Sunday, December 31, 2006
Battle Game Day
Holiday hockey is almost over, as is holiday hockeyblogging. I hope everyone's time has been spent enjoyably over the past week.
Tonight the Flames play the Oilers on RSN West at 6PM MT. Last year's NYEve game was a barnburner, but with some shitty officiating and at least a couple of comically lucky goals. This year, neither team is exactly on a heater coming in. I admit it, even though I think the Oilers are the more dangerous team in the long run, I was hoping they'd beat the Canucks last night and maybe soften up a bit tonight.
Fortunately, the Oilers D doesn't need self-satisfaction to make them soft. I'll say that last night was not rock bottom; that'll come tonight or in January.
Calgary wins 4-1 (Hamrlik, Huselius, Hislop, & Tim Hunter; Hemsky). H-H-Happy New Year everyone, and Go Flames.
Tonight the Flames play the Oilers on RSN West at 6PM MT. Last year's NYEve game was a barnburner, but with some shitty officiating and at least a couple of comically lucky goals. This year, neither team is exactly on a heater coming in. I admit it, even though I think the Oilers are the more dangerous team in the long run, I was hoping they'd beat the Canucks last night and maybe soften up a bit tonight.
Fortunately, the Oilers D doesn't need self-satisfaction to make them soft. I'll say that last night was not rock bottom; that'll come tonight or in January.
Calgary wins 4-1 (Hamrlik, Huselius, Hislop, & Tim Hunter; Hemsky). H-H-Happy New Year everyone, and Go Flames.
# posted by Matt @ 5:42 pm 
Comments:
All my logic says the Oilers are going to get run out of the rink tonight, given their recent play.
That being said, the Oilers like to say "fuck logic" on occasion, so I'm going to go with an upset 3-2 Oiler win. Hemsky, Lupul, and Skyora for the good guys; Iginla and Lombardi for the forces of evil.
Ugh, the Flames crew is doing this game tonight, I forgot....wasn't it enough to hear 3 hours of Greg Millen verbally fellating Naslund and the Sedins last night? Lord have mercy on Oiler fans....
Hey, when did Jonathan Lipnicki start calling Flames games?
Another Oilers stinker. How am I going to keep my New Years resolution of being a happier, more optimistic human being when I have to cheer for this team, on top of the Red Sox?
Grabia, you're cursed like I am, a Sox fan AND an Oilers fan?
It's a rough life, isn't it?
Oh, and this one is from my dad:
"Roger Millions and John Garrett, the MASTERS of verbal fellatio". They've got to bring in a neutral broadcast crew to do these Edmonton/Calgary games that are on Sportsnet...it's too much to bear for either side having to listen to the other team's broadcast crew.
Well, one tidbit of bright news tonight for all you CFP haters out there:
"To add to the Ducks' injury woes, defenseman Chris Prongor left with a broken foot after trying to defend a Parrish shot in the first period."
"Roger Millions and John Garrett, the MASTERS of verbal fellatio". They've got to bring in a neutral broadcast crew to do these Edmonton/Calgary games that are on Sportsnet...it's too much to bear for either side having to listen to the other team's broadcast crew."
Its funny you say that. I'm a Flames fan and I find Millions and Garrett too much to bear. I would much rather listen to the Oiler broadcast team. Even Ferraro is an upgrade over Garrett. Actually, come to think about it, there should be a rule against former goalies being the colour man. Darren Pang is the absolute worst!
A Happy New Year for Flames Fans ... for Oilers fans, not so much. The Flames sit atop the division with games in hand on everybody. They are 4 points clear of the Oil now, and hold a game in hand. The 5th place Oilers can forget about winning the division for a while and concentrate on holding off the hard charging Chicago Blackhawks and making the playoffs.
We are also seeing that Dwayne Roloson is, in the words of Dennis Green, what we thought he was: A competent back-up goaltender who played his brains out last spring. His puckhandling behind the net last night was positively Conklin-esque.
Go Flames.
All of my previous musings about Roloson not being able to handle the starting job by himself seem to be materializing...
Nice to see the Flames continue their climb at the expense of the Oilers...
The only good thing I can pull out of this stretch is that it can't get much worse.
Unless we lose to Florida. Then, we can kiss the season goodbye.
Peter,
Guessing math isn't a strong suit?
Calgary has a game in hand and 4 points on the Oilers.
Clearly insurmountable given that there's only 44 games left in the season for the Oilers.
I suppose that planning the parade early in Calgary is a long-standing tradition though.
BK -
I'm guessing English wasn't a strong suit. "They are 4 points clear of the Oil now, and hold a game in hand" = "Calgary has a game in hand and 4 points on the Oilers"
And I never said it was an insurmountable lead, just that the Oilers have bigger problems right now than winning the division -- ie, making the playoffs. The Oilers are not a 'good team which is currently underperforming', they are a mediocre team which overperformed the first month or so of the season. The next 44 games are going to be fun.
Peter,
"The 5th place Oilers can forget about winning the division for a while and concentrate on holding off the hard charging Chicago Blackhawks and making the playoffs."
I think someone with the slightest clue as to how insignificant a lead Calgary holds at this point in the season (with 4 games between the two teams remaining) wouldn't be making a comment like that.
Maybe math was the wrong word.
Critical thinking and logic?
Yeah, sounds more like it to me.
It'll be pretty funny in Calgary loses 3 in a row (road trip coming up, perhaps?) and the Oilers win 3 in a row though. Amazing how quickly things could change, isn't it?
The Oilers are not a 'good team which is currently underperforming', they are a mediocre team which overperformed the first month or so of the season. The next 44 games are going to be fun.
No surprise this is the view of a Flames fan on the situation. Time will tell, but if you don't see that the Oilers are playing grossly below their capabilities right now at pretty much every position, then what games have you been watching? The Oilers are not a mediocre team that's getting beat by better teams due to lack of talent, they're a team not playing their system and losing to equal or lesser teams (the Flames being roughly the Oilers equal, with the Canucks, Kings and Avalanche all inferior teams, at least in my view of the rosters top-to-bottom).
Time will show that the Oilers are a good team in a bad slump.
Maybe the Oilers are playing below their abilities now, but I maintain they were playing way over their heads in October. Certainly Roloson was.
I do agree they should be better than Colorado, Vancouver and Minnesota. I think that some separation will open up in the division between the top two teams in the division (Calgary and Edmonton) and the others. But I think Calgary is going to widen the gap over the Oilers in the next while.
Peter,
Right now, I give the Flames a minor edge over the Oilers (i.e. 1-5 points after 82 games).
That being said, I do NOT think the Oiler team that took the ice on Sunday is the same one we'll see six weeks from now.
And Roloson is a lot better than what he's shown the past month.
One other key statistic that pretty much follows the trends in the northwest: The Oilers and Flames are tied 2-2 in the season series. Home teams are undefeated. Goal totals: Flames have 8 in the four games, the Oilers also have 8.
First team between the Oilers and Flames to establish some consistency on the road wins the division, IMO. Simply because I think it's a given Lowe's going to improve the defense (because if he doesn't, he should flat out resign his post as GM). Vancouver and Colorado are going to fall off at some point, and Minnesota's a total enigma (I'd say watch out for the Wild IF we knew if and when Gaborik was returning).
Not even halfway through the season, and the Northwest is tighter than bike shorts at the Rita MacNeil household.
The undeniable beauty of parquet flooring is financially out of reach for many people. A cost comparison between
replacing the old worn out wall to wall carpeting and installing parquet flooring will show that the parquet choice
is less expensive if you install it yourself.
If you don't have sub flooring which can be sanded and varnished, you might consider do it yourself parquet
flooring. Eight or twelve inch squares of finished oak are available in several shades of stain from dark walnut
like oak to pale natural tones. The wood grain is preserved in all finishes and the final clear coat will stand up
to most traffic.
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All my logic says the Oilers are going to get run out of the rink tonight, given their recent play.
That being said, the Oilers like to say "fuck logic" on occasion, so I'm going to go with an upset 3-2 Oiler win. Hemsky, Lupul, and Skyora for the good guys; Iginla and Lombardi for the forces of evil.
Ugh, the Flames crew is doing this game tonight, I forgot....wasn't it enough to hear 3 hours of Greg Millen verbally fellating Naslund and the Sedins last night? Lord have mercy on Oiler fans....
Hey, when did Jonathan Lipnicki start calling Flames games?
Another Oilers stinker. How am I going to keep my New Years resolution of being a happier, more optimistic human being when I have to cheer for this team, on top of the Red Sox?
Grabia, you're cursed like I am, a Sox fan AND an Oilers fan?
It's a rough life, isn't it?
Oh, and this one is from my dad:
"Roger Millions and John Garrett, the MASTERS of verbal fellatio". They've got to bring in a neutral broadcast crew to do these Edmonton/Calgary games that are on Sportsnet...it's too much to bear for either side having to listen to the other team's broadcast crew.
Well, one tidbit of bright news tonight for all you CFP haters out there:
"To add to the Ducks' injury woes, defenseman Chris Prongor left with a broken foot after trying to defend a Parrish shot in the first period."
# posted by 
: January 01, 2007 4:24 am
: January 01, 2007 4:24 am "Roger Millions and John Garrett, the MASTERS of verbal fellatio". They've got to bring in a neutral broadcast crew to do these Edmonton/Calgary games that are on Sportsnet...it's too much to bear for either side having to listen to the other team's broadcast crew."
Its funny you say that. I'm a Flames fan and I find Millions and Garrett too much to bear. I would much rather listen to the Oiler broadcast team. Even Ferraro is an upgrade over Garrett. Actually, come to think about it, there should be a rule against former goalies being the colour man. Darren Pang is the absolute worst!
# posted by : January 01, 2007 11:05 am
: January 01, 2007 11:05 am A Happy New Year for Flames Fans ... for Oilers fans, not so much. The Flames sit atop the division with games in hand on everybody. They are 4 points clear of the Oil now, and hold a game in hand. The 5th place Oilers can forget about winning the division for a while and concentrate on holding off the hard charging Chicago Blackhawks and making the playoffs.
We are also seeing that Dwayne Roloson is, in the words of Dennis Green, what we thought he was: A competent back-up goaltender who played his brains out last spring. His puckhandling behind the net last night was positively Conklin-esque.
Go Flames.
# posted by : January 01, 2007 3:46 pm
: January 01, 2007 3:46 pm All of my previous musings about Roloson not being able to handle the starting job by himself seem to be materializing...
Nice to see the Flames continue their climb at the expense of the Oilers...
# posted by : January 01, 2007 4:22 pm
: January 01, 2007 4:22 pm The only good thing I can pull out of this stretch is that it can't get much worse.
Unless we lose to Florida. Then, we can kiss the season goodbye.
Peter,
Guessing math isn't a strong suit?
Calgary has a game in hand and 4 points on the Oilers.
Clearly insurmountable given that there's only 44 games left in the season for the Oilers.
I suppose that planning the parade early in Calgary is a long-standing tradition though.
BK -
I'm guessing English wasn't a strong suit. "They are 4 points clear of the Oil now, and hold a game in hand" = "Calgary has a game in hand and 4 points on the Oilers"
And I never said it was an insurmountable lead, just that the Oilers have bigger problems right now than winning the division -- ie, making the playoffs. The Oilers are not a 'good team which is currently underperforming', they are a mediocre team which overperformed the first month or so of the season. The next 44 games are going to be fun.
# posted by : January 01, 2007 8:11 pm
: January 01, 2007 8:11 pm Peter,
"The 5th place Oilers can forget about winning the division for a while and concentrate on holding off the hard charging Chicago Blackhawks and making the playoffs."
I think someone with the slightest clue as to how insignificant a lead Calgary holds at this point in the season (with 4 games between the two teams remaining) wouldn't be making a comment like that.
Maybe math was the wrong word.
Critical thinking and logic?
Yeah, sounds more like it to me.
It'll be pretty funny in Calgary loses 3 in a row (road trip coming up, perhaps?) and the Oilers win 3 in a row though. Amazing how quickly things could change, isn't it?
The Oilers are not a 'good team which is currently underperforming', they are a mediocre team which overperformed the first month or so of the season. The next 44 games are going to be fun.
No surprise this is the view of a Flames fan on the situation. Time will tell, but if you don't see that the Oilers are playing grossly below their capabilities right now at pretty much every position, then what games have you been watching? The Oilers are not a mediocre team that's getting beat by better teams due to lack of talent, they're a team not playing their system and losing to equal or lesser teams (the Flames being roughly the Oilers equal, with the Canucks, Kings and Avalanche all inferior teams, at least in my view of the rosters top-to-bottom).
Time will show that the Oilers are a good team in a bad slump.
Maybe the Oilers are playing below their abilities now, but I maintain they were playing way over their heads in October. Certainly Roloson was.
I do agree they should be better than Colorado, Vancouver and Minnesota. I think that some separation will open up in the division between the top two teams in the division (Calgary and Edmonton) and the others. But I think Calgary is going to widen the gap over the Oilers in the next while.
# posted by : January 01, 2007 10:48 pm
: January 01, 2007 10:48 pm Peter,
Right now, I give the Flames a minor edge over the Oilers (i.e. 1-5 points after 82 games).
That being said, I do NOT think the Oiler team that took the ice on Sunday is the same one we'll see six weeks from now.
And Roloson is a lot better than what he's shown the past month.
One other key statistic that pretty much follows the trends in the northwest: The Oilers and Flames are tied 2-2 in the season series. Home teams are undefeated. Goal totals: Flames have 8 in the four games, the Oilers also have 8.
First team between the Oilers and Flames to establish some consistency on the road wins the division, IMO. Simply because I think it's a given Lowe's going to improve the defense (because if he doesn't, he should flat out resign his post as GM). Vancouver and Colorado are going to fall off at some point, and Minnesota's a total enigma (I'd say watch out for the Wild IF we knew if and when Gaborik was returning).
Not even halfway through the season, and the Northwest is tighter than bike shorts at the Rita MacNeil household.
The undeniable beauty of parquet flooring is financially out of reach for many people. A cost comparison between
replacing the old worn out wall to wall carpeting and installing parquet flooring will show that the parquet choice
is less expensive if you install it yourself.
If you don't have sub flooring which can be sanded and varnished, you might consider do it yourself parquet
flooring. Eight or twelve inch squares of finished oak are available in several shades of stain from dark walnut
like oak to pale natural tones. The wood grain is preserved in all finishes and the final clear coat will stand up
to most traffic.
# posted by : February 17, 2007 2:23 am
: February 17, 2007 2:23 am Post a Comment
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