are somewhat limited and it will always require attention and hard work for him to be good. He can't be coasting.

Petry
- He had almost the exact same game as he had last game, just amplified. In the first period he was running around some, getting caught out of position and gave the puck away multiple times. It really wasn't good to watch. But it seemed like for the second and third a switch flipped and he locked things down and just made plays. This is certainly the story of most young and talented defencemen, just in different degrees. I'm not worried about Petry, but I do tend to wish we didn't need him on the squad so badly. He's still developing.

Gilbert
- Improved again tonight. He was engaging in some of the physical play that people always knock him for and was excellent with the puck save for one mistake early. He was exactly what we needed with Whitney out. It helped that he once again had a defensively focused (mostly) partner of course, but make no mistake, Gilbert was very solid.

Sutton
- I'm going to preface my comments for the year on Sutton by saying I really don't like him. I find him to be the worst type of pansy much of the time when he has to answer for his play; a big guy has no excuse. Tonight he was decent enough defensively and certainly pushed some people around. His giveaways were pretty few and far between and the only thing I can fault him for really are some ill-advised pinches. He doesn't recover well enough to attempt the aggressive plays he sometimes attempts.

Jones
- For the first 39 minutes he was not very good. He gave the puck away a bunch, looked lost at times positionally and was a contributor to Gagner's injury due to an awkward interaction with a Calgary defenceman. After that he scored his goal, and was a much better player. He is being outplayed though by someone further along on tonight's roster, and not by a little.

Keller
- Again, I'm not really sure why he's still here. We know what he is; and he showed again tonight that he's just not far enough along to play in the NHL. He's a little too slow, not quite sturdy enough, and makes some positioning mistakes. Certainly not a bad or untalented player, just not really worth the icetime they're giving him right now.

Martindale
- He's a big, rangy guy who can really move out there and certainly knows where to go. You can tell he's got the tools, but he's still a ways away from being an NHL player. Not having seen enough of him, I don't know if he can correct the mistakes he was making tonight (which were very typical rookie issues and nothing we'd worry about if he weren't surrounded by SO MUCH talent) quickly, but I certainly get the sense he will correct them. He shows sparks and makes some really intelligent plays every now and again.

Lander
- He wasn't really playing in a feature role tonight, which is appropriate because he wouldn't be doing that in our lineup at the moment anyway. The one thing you notice about Lander that he doesn't do is hit people. He had several opportunities to get some guys tonight and always turns away. He doesn't NEED to be laying people out, but it would certainly complete him as a player. He's certainly consistent though in that he makes smart plays, positions himself well, and supports the play well. One unique skill he has in the ability to shoot through the opposition defence very well and have his shot reach the net. Not many guys are great at this, but he seems to be. At the very least, this means he's made a safe play in a situation where some make fairly bad attempts and the puck goes the other way quickly.

Tyrvainen
- He never lets up. There's something about these Finnish and Swedish guys and getting after the puck. They're really pesky and give the opposition nothing but fits. Not only did he do this with his stick, but he hit people and got I think 3 chances at the empty net tonight. He got a decent amount of icetime and made good things happen with it. I think he'll be a strong contributor in OKC and could challenge seriously for a spot in about a year. There's talent and desire there, combined with a strong shot and good stickhandling.

Pitlick
- Of the secondary crop of talented forwards, he's standing out quite a bit because he gets in on the forecheck most effectively and can really really skate. He's not a step behind right now like most of these guys are. He's MAYBE a half-step off. There's a lot going on in his head on the ice but I think as soon as he focuses and has a role, he'll really fly. He made an excellent and smart play during the first people in the neutral zone, but I've honestly forgotten what it is despite making a mental note and trying to remember...damn. Where does he go this year?

Gagner
- Was playing a pretty decent game before he got hurt, which was good to see. Still showed his extra gear, though he didn't hit people in the way he usually does when he's placed on a more checking-oriented unit. Early on both teams were actually backing off of hits which was very strange to see. Sam's in a really strange spot right now and has to play well this year to keep up with what is a wave of talented forwards, most of whom happen to be bigger than he is (which is why the skating power improvement was so important.

Green
- Of all the people I expected to see at Oilers camp this year, Josh Green might have been the last. I'm sure most of us remember him from his previous go-round as the latest "we hope he's what Brad Isbister was supposed to be" kind of guy. I can't say anything bad about him...he played a positionally solid game and drove the net when he got a chance. He certainly didn't do anything special with the puck but he wasn't bad either. If we didn't have all these junior guys and euro depth, he might be needed, but he hasn't shown any real improvement other than maturing, so he's not really relevant to conversation on our roster at the moment. I'm strongly in favor of offering tryout agreements to as many vets wanting another chance as will come though. They push the rooks.

Belanger
- Other than one of the saddest rush plays I've seen that he ended with an incredibly weak backhand on the net, he was quite solid tonight. You can see his positioning is his strong suit and it wins a lot of battles for him. I don't have a lot to say about him, which is probably good because that would mean he's being pushed for too much offence or having to bail us out defensively if he was getting noticed.

Hall
- He was certainly better tonight, even with a couple sequences in the first where he did nothing but turn the puck over. He got a little annoyed and showed some real edge tonight, lining up several hits. Even if he doesn't nail anybody, the assertiveness creates room and he can use it for offence. He's still making the mistake of shooting wide side and missing off the rush...which doesn't generate offence and can lead to rushes for the other team. I was very glad to see him use a combination of positioning, quick reflexes and the strength to direct the puck with a fully extended stick to get the goal he did. He needed it and so did the team, so that's great to see . We haven't got to see Hall with Hemsky yet this preseason and I'd like to see that soon. Hall also tried to run the PP from the half wall a couple times...that's not his thing.

Hopkins
- He was better tonight in that he was more involved with the play, especially in the offensive and neutral zones. There were times he really looked like a kid though...for instance he seems to crouch over when he's trying to hit people. Though I admire the effort, it doesn't work and is a waste of skating energy. He's also reacting a little too slowly in terms of reading the play and heading there. In the offensive zone though, he moved the puck solidly, supported his linemates and made a nice power move and got the puck on net to set up the winning goal. I'm still not sure what the best place for him is...actually that's not true. The best place for him right now would be the AHL. The fact that we are unable to send him there is a problem that should be addressed (but won't any time soon). You can see that he's capable of being elite, but he's not the impact player right out of the hopper that Eberle or Hall were. Appreciate the solid defensive plays he made.

Hartikainen
- First off, the radio guys have it wrong; he shouldn't be in competition with Omark, he should be in competition with Jones...and he's kicking the crap out of him. Teemu had a shift tonight where he made 5 marvelous plays (if I recall right, a hit, a corner play, two passes and a scoring chance of his own out of the corner). He made at least 3 excellent power plays out of the corner to either set up a shot or a pass. He also showed at times when they were side by side and both trying to get to the play, that he can now skate quite quickly, beating out Hopkins. I've said that he's a better hockey player than Hopkins as of RIGHT NOW, not that it's all that relevant but I'd really hate to see him not make this team. He outplayed a first overall pick on the same line and looked just excellent. His upward trending is tremendous. He also laid at least 2 very nice hits that created offence and made some defensive stops. Fully and completely deserving of his first star selection. If you like hockey, you love the way this guy plays and he seems to be only getting better. I think there's another gear in there too. He shows hints of it from time to time. Try him on the other wing to verify that he can play there, and the versatility should absolutely salt it for him.
---------

Lots and lots of individual positives tonight that thankfully weren't ruined by a loss. We've got some really interesting decisions going forward and I really wish I was more confident in management.

LMHF Report - Preseason Game #2

2011-09-22T15:43:00.007-06:00

EDMONTON 1

VS.

VANCOUVER 2

---------------------

Well, I'd really hoped not to have to resort to this so early on in the year, but that was incredibly boring hockey. I was worried when I saw the lineup that we'd either win and it would totally ho-hum, or we'd lose and look silly as a bunch of regulars couldn't beat the Canucks D team. We were unmotivated and in this game and got beat by a bunch of hungry semi-pros fighting for scraps. That's kind of sad considering the talent we had in the lineup.

Our problem tonight was one that was very common last year; we did a very bad job of getting open, and skating with and without the puck to get open. This was why we had no shooting lanes on our powerplay and offensive chances were so scarce all over the ice. We didn't have either that extra jump required to get into the gaps or that strategy to break down what was not a strong Canucks D.

A lot of that started from the back end. They were not strong with the puck and often simply sent it in a direction aware from where trouble might have been. They were not pressured, they were just in a sloppy rush. It was unfortunate to see. I'd send out a couple of these guys tomorrow if I were part of the coaching staff.

Unfortunately I don't think the 91-10-23 combo is going to work out. I know that's a quick read, but they really didn't follow each other's instincts. Horcoff can't process mentally what these guys are going to do, and the Swedes have trouble adapting to playing with a "stuck on the rail" kind of player.

Ultimately we should have been more motivated tonight. We lost and it was rather disappointing.

I had a different view of the game tonight, as my sister was able to get some tickets in row 4 behind the Oilers defend twice net, so some of the observations might be a little different than usual. You see more of the small plays and personality of the players at this level, but it is more difficult to see the flow of the play and the depth of the players and puck. I've found the best spot seems to be either in the top row of the lower deck or bottom row of the top deck.

And of course with this being a game against the Canucks, it wouldn't be complete without random Canucks fans causing a ruckus...today it was three of them bothering 4 girls, being asked to stop, then threatening to fight several Oilers fans. Bad idea. Sometimes, you really wish they would follow through before security arrives and they'd get what they deserve...

Smyth
- They really didn't do too much to highlight his return to Rexall, which kind of surprised me. His game tonight didn't feature a lot of direct offence, but he did showcase his unique forechecking and defensive skills and gave that Canucks some serious trouble as puck carriers. I'll preface the year of commentary on Smyth by saying I don't much like his style of play. He often plays well, but I'm constantly left feeling like he's not doing all he could be. From his crappy uncurved stick that I maintain has cost him a boatload of goals to his ugly slapshot, I just don't enjoy it much. Doesn't mean he's ineffective.

Hopkins
- I have strange expectations for Hopkins (which is what I will be calling him btw; I loathe hyphenation) in that I don't expect him to blow me away. Even though he's a first overall pick, I just haven't gotten the impression that he's ready to come in and make a pronounced difference right away. That impression was built upon with tonight's performance. You can see he's good - he goes to the right areas, is solid with the puck and chooses good skating lines. He is not, however, an electric player. I liked his assist as a quick and smart play to a well positioned teammate, and he made some good things happen. He wasn't the puck-retrieval machine I'd heard about though. I see good things coming from him of course, but was not blown away (as I expected not to).

Eberle
- Great little goal during an otherwise quiet night. When he gets room and a chance to make those moves he almost always finishes. I was quite surprised that he missed his two chances right by the side of the net; one in the second and one near the end of the game. He certainly didn't play badly (he almost never does), but he didn't jump right out and make himself noticed. I don't know if he and Smyth are appropriate linemates. Smyth needs a "get it to the net" kinda guy and Eberle isn't that; Eberle needs someone who can hit him in stride or find him in the open and Smyth isn't that. I guess we'll just have to see.

Hall
- I know he generated some offensive chances and went to important areas with speed, but I still wasn't all that impressed with his impact on the game tonight. His shots were off the mark again and he wasn't making that one last move that's required to score goals. He's also not making many passes thus far; and needs to do this in order to make a full impact. He was at his best on the PP in the second, but when we needed a game-changer, he wasn't there. It's preseason so I won't bug him too much, but some talented players eat preseason squads for breakfast and I kind of expect that out of Hall.

Gagner
- I've seen people musing that it looks like he's got an extra bit of speed this year and I can indeed confirm that Sam looked to be skating in a much more powerful and somewhat faster way out there tonight. It will be interesting to see what he's able to do with that added asset. He was staring at the puck rather than looking ahead a little too much, which is probably a rust thing. He did have a more confident manner about his game, so I'm optimistic that he'll show a jump forward to start the year. I hope for his sake he doesn't take his spot on the team for granted. I liked that he did a lot of talking to his teammates during the game, trying to explain the intricacies of the gameplan to some that might not have it just yet.

Pitlick
- Tyler again looked like a relatively skilled guy who knows what to do on the ice and acts like he deserves this opportunity. There aren't a lot of nerves or unfocused plays being made by him at this stage, which is impressive. He's certainly not ready, but tonight he showed that he's certainly part of the conversation as we move forward. He should develop into the kind of depth player that good teams either have, or trade for something valuable down the line.

Omark
- I heard a lot of people dogging him after this one; some even blaming him for the loss and I don't get that at all. Did he tear it up offensively? No. Did he make a bunch of mistakes and cause pucks to wind up in his own net? No. Linus doesn't have to be an offensive dynamo to be effective. He wasn't good or bad tonight, but he's not a liability when he plays a neutral game. People really need to get over that. It had more to do with flow and line chemistry anyway.

Paajarvi
- He used his speed to get to some open areas and get the puck, but wasn't really dangerous in the offensive zone. I've said before here that I don't think a mostly offensive game is Magnus' strength at this stage anyway, but tonight his game felt unfocused to me. He especially didn't seem to mesh well with Horcoff and it resulted in awkward turnovers where there wouldn't normally be any, and very few of the passes we usually see from the 23-91 and whoever combo.

Horcoff
- Individually I can't really fault Horcoff for much other than making one of the worst breakaway attempts I can recall (it wasn't a Scott Ferguson Special, but he did go completely the wrong direction and then PASS). He played an okay game and was pretty solid on the PK but didn't mesh well with his linemates and gave us a unit that simply wasn't all that dangerous. End the meddling and get him back with Smyth and Hemsky, or send him out with Hall and Eberle as before. Both of those were okay, this wasn't.

Hordichuk
- I truly hope he continues to do his job as he did tonight. He hit people and he fought; all while from a solid hockey position and being responsible with the puck. I had low expectations for him and he's beating them by miles. We'll see if he can stay focused and keep it up; especially if the team starts losing in the regular season.

House
- Meh. He was okay on special teams but I really didn't notice him at all 5-on-5.

Petrell
- This guy on the other hand, I quite like. If you're going to have a positionally strong, defensive minded forward, he'd better be solid with the puck and BIG. He's both. When you watch him closely, you can see how many different things he's able to read at once and it is impressive. He knew where to go and what to do faster than most, but with a defensive focus. If we'd picked up a defenceman of his ilk; he'd make the team (if I were Renney I'd try that by the way, but he won't). This will be an interesting guy to watch, as he gives yet another example of a guy who can contribute in multiple ways. I know he's older, but I hope we get some use from him in OKC and that he's one of the guys who shows well enough to be considered for callup.

Smid
- He was really a calming influence on Gilbert tonight and played a solid defensive game. He didn't do anything great but he certainly gave a different look that allowed his partner to play his game.

Gilbert
- A much more focused and mistake-free effort. The errant passes were gone. The standing still was gone. The lack of desire to drive the net and/or shoot the puck was gone. This was proper Tom Gilbert and certainly thought he was our best defender tonight. He didn't do anything crazy, but he played a solid game.

Peckham
- A very mixed bag from Theo tonight. He threw some lovely hits and had a solid scrap, but he was weaker with the puck than usual and struggled some with his positioning including on the Nolan goal. He's got to be disciplined in his skating and positioning in order to be effective.

Petry
- He was looking really good early and tailed off late. I was prepared to write a very strong positive review after two. He looks much more filled out this year and was making decisive puck moves, but that performance didn't continue for all three periods as it looked like he either got frustrated or unfocused and made some mistakes with the puck. Glad to see a mostly strong night, but he needs to finish things off.

Chorney
- Chorney doesn't have the physical gifts that a guy like Plante has. He must exploit the fact that he's good with the puck in both ends to be effective and improve to the level of NHL player. He isn't showing signs that this is occurring and hasn't improved his positioning or gotten much bigger either. It may seem rash, but I'd ship him out right now. I've actually been a fan of trading him for some time now, but I think his value is even lower these days.

Plante
- I'd cut him tomorrow. He was too bad with the puck, moved too slowly and was out of position too much. Is he ever going to realize the potential of his frame? I doubt it highly. He was required when we were very very thin on the blue in terms of prospects (even though he shouldn't have been drafted by us) but he just isn't now.

Dubnyk
- He was pretty solid and looked to be very in control tonight. He really couldn't do too much on the goal he allowed and other than that he did his job. Devan looked much more composed, ready and focused than Khabibulin did on Tuesday.

Danis
- The goal he allowed was an ugly rebound. He did this a couple more times and wasn't punished as severely. He also half-whiffed on several saves made on shots that weren't actually that dangerous. I was really hoping that he would surprise, but Bunz looked about 10x as good.

--------------

I hope Saturday is much better than this one, which just wasn't very entertaining. Time to try some different combos as well.

LMHF Report - Preseason Game #1

2011-09-20T22:40:00.003-06:00

EDMONTON 3

VS.

MINNESOTA 4
--------------------

Well, here we are again finally. Back to the rink we march as in every September. Last year I missed the preseason games on my honeymoon (though I actually caught one from the Honolulu Buffalo Wild Wings location, which was awesome), and this is one of my very favorite times of year to watch because there's just so much to learn about these new players we've got on our hands.

I didn't really do much/any hockey writing over the summer. It was a very busy time including a new house, a new car and whole lot of life, but it sure is good to be back in my seat again watching the team.

First things first: the price of popcorn went up (though I think the size is bigger), the hot dogs are still lacklustre (have been since '06, but their price is still the same), the program tonight was lacking and didn't include a full listing of all players on the ice, most everything else seems to be the same in price and not much has really changed in seems.

I thought our squad looked really really solid in the second, rusty in the first, and kind of disorganized in the third. It isn't anything to raise a stink about of course because it is just the preseason, but I would've liked to see a more consistent effort. There are a lot of guys trying to win jobs at various levels and they should really be giving it all they have. Some did, some did not.

Minnesota's roster really isn't that intriguing. They have some BIG guys on their team but not much else. They got some great breaks on behalf of the Oilers tonight but were otherwise quite pedestrian. Anyway, on to the good stuff:

KHABIBULIN
- UGH...he didn't look like he was ready to play at all. On the third goal he was down way too early, the second he let out an ugly rebound and the first wasn't great either. It is very sad that he is likely being handed the #1 G job AGAIN, because he bring his total focus so seldom that there' s no way for it to be worth the shot. I thought maybe we'd see a changed man...so much for that theory. It would've shown in some way.

BUNZ
- Looked really solid. He was in control of himself, very calm, made the saves he needed to make look really easy and was robbed of a clean slate by an unfortunate play from a guy who will be back in junior shortly. In addition to noticing that he does a great job of making himself very large in the net, he seems to play the puck fairly well and direct it to the corners when he has the chance. He really did seem to know exactly what he's doing. I think you have to give him a full game start...but I'm not running the show.

FEDUN
- Before he got hurt being run into the end boards, he was one of our best players tonight. He made several plays that were just excellent. There was a long multi-line pass, a nifty saucer to set up a breakaway, several defensive stops and a drag-then-shoot-between-the-man-and-the-stick play for an assist. I really wasn't expecting much and he blew me away. He was always moving his skates when he had the puck and used this asset well. The class of the defensive field this evening. I hope he's okay.

MARINCIN
- Before the third period, he had the problem of standing still or skating backwards when he got the puck. You can't make good plays from the positions he was putting himself in. I'm chalking it up mainly to nerves because he was certainly better in the third and used his skating to do more of the initial work. Was that a slap pass or just a slightly miffed shot that got him an assist? I had a hard time telling. I can certainly see the potential in his game, but he didn't show tonight that he's ready for the pros. Hopefully he relaxes quickly.

TULUPOV
- He showed a lot of talent tonight. Still very raw talent, but talent nonetheless. For a guy who was a little nervous, he still usually made the right play, only bobbling a couple. He took a couple nice runs at people but could've been more aggressive. I got the impression from watching him that the coaches told him to throttle it back a touch and focus on his positioning. He still needs some work there, but again, potential. This is a guy the Oilers should spend some time on. I disagree vehemently with Tencer and Stauffer (who both dismissed him in a tone that indicated they hadn't even watched him tonight) that he should be sent to OKC. Give him another game. Tell him to go out there and HIT. Once he calms down a bit, he's actually pretty good with the puck too.

MUSIL
- ROUGH night. He looked overmatched from the very first shift. Positioning was off, decisions were late and he got knocked around some. I was expecting at the very least for him to lay some hits but we did not see that. Having not seen him play before, I'll chalk this up to nerves for the time being, but I hope he's not THAT nervous about an exhibition game. The awkward attempt to play goal that screened Bunz and cost us the game was just the icing on the cake. Ouch.

BARKER
- Loves to pinch. A lot. He joins the rush and plays with a very free flowing style. When he's on it is great to watch and leads to some chances where he seems to be able to get an excellent shot off, but I can see it going wrong as well and he's not the type that can skate his way back into the play (think Pitkanen or Visnovsky). I see a lot of potential for him this year, but not playing with Gilbert. That pair really didn't work out, which led to a lot of confusion and several goals scored against us. Get him with a different type of defender and maybe we're in business. He certainly didn't allow himself to be pushed around, which was nice to see.

GILBERT
- He had a really rough first couple periods before he settled in. There were errant passes, giveaways and some running around. It wasn't pretty. I'm not sure whether to just chalk this up to a weak game from a vet in the preseason (which happens all the time) or to be worried here. I'd really hope he still doesn't have the confidence issues that are stifling him, but he may.

HORDICHUK
- I have to admit I don't really want to like Darcy Hordichuk. He was always a bit a goof on the Predators and the Canucks. He did his job tonight though: hit people, fought Kassian, got in on the forecheck and managed to play some decent positional hockey as well. I hope he sticks to that and making the Canucks' lives hell.

ABNEY
- He's just not a very good hockey player. He's big and he skates okay, but he can't see open men to make passes to, doesn't land the HUGE hit and isn't strong positionally. Maybe I'm comparing him to his draft position too much, but I just don't see him as worth a contract. I did like that he went right after the guy that hit Fedun and I hope he continues to improve.

PITLICK
- I'm really not sure why he seemed to get so little icetime. Perhaps they just didn't have a line for him? I liked what I saw after about the first two shifts (nerves), because he gets in on the forecheck, accelerates past the line of defenders to enter the zone, and seems to know where to go positionally. He certainly looks to be a talented guy and I'd like to see him play again but would understand if they sent him down purely because of how many players they've got.

HOUSE & KELLER
- I group these two together because honestly we know what we're getting: two AHL forwards. They played okay and had some almost moments including some nice stickhandling, but you just don't see any evidence of the higher gear that our other prospects have.

PAAJARVI
- It took him almost a period to get going. He missed a bunch of pucks and wasn't really moving that fast in the third. He was much better at driving the play up the wings come the second and third. If someone can teach him to turn the corner on the defender and turn some of those rushes into goals or tap-ins for Omark, we're in the money. Still don't see the value of him on the PP because he just isn't that great with the puck. I would also love to see him on the PK and was pleased he got a bit of time there tonight. They should be training him there.

OMARK
- Aside from his penalties (one was lame, the other very confusing as to what he was trying to do) he played a pretty solid game. As usual, he owned the boards like only he can, fighting off one or two Wild as the need arose. He also made several of his trademark no-look passes and had a high percentage work out. His high level of skill is what creates the opportunity for players like Paajarvi and Lander on a line that really looked like it knew the plan tonight. I just hope Linus stays focused and motivated, but believe he will because he seems to want to win more than most.

LANDER
- He's going to be a dream for people that love simple hockey. He's in the right positions right now, he makes simple passes and when in doubt he puts the puck on the net (but not in the chest). All the fundamentals are there. They're complimented with a nice sprinkling of skill and some ability to keep up with dynamic players. There's every chance he's a regular by year's end, and depending on how things go with Mr. Hopkins, I could see his development driving Gagner away for a defenceman. Really looking forward to watching more of his game. Think Jarret Stoll but with more initial skill and better positioning.

JONES
- He was bad tonight. For a guy who by all rights should be fighting for a job to spend his evening losing pucks and making bad passes is rather weak. I don't like the way the organization seems to be positioning him as a guy who has "nothing to worry about" either. You really get that impression from the promos and such. He needs to focus and play simple hockey, rather than thinking he's a lock and trying to crack the top six. Don't get me wrong, I like the personality and approach he brings to the game, but he needs to bare down.

TYRVAINEN
- I liked the way this guy played a lot actually. He was as advertised; gritty and unafraid but with some skill to go along side. Seems like a decent enough skater and didn't have the jitters of the other players on the ice with his level of NHL experience. This could be a guy who sees a callup at some point this year. Perhaps the path to Stanley includes a boatload of Swedes and Finns?

BELANGER
- I know he won faceoffs, but aside from that it looked like a typical "rusty veteran" sort of game to me. That's fine, I just wanted to see what he could do right off the hop. I think he has the chance to make a pretty big difference to this team and nothing tonight convinced me otherwise, but to be honest I was expecting a little bit more.

HALL
- I'm not worried about Hall so I didn't really watch him away from the puck or when he wasn't getting offensive chances. He showed his outside speed is fine and seemed to be cornering as well as every, so the ankle looks good. He also got the faces of a couple opponents which is good to see. I didn't like the shots he took very much though; all low and all right at the goalie. He probably should've popped at least one tonight.
-------------

Well, I hope that's helpful for those of you who didn't get to see the game in Edmonton tonight. I hope there aren't many split squad games because I'm sure they just lead to mass confusion on the blogs and boards. Looking forward to another great year and HOPEFULLY devoting some more energy to this blog.

#1

Advisory - No Game Report Tonight

2011-04-08T15:49:00.002-06:00

Hello all,

I've got an event to attend tonight, and The Masters to watch in the morning, so unless anything truly exceptional happens, there will be no game report tonight. It's kind of nice to go out reporting that VAN game anyway. A season wrap-up will be out shortly.

LMHF Game Report #40

2011-04-05T22:15:00.015-06:00

EDMONTON 2

VS.

VANCOUVER 0
--------------

What an utterly satisfying win. This is everything the Calgary game should have been and more. The only way this could have been better is if it was on another Saturday on national TV again. I missed that game, so I'm really glad I got to see this one.

First off, I'm going to begin tonight's Report with a couple of my classic rants. If you read regularly, you've probably heard variants of them before:

1. Canucks fans in Edmonton are nearly the biggest jerks we encounter during the year. Even though I hate the Flames, their fans usually aren't too bad and I have respect for some who clearly have knowledge of the game and respect that we've won 5. Yes, they're out there. My interactions with Canucks fans have never been pleasant in Rexall. Never. They have been to a man uber-negative sarcastic and arrogant. Tonight for example, after the second goal and a bit of yelling (the topic of which will be for my second rant), a Nuck fan in the row below us started jawing unnecessarily with the person two seats down from me. He was of course inebriated, upset at the losing, and full of arrogant quips + tough talk. Idiotic behavior in an opponents building. You have a right to cheer, watch the game, and be a part of the atmosphere with no reprisal. Once you venture into moron-mode, you're going to hear it, and especially in a season ticket holder section that is used to a pleasant game experience. He was eventually mocked into submission, but not before threatening to throw several of us down the stairs. Classy individual. He really doesn't know how badly he would have been trounced just then...

2. The outburst that apparently gave this uber-genius cause was that person he tried to pick a fight with had just finished agreement with me about my shoot ranting. I had yelled "THAT'S WHY YOU DON'T SHOOT!" after our long powerplay led to a goal (through strong puck control and patience. The only times we lost the puck were on errant shots) in response the myriad of hockey geniuses yelling SHOOT during the powerplay at every turn. Do these people ever not understand hockey...we played several minutes of fun, puck control hockey where all we had to do was hold the puck and not make a mistake in order to win, but these people didn't get that. Thankfully players like Linus Omark do, and the game went to 2-0 rather than a frantic race to a 1-goal finish.

I'm also glad to beat the Canucks because it means the dirtiest team in the league continues to be frustrated. They even out waited the referees tonight by continuing to be so chippy that even the blind mice couldn't ignore it any longer. 2 periods worth of picks, holds and hacks (the most blatantly obvious being Kesler on Jacques, which was followed by an incredibly weak tripping penalty) couldn't get them a lead, so they started head-hunting, cross-checking and diving. No group of loser players deserves the sad ending that awaits them in the playoffs more than this bunch of clowns. In a well-officiated league, there wouldn't be room for the Kesler and Burrows type players because they'd spend every second of icetime marching to the box; not to mention the Tanner Glass types. It is unbelievable that this squad gets away with what it does in the regular season. Thankfully in the playoffs the 20-man march to the penalty box will lead them to be punished on the score sheet. I really wish we'd let Steve MacIntyre loose on anyone and everyone after those 2 crosschecking penalties in the third. The only thing more satisfying than the win would have been if some joker like Kesler was listed as Out Indefinitely - Concussed for Acting Stupid on the IR after the game.

As for our squad, it was evident from the very start that our gameplan has been altered. I have not seen the Oilers play that simple of a game in a long time and I'm guessing the same was the case in Vancouver. You could see some glimpses of it vs. Calgary for a minute or two at a time, but save for about 5 mins of play tonight, our squad stuck with it. This plan consisted of getting the puck deep and providing some chase, a lot of very simple passing, and solid defence. This formula would really work most nights if we had a talented team. The only thing about seeing it that makes me sad is that I profoundly believe that Renney intentionally and possibly under direction from management, avoided playing this style for most of the year when we did indeed have talent in the lineup. We sure wouldn't be in last if we'd taken the approach we did tonight.

Our D was really solid as a unit out there. I'm honestly not sure how they did it considering that they were understaffed and just barely getting by, but everyone pulled their weight and then some out there tonight. It was very impressive to see a couple players step up and take real leadership roles this game. More on that as we go along...

The forwards were not amazing, but they made very few mistakes. Save for a few bad breaks (bouncing pucks on scoring chances and a post or two) they should have scored more than 2. They started off the game with a sustained series of solid offensive shifts and that set an early tone that Vancouver never did counter.

Tonight we proved you can shut down the Sedins. I don't care if they've got the President's Trophy...we played them close and physical behind the net, holding them to essentially one dangerous shift and long periods of invisibility. That was beautiful to see from a unit missing both Whitney and Gilbert. Borderline amazing actually.

PLAYER REPORTS
----------------

Dubnyk
- He was flawless and needed only one real break (the wobbly puck Kesler couldn't put in) to get this shutout. The highlight reel save he made in the second period with his toe was certainly a turning point in the game, as Vancouver grew increasingly frustrated and whiney after that point. Other than that he was simply in control, well-positioned, and did his best to see the puck all night. Some days, that's all it really takes to hang a 0 on the board.

Vandermeer
- One of his best games easily. I can't remember him making not one, but two gorgeous offensive plays, even in some imaginary scenario on NHL 11. He made an amazing pick-off-to-backhand-pass play that resulted in a clean break and nearly a goal in the second period, then he made a nifty little kick play with the puck in the third. Combine that with only one real breakdown that I can recall and otherwise some truly solid defensive effort, and boy did he make a difference tonight. He also took a great shot and almost scored in the third, which is something you can almost never say.

Strudwick
- He battled through the rough patches and managed to have a decent enough game. There were times when he wobbled around his own zone and a nearly-fatal pinch play in the offensive zone, but somehow he survived this one unscathed. At the very least you couldn't question his effort and focus tonight. I'm a little surprised he didn't get more ornery though...tonight's the type of game I would've loved to have a functioning Souray. He woulda beaten on someone (or somethree).

Peckham
- What a game from Theo. Somehow they only list him with two hits tonight but there was no way. He was really physical in the corners and beat on the Canucks to the point where it wore them down. When he wasn't hitting them, he was in their face, challenging them, and making solid plays with the puck or in good defensive position. He really stepped up in a big way on a night when they needed him to. It was very impressive.

Petry
- He calmed his game down significantly compared to what I've noticed lately. Where he was making mistakes with the puck before, he still is taking longer than before with the puck, but at least it went to our players and in the right direction tonight. He also made some hits and separation plays that he's been lacking lately. Didn't elevate like the others, but nearly back to where he was earlier.

Smid
- Another guy who stepped up big time. I loved the way he got into the scrum and got some shots in on Burrows in the second period. He didn't nail anyone with a huge, but he was a pain in the butt to play against. He was also calm and steady while puckhandling, but at the same time cut some of his usual skating adventures short to make the short and responsible passes that were part of the gameplan. Very good to see what he could make happen even when modifying his game.

Foster
- Didn't blow me away. He was the one guy who got caught out of position just as much as usual. He also missed the net at a couple of very key junctures when it just wasn't okay to fire wide. I don't understand how a guy who is supposed to be a shooter can miss so readily in a situation he has to understand. Also, he has a lethal slap pass, that can be a huge asset during a 5-on-3...

WAIT...WAIT A MINUTE...WE SCORED FIVE-ON-THREE!!!!!!!!! PLAN THE PARADE! WOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

That was fun.

Anyway...forwards

Jacques
- Even though he missed a clear break so badly it might as well have been a dump-in...and even though he made most of the same mistakes as usual...at least he got a couple solid hits in and even advanced the puck a couple times. Fair enough I guess.

MacIntyre
- Umm...he warmed that bench something fierce. I guess he was water boy tonight? Otherwise I don't understand why he wasn't on the ice after the liberties the Canucks took. Seriously...get out there and smash a star's face in.

Omark
- Linus was excellent tonight in a number of ways, but I'd really like those of you watching the highlights to focus in on the 2-0 goal. What he did there was truly outstanding; not only did he make that pass that he'd been working for for a while during that PP, but he made the pass in just such a way that he also leapt through and screened Paajarvi's shot...how do you even conceive of that in your head???? Can this guy ever play.

Paajarvi
- Worked really really hard tonight; and skated miles up and down the ice. While I'd like him to take better shots some of the time, he did get away a couple great wristers and very much deserved the goal he finally got. He and Linus know what they're doing out there and work away until it happens. His work on the point wasn't that great, but it wasn't bad either. He had a rather unfortunate sequence in the warmup, where he tried to one-time shots from the faceoff circle...all were weak and only one hit the net. Clearly he needs to keep working on that area of his game.

Haritkainen
- I think I've figured out why he's effective defensively (which came to the forefront on a couple great backchecks he made tonight) and that's because he has excellent gap control when the opposition takes the puck. Watch him closely next game when the puck comes to an opposition player in his area - he always gets in very close and at the very least is a hindrance with a stick or some minor physical contact. Most of the time he disrupts the play. In many ways he was the leader of a team-wide effort to put sticks, legs and anything else available in the shooting lanes all night. A couple deadly chances were averted this way. Individually, Hartikainen also laid a really nice hit, bulled over a guy who had him lined up, and created some solid offensive chances. This guy doesn't have to produce points to change a game. We need more like that. The thing is, surrounded by talent, he'll produce a ton of points. I'm almost hoping we draft Landeskog, because trotting him, Hartikainen and some other mean euro out there would be one of the most interesting lines in the entire league. Honorable, talented players who won't be trifled with. Beauty.

VandeVelde
- Okay, we need to turn this guy into a hockey player. He played and faced off WAY above his weight class tonight and did an admirable job. With the puck and in the offensive zone, he made some mistakes, but we appear to have a larger and intelligent hockey player to work with here. That his teammates were also trying hard to set him up for a goal also speaks to what they think of him. I don't know if he makes the team next year right from the word go, but I think he's building some confidence. He played in some tough situations tonight and did some really nice things.

Reddox
- He couldn't get it done around the net despite some truly great chances. This was really disappoint for fans of his like myself and I'm sure for Liam. He was always a talented offensive guy but has had to reshape his game in order to fit in the NHL; he doesn't seem to quite have the ability to calm the puck down and put it somewhere right now. It is almost as if his energetic play, which is usually his best asset, has made him jittery. There are times that he needs to remember his talent level and just finish. We'll see if he can. He's got some kids creeping up behind that are bigger than him and appear very interested in taking his job.

O'Marra
- Probably the most surprising guy coming up behind Reddox is this guy. I wasn't blown away by the visuals of his play tonight, which was surely solid and energetic, but the faceoffs combined with the hits combined with defending his teammate and just being all over the place apparently, really makes it clear that he's improving in a big way. He seems to get the NHL game and what's key to survival. I've always liked what I've seen from #42 at this level and that continues. I could see him as the #4 C to start next year; or as a supporting player at 13 or 14. It would make sense.

Eberle
- What a play to make that first goal happen. We have so few players who would not only be able to calm themselves enough to gather the puck and take the time to turn around that late in a period, but to then make a little move and take a perfect shot between player and stick that deflects off your screening teammate? Amazing. What else is new. This kid's amazing. He kept leading in his on-ice play all night even though no more points came. He nearly scored another great break in goal much like the play against Calgary that was denied. That he got up after being run by Torres was a big relief. For those possibly not able to see on TV, he was up quick and appeared to have no wooziness at all. Very lucky, but also indicates that like Hall, he's built strongly.

Jones
- The thing I noticed about his game tonight was that he got himself open and got to a ton of loose pucks and breakout passes. This was aided by the simple approach to gameplan tonight that resulted in a bunch of plays that got behind the Canucks D, but wouldn't have been the same without Jones. He fit perfectly for the plan tonight. Gritty, tough, in your face and well positioned game that would have been better except for a couple bouncing pucks in the slot. His positioning has become stronger and stronger as the year has gone on. One thing Jones has always been able to do it seems, is learn more about the game. That's a big positive.

Cogliano
- It's kind of funny...I thought that all he really did tonight was lose the puck and mess up scoring chances. Clearly the coaches saw something else as he played an absolute ton of minutes tonight. I didn't see it...did anyone???
---------

One last piece of game-experience commentary: Don't yell DOOOOOOOB. It sounds silly, and you're copying people like 'Nuck fan. Do you really want that? Come up with a chant or something; or just applaud. No boo-variants for our team.

LMHF Report Game #39

2011-03-29T23:17:00.003-06:00

EDMONTON 0

VS.

LOS ANGELES 2
-----------------

We're almost there people. I feel at this point that even I am dragging a couple limbs that have given out behind me and staggering towards a finish line that is guaranteed to be there but at so many points this season has seemed so far away and so pointless all at the same time. It reminds of hobbling the last 6 miles of the half marathon I ran in Vegas because I had leg cramps the likes of which I couldn't have previously imagined. I wonder if the players feel that way. I imagine that for them the cramp is located several feet higher in a part of the body safely ensconced in a large plastic helmet.

This isn't going to be the usual game report. There was far to little of any consequence, either positive or negative, to write in the conventional fashion tonight. A ton of games this year have been listless and borderline painful, but this one joined the select few that featured almost nothing worth watching and were an effort to keep your attention on. It was really sad that they put THAT effort out for Rod's last game. Also, when you give a radio guy a banner, it's supposed to have a microphone on it, not the number of games he called. Sitting next to numbers such as 99 and 31 will now be 3542...yeah...

The goals we allowed fit with the game in that they were sad. LA didn't look like the kind of team that wanted a playoff spot in that they were almost as bad as we were. Their second goal came because Jason Strudwick somehow managed to have Theo Peckham deke him out...that's an accomplishment I never thought I'd see for several reasons. The other was some sort of slow-developing play that left Ladislav Smid laying there awkwardly in the crease. That's never good. Smid made more exceptionally strange plays tonight than I've seen from him in the last 20 home games combined I'm guessing. It was just strange.

I felt bad for Jordan Eberle because it looked like tonight the weight of trying to carry the team right now finally came crashing down on him. I saw him dump a puck to the middle of the opposition zone during a 5-on-5 situation...you'd never see that from him during "go time". He looked tired and a little lost tonight. I hope we're not beginning the process of ruining a sublime talent and sublime hockey mind somehow.

Once again, Teemu Hartikainen was one of the only decent reasons to watch the game. He made a couple really excellent plays; one was a drive to the net that started with a between the legs move to get past an LA defender and ended with a shot from his knees, then he made a beautiful rush play in the third that somehow found the post and bounced out to VandeVelde, who failed miserably on the conversion. It wasn't a night for goal scoring. #56 didn't thump anybody tonight, but did match up well physically with several large Kings, including Matt Greene. There seems to be at least 2 times a game so far where you could very well think that his last name should be Selanne.

Our goaltender looked like he was sleepwalking through the game. As I mentioned, the goals were iffy and LA put forth a pretty sad effort, so he wouldn't have had to do a lot to stop everything. Tonight's another one of those games that shows just how much relying on shots for a picture of a game is a mistake.

Looking down the lineup, there wasn't too much else to see really. Linus set up some nice plays but none were converted and he just missed out on a third period goal; Magnus skated a mile and didn't generate chances as LA played sturdy D; Andrew skated a bunch as well...but I was randomly watching some clips of 2008 compared to then, this guy has fallen so far back. It's really unbelievable.

We couldn't even get a good fight going tonight to at least provide some spark or entertainment...not from MacIntyre, Peckham, Strudwick, Jacques (we're so bad he was out during the final minutes trying to score btw...all he did was hit Liam Reddox) Jones or anyone. This game was totally devoid of any passion whatever. I had a feeling they wasted the last of what they had against Calgary and it appears that was true. Perhaps the only way for us to beat Vancouver next week is to dress a lineup of goons and chuck batteries on the ice.

I certainly don't enjoy writing such a bitter account of what is usually, even on a bad night, a much better experience than most other things. But there are times when it might as well have been on the TV or radio...and this was one of them.

LMHF Report - Game #38

2011-03-26T23:23:00.003-06:00

EDMONTON 4

VS.

CALGARY 5

In a stinking shootout...
-----------------------

Damn...

This one hurts...this one stings...this one sucks.

If you were in the building tonight, you remembered what it was like to be a fan of a hardworking hockey club. The Oilers busted it for a substantial part of the game. The fans were there from the word go urging them on. It was truly fun to be an Oilers fan again tonight, even if just for a while.

Before delving too far into the final result, I have to give most of these guys a ton of credit; they were outclassed severely in terms of talent on the ice tonight, but they showed what effort can make up for in the first 50 minutes of the game. That style of play will win you a ton of games with a proper lineup on the ice. I hope those players who were either watching from the press box or sitting on the bench with some of these guys fighting for careers took notice of what guys that have no business being in the NHL just yet (or in some cases, are just barely cracking the surface and should be struggling, not thriving and blowing people away) did on that ice to a team fighting for its playoff life.

What should have been the turning point of the game was Devan Dubnyk's utter robbery in the first period. Their were two candidates for POTW in this game and that was just an amazing save. It turned out that wasn't to be, but at least we got to see it.

We also got to see the first NHL goal from a guy who I believe will come to define this team's future in a much more meaningful way than any of us could have thought. There was another FInnish guy whose name ended in "nen" that did a ton of good work for us and was a big part of championships. His modern counterpart looks to be well on his way. More on that later.

I'm going to hang part of the loss tonight on the coach. That might seem a bit goofy, but he underplayed some guys in the third (specifically #56), sent MacIntyre back out after his first stupid penalty to hurt the team dearly, and he needed very badly to call a timeout when it was 4-2 and didn't. He could have guided these guys to a win tonight and didn't.

Some of this is also on the referees; I have never seen such bad and inconsistent reffing in all my years of watching games as I've seen this year. It was absolutely abhorrent that we didn't get a PP until OT. It was an absolute joke that the linesmen were missing offside calls. Those guys should be absolutely embarrassed after that disgusting display. They might as well have been deflecting Calgary the puck.

Lastly, we lost because we are undermanned and just not very good. Our goalie, who looked ready to lock it down in the first, came apart as the game went on. Though I'm not saying goalies should have an easy time with breakaways and the third goal is squarely on Jim Vandermeer, I'm convinced that Dubnyk got way too amped up on that goal and whiffed. The same thing happened on the Staios goal, as Dubnyk overreacted in his reset and wasn't ready for a quick shot. Everyone was overplaying every single play at that stage, but Dubnyk's got to be calm there. I don't know why he wasn't. Getting beat on point shots like he did also stinks. Don't remind me of Mr. Salo.

I really hated losing to those guys tonight. We had victory in our sights and absolutely blew it. In a year when we've had almost nothing to cheer about, there was a chance for a massive cheer against a massive rival on a Saturday night on national TV and we blew it...not to mention they blew the first Sports Select ticket I've played in probably a year (thanks DET and WSH for doing your part). UGH....anyway, let's go through the PLAYER REPORTS
---------------

Dubnyk
- As I said, he looked really good early but you could feel it slipping away from him from the second period onward. He was overplaying the puck and making easy saves look difficult. I don't know why he suddenly got nervous but it was painfully obvious. It's really too bad; he's played well and deserved better so many times this year, but then his team shows up and he cracks. Crummy.

Vandermeer
- You cannot make a mistake like he did to allow that Glencross goal when all you do is play a simple game. I don't know what precisely crossed his mind when that happened but I hope it haunts his dreams tonight. I couldn't believe it when Renney had him out there for the 4-on-3. At what point do you say "no coach, that's stupid, play Linus or Teemu"? I know you don't do that but COME ON. He didn't hit anyone tonight which really surprised me. I thought he'd be in Calgary's face more often.

Petry
- Very mixed tonight. He made some really nice plays with the puck on his stick when he decided to skate it, but he didn't get the job done at the offensive blue line and gave the puck away in his own zone when he tried to move it. He overplayed moreso than just about anyone else and got caught trying to bat the puck awkwardly several times. It cost us. I feel bad for the guy, but he needs to be better and IS better than that. I won't dog him for the closing his hand on the puck call; he tried to bat it straight down and the puck got stuck. Not sure if you could see that angle but it was evident live.

Peckham
- I liked the physicality he brought in tonight's game; as he certainly went looking for hits and landed some. Was surprised he didn't fight anyone. He didn't make any spectacular plays with the puck or do much at the offensive blue line, which was disappointing.

Strudwick
- Struggled through it tonight. The refs missed some calls that should have gone against him as he did a lot of grabbing, but thankfully he managed to not make any huge mistakes that wound up in our net. I guess that's a plus.

Gilbert
- Tom played an absolutely phenomenal game for much of tonight. He was defending like a mad man and making a lot of simple plays with sticks and positioning that would otherwise have gone unnoticed. This made it even more puzzling when he decided to play like a colossal idiot in OT. On the powerplay, he rushed a pointless and impossible shot to the net with more than enough time left to set up a 4-on-3 play that should have at least had a chance to end the game. I don't know what happened. So very frustrating...

Smid
- He was excellent in the defensive zone. Beat on the Flames forwards all night and made their life in the corners brutal. When the play got crazy, he was the guy to grab the puck, skate it, slow down and make a pass. Got to keep this guy as we grow; they don't just show up out of nowhere.

MacIntyre
- Get this idiot off my team right now. It wasn't bad enough that he takes a stupid penalty putting Jokinen in a headlock for no apparent reason...but then he tries to make some convoluted sort of hockey play and crosschecks a guy offside???!?!?!?! That's an automatic penalty you moron...He doesn't fight, doesn't defend his teammates, doesn't deter anyone...send this idiot to that Quebec goon's league where he belongs. He could be the nicest guy in the world, but he was a big part of costing the team the game tonight.

Jacques
- Is a terrible, terrible hockey player. Watching him do his once-per-game miss-a-hit routine always makes me laugh. I'll give him credit for a decent shift filling in for Magnus, but trying to watch him and MacIntyre on the same shift made it want to wretch.

Fraser
- Well, as someone pointed out, he's almost caught Dallas goalie Kari Lehtonen in points now...He did work hard tonight on the PK and made some decent plays; I just can't get enough out of his game to really say much because he doesn't really make defensive or offensive plays that often. I nearly forgot though, that hit he laid in the first was probably the best thing he's done all year. That was textbook and beautiful. Show that to kids learning how to hit people away from the boards.

O'Marra
- He did some nice things even if he was outclassed by a decent margin. There was a sequence in the second where he came of the boards with a little deke and made an offensive chance. He went to the right spot and took a really smart low shot to set up the Reddox goal. He didn't land any really big hits but he always gets to his man and makes contact. The thing about O'Marra is that you can tell his baseline skillset is higher than a lot of the pluggers we have floating about. I hope he works his butt off in the summer and takes a good run at our 4th line C job. He's working like he wants it.

Jones
- You know, I'm kind of torn here...he did a bunch of really good things tonight. There was his goal obviously; and he made a great defensive play to break up a dangerous Flames chance in the second period, he hustled and got his stick in the way of many sequences tonight. Jones is at his best when he's in a leadership role on his line as "the talented one" rather than backing up some skilled guys and that's what he was most of tonight. The only issue I have is that his game tapered off at the end and he didn't seem to have any push left to finish this one off. Maybe he just got too much icetime? Also, again on the coach, why in hell was he in the SO? It's all well and good to be able to break the glass with a wrister like he did, but we have much more talented players that sat this round out on a night when we should have been all in for the win.

Reddox
- He will never get the credit he deserves, but that was a truly superlative effort on his part. He hit people, he made offensive plays, he made a ton of defensive plays, he PK'ed well, got the puck out of our zone, skated like a madman. The guy made every single shift count. His play to set up the Jones goal was one of the smartest sequences you'll see: he pushed the Flames d-man into the boards at just the right time to avoid a penalty AND get the puck, then he settles the play down, walks out and finds O'Marra in perfect positioning. That was an absolute thing of beauty. I'm very sad he didn't get a goal tonight; he really deserved better and took a leadership role in this one through his effort. Give the guy a contract and start him in the NHL. He doesn't lose us games (a lot of the others do).

Paajarvi
- I must admit I missed what happened in the corner that led to him skating off the ice woozy; what exactly was that play? I will say though, for him to then get up and not only make it to the bench but actually stop to try to take a pass and negate an icing while barely able to stand up was one of the most courageous efforts I've seen. The rest of the night he was really good; flying down the wings and skating the puck to safety. He also used his shot a little more than usual and JUST missed a couple really nice ones. Once he realizes all he can do on those plays, he will be unstoppable. Really too bad his first period deke chance had to be pulled off the goal line by a Calgary defender; that was a great little move. He appeared to not even know he scored, but that was an excellent second effort and a well earned goal.

Cogliano
- Had an absolutely phenomenal shift in OT. I saw more hard work and confidence in that effort of keeping the puck alive and getting a chance than I have most of the season. He actually kept up to his linemates most of the night and was a positive influence, which was good to see. Worked really hard on his PKing, but needs to stop overskating and use his speed more appropriately.

Omark
- I'll note the mistake he made first: in the second period he fumbled a puck at the blue line that could have ended in a really good chance because it led to a turnover in a dangerous area. The thing about that play was if the puck doesn't bounce on him, he's got Paajarvi on a clear breakaway on the far wing, which is what he was trying to set up. Other than that he was excellent. He owned the corners as usual; was all over the Flames' puck carriers, made a nifty little pass to Cogliano that set up a Magnus' goal, and was dangerous in the offensive zone all night. Renney screwed up in not using him enough late, on the PP, or in the SO. Just stupid. If you were watching, you saw that Linus did a great job of gaining the red line and making simple plays deep into the zone later in the game, as well as not passing to the blue line but instead making a safer play down behind the Flames net. Lots of maturity already.

VandeVelde
- This guy should be in way over his head but somehow found a way to swim tonight. I think he's a very strong contender to make the team out of camp next year. Though his game is a lot quieter than his linemates from tonight, he went to all the right places and made some really strong plays either for the puck or with the puck. If he continues to develop, he'll be an NHLer and probably a pretty decent one. I hope he can find a niche and exploit that. His overall game is very balanced and he just needs to find a way to elevate something.

Eberle
- I really liked what I saw from Jordan tonight in that he showed he could lead a line. I'm not sure if it was obvious on TV, but the support and safety that he gave his linemates, while still making solid plays with the puck and doing a ton of things right, was astounding. He's so poised and wanted to win this game so badly...I can't imagine how bad he feels after this one. It's really a shame that they don't hand out automatic penalty shots when penalties are taken as late as the last Flames call was, because he was absolutely locked in on that play; no way bonehead was making that save. We've got our future captain and it is always a joy to watch him perform; I just hope that before too long I get to see him leading a line of disturbingly talented players with the same kind of effort to victory in a playoff series.

Hartikainen
- We have seriously hit the jackpot. If you want to teach someone how to play hockey, find tape of this guy in tonight's game and show them. I don't know how you come into the NHL so early and do what he's doing. In that second period, you'd swear he was the second coming. He was churning away, making plays and getting chances all night, then he beats a Cgy defender, goes around another, skates into two players and shoots while both of them have stick position and are interfering but scores...such an amazing play. Go watch it somehow if you haven't yet. Mere minutes later, he just PASTES Sarich. You should have seen the boards flex on that hit. Sarich nearly wound up in the 10th row. He skates hard, he knows his position, he can toe drag and nearly scored another beauty with that move, he makes passes and backchecks...the kid is just tremendous. If we can find one more hockey genius to add to he and Eberle, we will probably have the smartest and most unique line in the NHL in only a couple years. It's one thing to see these uber-talented guys like Hall, but the Teemu Hartikainens of the world are often just as important when championship time rolls around. This might seem like hyperbole and a bit much for a guy I've only seen a couple times, but seriously people, this guy is something very special. They don't build em like this anymore. If I knew what number he was going to wear, I'd go out and buy a jersey right now. I saw someone say "I'd take a whole team of Hartikainens" earlier tonight. Couldn't agree more.
-----------------------

Crazy night, wild ride, but found some positivity in it. It hurts that we couldn't celebrate as big a win as we're going to see this year, but I guess that's why they call it the blues...

LMHF Report - Game #36

2011-03-17T22:07:00.003-06:00

EDMONTON 1

VS.

PHOENIX 1

VS.

Team Kimmerly/Meier 3
-------------------

Truly amazing. I don't know if I've ever seen a game where the referees make a 3-goal difference. Maybe one of those playoff games versus Dallas long ago where we got 14 straight penalties or whatever it was, but this one takes the cake. Trying to make up for it with a phantom "closing hand on the puck" penalty just made it look even worse. How exactly he called Whitney's in, I have no idea. They showed an angle at the game that clearly showed it outside the net and not moving...though from what I recall when hearing about the rules on overturning a refs decision, I believed it was mentioned that there must be more than 1 angle to verify? Stupid process. It's also a stupid process when, if the video proves the puck couldn't physically have been in the net, but we can't see it not in the net, it's a goal (based on the on-ice call). What silly rules this league has. Legal hits on stupid players who like to stare at their own skates will get you 5 games but a swinging chop with a stick will get you the equivalent of a minor. Omark was tripped. The guy takes more beatings than just about anyone along the boards and now he has to deal with this garbage? Unbelievable. Obviously the chance late was not covered...but that was not the reason they gave at the game...they announced that it was called off due to interference on the goaltender...a) where's the penalty then? b) Jones was clearly shoved it. That was a completely legit goal.

What a stupid series of events to decide a hockey game...

There were other chances and things that could have changed of course, but rarely do you see a spectacle as sad as that so I thought it deserved a lot of commentary. Tonight's game was actually a fair bit more entertaining than a lot of the game this year. I say that because the young guys and callups really played like they were after jobs. There were strong and enthusiastic efforts all over the ice. There was a fair bit more hitting that usual and most of it was done well as part of the play and with strong positioning (unlike Jacques-style hitting). This was really nice to see. Obviously we weren't equipped to take on a team that may be playoff bound, but we made due.

Anyone else find it incredibly sad and amusing that the OKC guys on the PP had a better system and more success generating chances than the full time Oilers? Wow...

Phoenix isn't going to make the playoffs if they put forth too many efforts like this. We outworked them pretty badly with our AHL affiliate playing. I was betting on these guys coming in here and being motivated...but it appears they were looking past us. They got by with some help from the stripey people.

PLAYER REPORTS
--------------------

Hartikainen
- I quite liked his game from the beginning of the second onward. You could tell it took him some time to settle in. In the first, he got a great chance on the PP for his first NHL goal and instead tried to pass through multiple defenders to GIroux...he was obviously a tad nervous. Once he settled in, he was more forceful. I really like the way he lines up and hits people. It's a very proper hockey hit and it sounds HEAVY. The sound of the first hit really impressed those in attendance. His assist wasn't flashy, but he also contributed to that goal by going to the net and providing a bit of a screen. After this he started to skate with some real force to the net and nearly scored on a quick play down low. He was a decent part of driving the Oilers' momentum in the third and got rewarded with a couple extra shifts. I can see why this guy might be a player. If I had to say something about his game that needs to improve, it's that he sets up to drive the net but doesn't seem to want to follow through. No reason he can't.

Giroux
- He's such an odd player to watch. I really liked the way he hit a number of people tonight. If he did this more often he'd probably be an NHLer taking a couple shifts 5-on-5 and then as a powerplay specialist with a team. He couldn't convert on a couple chances that he got for shots, but his best chance came off a tip play that he and Omark were successful as setting up. You can tell they've run it before. What I don't get about Giroux is why his positioning is so atrocious. If you're a bad skater, you really need to be good positionally. He is not. He will literally stop in the area he thinks in the scoring area and leave everything else to his teammates. Unless you're scoring 40, that's not acceptable. To be 100% honest, it's hard for me not to be mad at Giroux...physical gifts, clearly talented, just clearly hasn't ever given enough of a damn to capitalize on his talents. That's a special kind of brutal.

VandeVelde
- To be honest, he was pretty invisible to my eyes. I didn't see him do anything exceptional, especially in the offensive zone. I don't think any of us were expecting miracles, but you never know what will stand out. I'd like to watch him play again, but on initial impression I don't think he'll be good enough unless it's a long road.

O'Marra
- He did what he's done in his appearances in that he's not an amazing skater but works hard, hits and takes care of himself. I thought he might have a better performance on the line he was playing with, but the lines didn't stay together for very long so that went out the window. I still like him better than Colin Fraser...

Omark
- He played a really solid game in the offensive zone; dominated the corners, got the assist on Magnus' goal, found him for another great chance in front and generated some shooting chances off the boards on the PP. He made some iffy passes (though the whole squad seemed obsessed with the drop pass tonight). For a guy who has so many non-calls when he is abused, held, sticked, crosschecked and other things in the corners to be given a diving penalty while driving the Oilers offensive bus to what probably would have been a 2-2 score was really aggravating. Should have had multiple points tonight.

Paajarvi
- Probably spent more time playing the defensive position than playing forward tonight. His goal was really nice because he was in position and took a really smart shot on goal. Also had a couple other chances but couldn't seem to find any sort of dynamic deking. As always, he used his speed pretty well.

MacIntyre
- Actually made a couple passes and tried to play his position tonight. Very weird. No fight without Mr. TwitterFamous from PHX in the lineup, but he should have beaten up Boedker without asking after that hit on Hartikainen. Watching him stand there and do nothing proved just how useless he really is. I could put a 20-goal scorer there who could do nothing for cheap.

Cogliano
- I stood up and yelled that Cogliano was a bum tonight. Seriously, this guy has lost all of his scoring ability. Gets a breakaway...skates past the goalie and takes a weak backhand. Gets a penalty shot...skates straight at the goalie and shoots straight at him. Gets the puck in front of the net on a great feed from Eberle...takes time to wind watch...contemplates existence...shudders a little bit...remembers he's playing hockey...remembers there's a black thing on his stick...calmly returns black thing to the nice man in the large pads. What did he think he was doing??? He was brutal in the defensive zone and disrupted offensive rushes as well. UGH...

Eberle
- He played a really nice offensive game despite not getting any real support. He drove the net and nearly scored off his knees generating a PP, and made a few really nice passes into dangerous areas. He's the best forward on the ice right now and that should only be true this season if he was leading the OKC team to the playoffs. He ain't.

Jones
- He started off quicker than most of the rest of the squad, including drawing a penalty with some nice work behind the net, but he was one of the few guys who seemed to tail off as the game stretched on. Kind of a strange effort from him. Not at home on the PP.

Reddox
- Same ol same ol. Solid effort, never quits, hit some people and made a couple diving/extra-effort type plays that some people love him for. Pisani 2.0 finally?

Fraser
- Took a couple really weak shots on net and that was about it I guess...but at least he showed some toughness. Sad when he can't even stand out among this crowd.

Gilbert
- He was okay but couldn't seem to contribute anything whatever to the PP. The PP breakout, which used to be a strong suit of his, is now a mess. He used to make a strong pass from the D zone or skate all the way into the opposition zone and give to a forward. Now he skates to the red line, stops awkwardly and forces a play. Not exactly a finesse defenceman at his finest. He's being asked to do too much of course and is okay defensively, but his offence just isn't coming back, which is really unfortunate because that is what initially made him special.

Petry
- Chased the puck a little too much tonight. He looked nervous and a little twitchy as opposed to smooth and flowing like he had before. The major mistakes that had crept into his game weren't really present and he recovered well from the minor ones he made, but nothing special sadly.

Foster
- He'd be better as a forward getting in on the forecheck and hitting people (as he did once tonight). Did absolutely nothing with a boatload of PP time. How could he have fallen so far so fast??

Vandermeer
- Did a pretty solid job tonight. I really liked the couple times he took advantage of positioning and made a safely executed play towards the net. He could've scored on a couple of occasions tonight. Solid defence as well.

Smid
- Wore the 'A' tonight and did a pretty good job. Nothing flashy really, but solid.

Strudwick
- There was a point tonight where he took a puck in the ankle and was severely hobbled...if you hadn't seen it you wouldn't have noticed much difference in his play. The usual.

Khabibulin
- Two of the goals never should have happened so it's hard to blame him for those. He kind of moved out of the way awkwardly on the other though...wasn't pretty. He did make some nice stops.
-----------

I will unfortunately be missing Saturday's game, so no report then. I really hope we don't resort to pulling goalies and intentionally missing the net in a knock-down-drag-out battle for 30th....

LMHF Report - Game #33

2011-02-27T21:25:00.007-07:00

EDMONTON 2

VS.

BOSTON 3
---------------

NOTE: I'm missing the next 2 home games, which is unfortunate. I'll be in Palm Springs, which is not exactly unfortunate. This late garbage blast of winter only makes that prospect nicer.

I have a feeling that if the Oilers played the Bruins more often they'd be a better hockey team. The way Boston approaches the game seems to bring the toughness in many of our guys to the forefront. They also brought the speed out in our lineup. I'm guessing that if we retain the way we played against BOS in the next game, it will look to our boys like the other team is standing still. I'm not sure they will because consistency isn't exactly our middle name, but it's a possibility.

Boston is a really good hockey team that plays well positionally and has plenty of talent. That'd be a hard combination to beat for many teams in the league. The Bruins (not BROONS, Stauffer) play what I'd describe as a western conference style game; I could see them being very difficult to beat in the east. They are so deep up front and yet their strength is in net. Honestly I think they could have played better tonight, but did enough.

The Oilers had a chance to win tonight; even though the shots were what they were. We got the first goal, and also had a number of good chances that were not capitalized on. Specifically, our powerplay and the sequence surrounding this in the second period could have been a turning point. The puck went through Omark and dangerously towards the net on several occasions (including a missed tip by either 89 or 91, I couldn't tell who) and we definitely should have scored there. Other chances followed and there were a decent amount in the third as well though we didn't show as much drive as we could have. It's hard to complain about losing a game like this, especially when we lost Peckham early and had to lean so heavily on Strudwick and Foster, but we really did have the chances and a couple specific things were off. More on that in Player Reports...

------------

Dubnyk
- None of the goals he allowed were particularly bad, though he certainly could have done a little more on the Ryder play (though he was screened). He made a lot of stops, some of them were very good. Nothing to complain about and a good effort.

Strudwick
- I didn't mind Strudwick as much tonight (even though he got caught standing still on one of the goals) because he was mean as hell. Every guy who got to the front of the net against him got a stick in the back or a glove in the mouth. He should be doing this in every single game he plays, but often doesn't. At least he did something to make a difference tonight.

Vandermeer
- This was not a night where he went unnoticed. He hit people. He got the puck on net and generated a goal. He had his fight with Lucic after #17 took one too many pokes at Dubnyk. He was really really solid tonight and I would be surprised if one of the scouts in attendance for the last game or two doesn't convince their GM to trade a draft pick to the Oilers to acquire him as a depth guy.

Foster
- He was terrible. Specifically, what was he doing on the Peverley goal? Unbelievable, and yet the coach keeps sending him out there at crunch time. I know he's had a little offensive outburst lately, but he's so bad defensively that nothing can justify him being on at crunch time. Smid would have been a much more solid choice.

Smid
- I love how in games like this one Smid elevates the meanness in his game to another level. The forearm he laid late in the game at the Bruins blue line was both deserved and a beauty. He got himself to the net a couple times; predictably not scoring but at least he gave the effort. He was also really solid defensively. I think it would be a mistake to deal him tomorrow because he's the kind of 4-6 defenceman we need and he's not going to be very expensive.

Gilbert
- He made a lot of really solid plays with the puck, and certainly fought hard as the leader to keep his short-staffed crew in the game. The problem he had tonight was that he had a very difficult time contributing to the transition and rush. He wouldn't move the puck really quickly and he wouldn't skate with it. This led to indecisiveness and mistakes. I think we all know this is a little too much for Gilbert at the moment, but he's doing a decent job. He really needs to learn a slapper in the offseason. The one-timer he got off tonight was really pathetic.

Peckham
- He would have been a big part of this game as it gained in pace and got more physical. It is very unfortunate that he got hit with a tough punch and hopefully he comes back soon. I think Theo playing might have led to us winning.

MacIntyre
- Playing him proved his worthlessness tonight. The other guys stepped up; he did nothing but make on-ice mistakes. Sorry Steve, you're useless and having guys either losing icetime or languishing in OKC because of you makes me sad.

Brule
- Certainly came back with a strong effort tonight. I liked his goal as he took his best shot at the right time and with the flow of the rush rather than awkwardly as he sometimes forces that shot. He's certainly a better fourth line C than some of our other options, but I don't know if we can afford him in that role at this stage. I liked the physicality he brought, including taking a run at Chara. His best time was when Cogliano was in the box and he got to play with Hall and Eberle. They looked really solid together because Brule can both keep up and take/give a pass. There was absolutely no good reason for Renney to send him back to his original line when Cogliano's penalty was over. He wasn't AMAZING, but he contributed positively.

Jones
- This was a quieter game from Jones, but he still got some hits in and a scoring chance or two. I sometimes wonder if he's just not strong/physical/mean enough to play the role he needs to. He's not talented enough to be a power forward; but if he played with a little more edge or a little more smarts, he could be quite valuable. This contrasts with nights where he looks to have solid scoring instincts.

Hemsky
- He had a really nice game tonight, and was moving his feet quickly as well as getting into dangerous areas the whole game long. Unfortunately his linemates weren't too amazing tonight and failed to convert on some of the chances he created. Ales could have been more selfish tonight and might have gotten more points (which isn't normal because usually his line is good enough + his passing instincts are excellent). I'm thinking specifically of the example where he took the puck off the boards, drove to the middle and dropped for Penner. If Penner one-times, he scores, but he didn't. Ales should have faked the drop, kicked it to his stick and shot. He had enough room. If anyone even needs to ask my opinion on what should happen tomorrow, barring someone nearly literally offering the moon, you haven't read these reports long enough. He's our best player and should be part of our next stage of winning just as he was important in 2006. He's much more complete and better now. Use it.

Horcoff
- Quiet game from Shawn. I was very surprised when Brule got a shift in his place in the third. He wasn't bad; but he wasn't great either. Was missing some of the jump I noted in the last home game I attended. His scoring instincts really aren't very sharp right now.

Penner
- #2 asked quite honestly if Penner is playing to not be traded. He was a little better than the bottom of his efforts tonight, but he still looked way off. He was constantly too slow to react to the puck, didn't skate, didn't bull towards the net or run anyone over save for one shift in the third, and just did nothing exceptional. There's nothing in his skating, lines, positioning or any other technical detail I can see that looks to be off...he just isn't all there. Needless to say, we need him to be in order for the team to be effective.

Omark
- He did some really nice things tonight, and was one of the most consisten Oilers in terms of getting the puck to the net and slot to create offensive danger. If his linemates or PP teammates had been on tonight, he would have had several assists. As usual, he had a couple phenomenal sequences in the corners, but that sequence where he stuck the puck under his skate and defended it, then made a kick pass was just amazing. Only once did he make a questionable pass (across his own zone) and that didn't cost us. Very nice bounceback game after being benched. Should have been on when we needed a goal late instead of some of the guys that were out there.

Paajarvi
- I saw him drive wide a couple times tonight without much success at the net, and also covered up defensively a couple times when the D that were supposed to be backing him up made mistakes in the offensive zone. He really uses his talent and instincts on these plays and that's a valuable thing.

Gagner
- I wasn't as impressed with Sam tonight, as he seemed to be weak on the puck and unable to do anything from shooting areas. He wasn't dangerous offensively or physical and he needs to be one of those things on each night.

Eberle
- This was one of his weaker games. I'm not exactly sure what happened on the Nathan Horton goal, but Eberle was in no man's land, made a horrible play and couldn't recover. At one point, he got a pass in front of the net on the rush and sort of stopped skating towards the net when he normally would have taken a great little shot. I didn't think he could have done much on the Peverley goal, but usually his positioning on Peverley would have prevented him from being caught like that. I liked that he tried to be physical and both set up then screened on the Brule goal, but #14 had one of his only rough nights and one of his only horrid defensive mistakes.

Cogliano
- I liked his approach in getting into that fight, but I think he also revealed where his role should be if he's here and on a good team. If Cogliano is going to play C (which he should not), then he's a fourth line C who must use his speed and play physically. He made some hits which was good, but the offensive struggles he's had in terms of passes (both taking and giving from Eberle and Hall) were there again. Part of me hopes he is traded tomorrow, because if he won't play wing, he's taking up a C spot that shouldn't be occupied by a guy like him, even on our team.

Hall
- I really expected Hall to burst out offensively after that episode in the second period where he got pushed around some. The penalty he got was utterly silly...not only had he been hooked previously, but he was jumping around the player to get to the puck rather than committing a roughing offence. I think Boston was watching him quite closely, as there were times when Chara guarded him particularly close. He never could shake loose and got some puck towards the net but never really challenged Rask.

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Tough loss, but this is a game that shows how much better we need to be. Boston was tired, had accomplished most of what they wanted on their western swing and still dispatched us when they were decently ripe for the picking.

Advisory - No Game Report Friday

2011-02-24T11:04:00.001-07:00

Hello all, i am at a work conference in Banff and wont be back in time for the Stl game. Reports will resume as usual for the Boston game.

LMHF Report - Game #31

2011-02-19T16:48:00.002-07:00

EDMONTON 5

VS.

ATLANTA 3
------------

And the thundering herd marches on to yet another glorious victory...well not quite but at least this is officially a winning streak (3 wins required rather than 2).

This was a very different win than the last two but does a good job of illustrating why "how" doesn't really matter. We got it done today and finished with a bit of style actually. I think a lot of the Oilers early struggles can be attributed to the awkwardness of an afternoon game. That first period was pretty brutal all over the ice but if this thing had started at 8pm I think we may have seen a serious drubbing. This team has just enough confidence at the moment that superlative efforts of the young will not be denied. The last two games also saw stellar goaltending bail out mediocre D. Tonight the goaltending was horrid at both ends and certainly led to an interesting game.

The central point of debate in this game, whether we won or lost, would have been Renney's decision to bench Penner, Jacques and Omark then run with 3 lines in the third. I thought he went to the short bench a little early and might pay for it, but thankfully Hall took off like a rocket and we overwhelmed any possibility of an ATL rebound. It helped that our usually anemic EN efforts were again successful. Obviously the boldest benching was Penner; but he certainly deserved it. I'm also debating whether Jacques and Omark were actually benched or just didn't get any time because Renney needed Reddox for D on line one, but didn't want Jones to not be on the ice .

ATL is an interesting team; they have a lot of talent floating around but don't look very organized at all. I guess that fits being that their best player is in effect a throwback to the days of the rover combined with the modern athlete. #33 is an interesting guy to watch and I certainly would've poached him for the Oilers if we'd ever had a reasonable chance. He could make the difference on a lot more nights than a guy like Penner, but appears to cost a similar amount. ATL was let down by their goaltending as well today, but we don't always take advantage of a goalie who's fighting it like that, so I'll definitely take it.

-----------

Devan Dubnyk
- One of his absolute worst performances of the year. Even though there were distinct breakdowns on two of the goals he allowed, if his D wasn't covering people and getting pucks away the Thrashers would have had a disturbing amount of great chances. I lost count of the number of ugly rebounds he generated at around 10. Devan didn't look confident at all today and fought hard to stay on the horse. Thankfully he made just enough saves, but he's got to be better than that.

Penner/Reddox-Horcoff-Hemsky
- I think this game confirms my initial thought from last game that Penner was making Hemsky and Horcoff look a lot more iffy than they actually were. Early in this one, Penner missed several Hemsky set ups and simple pass plays from both 10 and 83 (who looked quite solid early). Then he went offside a couple times. Then Penner skating past his check led to both the Ladd goal (where he actually bumped into Ladd and just kept going) and the Kane goal (where he made some half-hearted hooking attempt and stopped in the middle of nowhere, not only missing Kane but blocking out Chorney). He was absolutely horrible today and I agreed with Renney benching him. The sequence after his benching was rather unfortunate, because I'd have bet you $100 he'd have scored a goal today if he hadn't got that somewhat unlucky penalty after a really nice chance. He was fired up so at least he had the right reaction to the benching. I'd play him on a different line to start next game and tell him his job is to get some hits and get the puck deep. Simplify a bit. Ales wasn't at his absolute best but certainly made some nice plays. The little give and go that Hall worked with him was pretty nifty (great pass through a player while Horcoff took the stick of the man in front of the net so he couldn't block the pass) and he managed to get the EN goal again which is good to see. He's really productive right now even though I don't think this is the 'A' game aside from Dallas the other night. Loved the play he made where he entered the zone 1-on-5, held off the ATL players and made a pass to his winger. Horcoff had a pretty solid game and definitely has his wheels under him again. He and Hemsky are really reading off each other well right now. I'd also like to cover Reddox here because he did some really nice things playing with Hemsky and Horcoff, mainly related to working along the boards and showing some real jump into openings on the ice. You could tell he was pumped for the chance at that stage of the game and he did what he could. He was also quite good on the PK and good enough with his line. Liked the bit of feistiness he showed in the first too, getting into a scrum in front of the net. With all that said, I would not support starting him with Horcoff and Hemsky next game. Hall and Eberle need either Horcoff or Gagner so things need to be shook up.

Hall-Cogliano-Eberle
- I hope the thing that Taylor Hall remembers about this game is that all it really took for him to score those three goals was deciding he was going to do it. Two of those plays were simply Hall willing the puck into the back of the net. The first he certainly took advantage of a mistake by Mason, but he just kind of decided he was going to score that one. The second was a beauty play by he and Hemsky; one they could run a million times over. By the third goal, his team knew he was hot so the puck was headed his way; rather than taking wild shots or doing something goofy, Hall found his spot and drove that puck right through a goalie who he had to know he owned at that point. It was great to watch Taylor finally realize the types of goals he's going to score a ton of in this league. Even before that, the ATL was shifting towards him and opening up others. If this had happened in period 2, Eberle would have scored 2 in the third because he'd be so alone he could wind his watch. Cogliano might even have popped one. I don't remember the last time an Oilers player had a natural hat trick in a period...but I have a feeling his name might have ended in zky. It's not easy to do. Taylor Hall sure made it look easy. That's a dominant a short stretch as you're going to see. You don't have to be going end-to-end at a billion miles an hour or make a whole team look silly, but you do have to know that the puck will go in if you make your play. That's what Hall did. Cogliano played the exact same game I've seen him play for several in a row now where he's really making an effort, but when it comes time to be productive, either through a pass high in the offensive zone or a shot down low, he just can't do it. Better on the PK though. Eberle played a really solid game, and the little flip pass he made to set up Hall on a rush before Taylor had any goals was disturbingly good. Not a night where he shines too bright, but a night where you notice how solid of a support player he can be.

Jacques-Omark
- These two wound up benched in the third but I didn't think either was having a particularly bad game. Jacques was okay in the corners, had a solid fight to stick up for a teammate and didn't make many mistakes. Omark generated some offensive chances and did a good job of getting to the net on a couple of occasions. I think both fell victim to the numbers game, but that Jacques will be in next game and hopefully Omark will benefit from some different line combos (play him w/Penner and see if you can't get that combo going). I didn't appreciate how good the rush pass to Magnus was until I saw the replay...that was nice.

Paajarvi-Gagner-Jones
- Sam wasn't amazing today but he did distribute the puck well in the offensive zone. His powerplay efforts have improved significantly of late mainly because he's found better ways to use those around him. Jones joined this line in the third period and kept up what was already a strong effort. Regardless of this guy's shooting percentage and debates around that, you can't argue with how hard he skates and that he's usually a guy you at the very least notice in a positive way. Had a couple scoring chances. Magnus was a little quiet but strong enough defensively. He got his goal but I think the thing to notice was his solid positioning and overall play. He got that goal at a key time in a game that seemed to be going away from the team, so it was certainly helpful.

Gilbert
- Pretty decent effort from Tom tonight though not as excellent as a couple games recently. He was still decisive and aggressive with the puck, including great stretch pass he made, but he could've wowed me more.

Peckham
- Theo fought hard to salvage a good game from one that didn't start out too great. Early on he was trying to make too many plays with his stick rather than body positioning and hits. This resulted in some bad mistakes and nearly a goal (Little hit the post). Thankfully he simplified, went back to hitting and closing gaps, and got in the faces of people like Kane and Byfuglien. He went from a negative impact on the game to a positive one and even got a couple shots towards the net. I really liked how much effort he brought and that he didn't get frustrated despite an odd start and a non-penalty called on him. That was a really bad stretch for the refs, where Theo got his non-penalty, then they tried to give Smid a phantom Delay of Game. It was really bad.

Smid
- A tough, solid bounce back game after Thursday's awkward injury. Glad to see him on the scoreboard as well. He was really composed on the opposition blue for most of the night, which is an improvement.

Foster
- Though he continues to baffle me entirely due to the fact that every single time he is open with the puck in the offensive zone he shoots high (including a great chance to put the game out of reach today), at least Foster made a defensive effort today. He landed more hits than usual, got to pucks and just generally got in the way of people. I'm all for not letting him join the rush anymore though as it is way too frustrating.

Chorney
- His teammates seemed more reluctant to give him the puck than in the last 2 games, so Chorney wasn't able to make the offensive impact he has lately. He didn't really make a bad effort defensively in any noticeable way, though his positioning on the goal ATL scored 4-on-4 was somewhat questionable.

Vandermeer
- He played okay other than a couple times where he got too aggressive and had to scramble back into position. Thankfully ATL didn't take advantage. I have a feeling if scouts of a team who feels they need depth on D have been watching us, he may leave at the deadline.
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Afternoon games are always strange and this one could have really gone sideways, instead we're left with a memorable day and a victory. That's why I keep going I suppose! You never know when it's going to happen.

LMHF Report - Game #30

2011-02-17T22:20:00.002-07:00

EDMONTON 4

VS.

MONTREAL 1
--------------

I'm always very glad to beat these guys, but mostly to beat their strange edmonton-based fans that try to own the rink every time they play here. It's one thing to be loud and maybe even obnoxious, but I still find booing the home team sad and distasteful. I still don't understand why so many season ticket holders give up their tickets without at least accompanying these strange folk to the game to even out the numbers. I was very happy with the guys tonight for a) getting the first goal to keep the Habs fans relatively quiet and b) winning by more than 1 to keep the fans from getting too noisy and excited during the end. It really seems as though the Montreal fans that are Edmonton-based lack the supposed hockey IQ of their Quebec-based counterparts, but do possess the same attitude of being above other fanbases. Needless to say I don't enjoy dealing with that.

I think there were some pretty clear keys to the win tonight that most people got:
- Our goalie was much better than their goalie.
- The D, which is already weak, suffered an injury and made our pathetic blue look formidable.
- In the third after the Oilers got the lead, they played a simple game, got the puck deep, and made the necessary effort to hold the lead. They played like a playoff team holding a lead (other than lacking killer instinct on the PP, though at least they didn't take any exceptionally stupid or wild shots).

Montreal plays a very interesting style that seems reliant on forcing the other team into turnovers. They do this by having active, well placed sticks and clogging lanes. Early on we had a ton of trouble with this and several promising rushes or chances were foiled by a Montreal stick that would look random or flukey if it weren't so consistent. Credit to them on their execution of this plan generally and I can see why it would work for them. They do have a lot of players who can jump to chances and make something happen. In addition to their currently weak D, they missed Mike Cammalieri tonight a ton. He might've made this a closer game.

The reffing tonight was intriguing to say the least in that it was pretty much prison rules for the first 2 periods. Not that it was an ugly game, but there was some stuff that probably should've been called in today's league and was let go. If games were consistently reffed like this, I'd love it and we'd have a much more entertaining game, but they aren't. When we were finally able to convince the ref that yes indeed we were playing the game too and got a PP, we may not have converted but you certainly felt something slip away from MTL.

A few words on Mr. Subban:
- I don't think he's really a defenceman. He's most effective at the opposition blue line while rushing, looks for the hit too much, and doesn't get to use his skating. He's a power forward.
- A small play some may have missed, but I think he helped Eberle who had fallen near the net by making sure his head didn't whack the post. Very gentlemanly of him. Much more than I can say for a bunch of his teammates.
- Players certainly know he's there and adjust on the ice, but both Hall and Eberle figured out how to go right at him with success. He'll need to work on that.

LMHF#2 is having a particularly psychic run lately; not only did he call the scores and result of the last 2 wins, but he called what type of pop I was going to have tonight and a couple other things. If anyone wants a prediction I'd suggest getting into contact with him. Crazy.

On to the players...
---------

Khabibulin
- His best game of the year. He was on and flat robbed MTL on several occasions. They executed successful cross-crease plays (including one which would have been a game-changer in the second) and #35 made the save and made it look easy. He was way ahead of the play tonight and showed his confidence late by playing the puck a little more than usual. I'm not sure where these performances have come from, but he was certainly the biggest reason we won tonight. The only goal MTL scored was because he was hit on the play and didn't recover.

Foster
- Though his feet were still moving slowly and he took an awkward bunch/forearm to head in the third, Foster managed to have a decently strong game defensively. He was more committed to his coverages than usual and especially in the third. When we win it will often be because guys like he and Vandermeer push their effort in the defensive zone just a little higher.

Vandermeer
- Mixed game from him but mostly in the positive due to some stronger defensive play in the second half of the game. I'd count his mistakes as two ill-advised pinches and a couple ugly giveaways, but he covered up for most of them alright. He did a solid job of being in the right position and went out of his way to make some hits, which is something the Oilers D hasn't done near enough of when it has had the chance as a unit to grate on opposition forwards.

Chorney
- He got two really solid shots on net tonight, both while on the move. One nearly went in on its own and another was nearly tipped in. He's much much more confident this time around. I didn't notice him a lot in the defensive zone, which is generally a good thing. He certainly wasn't perfect, but this was a solid effort

Smid
- I hope Ladislav is okay. he was having a decent enough positional game and did some solid things with the puck on his stick. He's always best when he does a decent amount of skating with the puck and he was doing that tonight. Quite composed. The only glaring error I'll point out is that he put a really bad screen on Khabibulin once or twice that could have cost us big.

Peckham
- Though this wasn't an extremely physical effort, Montreal certainly knew he was there. He played a pretty solid game for the most part and came away in the positive. I think many of the Oilers learned early from MTL's approach to the game and more shots were blocked. Peckham being one of the best at that.

Gilbert
- Another excellent, albeit quieter, effort from the man who needs to be our #1 D right now. Solid with the puck, took his time and got into the right positions all night long.

Jacques-Reddox-Jones
- This was probably the best game I've seen Jacques play in terms of actually contributing to a win. He got a chance in the third on a bit of a rush with Reddox and Jones to make a solid NHL play, took his time, located Jones and made a really nice pass to set up the huge 3-1 goal. It was simple but for Jacques it was a victory and I appreciated the play. He also laid some some hits and got in the way productively at other times. There were still shifts where I felt he'd be better either ignoring the puck totally or playing without a stick, but he made a contribution to the win. Jones created problems for MTL's tired D at several junctures tonight, using his strong N-S skating and drive for the puck to pressure them, then finally capitalizing on his best clear chance in the third. He could have had at least 2 tonight, as a couple of his other chances were pretty good. Liam got beat down pretty hard on the faceoff dot, but I liked his effort 5-on-5. He does a really solid job of skating in the proper lane as well as driving the net. If you noticed on Jones goal, Reddox befuddled Subban and was actually in behind Price ready for a leaked puck if need be. These guys really helped the cause tonight

Paajarvi-Gagner-Omark
- Magnus had a shift in the third that I think really speaks to his potential as a strong two-way 5-on-5 guy. He made a great little backcheck play to break up an initial Montreal rush, then after some milling about, grabbed a loose puck, skated it out of danger and dumped it deep. It was a fairly simple shift but a great example of hockey IQ + skill + effort. Magnus had some chances to do offensive damage, but either didn't get the shots off or was stymied by MTL's active sticks. Linus got even sweeter chances, including a wonderful breakaway pass from Magnus (which me made a good choice and shot on but just missed) and a screen/tip/rebound play that was thwarted by an MTL defender. He does need to start converting on some of these. He drew the first MTL penalty, which was no small feat tonight. He struggled a little in the defensive and neutral zones, but also had a really nice backchecking play in the third that I hadn't seen from him before yet and would indicate him learning to use his skills at both ends of the ice, which is a plus. I truly think he's a guy you can refine into an excellent defensive winger. Too many tools to waste. Sam was a little quieter than usual tonight, but seemed to play a pretty strong supporting game. This line wasn't leaned on heavily with the rookies going and Hemsky's line dealing with many minutes, but they were certainly not a hindrance and could have scored a goal or two.

Hall-Cogliano-Eberle
- Try as I might, I just don't think I can give Cogliano a passing grade. His result was okay, but there were just way too many times in all zones that the play died with him. He missed a phenomenal chance that should have been a gimme goal in period 2. Thankfully he wasn't forced to defend much sustained pressure from MTL. If some people have some positives on Cogliano besides the one really hard shot he fired at the net, I'd love for you to add them to the discussion. I just can't see it right now. Hall seemed to have the game an always-effective star has when he's not on full go. Hall found a way to exploit the MTL D, and drove wide all night, either beating them clean or punishing them through a little physicality and hard work. He put forth a big effort even if the stats were understated and didn't give the puck away near as much as he might have usually. I liked his effort a lot. The play he made to feed Eberle on his goal was sick. Taylor needs to remember that he's an excellent and creative playmaker who can give his teammates great chances and especially so off the rush. He's been locked in shooting mode too often. Eberle was excellent as always. Positionally brilliant. The goal an example of a guy who knows how to score and is patient as hell with the puck on his stick. If Hall (or anyone) can get him the puck in that spot, he's a goal scoring machine. I say he gets 40 next season.

Penner-Horcoff-Hemsky
- On what should have been a rather good night for these guys to do some damage (and they looked good early) they struggled some. I'm going to pin a lot of that on Penner. He was very either lazy, tired or unfocused tonight. Way too many times he was either given the puck and frittered it away, or the puck was put in a position he'd usually get it and didn't. I think this play from Penner made it look like Horcoff and Hemsky were playing worse than they actually were. A bunch of pucks that were actually solid fundamental plays wound up as turnovers. Both were far from perfect, with Hemsky having more turnover struggles and Horcoff willing but unable to convert offensively, but the main laggard was Penner. Because of the way Montreal plays, the whole group needed to be going to look good and they didn't at many times. With that said, they still come out plus and Hemsky still finds a way to score two (including an empty netter for once! YAY!). These guys should be much better Sat. I'm predicting a really good game from them. Of course, I'm no LMHF#2.
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That was fun if not perfect. I love winning!

LMHF Report - Game #29

2011-02-15T22:09:00.008-07:00

EDMONTON 4

VS.

DALLAS 1
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Well, I guess the Generals were finally due...

In all seriousness, this is going to be a positive report. I enjoyed an Oilers game for the hockey played on the ice for the first time in what seems like forever. There were a ton of really solid efforts I'm going to highlight and I hope everyone that's been subjected to the "hockey" that's been played by the Oilers, and especially at home, got to see that game tonight. I once again fought the urge to stay home. I've got a lot I could be spending my time on, but I decided (as always) that tonight had potential, and went. I'm very glad I did.

Dallas was certainly understaffed tonight, but the Oilers have made a habit out of not showing up for these type of games in the recent past, allowing a couple guys to get their first NHL goals and losing in a sluggish and depressing fashion. Not so tonight. Aside from some errors that required actual NHL saves from our goalie early in a game (something we haven't had with this goalie in ages), the Oilers had their foot on the gas from the start. Dallas was lucky not to be down more than they were early, and lucky again that they weren't run out of the building to the tune of 7 or 8 to 1 instead of the humble 4 we still managed to put up.

There wasn't a big difference in the system play or the approach of the Oilers tonight; it was a bunch of little things coming together combined with the biggest thing, a solid effort from nearly everyone. Tonight was a success because the players made sure they had control of the puck before they passed or shot, were sure of themselves when making a deke, skated very hard to get back and pick up trailers and did it pretty much all game save for maybe a couple minutes early in the second. When you get that kind of buy-in from that much of the group, you're going to win in this league a fair amount of the time. While we are lacking in the lineup department this year, our main problem has been a lack of effort and/or focus with the worst games seeing neither of both. You saw both in the positive tonight for the first time in a long time.

The only thing I want to point out in the negative about the way the team played is that three times they allowed Dallas to set up slowly behind the net while backing off to the blue line. Two of these times Dallas rushed untouched to a clear chance and the other time they allowed a partial break. This setup has been a feature of Oilers teams for some time now and needs to be thrown in the bin. It only ends in pain.

The game could have gone just as the last one did. Just as in the last one, the 91-89-23 line had a great forechecking shift in the middle of the first period. Last game, the rest of the team did nothing with this shift and got beat down. Tonight they built upon it, managed to get a first period goal, and never really looked back. The team also could've folded up their tent when DAL made it 2-1; but unlike this year's typical performance, they bore down and took advantage of a late second period PP, then pounded the final nail with a goal early in the third. That's how winners do it.

Looking at our goals, the first of the night was certainly pretty. Sam Gagner has had some confidence issues lately, and that Sam (as well as 90% of the crowd as usual) would have taken a weak shot from where he stood and created absolutely nothing. Instead he stayed calm, realized he had room and a man in a weak spot, and used his superior talent to make a great move and pass to Eberle, who as usual was in the perfect position with his stick ready to fire. He does this better than anyone on the squad right now. Since returning, Eberle has 7 points in 7 games and hasn't even been at his top gear. It's almost scary to think this guy might be establishing himself as capable of PPG for next season...I still maintain he might wind up the better player over his career when compared to Hall. He's always been the guy with IT and hasn't lost it at any level.

The second goal was the result of solid movement on the PP for a change. As usual the rabble were busy screaming for an early shot from a man standing still with a Star planted firmly in front of him, but the Oilers changed things up by moving both the puck and their feet to set up Taylor Chorney, who certainly looked more comfy on the PP than he has in previous NHL sojourns. He got a smooth shot off and beat Lehtonen because he was forced to move. I hope the Oilers remember everything about this play. Great read by Horcoff on this one as well. Penner and Hemsky did some great work that shift and weren't rewarded on the sheet but were certainly noticed.

The third Oilers goal was again because of great passing and movement of skates while the rabble once again called for a wasteful shots. I loved the composure the guys showed in setting that play up and Hemsky's read+pass to an open Horcoff who deceived his defender and got into the open ice to tip it in were both beauty. Perfect example again of what we need to do on the powerplay.

Ales Hemsky had been demanding what resulted in the fourth goal for much of this game. He was motoring all night and finally Horcoff found him with a nifty little pass to spring him, then he finished as only he can. He'd already missed a breakaway so I was glad to see that he wasn't gripping too tight and went for the deke instead of the shot.

It's worth noting that we could've had several more tonight. Eberle hit bar and had a couple bad bounces. Hall got a couple good shots off but also got caught sleeping beside the net on beauty sets from his linemates a couple times. Kurtis Foster actually hit the net with some degree of danger and used a shot-pass for the first time in forever. Linus Omark created a couple brilliant chances on his own and even the fourth line (specifically Reddox and Jones) had their try. We also had an exploding stick session that cost a few guys great chances. It was a very different game tonight and I'm delighted to be able to break it down by player.
----------

Khabibulin
- This team has not gotten the key early saves from Khabibulin that they got tonight in a long time. For once he actually looked zone in. His glove and blocker were alert, ready and batting everything away. He was even taking swipes at pucks outside the net with his stick and getting them, which is something he doesn't normally do. On other nights I don't think the Oilers get going because they did indeed make some mistakes early that could have wound up in their net. The thing is that tonight their goalie actually looked like a #1. I recommend immediately going to Dubnyk against MTL because I don't see this repeating and he deserves an effort from the players like Khabibulin got tonight. Goalies shouldn't last long enough as starters to see the streak he had in the L column.

Gilbert
- So much better from Tom tonight. Why? That stupid twitchy head move was gone and he was passing, skating and pinching with authority. Perhaps the change of partners to Smid helped him, because he really looked like a whole new (and by new I mean what he used to look like) man out there tonight. When this guy shows up, he's a massive asset. Earned those two assists and played an underrated and possibly unnoticed by many role in getting the 27-10-83 line going. He did a great job of getting them the puck quickly and smoothly.

Smid
- Though he had a couple early adventures (two ugly turnovers and two instances of skating himself way out of position), Ladislav then calmed down a bunch and had a pretty good game. The change he allowed in Gilbert's game alone was enough to make this a worthy effort. Could've been more physical I suppose.

Peckham
- I liked that he went at Steve Ott early and then after about 2 shifts Ott was invisible. This is something Theo can do that our other defencemen and our goons cannot. #49 is a scary guy when he wants to be and that had the desired impact tonight. He wasn't great with the puck and got caught defensively at least twice (including an awkward sequence in the second where he had position but stopped skating and let the DAL forward past him for a chance) but overall he played a decent game especially considering he was with Chorney.

Chorney
- I'd like to applaud Taylor on coming back with some confidence; especially in the offensive zone. The strength of his game is to take the puck with his feet moving and then either direct a solid shot or pass while keeping the flow going. When he's on he essentially doesn't stop moving. He made some UGLY defensive errors early, but kept his composure to contribute positively to the win. There are other times Chorney and most offensively gifted defenceman would have taken that early start as a rebuke, backed off their game and played rather badly. He did not and for that he deserves credit.

Vandermeer
- Efforts like this from him perplex me. He was mean, a little physical, and dished the puck well. He didn't do anything exceptional, but played a simple game and got the job done. There's zero reason he shouldn't be able to do this most nights. I really don't get it. I'm not saying this in the same way I'd say that the Oilers as a team should be able to at least make a decent effort, what I'm saying quite frankly is that Vandermeer's job is actually pretty easy, he's qualified to do it, and struggling to do it makes little to no sense.

Foster
- He was definitely better tonight, as he managed to keep his shot under control and his wits about him. I don't believe he was pressed much defensively, but a lack of big mistakes counts as a positive compared to the rest of his year. He had a lot of help from his forwards today, but still credit to him for a better, more calm effort.

Hemsky
- I think Ales is confident in his health again. It started late in the last game with some really strong shifts and spilled over to tonight. While his offensive effort, creating numerous chances, getting his goal and showing an insane amount of jump was impressive, I was actually more impressed with his effort on D. He was phenomenal in his own zone, breaking up several plays including one early where he was forced to play D. Tonight the transition game ran through him, and the Oilers win when the play is flowing that way. It was a beautiful thing to watch. Great game. His best plays didn't even result in points. Check out his second period dangle if you can find it somewhere. The only thing I'm scared of is that he took a couple really solid pops (including one that left him squinty) in this game and I hope that they didn't impact him negatively.

Horcoff
- The rapid acceleration to loose pucks and scoring zones was back in Horcoff's game tonight. It made a huge difference. When he's reading off of Hemsky like tonight and playing decisively, he can be a big part of the offence. Some nights he doesn't need to do what he did tonight because Penner's also very good at it, but if you have 10 and 27 swapping nights with 83 stirring the drink (as he did ruthlessly tonight) then you've got one of the better lines out there. He was very good in all zones just like Hemsky was, with just a little less pop.

Penner
- Didn't blow the roof off like either Horcoff or Hemsky, but also got a couple bad breaks that prevented goals. While he wasn't running people over like crazy, he did a good job in the role of providing positional support to his linemates as well as getting to the slot for shooting opportunities. He had a stick blow up, at least two get deflected wide, and was also stopped. Underrated game from Penner tonight. I also really like to see him on the PK. Think he'd be interesting playing with Magnus there.

Jacques
- Not much to complain about in his game, and he certainly got a couple of nice hits in. I still didn't see value for having him in the lineup really.

Reddox
- He pushed the limit of his game a bit tonight to include a little bit more hitting, which was good to see and I think made an impact against Dallas due to them missing some of their more physical players. Very much liked his work on the PK and he generated a couple of offensive chances.

Jones
- Not a loud night by any stretch of the imagination, but he had a couple decent hits and was a minor threat offensively a couple times. Jones' positioning was very good as well. I hope he likes Edmonton enough that a reasonable contract can be agreed upon.

Hall
- I'm still not quite sure what he was looking at on the couple cross-ice chances he got from Eberle and Gagner tonight. I would have thought he'd be ready to finish on those but he wasn't; also had a couple pucks bounce on him. In the second period he made a wide drive and took what has become a typical shot at the net that was stopped. I'd really like to see him either hook to set up a pass or make an Eberle play and bounce one off the far pad to a linemate on those, even if only to open up the wide drive roofjob goal and make him a threat in multiple ways. I really liked the way he took the physical play to Fistric in the third period and frustrated him into taking a penalty. He had a really physical shift that was great to see.

Cogliano
- Andrew was one of the only Oilers I was disappointed in tonight, in that he couldn't seem to catch the wave of solid play riding through the team. He made and effort and I did like his play on the PK, but he made too many giveaways and disrupted several dangerous-looking rushes that Hall or Eberle started. Maybe he did a better job in puck support than I saw, but I really thought he could've had a dynamic night and he didn't.

Eberle
- Another great night from Jordan where it was an absolute travesty he only got one point. He set up a number of chances for linemates but was only rewarded on the play Gagner made. I can't stress enough how much this guy knows about where to be and when to be there. He's an incredibly smart hockey player who is calm at all times.

Gagner
- Effectively drove the bus for 2 lines tonight (Eberle and Hall looked best when with him on the PP, then Omark and Paajarvi looked good as well), Sam played probably his best game of the year. The difference tonight was his confidence with the puck, willingness to drive to the shooting areas and confidence to let it rip (he really should have scored). When Sam plays like this you sure don't notice that he's a fairly small guy compared to the others. How do we keep his level of play up this high.

Omark
- An understated but solid night. He doesn't necessarily have to put up points when he's a positive impact like this. Most nights like this he would, but it didn't happen tonight. He's really improving in his reads from the PP point and made a couple very inventive fakes. At least twice he drove alone to the front of the net and created some very dangerous chances. The best players on the team definitely trust him with the puck. Good as gold in the corners fighting for the puck as always; should have drawn at least two penalties.

Paajarvi
- Fairly quiet night for Magnus, I'm guessing mainly due to limited icetime. Nothing to be ashamed of surely, just nothing jumping off the page.
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Well, that was definitely different! I hope like hell we can do that Thursday. Would make for a fun night! I also hope the horrid (and French) ref we appear to have had for the past 4 games now is gone by then. For him not to be may prove disastrous.

LMHF Report - Game #28

2011-02-13T21:24:00.004-07:00

EDMONTON L

VS.

ANAHEIM W

Does the score even matter anymore?
-----------------------

I like to think of myself as a pretty good writer. I was excellent in my high school and university classes, and while I play pretty fast and loose in writing the Report, I can put together a pretty solid piece of writing when I want to. It's part of my job even and plays into my political life of course.

I could spend an entire college-style all night writing session and not make whatever THAT was, and whatever this "team" is look good. Or interesting. Or exciting.

This has gotten to be just as bad if not worse than last season for a number of reasons. I think the most prominent one for me is that I'm having to watch untainted young talent be exposed to some horrendous habits and practices that will likely limit their potential (or at the very least cause it to develop more slowly or with another franchise).

There was really nothing positive to see out on the ice tonight. I'm pretty much going to skip any pretense of making the best of a bad situation at get straight to the crapulence.

I felt really bad for Devan Dubnyk tonight. He started the game out just fine and certainly could have backstopped a competent team to a win. Skipping the chances that were glaring defensive errors, this pretty much ends 0-0 (as I'm not sure any team would have scored in the SO before a league imposed curfew came into effect). It's not like Anaheim was any good. They were just like 3/4 of the teams who come in here this year; coasting for most of the night and taking advantage of a couple outrageously stupid mistakes to score enough goals to win. I'm sure this point has been raised by others already, but it made me sick that the team who wouldn't pull #35 if he weren't able to stand upright pulled #40. I'm sure it was a "mercy pull" or whatever, but that doesn't really help. Dubnyk should get more respect from the team than Khabibulin and he gets less. Sickening.

This team hasn't played with the proper system they supposedly learned in the preseason in a long time. The last I remember was honestly the first game of the year against Calgary, but they may have done so once or twice since. Probably on the road. The home efforts are just disgusting, with this possibly being the worst. Even the fights went terribly tonight.

I'm a big fan of Tom Gilbert as a player; he has shown me some of the best D play I've seen in all the time I've been an Oilers fan, but tonight (and lately) he was a scared little boy on that ice. I decided to watch him a little closer tonight and noticed that he has developed a tendency to freeze his feet and stick while making awkward neck movements, paranoid that he's missing something. This is not the same as keeping your head on a swivel and/or using peripheral vision to track the play. He's literally frozen except for sideways neck spasms. This tendency on a number of occasions meant he was either late to read a play or late to break toward it even though he had read it. Tom is not playing hockey right now. I imagine that in his brain the game is moving about 1000 mph. Not good. I really hope he can snap out of it, but I'm worried that we have no one (either a teammate who is a leader on D or a coach who can spot the issue and get through to him) to help with this process.

Theo did his best to at least annoy the Ducks somewhat and I think he succeeded. As usual, Mr Giant Wuss himself (Andy "I only fight Eric Brewers" Sutton) tried to take advantage and I'm glad Peckham hung around more than the one pretty large punch Sutton landed. Theo wasn't great in terms of positioning, but again, he's dealing with a defensive partner who is gliding all over the ice, missing free pucks and not taking advantage of his positioning. That's tough even for a vet, much less #49.

Part of our problem is that we have too many defencemen who just plain stink. The two of note this evening were (as usual) Foster and Vandermeer. Vandermeer made so many mistakes tonight that immediately went dangerously towards his own net that I lost count. He was nothing but trouble. It was actually embarrassing to see him out there in our uniform at several points because you KNEW he would lose the puck. Foster wasn't much better, but at least he gave the glass-changers something to do being that the guy who used to make sure they had regular duty just isn't good enough for this 30th place club and must play in Hershey. Would someone tell Foster that it doesn't count as 3 goals every time he fires it over the net? Every single solitary time he's open he does this. EVERY FREAKING TIME. There's a guy wearing #47 in Tampa who scored a nice OT winner the other night on a play that looks like the one Foster gets a chance at at least once a game...just saying. Don't tell me that guy can't play D either; compared to Foster he's freaking Scott Stevens...

Petry spent the night recovering. While I appreciate that he didn't quit on his mistakes, he still made a decent number of them. It really wasn't fun to watch. He's got way too much responsibility right now, and while he was doing fine with it early, I think it's starting to grind him down like sandpaper. His partner wasn't too bad, though the spectacle of him standing up for Penner was a little bewildering. Thought he'd have a better fight than he did.

Andrew Cogliano couldn't check a pile of sand. The play he made to create the first Anaheim goal, where he skated himself completely out of position despite having been in a perfect spot to stop the rush might have been the only thing more embarrassing than some of what Vandermeer did tonight. Add in the fact that he did a great job of wrecking several offensive rushes and I cannot see for the life of me why Renney thinks this guy has any future as a good player for our team. He's completely lost whatever it was he came into the league with. That really stinks because we should have had something. I imagine someone will turn him into a player by taking a proper approach to his successes and mistakes, but have a hard time seeing it as us (he isn't even a regular winger yet).

Taylor Hall had a horrible first period. It was full of giveaways and missed shots. I enjoyed that he finally hit someone...then the missed shots resumed. I don't know what the problem is with his shooting precisely, but he needs to work that out something fierce. It's really costing him. He also whiffed on another PP gimme from the slot...which is an alarming trend. Why can't the golden child score on rebounds or slot passes?

Eberle was Eberle. He made another good defensive stop just like last game and set up some chances (unfortunately to Cogliano mostly). I don't want to lump him in with this pile tonight. I must say though, I really hope he turns out better than Hall (with Hall still being excellent); he deserves it more. Even in bad games he does the little things til the end.

MacIntyre's fight was pretty uneventful and I'm rather disappointed that he didn't get into another one. He knows what he's here to do; get it done. Go beat on Andy Sutton. Don't take a wimpy poke at Perry when intentionally trips the goalie, club him one in the teeth. You won't play for another few games anyway, might as well make it count.

Jones created his normal couple chances but had trouble controlling the puck and couldn't score tonight. If one guy would have broken the SO I'd have bet on him. The Jones on the PP experiment with Penner and Hemsky though was one of the saddest things I've seen, and proved itself that way within about 20 seconds. Who is paying these coaches and what have they learned about a PP ever?

Fraser laid a nice hit and made a couple decent offensive plays. These were offset by some giveaways, but he was fairly neutral this evening.

Magnus couldn't get into a groove tonight. The galloping stride was there but his puck control was off and this hampered his ability to make a difference or get open for 89 or 23 to find him. They struggled a little as well. Gagner made a horrible pass in the second that promptly found his own net and couldn't convert in the offensive zone. The unit had a great shift in the first that could've severely shifted the momentum of the game, but no one could follow up. Omark did some great work in the corners and took a lot of abuse from an Anaheim team that appeared to think he would quit, but he also wasn't able to pop a couple chances and made some suspect passes in his own and neutral zones. Overall, these guys actually created some offence which was nice compared to the other lines.

What kind of moron coach would play Liam Reddox on the wing with Penner and Hemsky? Our moron coach that's who! I couldn't believe this when I saw it, but I really shouldn't be shocked by anything anymore. Why when you've got Penner at C do you not add a young star or at least someone with some talent to that wing? Playing Liam there (and again, I like him) means we're set up to lose. Both Ales and Dustin had off nights. Ales came back angry after his two penalties and was better than I've seen him in a long time for a few shifts, but unfortunately nothing happened. Penner looked plain tired, and got pasted in the neutral zone which isn't exactly normal.

What a steaming pile of junk on display tonight. I wish the fans remembered how to boo. These guys deserve to hear anger and the mass doesn't seem to be wiling to give it to them with any vigour.
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On a FAR side note, Mario Lemieux should shut up. He's whining about probably one of the most entertaining games in a long time in the NHL because his team got beat up (on the scoreboard and in the alley) by the Islanders, yet he employs one of the biggest cheapshot artists going. If his team is going to run around, and his goalie is going to do what Johnson did, then what NYI did is what did and should happen to them. Play with respect and you'll get it. Otherwise, better toughen up.

LMHF Report - Game #27

2011-02-12T15:38:00.006-07:00

EDMONTON 3

VS.

OTTAWA 5
------------

I sat in different seats than usual today which was intriguing as I'm so used to "my view" of the game. Sitting on the side that looks at the players bench is certainly preferable to where I currently sit, but those seats just weren't available when #2 and I last moved. I wish they were. When I make a bit more dough, I'll sit closer to the bottom of the second deck, which was essentially where my seats were. Center ice, second deck across from the benches. Outstanding. It's a lot easier from that level to see some of the plays that require depth...meaning saucer passes and shots at certain heights. You miss a little of the wider play-development aspect but this is more than offset by having a better look at the intricacies of puck battles and shots down low. If you have the funds and can pick any seat in the building, go either row 12 center ice or row 21 center ice.

On to the actual game...and I'm pissed. Angry. Just very mad at many different people right now. I find it very interesting that the only thing more frustrating than the Oilers powerplay (and it's just stupid frustrating) are the Oilers fans during the powerplay. I wonder where all the hockey-knowledgeable people we supposedly have at our games have gone. I know it's a common rant, but the shooting thing was really driving me nuts today. When Penner scored his second goal, one guy actually waited for the celebration to end, and resumed berating 27 for not shooting earlier...what a freaking idiot...I also didn't mind the way they played on the 5-on-3 compared to how bad we've been this year. We controlled the puck, set up several good chances and got hosed by a bouncy puck and an errant stick (the stick disrupted what was shaping up to be a beautiful goal). If you don't understand hockey, here's what you can do when we have a PP -> cheer when we do something brilliant, boo when we stink, and shut up the rest of the time. Let these guys do their thing. The one nice thing about the fans in NC when I was there in '06 was that if they didn't understand something, they didn't yell and scream about it.

I didn't like the way Krueger coached today's game at all. Once again the "never pull #35" rule was in effect despite the fact that after the first 2 goals anyone could see that he was going to absolutely stink today. This, along with the fact that probably our 4th best goalie in the org is starting a game despite no injuries, really reveals that this team is trying to lose. I don't care what the eventual payoff, I don't care what the "plan" (HA!) is, this makes me rage. Playing Reddox with Hemsky and Penner was also a very dumb move. Don't get me wrong, I like Liam as a player and he did what he could, but anyone who's watched this team knows that Reddox plays well with Omark, and Paajarvi plays well with Omark, so he should have been part of that unit with Sam capably stepping up to fill 10's shoes on the top offensive line. The only thing he did today that I liked was to pull the goalie early.

As for the players, they've lost the desire to take that extra step, push that extra foot or reach that extra inch. It just isn't there. Part of me kind of wonders who could blame them, as they've been hung out to dry by management and the coaching staff. The other part knows that as a player, I never quit and neither should they being much much better than I ever was and paid to play. It's very aggravating to see so many guys underperforming at one time. We're certainly not good...but we're not anywhere near this bad either. It's like we have an illness that leads to losing. Lowe-itis anyone?

------------

Khabibulin
- Shouldn't be starting, in Edmonton, OKC or otherwise. It's blatantly obvious to anyone with eyes and a brain when he comes out flat (which is almost every game now). The second goal disgusted me especially, as we'd just tied it and he might as well have shot the puck into his own net. After the scrum with Neil and Peckham, where he could have at least blockered the guy and got thrown out to help his team, he focused briefly, made 2 good saves and then resumed allowing OTT to score on any half-decent shot. Is there even a point to discussing him in these threads anymore? He doesn't care, he's quit, and he's past it. We know exactly what we'll get.

Gilbert
- Started the game very shaky in both his positioning and puck handling but came on better as the game drove on. He executed a very Pitkanen-esque puck retrieval in the second behind our net which is something he's really gotten away from by either trying to hit (and failing) or chasing around out of position. His offensive play was better today, as he directed a couple of really nice shots on net and could've made something happen.

Peckham
- He had a rougher day than most this year. I have to wonder if he's starting to get fatigued. He wasn't expecting this and has never played this much at a high level. I suspect he'll bounce back but he's also a guy who rides on intensity and therefore will have a problem on this team at this time. Needs to be better with the puck in his own end below the goal line.

Foster
- Every single solitary time he gets a lane and space he misses the net. You could bet a million dollars a shot and be stupid-rich by now. The best example in a while was today in the third when he had a clear chance to score on a slightly out of position and tentative Elliot and smashed glass as per usual. If you can't hit the net, that shot of his is completely worthless. Being that he also didn't play any D and took a penalty, I'd argue he generally is quite worthless to this team.

Smid
- Love it when Smid plays the tough guy role, and I was glad to see he didn't take junk from Spezza (who gets angry from time to time. I for one believe his high stick on Omark was reasonably intentional). His defensive play was a little hit and miss. I won't dog him for the two on one that resulted in the late OTT goal. He slid at enough angle that the pass was delayed and Khabibulin had both the angle to block the pass and the time to get across and make a fairly easy save (he of course did neither). Got a couple shots on net, but Kurtis Fostered on the best chance he had.

Vandermeer
- I really liked the hit that got him the penalty. Stepping up like that is something more of our guys need to do. The OTT player also clearly touched the puck so it shouldn't have been called. I'm not sure if you could see on TV, but the ref spent a bunch of time yelling at him after. It was like he was trash-talking Vandermeer. Putrid. We've had that same French ref (can't remember his exact name) 2 in a row now, and he's been both terrible and a bit of a jerk.

Petry
- He hit a couple people tonight which was really nice to see. I can remember one sequence where he wandered way out of position, but other than that he was solid. He's really one of the few Oilers who can make controlled plays at the opposition blue line and knows the value of faking the slap and going wrister when the pressure is on.

Jacques
- He did okay today in limited play. Couple hits, not much else. I would've liked to see him go beat on someone but he doesn't appear to have the ability anymore. He's no Micheal Haley, but didn't make any really nasty plays with the puck today at least.

Fraser
- Invisible as usual. Surprised he didn't get into his fight faster as he was getting abused in the corner. Thought he was more of a fighter than he seems to be.

Jones
- He was okay. He did a lot of skating but couldn't seem to bounce the puck pasy anyone today to create chances like he has been able to this year. Could've been more physical against an OTT team that can play an annoying game when they want to. Had a really strong shift in the third where I honestly though he might tie the game up, but I don't really think he should've been out there at the time.

Omark
- Struggled in the first period then got better as the game went on. He was doing a decent enough job of getting to the blue, but the curl and drop play wasn't working for whatever reason. Having a closer view, it looked to me like he was uncomfortable with something about his stick. He got a nice scoring chance in that period too and unfortunately missed. The second he wasn't too visible from what I saw (though I missed about 6 minutes due to some shoddy concession workers), but he did a solid job of creating chances in the third.

Gagner
- Sam looked better to me today; he had a really nice tip that rang the post and created some chances for others (specifically Magnus) while getting some of his own pucks toward the net. I was relieved to see him get a little less PP responsibility, but I don't think the line with he, Eberle and Hall will work...they are too small for a good PP. His puck distribution was solid today. The one thing I'd like to see from him in games like this are some hits...as he's actually a good hitter but backed off a couple times.

Paajarvi
- Did a good job from his own zone to about the top of the circle in that he used his speed very well, carried the puck with some authority and got some solid outside shots on net. He missed a goal in the second by about an inch on a wide drive. Where he might need to work on his offence is in how he reacts to odd-man situations against him. He went 1-on-3 and 1-on-4 a couple times and had no clue what to do. You obviously don't expect magic from him there, but you need to have a plan and usually delay to gather teammates and create some angles. I'm sure this will come, just something to keep in mind when you see 91 crossing the blue.

Eberle
- He was excellent, what else is new. Generated chances, hit a couple posts, hit some Senators and had what could have been a really key defensive breakup later on in the third. The kid is an absolute beauty even when we stink. He should be getting more feature time with the vets than Hall, he's a better player in both ends of the ice.

Hall
- Nothing too flashy from him today and he missed a couple of pucks in the slot (at least 2 in the third) that could have really changed the game. I've noticed he has more trouble with rebounds than a lot of top goal scorers seem to. Also, a couple times he tried to blow by guys and opted to push the puck straight ahead as opposed to along the boards...he failed both times. I think he gets a little too north-south at times. This can be one of his strengths, especially when he's hitting, but with Eberle on his line he needs to get Jordan the puck and then go own a scoring area. The rushes also need to be 2 and 3 wide, not 1 wide. Defensively he was okay.

Cogliano
- Scored the goal on a nice little play by both Eberle and Hall, but other than that wasn't exactly impressive. He whiffed on a couple of really nice chances early that could have shifted the game. Again, the one time in the game he goes and does his job, he scores a goal, but he doesn't seem to realize what his job should be. The defensive stalwart on this line is Eberle, not Cogliano who can't check an offensive player to save his life.

Reddox
- Gave it the college try, I'll give him that. I liked the shot he took PK'ing in the second, selling the pass to Cogliano then trying to score. With Hemsky and Penner he's just a little bit too far behind in the offensive zone. While he can support them in the other zones, if the puck is in question, he's not quite there offensively.

Hemsky
- Even though he got his 2 assists tonight, my reaction to his game was a definite 'meh'. I really liked the two assists, some of his other setups, what looked like a renewed focus and a number of wins in the corner, but OTT was letting him run wild today and an 'all systems go' Ales would have had a 4 or 5 point night tonight, likely setting up a Penner hat trick in the making. Some of that isn't his fault, but there was a little bit of what I'd call slickness missing from his game. It wasn't from lack of effort, but maybe a lack of quiet focus at times.

Penner
- Went to the right places and cashed in a couple times. While he wasn't the prototypical power guy today, I still liked his game a fair bit. It's true that he whiffed on a couple chances, but he certainly made up for it with some utterly beautiful shooting. I also appreciated the patience required of him to make a few of the passes he did in the third. Very strong skill of his that often gets overlooked. Seeing he and Hemsky on the PK was a relief...they're probably the best Oilers available for the job and yet never receive it.
------------

While this probably wasn't the pure venom it would have been immediately after the game, I'm still quite annoyed. The approach this team is taking is simply asinine and guarantees nothing. We are sacrificing quality years and talented young men's psyches to a hope that has no plan. Wonderful...

LMHF Report - Game #26

2011-02-09T18:39:00.003-07:00

EDMONTON 1

VS.

CHICAGO 4
----------------

My theory going into tonight's game was that we'd either win narrowly or get blown out. That didn't wind up being the case despite the score. Though I'm sure many will question the take, I thought we actually came out of the gate pretty well. We controlled the puck and took some nice skating lanes in the Chicago zone to create the "chance for chances", as it were. Our problem wound up being that we had neither the final deke move nor the extra gear of speed to burn Chicago's D. They were patient and well positioned, which led to us turning the puck over harmlessly more than not.

The game couldn't be discussed without mentioned the refereeing; which was terrible. I hear people say things like "you've got to earn the powerplays" and all that junk, which is fine, but having such uneven standard of what constitutes an Edmonton penalty versus what constitutes a Chicago penalty is unacceptable. Sure, we didn't blow by them and force trips, but the hooks, holds and crosschecks were there all night in plain view. Sutherland and his buddy were just looking the other way. Also, if you cannot correctly pick which player just took a penalty, you shouldn't be able to give one. I'm referring to the weak hooking call made on Hemsky but given to Vandermeer. Brutal x2. Chicago saw what was going on tonight and went down easier because of it. To cap it all off, the goofs in stripey pajamas gave out 10 mins times 2 just because they felt like it. Back to training for these jokers.

Chicago controlled the puck well after our initial solid play to start the game. They made our D look pretty weak a number of times, mostly in terms of their ability to change speed. I lost count of the amount of close plays where Chicago simply turned it on for a couple strides and made the Oil D look like an unmoving blob. That was disheartening.

We were not able to generate consistent offence for a number of reasons, but we had enough bursts to make this a contest. No one seemed to have their net-finder functioning well tonight though.

----------------

Dubnyk
-He was solid positionally and kept us in it long enough that we could still have won. Not much to be done on Bickell's move, Sharp is a very good shooter and Kane is too. Both the Kane and Sharp goals also saw horrible defensive coverage miscues. He made a couple great saves, one on a Hossa breakaway, then another on a near breakaway and rebound after the "Hemsky penalty". He certainly wasn't the problem tonight.

Gilbert
- Tom on the other hand was part of the problem. I was wondering if there was something physically wrong with him tonight like a migraine or some sort of flu. He kept skating into the wrong corner or giving the puck away clean while there were skating lanes open. He made mistakes on both the Kane and Sharp goals, but also a decent number more in the corners. He's almost never that bad in that area. When Peckham is covering for Gilbert's mistakes and not the other way around, we're not going to win many. He also didn't create anything offensively. Ever since Gilbert went from being an offensive feature in his rookie year to playing second or third fiddle, his offensive game has suffered. He doesn't play as well instinctually as he used too. I wonder if this aspect will ever fully return when I see him play games like this, that could have been salvaged by a great shot and a rush.

Peckham
- Just okay tonight; he needed to be more physical against a Chicago team we're actually capable of intimidating now. He also covered up a couple of Gilbert's mistakes but wasn't too great on the goals either. No offence from Theo tonight. Also wasn't too impressed when he got hammered by Seabrook; must've been off-balance or something ( I hope).

Smid
- Not near enough skating with the puck; which is his strongest play from the defensive zone. His positioning was just okay, and like Theo he needed to be more physical for us to win tonight. No forays into the depths of the offensive zone, which is a change from the last time he was here. Maybe that gameplan is out the window?

Foster
- Let's see...terrible defensively (he got skated past more than anyone), no offensive contribution (even when he gets the puck in the clear it's like he's lost all concept of what to do) and went to the penalty box. Ya know when you're discussed as sitting over Jason Strudwick things are bad for a guy who was excellent offensively very recently. Please take him back for something Tampa!

Petry
- He either got a really bad break (aided by a bad decision by Taylor Hall to pass to him) or made a bad read on the Bickell goal. On first glance it looked like he wasn't in proper position then played the pass horribly, review seems to confirm that but I'd be interested to know what everyone else thought of that play. With that many white sweaters high, Hall probably shouldn't have made the pass. Petry was not as slick as usual tonight, muffing several passes and not showing a lot of his slick skating. He wasn't too bad defensively, but that's not really the trademark of his game.

Vandermeer
- Meh, I'd say he held his own. He got blown by a little less than Foster, so at least he wasn't the worst defensively. Certainly not at the half-decent level he was playing before the injury. Good shot to set up Eberle though, I liked that choice.

Omark
-Drew the Oilers first penalty in the third finally. I really like the way he plays the game so my reviews will usually be positive and this one's not an exception. He's still winning nearly every battle along the boards for the puck, looks solid at the point on the powerplay, and set up both linemates as well as getting a couple chances of his own. The one intriguing thing for me about Omark is that his tenacity combined with board skill could actually make for an excellent defensive player if the coaching staff is willing to spend the time to teach a guy who clearly thinks the game through. Sometimes this type of guy is "harder to coach" but the results can be substantial if you're able to reach them.

Paajarvi
- Magnus continues to show his wheels and generate chances that way. He wasn't exactly a sniper tonight but that's okay. I'm still not a big fan of using him on the PP as it doesn't appear he's learned that skillset yet, but I think he will. 5-on-5 he's a joy to watch play. There was a sequence tonight where he outskated and schooled Marian Hossa...if that doesn't get you excited about a player I'm not sure what will.

Gagner
- Missed chances were the order of the evening for Sam. He did a good job of getting open and the pucks got to him, but whether it was a pure whiff or just a miss/save, he didn't have the touch tonight. I'm a little worried about his confidence in his goal scoring ability, as he sure is missing a ton of chances lately.

Reddox
- Certainly enjoy watching Liam play over Jacques even if it's not going to be much icetime. Generally his work on the PK was alright, but they should give him a try with Penner or someone a little bigger because having he and Cogliano out there just covers way too little ice. Would've liked to seen some hitting from him tonight.

Jones
- He didn't follow up his Nashville effort very well. Needs to play with much more energy. Made one decent play to get the puck to Fraser in front of the CHI net in period 2 but that's certainly not enough.

Fraser
- Pretty boring game, but on his chance in the offensive zone, even with the puck bouncing you have to try to knock it down and go against the grain of a moving Crawford. That play could've been a game-changer and we just happened to have the wrong guy in that spot. He was okay elsewhere, but I still don't see why okay should be his limit. He has some tools but never seems to bring them to work.

Cogliano
- Watching him play with Hall and Eberle reveals the massive gap in their skill levels that is already present. It comes through in passing/receiving, shot selection, skating lanes and reads. Cogliano was reduced to near invisibility with these two. He is not a good puck support C, so the only way he can really have an impact on this line is to drive the net and own that real estate. He didn't do that. I still don't get how a guy who's only had one 2-goal game this year doesn't try to replicate that performance every night out...there was a formula to his play that night.

Hall
- Meh, he drove wide and got some shots but I didn't see anything amazingly dynamic in his game tonight. He actually looked a little tired in the third when they'd show him on camera. I wonder if he's going to get more proficient at setting up Eberle, who doesn't rely on the wide rush and can give Hall a better option than that wide-angle shot he's falling in love with a bit. Maybe time to throw Horcoff back with him.

Eberle
- He was the one Oilers forward I thought was really with it tonight and coincidentally got rewarded with a goal. He made some really solid choices with the puck, especially at the offensive blue line. He also doesn't take the stupid crowd-urged shots that a lot of his teammates do and thus doesn't give the puck away after that shot gets blocked. In a game with so many PKs, he, Hemsky, and Penner should all have had a go. I think that would have kept Eberle functioning at a high level. There almost wasn't enough ES icetime to run the 3 main lines through properly. Great that Jordan's baseline "nothing special" games look like this.

Hemsky
- I'm sure being on a losing team is wearing on Ales and the two guys ahead of him. They can brave-face it all they want, but all these men have played for the Stanley Cup and this has got to just stink. Ales still looks a little out of it from his injury, and he and Horcoff are not reading off each other like they usually do. I'd shake it up right now. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what's going wrong in Ales' game at the moment, but he doesn't seem to have that "lock in and get it done" approach to go to at the moment. He looks quite frustrated.

Horcoff
- Hasn't seemed to find his offensive game yet. There's not a lot of jump in his stride and he's not picking up the puck support turnovers that are the trademark of when is playing well. No shots or plays on the rush either. Funny thing is he isn't doing anything horribly wrong, he just looks stuck in sand to some extent.

Penner
- Dustin had some moments tonight where you just love his game. He ran over some people very heavily in the corners, drove the net and got into position for good shots. Unfortunately he didn't convert. I suspect if he makes the game 3-2 late on the chance from beside the net that he got we might actually tie it. Again, I haven't seen him in front of the net near as often as he needs to be, and the passing game he has is still absent. Finding Hemsky streaking wide works really well when he has that. I'm hoping it comes back, but this might be a wait til next year kinda thing...sadly.

-------------------

Losing sucks...no matter what's at the end of the rainbow. Very thankful I had entertaining company tonight otherwise it would've been really boring. Want more jump from these guys.

LMHF Report - Game #25

2011-02-02T22:37:00.005-07:00

EDMONTON 1

VS.

LOS ANGELES 3
-------------------

Tonight's game had a really strange flow to it. We really came out with some pop in the early first. I honestly believe if we hadn't gone on the powerplay we probably would have scored a couple times and won the game. It's a really strange view, but that seems to be the game we're playing these days.

With reference to the powerplay, I'm all for trying some new things, but lining up a defenceman and winger on the side away from the goalie is something I've never seen done at any level of organized hockey and makes precisely zero sense. Later in the game they had 2 guys on the inside, which is certainly a strategy many teams employ, but that was 5-on-5. These guys have no clue, no strategy, no combinations, no nothing. It is terribly painful to watch.

After we didn't score in the first, which was a period the Kings played incredibly stupidly (we could have had 6 or 7 PP chances instead of just the couple we got, there were that many dumb plays by the Kings), you know that the calls would even out and that the Oilers were in trouble without some seriously good 5-on-5 play in the offensive zone. It never came.

Much of the blame for tonight's loss can be laid on the 4-10-83 line. They couldn't seem to do anything right. In a general sense, 10 and 83 both looked way off (83 in terms of some misdirected passing and 10 in terms of no speed and horrible reads) while 4 had speed and some go but he was far too locked in on making individual rushes. The issues for this line can be traced to their neutral zone play. The D was giving the puck to Horcoff instead of Hemsky on the right wing to start the rush. This play simply doesn't work as Horcoff doesn't know how to make the puck climb the ladder to Hemsky and Hall doesn't read the cross-ice pass properly. What resulted was no speed at the opposition blue line and plenty of 1-on-4 rushes for Hall. These don't work. He didn't get any shots through and the couple rush chances he was lucky enough to get were wasted. Hemsky set Hall up for a beauty in the second which didn't pan out but at least it was a better play. This crew just had no flow; they were even iffy in the defensive zone which is something the 10-83 combo almost never has issues with. I'd recommend getting Hemsky back with Penner as soon as possible. They both need it badly. I liked Hall giving Doughty a whack. Hope to see more ornery stuff in his game going forward.

The only line that had somewhat frequent dangerous chances were the swedes and Mr. Gagner. This effort was led by Magnus who showed a lot of great speed around the corner tonight. He won a ton of races to the puck and scored a solid goal. The only thing I could dog him for is that he was pushed off by the Kings D a little too much. Linus played another solid game focused mainly on puck distribution. While it is true that a couple of the riskier plays went the other way, they were still solid potential offensive rushes. He did a solid job of reading off Gagner's plays as well. Sam seems to have lost his finish in front of the net. He was really good from the red line in however; including the fact that he protected the puck more effectively than I've seen from him in a really long time. This was refreshing because Gagner has a tendency to slack in his body positioning. I really hope he keeps this up. I still don't like his efforts on the powerplay, but 5-on-5 he worked well.

I didn't understand the 27-13-28 combo when I heard they'd be playing together tonight. Penner wouldn't receive any jump playing with these guys, Jones doesn't really benefit from anyone else's skill, and Cogliano despite recent performance and clearly being a Renney project, isn't exactly Marty-I-can-play-C-for-anyone Reasoner. They looked off from the word go. Jones was at least playing with some physical pop early on but there was absolutely nothing happening offensively. The individual parts of the line didn't mesh in the skill department. For one thing, no one was capable of being the passer as Penner seems to have lost that style and both Cogliano and Jones cannot do it. Penner was lazy-ish again; which is really disappointing. I'm just not sure of what to make of him because I know he can play well but he doesn't seem to care enough to do it when we're not headed to the playoffs.

Looking at the Reddox-Fraser-Jacques combo, the thing I noticed most was the negation of Reddox's effectiveness. They weren't able to use his speed or offensive instincts in any way. He's also a better skating C than Fraser is, but there seems to be no interest in using him that way. This was very disappointing for me to see. His effort on the PK, other than one shift where he created a small offensive chance, wasn't as good as it has been. It should be noted that in this regard, Cogliano, Jones and Fraser were plain terrible, going WAY out of position constantly. That positioning directly cost us two goals as LA got the type of shooting lanes we never get. It's funny, the people yelling SHOOT probably think LA's goals tonight are vindication for them when they are not in the slightest. LA created great shooting lanes through movement and took advantage of traffic in front of the net. It should serve as a great example to our team in what needs to be done to get shots to the net effectively. We bounced a ton of pucks off LA defenders tonight. Fraser was okay; though again it isn't near enough for me to have a guy like him not show any interest in hitting people. Jacques should have received a penalty on his first shift, rebounded some by taking a superior player to the penalty box later, but also chased around trying to get hits way too often. His PK effort was plain scary, completely crossing up his linemate when he showed that he clearly doesn't know the positioning scheme. I blame this on Renney rather than #22.

I was optimistic about Khabibulin after watching him take the warmup and look very fresh, but he didn't do anything special in the game to help the team win. LA was very limited in terms of their chances, but #35 has to make himself big on those point shots. He's getting beat routinely just like Salo used to after he'd declined. We all know Dubnyk should have started tonight, and that our second best goalie is probably in OKC (maybe even our third best goalie too). This is sad and a condemnation of the Oilers' approach to the season.

Looking at the D, despite some rather ugly plays, they actually did a decent job as a group in limiting the Kings quality chances. What they didn't do well as a group was move the puck to the forwards. They were a substantial impediment to the 4-10-83 line having any success off the rush.

The Vandermeer-Foster pairing made my head hurt; immediately after Vandermeer made his only useful play of the evening (a solid hit in the middle of the ice), he skated himself completely out of position and let LA in on a 2-on-1, then did nothing to recover and effectively made Jones take a penalty to stop a goal. Just brutal. He also somehow found his way onto the powerplay...again, Renney, what are you doing?!?! Foster continues to rip slappers either into the goalie's chest or take shots that would have gone into the 35th row without the "protective netting". The only really good shot he took was a snapper that wrang off the bar. He should learn from that. Foster also got schooled just like Vandermeer, but mainly off the rush. I can recall a specific play in the third that revealed the problem: #26 cannot skate backwards. He uses way too many crossovers, and not even powerful ones, making it incredibly easy for an opposition forward to pick a side and skate by. One of the first things you need to learn as a D is how to skate backwards powerfully IN A STRAIGHT LINE. He can't. Big problem.

Theo, aside from making a Vandermeer-esque play (though he at least made a recovery effort after creating the 2-on-1), was pretty solid. There weren't any stunning offensive plays in his game, but he was certainly physical (and in an effective way that players remember). Gilbert wasn't really effective in the offensive zone either 5-on-5 or on the powerplay. I'm not sure what was wrong with him specifically but he just looked way off. Defensively he had a couple key stops but was even a little shaky there including a hideous giveaway behind the goal line in period 2. Tough sledding for him, but he's got to be better than that.

I didn't notice Petry and Smid much, which to my mind is pretty great actually. These guys keeping things simple and making solid defensive plays is a positive. Smid made some solid offensive plays (other than at the blue line, where he struggled). There's no way Stoll should have gotten that penalty shot. Principally because there was another King and another Oiler ahead of the Smid-Stoll play that led to it. I'm not sure what the ref was thinking. Petry continues to impress, even on nights when he doesn't do anything spectacular. I like how he was bumped up to the top PP unit, even if it wasn't successful. I liked his positioning, but he could have done a better job at getting pucks to the net.

Can't believe we got beat by Mr. Stanley Cup Chokejob himself, even if he didn't score the goals he played a big part in them. Very aggrivating. The Kings play a really nice style of game, heavily reliant on physicality, and with many swift skating forwards who are not small. I'd love to have that going for us. We don't. We lose again. UGH.

Advisory - No game report tonight

2011-01-23T13:05:00.001-07:00

Hello all,

I won't be attending tonight's game so there will be no game report. My wife tore something in her knee and there's far too much to do around the house along with taking care of her this evening.

LMHF Report - Game #23

2011-01-20T22:10:00.003-07:00

EDMONTON 2

VS.

DALLAS 4
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I would like to begin by stating that we haven't actually lost yet. The fraction of a second left on the clock after Dallas scored has not been played.

On another time-related note; if the second period was 2 minutes longer we win that game. The team really hit its stride in the late second and racked up a bunch of chances. Too bad we're horrible conversionists.

Our powerplay continued its ineptitude; likely costing us yet another game. We remain reliant on getting the puck to the point to set up a man who either shoots directly into the goalie's chest when he doesn't hammer the puck, or directly into the glass when he does. I wonder if Foster is using the Lidstrom curve...that thing was always good for clearing the zone but never for going just under the bar.

If you're going to the Oilers' games right now and looking for good, fundamentally sound hockey players, Jeff Petry has to jump right out at you. He's a solid puck retrieval guy in his own zone, he gets pucks to the net and moves to create lanes from the point, he pinches with confidence and even when he screws up at the offensive line (as he did tonight in the first), he doesn't panic. On the play I'm thinking of, he stuck to the number one rule for a defenceman going for the puck; get the puck or get the man. You must get at least one. He made a bad attempt at the puck but recovered beautifully to take his man out of the play. I'm seeing things in his game this early that would indicate he's well on his way to being competition for Whitney in a year or two as our best defenceman. Impressive stuff.

On a stranger note, our coaching staff appears intent on turning Ladislav Smid into some kind of rover. I say this because for the second game in a row, Smid actually spent a significant amount of time below the opposition goal line, hitting and making plays on the puck. He did pretty well in his adventures, even setting up Petry's goal with a pass from behind the net (though it was likely headed to the forward it was still properly directed at a scoring lane with 2 Oilers in it). I'm all for aggressive use of skilled defencemen, but this is getting strange. Smid was also decent defensively tonight.

The Foster-Chorney pairing is a disaster waiting to happen ever single time it hits the ice. Chorney didn't really have any impressive rushes tonight, made some bad decisions at the opposition blue line, and didn't cover a thing defensively. I'm back to believing that if ANYONE will give us value, he should be moved while he still has some. Not an NHL defenceman and not looking like he has the tools sadly. Foster doesn't have the excuse of youth...the play he made on Dallas' 2-on-1 that he managed to allow to turn into a 4-on-2 was such horrendous hockey I couldn't believe it. He would have been more effective if he lied down in front of Ribeiro and not moved at all. The way he made that awkward standing play was reminiscent of a PeeWee forward thrust into playing D. I couldn't believe it was so bad and he actually managed to make the initial chance more dangerous by slowing it down so much. He also contributed hugely to the Benn goal. I don't know how a man that big can be so ineffective in the d-zone.

Peckham had his moments tonight but wasn't overly impressive. I'd liked to have seen more hitting from him in a game like this against a group of pesky forwards (who oddly enough seemed to be on their best behavior). He moved the puck well but didn't generate any particular offence. His partner on the other hand continued to struggle with giveaways and coverage. I'm not sure why he's drifted backwards but I have to think it's a confidence issue with Gilbert and he's just good at hiding it in public. He looks like a totally different hockey player from night-to-night, changing how he moves the puck, where he skates to, how he covers, and how well he shoots by drastic rather than small degrees. It is confusing as hell to watch.

We started the wrong goalie again...I'm hoping that Dubnyk was sick and that's the excuse. There wasn't a ton that #35 could really have done I suppose, but he didn't face a lot of quality chances tonight as the Oilers actually did a decent job of limited chances in tight and odd-man situations.

Jacques managed to hit another teammate when he tried to butt in on a very nice hit Petry had lined up. For a minute I thought he'd KO'ed #58 at which point I likely would have charged the ice, stolen a stick from another player and beat on his back until he couldn't play anymore. The guy needs to pay attention already. He also needs to stop bringing his bottom hand higher on the stick when he goes to shoot. No one with any talent does this as it gives you substantially less control. Jacques taking an open shot is one of the saddest Oilers fan experiences and he missed by his usual 5 feet again tonight.

Mr. Stortini got hosed by the ref; after starting a skirmish in the Dallas end on a whistle, he was given a VERY weak penalty almost immediately after the faceoff. Blatant targeting of a player. I have no respect for Joanette and agree with the sentiment that he shouldn't be able to call any Oilers games. Stortini seemed to play decent enough hockey tonight.

Fraser missed a wide open net; which wasn't surprising. I'm amazed we managed to find a non-scrapper with so little hockey talent.

Speaking for a minute about "the Franchise", I'd like to say that while I love intensity, have been known to smash a few sticks in my time (though strategically so as not to break them) and get very fired up, acting like a spoiled child on the ice was rather pathetic of him. First he essentially broke out crying after what looked like an obvious penalty whether the DAL player helped it or not, then he snapped his stick and fell after the Dallas SO goal. Taylor, apply your intensity to hitting the net on your chances, running some opposing D over (he backed away from several hits before 2 in the third) and work on your zone entry (too much going wide, too many times trying to go 1-on-4 at low speed, no passing). His effort was better than last game in terms of hockey, but some of that other BS didn't serve him well.

Penner was much better than last game, especially early. It was a pretty usual game for him, though I think adding Horcoff back into the line through off the chemistry a little bit as there were now 3 guys who could all have been playing C. Penner didn't really come up with anything brilliant, which we could have used. For his part, Horcoff did a decent enough job and certainly looked fit to play. I'm rather suspicious now when guys come back from injuries or guys don't look quite right (ala Gilbert the past few) on the ice.

The 91-89-23 line was pretty decent tonight, though I feel as if 89 is underperforming. He'd already given the puck away too much tonight, then made that totally inexplicable give-the-puck-to-Steve-Ott-and-smash-myself-into-the-boards play late in the game. What the heck was that??? I get the feeling that Sam has a bit of an issue with where to go when he plays with Omark and Paajarvi for whatever reason. They are two fairly unique players, and maybe Sam has to pick up his underrated physical game to be more effective with these guys. Linus was his usual self, creating a few chances and winning board battles. I also enjoyed the way he skated with the puck in the neutral zone and/or found Magnus. I'm miffed at people who think the chance he got in the 2nd where Lehtonen made the toe save could have been one he shot high...it needed to be low to get through at all. Magnus did a lot of good things in terms of carrying the puck tonight...I'm guessing it's a process for him. First find positions to take passes, then learn to carry with high speed, then finish or pass. Looks to be on his way.

Ryan Jones is quickly becoming one of the most controversial Oilers out there, in terms of whether he's having this solid offensive season with smoke and mirrors or maybe some underlying talent combined with a lot of effort. I enjoyed Jones tonight, due both to the fact that he came out hitting early and that he scored a solid goal by being in the right place at the right time. That play was also an example of something Cogliano needs to do more often, as usually he'd have agreed with the moron-contingent and taken a useless shot, but instead he was patient and got the puck to the scoring area. Well done on that play even if he didn't do much else tonight...his checking continued to be atrocious. I'm not sure why Reddox doesn't get the C assignment on that line as he's much more qualified. Aside from missing a great scoring chance, I liked 85's game tonight. He generated a nice little breakaway for himself and was solid positionally.
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Another game with a lot of chances resulting in a loss. A lot of pucks were up for grabs tonight in dangerous territory for players who should score (specifically remembering a couple Hall chances) and we didn't convert. Some of the time we didn't even get our sticks on the puck. That's sad, but seems to be the trend. Ugh.

LMHF Game Report #22

2011-01-18T22:52:00.002-07:00

EDMONTON 1

VS.

MINNESOTA 4
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I think the only reason I'm writing tonight is that I have to wait up to finish laundry as I'm out of town on business the next couple days (but back in time for next game) and need some clothes. Otherwise tonight would have been a good night to just head straight to bed. This is one of the very few times I've come back from a game honestly questioning why I went. Usually even in ugly games there are some true positives that make the experience better than many other things I could have been doing that evening but tonight I think I would have rather been at home doing laundry, building a new shelf unit for the bedroom, and turning the game off so I could watch something on Netflix. But, on we charge anyway...

We'll start with the limited positives that I saw tonight:

- Liam Reddox played a heck of a game and if he gets sent down it is an utter crime. He provides a more consistent hockey contribution than at least 5 roster forwards regardless of size and player type. There were several shifts (but especially a PK in the third) where he showed how strong his skills are in the offensive zone chasing down pucks. This guy has worked hard to go from junior scorer to ECHL washout all the way back to NHL capable forward. He is in many ways the new beginning of a Fernando-type player. Keep him so at least we can watch some consistency.

- I liked the way Peckham mixed it up physically near the end of the game. In a contest like this, you have to do SOMETHING. He doesn't take junk, he lays hits, he stands up to people when they come looking for a fight, and he generated some offensive chances with deft wristers from the point. Aside from a shift of his near the end of the game when he could have annihilated both Clutterbuck and Havlat and instead went for inexplicable poke-checks, I liked his game.

- Omark wins every corner battle you throw him into; it's utterly astounding. Usually they are even 2-on-1 situations. I'm going to try to watch him more closely to learn whatever the secret is. Incredible. Also, he was the only fluid guy on the powerplay again. What Renney did with the lines and icetime was inexcusable, but Omark still managed to make a little something happen at least.

- Magnus managed a PP goal to end our massive drought. Sure it didn't matter, but maybe they don't grip the sticks so tight next game. Maybe. I didn't like 91's effort on the first Minny goal, but he had decent moments tonight anyway. Still finding him perpetually miscast.

- Ladislav Smid appears to be better at getting the puck deep and presenting a credible challenge for it than half our forwards. He cannot score to save his life (what'd he have, three golden chances tonight?) but at least he can control the puck for a bit.

That was pretty much it for positives. On to the garbage!

- A concussion for Hemsky that may have been from a previous game...great. He wasn't exactly playing amazing this game, but did have a pretty good scoring chance early and set up a couple more. I'm sure he makes a little bit of a difference if he sticks in this one.

- Up until the last couple minutes of garbage time, Dustin Penner looked like he'd ran to the Donut Mill in Red Deer and back before the game but was still attempting to play. He was either standing still or moving as quickly as an ornery old creaky iceberg. I really like Penner but this might have been the worst night he's had this year. There were plenty of chances to beat people for pucks and he was having none of it. He also turned it over more than usual and couldn't take a pass.

- Taylor Hall didn't have anything going tonight either. He had at least 1 clear giveaway on his first five shifts in the third period. Add this to those he'd racked up earlier and I'm sure he had 8-10 clear giveaways tonight. Most game as the result of him trying to blindly rush at the opposition's standing blue line defence and failing horribly. The only really good chances he got went into pads and over the net (what else is new...). I understand frustrating nights for young guys, but when Hall isn't going there's a clear formula to get him back on track: get open for shots rather than rushing, and hit people. One of the coaches needs to be telling him this. He skated by several open hit chances today.

- What are we doing trying to play the neutral zone trap by the way? All it did was put us in a non-moving state as Minny blew by. Our break in was constantly stopping at the opposition blue through ill-advised passing plays as well. I don't know what they've been practicing lately, but it was clear that it was planned and SUCKS. Almost as much as the "let's all stand around and pass to the D-men who can't score" powerplay.

- Speaking of defencemen who cannot score, Foster continued his proud tradition of taking pointless shots that weren't scoring chances, or whipping the puck over the net when the chances were there. What happened to this guy's slap pass? Or actually shooting past a goalie rather than taking limp-wrist shots from ridiculous angles? (the Oil as a team probably took 10 of these shots tonight that had precisely 0 chance of going in or generating a rebound).

- I thought Tom Gilbert was BAD in LA, but as many of you know I don't judge too harshly based on the TV. Tom Gilbert was disgustingly bad tonight. That third Minny goal, where he lolly-gagged back to a rightly waived off icing call, then bit it (which he did several other times tonight as well), then tried a weak pokecheck that would only work in NHL 11 to recover, was the crowning glory on what was already a night to forget. He was bad (and over-aggressive) in the offensive zone, and didn't play his man well defensively all night. I'm really hoping there's nothing wrong with him right now and this is a minor aberration, because if another Oiler is playing with a serious injury, I'm going to snap.

- Petry and Chorney largely get a pass from me tonight because the team was so bad. They were very out of position on Minny goal #1, but there was still no reason for that goal to happen. 41 had some good moments rushing the puck, but looks bad as ever in the D-zone; he was another guy who was great at the clear giveaway pass tonight. Petry looked more competent than most of the vets, but didn't really accomplish anything special.

- Cogliano had flashes (his pass for the A, and being probably the second Oilers player all night to win a race to a dump-in) but was otherwise ineffective. Watching him take a faceoff a little more closely sure was a painful experience; it is clear he has no idea how to approach the play. Ech.

- Jones needs to be really physical on a night like this; he wasn't. Stortini needed to get under Minny's skin early, not late. Fraser actually kept a couple pucks in but as usually was essentially invisible. Jacques got beat up and didn't really hit anyone; he also took one of the ugliest whacks at a scoring chance I've seen in a long time. I think he shanked a sandwedge into the netting on that one.

- Gagner looked tired, disinterested, and at times nervous with the puck. I actually want to see him on a checking line because I love the way he simplifies his game. Continuing to force him out on the PP is a mistake as he's not doing anything positive out there.

- Last, and least, our horrendous "goaltender" #35...It's one thing to have a bad night (and he did), but to show up completely unprepared to play and stink the joint out like that? I don't care if your team lays an egg offensively, but when there are so few decent Minny chances and you give up THOSE goals? You have to be kidding me. I don't know how many times it is now that he's looked that way from start to finish of a game, but if I'd have had some UofA kid on the bench, he would've played tonight. #35's act out there was embarrassing.

- Renney didn't help this out in any way. It's like he just wound the toy up and said "let's see what happens". Sucking was what happened.
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I'm disgusted. I hope my caustic mood at least provides some humor on what was otherwise a dreary evening.