Sunday, March 23, 2008

 

Hoppy Easter


I hope Easter the Bunny was good to you all.

Overall, he was pretty good to Edmonton. The last five days were mercifully devoid of the dreaded 3-point games, and the Plausible Prediction turned out to be almost perfect. The Oil are now only 3 back of Colorado (whose ass we kicked last night) with another head-to-head to go.

Vancouver isn't exactly out of the woods yet either. Their next game is in Calgary and then home to Colorado. Lose even one of those and they are back with the pack. Lose both and they may be on the outside looking in.

Here are some -- not plausible exactly -- maybe, Not Entirely Absurd Predictions. I even threw in some OT games and some Oiler loses to make up for the lack of them last week.

If this happens over the next week . . . :

March 24
Calgary beats Colorado in Overtime (in Colorado)
Oilers beat Wild in OT (in Edmonton)

March 25
Nashville beat BlueJackets (in Nashville)
Flames beat Vancouver (in Calgary)

March 26
Oilers lose to Wild in Overtime (in Minnie)
Avs beat Canucks in Overtime (in Denver)

March 28
Blue Jackets lose to Predators in Overtime (in Columbus)
Canucks lose to Wild (in Minnie)
Oilers beat Avs (in Denver)

March 29
Oilers lose to Flames in OT (in Calgary)

March 30
Predators lose to Red Wings (in Detroit)
Avalanche lose to Wild (in Minnie)
Flames beat Canucks (in Vancouver)

. . then the standings will look like this:

. . .
7. Vancouver (79 GP, 87 points, remaining games vs: Colorado, Oilers, Flames)
8. Colorado (80 GP, 87 points, remaining games vs: Canucks, Wild)
9. Edmonton (80 GP, 87 points, remaining games vs: Flames, Canucks)
10. Nashville (79 GP, 84 points, remaining games vs: Blues, Blues, Blackhawks, )
. . .

That's not crazy, right?

Comments:

I think the safest bet is to cheer for the Flames and Wild in any games not involving us.
 


Indeed! I look forward to rooting for The Flaming C along with 17,000 fellow fans tomorrow night at Rexall.
 


"in any games not involving us", you dink!
 


Say hi to Ken King for me.
 


I'm quite serious... I'll be at the Oil-Wild game at Rexall. You don't think the crowd will go nuts if the out-of-town scores are announced as, "Calgary leads Colorado 3-0 in the 2nd period"?

On the other hand, if that score is reversed, the Flames will get booed like they haven't been since the place was called Northlands Coliseum. I'm looking at it as Win-Win.
 


Wait, what? You are going to the Oilers game? What the . . . ? I don't remember approving this.

While living in Sheffield I went to a Sheffield Wednesday football match. The crowd actually stood and applauded when they announced that Sheffield United was losing 2-0 to Barnsley. Good times.
 


according to matt's theory from the other thread, which i have adopted, it's pretty unlikely that vancouver will lose 4 in a row this week, since they have already done that twice this season (if i remember correctly)...that and the fact vancouver softened up minnie for the flames big win (6-3-1 in last 10), which, according to same theory, means the flaming C are due for a loss since, lord knows, they're only a 0.587 hockey team ;-).

those are just the facts of hockey odds.
 


Yeah, well, I have no problem with Vancouver beating Colorado if they want to.
 


Funny how the Canucks get no respect on this site. They are the only team who won a round last year, they also won the title, have the best goalie in the league and have faced the worst injuries of all the NW teams this season. Through all this, they have held 1st for approx 35 game this year, and are currently 3 points out of 1st amongst there up and down season. Edmonton is done, and somehow the intelligence that I thought I saw in some of the posters is being badly tarnished. I hence dub you all, the LEafs of the West...
ps. I know the injuries thing will bug you Oil fans, but come on. Losing Souray, Moreau and Torres is hardly losing players which are vital. Horcoff was a big loss, but he is vastly overrated in your world anyways.
Try losing Bieksa, Salo, Ohlund, Miller, Krajichek, Mitchell to prolonged injurys and then see what you have...
 


They are the only team who won a round last year,

By my count, there were eight of them.

Try losing Bieksa, Salo, Ohlund, Miller, Krajichek, Mitchell

Who?
 


Yeah, well, I have no problem with Vancouver beating Colorado if they want to.

That makes two of us, then. I'd love to see the Oilers eek out a playoff spot and have the Avs on the outside looking in. Go Canucks Go!

Losing Souray, Moreau and Torres is hardly losing players which are vital.

No wonder Canuck fans are so hated around here. It was no surprise to me when "The Island of Dr. Moreau" suffered another injury. He's the Sami Salo of the Oilers and every Canuck fan should understand the frustration in seeing a top D-man on the IR again. But to say Souray, Moreau, and Torres aren't vital players pretty well showcases why Canuck fans get no love around here...

Though Torres is still a jackass, injured or not.
 


I think it's Lukas Krajicek not Krajichek by the way.

I love Anonynucks posters.

"Try losing Bieksa, Salo, Ohlund, Miller, Krajichek, Mitchell

Who?


Don't you know that's a list of the best top six defensive core in the league...or maybe of all time?
 


Don't you know that's a list of the best top six defensive core in the league...or maybe of all time?

m'heh!

Although I do think the Canucks have good depth on the blueline. Alex Edler has sure been a pleasant surprise.
 


"Although I do think the Canucks have good depth on the blueline."

Agreed.

That Luongo guy is pretty good as well.
 


I'd argue that Brodeur is the best goalie in the league. His consistency is nothing short of inhuman.

Luongo would definitely be in the top 3 judging from last year, and some of the games from this year despite struggling a bit.
 


Hmmm, interesting takes on the Canucks. I think that the Nucks have been ravaged by injury this year, and that when healthy. Our d-men are the deepest 6 in the league. But dont take my word for it. Scotty Bowman and Mike Milbury have stated the same :)And that was before the emergence of Edler, who by the way is really really good. A junior Ohlund with much more offensive potential. No word of a lie, when I say that Vancouver has been lucky with him, no-one knew what we had except Detroit and Nonis.
As for the Oilers injuries, losing anyone sucks. I would think though that losing Moreau hasnt hurt so much, as the team is used to playin without him, and the Oilers are filled with players of his skillset. Souray is a big loss, cause he MIGHT have helped or might not have, and Torres is like Jim Sandlak was in Vancouver. A world of potential who never took the next step and was relegated to bad penalty taking and the odd great spurt before riding off to the Hartford whalers (great jerseys, I agree).
Both teams have had injuries, but the Nucks found a way to squeak out a few wins here and there that the Oil didnt. And today it shows.Anyways, its a great time to be a fan of the NHL, and whether the Oilers make it or not (I think not) they will have a good team come next year...
Ps. Luongo is top 2, as Brodeur is nowhere near as consistent as us Western dwellers seem to think. But either is Luongo.
 


I think the Canucks had a game where their top six were out, right? But other then that they've lost a guy here, a guy there.

Thing is they do have a nice D. Its damn deep. That also makes anon's point wrongheaded. They actually could lose Salo or Mitchell or Bieksa. They could lose two of them and still be OK.

Now if they had lost a Sedin or two they would have been truly fucked.

Other thing is that Souray and Moreau basically did not play this season and both Torres and Horcoff have been out for months now. Plus Pisani missed the first half and Pitkanen and Greene also missed time.

On a team that is as thin as the Oilers in terms of established NHLers (Lowe's fault or his design, hard to say) losing four of your veteran guys for the last twenty to thirty games should have been a killer. I certainly thought so.
 


Funny how the Canucks get no respect on this site.

You are surprised? Without Loungo falling into the team's lap and some decent up-and-coming defenceman, you basically have an AHL team (admittedly, the Oilers haven't been far off early this season).


have faced the worst injuries of all the NW teams this season.

Boo hoo. Wah.

It's actually the tenth worst injuries this year in man games lost, so don't cry to other teams about it, especially the Oilers.

Your team is dink.
 


Bieska and now Eddler...if they pull another out (Bourdon or something haha) next season I say someone in the front office is a witch.

And Brodeur is extremely consistent for a goaltender. Kipper has been amazing for 3 seasons with a bit of rust early this campaign, but no one has done it for as long and consistently as Brodeur.

I always had a lot of doubt given that before the Devils weren't exactly the team you'd score against, but now that he's still winning with all of Martin, White, Oduya, Brookbank, and who knows who else on D, he's certainly proved he is a top notch goalie even without the same stifling team in front of him. That and Madden is a freak.
 


I'm feeling grumpy tonight, so I'm going to tear apart annony's post, just for kicks.

They are the only team who won a round last year

Both the Flames and Oilers went to game seven of the Stanley cup finals within the last 3 seasons. And the Canucks were a joke in the playoffs, getting shut out THREE times despite beating Dallas.

have the best goalie in the league

If they have the best goalie, why are they fighting for a playoff spot? Seems to me there are two options: Luongo isn't the best goalie, or the rest of the teams stinks that much more.

Through all this, they have held 1st for approx 35 game this year, and are currently 3 points out of 1st amongst there up and down season.

I'm supposed to respect midseason success? SQUANDERED midseason success?

I hence dub you all, the LEafs of the West...

I don't even understand this reference. Leafs fans cling to their team despite constant disappointment . . . and so do Canucks fans. That's a parallel that makes sense to me.

The injuries thing has already been debunked. Look, if the Canucks want respect, they need to earn it. They are a mediocre team that has had a few sniffs at success over the years. That's it. They can't even settle on a jersey or logo. At least Flames fans or Oilers fans can wear old jerseys to games and still fit in.

But all of this is irrelevant. Even if they had Detroit's record, I still wouldn't like them, and I certainly wouldn't respect them. I'm a Flames fan, and I always will be a Flames fan.

Deal with it.
 


Mike W.

"Without Loungo falling into the team's lap and some decent up-and-coming defenceman, you basically have an AHL team "

That is one of the most perplexing thoughts out there. I've heard it all year, and it makes me scratch my head.
Firstly, the Luongo trade. It has paid off well, but at the time. The price of Bertuzzi (at that time still a premier powerforward) Bryan Allen (solid #4 dman) and Alex Auld (30 game winner) was quite steep. Bertuzzi was the wildcard and it could have worked out for Florida huge if he would have panned out.
Secondly, the AHl crack? I'm at a loss when you can call the Sedins and Naslund AHL material. Nazzy has lost a step and possibly his desire to compete, but he is still almost a point a game player. And with Kesler, Pyatt, Raymond and Burrows, I would say that the Nucks are settin up nice for years to come. There is big league talent on the team, and with the addition of about 9 million in cap-space at Naslunds and Morrisons expense, there is money to upgrade with a top 6 forward.
I know that Frolov or Cammaleri would be great fits here, and with our abundance of young dmen, one could be moved for the right return to LA.
Anyways, our injuries have cost us dearly in goalscoring. As at this point last year, we had approx 40 goals more from the backend than we do this year. Add that to our totals, and we are at the top of the league in scoring and yet near the bottom for goals allowed.
In final wrapup, I will admit that I look at my Nucks with homer glasses, but I still think that most hockey fans can see the plan and future in place for a strong team.
Anyways. Happy Easter
ps. How will you guys deal with Jimmy Hughson being hired as the "voice" of HNIC? I will admit that he does seem to favor my team more than normal...
 


In what mathematical abortion is 51 points in 75 games almost a point per game? Congratulations, your Captain has finally eclipsed Shawn Horcoff in points. You're lucky he still has his worldclass compete.

As for the strong future, all I see is the Sedins who are going to fold under playoff pressure every year, and admittedly solid defense you're going to have to trade away for some forward talent, and a completely empty farm system. I also see a Luongo trade demand in a few years when he realizes Nonis is pissing away his prime.
 


ps. How will you guys deal with Jimmy Hughson being hired as the "voice" of HNIC? I will admit that he does seem to favor my team more than normal...

Jim Hughson is more than tolerable when he's not calling a game involving the Canucks. Best in the business, in fact.

Interesting thing though - some had complained that he comes across as biased during Oiler/Canucks games on CBC. I myself thoght this to be true. Well, I had the pleasure of watching the SN Pacific HD feed for the game on Thursday, and between him and Garrett, the Canuck-bias was cranked up. And why not? It was a game on the regional carrier.

Hughson throttles the homerism back quite a bit when calling the Canucks on CBC. Having Simpson as a color guy helps to offset any natural favoritism even further. I'm glad that they stopped working Hughson/Millen as a tandem however....mostly because Greg Millen sucks.
 


Horcoff was a big loss, but he is vastly overrated in your world anyways.

Overrated, I think not. Horcoff with Hemsky is a better combination than those two ugly clones on the first line on the wet coast.

And the comment about Souray, Torres and Moreau just re-enforces why I hate Canuck fans. The large majority of them are dumber than a sack of hammers.
 


I can't believe how many people are letting Canucks fans egg them on here.

Lets celebrate the Oilers shocking little run rather than disputing which adequately mediocre team has had more problems maintaining a status of adequate mediocrity.

This is an exciting and surprising time to be an Oilers fan. Embrace it. Don't let yourself get thinking too far ahead... if anyone told you six weeks ago we'd be this close - you'd be ecstatic.
 


And the comment about Souray, Torres and Moreau just re-enforces why I hate Canuck fans. The large majority of them are dumber than a sack of hammers.

Souray and Moreau are vital parts to be sure. Torres is still a jackass though, injured or not,.
 


Souray and Moreau are vital parts to be sure. Torres is still a jackass though, injured or not,.

Jackass maybe, but for certain an effective hockey player.

One of those "if he was on my team, I wouldn't hate him" types. I'd be upset if the Oilers let him go just to necessitate keeping Emergency Room Ethan around for 20 healthy games per season.
 


Go Flames.

(Offer good only tonight, and only if they win in regulation, none of this win in OT crap. Oh who am I kidding, Kipper is going to suck tonight just to spite me).
 


On a team that is as thin as the Oilers in terms of established NHLers (Lowe's fault or his design, hard to say) losing four of your veteran guys for the last twenty to thirty games should have been a killer.

hey black dog, i'll give you the sedins straight up for cogliano and gagner...lots of nhl experience doing the sedicycle in the corners. round and round they go, when they'll shoot, no one knows.

(i'm just kidding of course, i loooove the sedinbots...they have stanley cup written all over them...well, maybe not stanley...)

[disclaimer: for those with difficulty reading irony, yes, the above pokes fun at the sedins and pays a compliment to cogliano and gagner]
 


What a joke! Sedins for 2 rookies who are not even ranked in the top 5 for this year?
I'm gonna have to break it to you gently then. Gagner is the better of him and Cogliano. However, Gagner is nothing special and should if played correctly, end up as another Mike Comrie career type. He is to small, to slow and does not go to the hard places. His skills while flashy for the shootout, are nowhere near top level in the league.
Cogliano is having possibly the best season of his career right now. He is no better than 3rd liner material and over time will prove it.He is fast, but easy to knock off the puck and also is not blessed with great skill. He gets alot out of his talents, and maybe just maybe squeak out an existence on a better team. Only on the Oilers would these 2 ordinary rookies be lifted to the heavens and proclaimed the new" boys on the bus".
You guys would have had a shot at a real gamebreaker this summer. But instead your idiot GM went after the fattest, slowest and unmotivated player in the league...
Like I said, you are the leafs of the west
 


Like I said, you are the leafs of the west

We're not the ones who haven't won
sweet-fuck-all since the 1960's.

Which, in Cansuck land, translates to "never".
 


We gotta send Fenwick to more Oiler games...
 


Who is this Glencross character and why isn't he nicknamed Glengarry Glenross?

And is anyone feeling confident with this two goal lead?
 


You know, I was just commenting to a friend of mine that this thread might have pushed my hatred of the Canucks past my hatred of the Flames. But if Calgary loses to Colorado tonight, I take it all back.
 


Who is this Glencross character and why isn't he nicknamed Glengarry Glenross?

I believe that one was suggested, but dropped in favour of the pharmaceutically inclined GlenX.

GlenX: it makes your fourth line bigger.
 


I really, really hate the Falmes right now.

We gotta send Fenwick to more Oiler games...

I smell a BoA "Buy Matt Oilers season tickets" fundraiser coming up.

"Hi. I'm Curtis Glencross. It's not easy being an Edmonton Oiler; after all, we're really not that good a team, so we lose our share of games. But with your help, that can all change. Meet Matt Fenwick..."

He'd have to work something in there about BIG GOALS, too.
 


WTF is this? GOILERS!

And whats the deal with Cotton Eye Joe being played during every single stoppage in play?

(Why not add Tom Cochrane and Edmund Hockridge while you're at it, and you have a trifecta of really sucky Canadian-Swedish musicians).

No playoffs is worth effin' Rednex.
 


Hey, leave Cochrane out of it. White Hot is a great tune...
 


Actually I liked Chris!'s nickname best: Gleneration X.
 


Where's the arena post?
 


I wish there was a..computer..type...thingy that you could install that automatically replaces anonymous (read: Canucks fans) comments with the lyrics to "Cotton-Eyed Joe."

Anonymous posters: where do they come from, where do they go?
 


CANUCKS!
 


Where's the arena post?

I suspect Andy's head has exploded like it was that gigantic Vegreville easter egg in a microwave.
 


I'm with DMFB... I'm waiting to read Andy's thoughts on the arena report!
 


Well, so much for my $10 entry in the pool on when Grabia writes about the arena.
 


he's a cookin-a something up...


hey, my word verification is:

moerayu

An annagram for:

y moreau?
 


Hey Andy,

Just thought I'd let you know that according to Robin Brownlee at Oilersnation, the OIlers have signed Harlan Anderson.

http://www.oilersnation.com/index2.php/2008/03/25/golden-bear-anderson-now-an-oiler/#more-1545

Not a bad week for the Bears captain. Well deserved.

Now back to your highly anticipated response to the arena study. I look forward to reading it by the way.
 


No pressure Andy but we're expecting the mother of all posts here.

I'm sure you won't disappoint.
 


Arena Schm-arena

Go Canucks!
 


Go Phaneuf, which translates to GOILERS in swedish.
 

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