Battle of Alberta

I found a nice old Oilers goal just in time for tonight's big game! Gee Messier can score on the Lames in any fashion! Good Messier!!!

Oilers are 2 points behind Vancouver/Nashville for that last 8th spot but they both have games in hand on the Oilers. Last night's sloppy loss to the Avs really hurts but the Oil have to put it out of their minds, just go out and kick some Lames' ass. They were always a longshot to make the playoffs and it's still not beyond them. Just go out, play well and win. No pressure! :)

I'm assuming Roli is starting again. I think we can all agree he was Red Light Roli last night (thanks D) and embarrassing in the shootout. Not much the Oil can do but play him if Garon is still injured.

I'm calling a good Oilers win.....4-2 for the Oil. Hemmer, Cogs, Gags and Brodziak get the goals.

It finally makes sense.....

Looks like Garon has been fighting an injury over the past week (lower body) and that is the reason Roloson has started the last four games instead. I'm not sure this is why Roli has started all four games but it must be the reason for the Vancouver start. Garon had played excellent against that team all year. Roli had three starts in a row so starting Roloson for a fourth time was inexplicable even though he had won three games in a row. However, his last start against Phoenix was not a great game so I think we all figured Garon was back in net. So I guess MacT isn't the complete idiot we all thought.....he was hampered by an injury to his goalie. It must not be serious since no other goalie has been called up and Garon was backing Roli up on each of those starts.

TSN also reported that Garon did not practice Friday. Does that mean he doesn't start Saturday's big game against Colorado? Only MacT knows I guess......

Big game tomorrow folks. They are 5 pts behind Colorado for the 8th spot so another chance to get within 3 pts of the playoffs. They choked on Thursday. The team looked very tight and cautious in the early parts of the game. Okay kids, go back to not worrying about it and just have fun. You're a fun team to watch and as long as you compete hard, that's all we ask.

I predict an Oilers victory......no matter who is in net. The team is going to rebound hard and play a tough game. Oil win 3-1 (goals from Gilbert, Hemsky and Penner).

Vancouver vs Edmonton: Game On!

Big game tonight......Vancouver is in town tonight and with a victory in regulation tonight, the Oilers will be only 3 points behind them for a playoff spot. Winning 10 of 12 games, the Oilers are looking to stay hot. Roloson started three straight and won them all. But I think MacT has to go back to Garon tonight for a couple reasons: Roloson did not look sharp on Tuesday night against Phoenix and Garon stole a couple games against Vancouver earlier this season.

So our kids continue to keep this team rolling with Gagner, Cogliano, Gilbert, Nilsson, Brodziak and Glencross playing as seasoned veterans....there is an excellent chance tonight for a W.

A win tonight.....the bandwagon will fill up again! GO OILERS!!

Update: ROLI STARTS TONIGHT!! I'm shocked.....

Chris Pronger, aka the Double Standard

The DEVIL gets away with a very similar act that resulted in Chris Simon getting a 30 games suspension. Prongs only gets 8 games but to make this whole situation even worse, it took a better video (bullshit, the first one was clear enough) and outrage from some media to even make the NHL look at this. So Colin took out his Wheel of Justice, spun it fairly (sarcasm) and the Devil only gets 8 games. Also, he'll make it back just in time for the playoffs.

The NHL has blown another suspension call and is anyone else getting sick of it?? Simon gets 30 games while Pronger gets only 8 for basically the same action? I'd even put Pronger's act worse since he stomped on Kesler's leg not the skate boot that Simon did.

The best part is the NHL's explanation, "In attempting to free himself, Pronger carelessly and recklessly brought his foot down." Sure.....there was no attempt to injure because Pronger is known for his gentlemanly behaviour in the league.

Anyways, let's move onto our Oilers. They are in Phoenix tonight to play the Coyotes and hoping to rebound from a disastrous game in Colorado. I'm guessing Roloson gets the nod tonight since Garon has played 16 straight games (even though he was pulled in the Avs game). The team needs to tighten up their defensive game. There is too many giveaways and sloppy play. The defense (not including Greene) has played quite well along with the kid line. Hemsky and Penner really need to pick up their game. Man, are they ever missing Horcoff?! Stoll or Reasoner are horrible on that line.

To end, I want to throw out a shout-out to one of my favorite former Oilers, Igor Ulanov. I adored that man for his physical play. Sure he wasn't the best defenseman but he had character and was one of the toughtest Oilers ever. A post over at Oiler Nation by Robin Brownlee mentioned Igor when discussing the state of Joni Pitkanen and his "toughness" factor. Basically, Joni is as delicate as a 19th century lady.

This is good part from the article:

Ulanov once had to be forced off the ice by officials at Madison Square Garden after taking a slapper in the mouth because he wanted to wait until the end of the period for repairs—he ended up needing 30 stitches. Uli was wicked tough. When I asked him what the hell he was thinking, he seemed offended.

“What?” he scowled. “It’s blood on my face. My leg is not broken.” My guess is Joni and Igor would’ve had issues.

Damn I miss Igor!!!

Okay back to our Oilers tonight, Pitkanen should draw back in after missing one game with the flu. Oilers will rebound nicely and win 4-2 with goals from Hemsky, Penner and Cogliano (2).

Mr. Overtime

Oops, he did it again. In fact, he did IT three times in a row. Andrew Cogliano (aka Cogs) scored in overtime last night to lift the Oilers over the St. Louis Blues. Yes folks, that is his third overtime goal. Even more impressive, it's his third overtime goal in as many games. Yes, an NHL record.

Aside from blowing a 3-0 lead (let's not get into that yet), the Oilers held on and took the game to overtime. Cogs scored with 5 seconds left in OT with a beautiful pass from Gagner (Gags). Earlier in the season, I was shouting to put these boys together. Along with the addition of Nilsson lately, they are the dynamic trio. The kid line isn't kidding (yes that was bad). They have so much chemistry and even better, are scoring lots of goals.

Okay, let's get to this blowing leads. You know what? This team is young and yes, they're going to cock things up. But they are not blowing leads and losing like they did in December. I believe they lost 6 games in a row and were tied or leading heading into the third period. Fast forward a few months, and now when blowing a lead, the Oilers come back in OT or the shootout. Obviously we'd all like to see more regulation wins but this is a team in transition. They are developing (faster than we all thought) and becoming an Oilers team of old. Filled with physical play, using their speed and grinding out wins.

It's too bad their 7-1 run hasn't helped make up much ground. They are still 7 pts out of the playoffs. But it sure gives this fan some hope for the future.