Monday, November 28, 2011

G24 Predators at Oilers

This is Jimmy Page. Before the Yardbirds and before the New Yardbirds and before the session work he was just a kid trying to play Rumble. Everyone starts at the beginning.


Taylor Hall's injury gives coach Renney a chance to shuffle the deck and elevate one of the bottom sixers into a feature role. Now, he sure doesn't want to (Hall's a better player than the men available to replace him) but for at least a few games (more likely longer) one of the lesser lights gets a chance on the big stage.

As a fan, I'm hoping it's Paajarvi. 15 goals a year ago, zippo this season. If he spends three weeks in the top six and scores a goal a week, maybe his confidence shoots up and he rescues his season.

As an observer of Tom Renney, I think Anton Lander may get the chance. Just as coach MacT used to elevate Toby Petersen, so too this coach appears to trust Lander already and that's a huge factor. Lander's math suggests he's a more likely candidate to get shipped to OKC and Paajarvi, but coach Renney has chosen Lander over many others this year and that may continue.

Finally, Ryan Jones. He'd be a strong temptation for coach Renney, as Jones has played the exact role required earlier in the season--and with aplomb. Whatever I may or may not believe about Jones on this roster, he's played very well this season.

Either way, this is the second injury in 1.5 seasons for Taylor Hall and at some point we're going to have to begin factoring in "games lost per season" into his equation. With Hemsky on the other wing, these "opportunities" are going to keep appearing.

Beginning tonight, we get insight into how the coach feels about the young forwards not named RNH, Hall and Eberle.

202 comments:

  1. That's great news for Magnus if the promotion does come, but this injury thing with Hall. Argh.

    That was my big worry about drafting him over Seguin. This will reopen that debate in earnest.

    He needs to be more careful out there. However, his reckless abandon is part of his game and the charm of this type of player.

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  2. Hall will probably end up with a ten year career. He's going to be our Cam Neely.

    The thing is, everyone will be happy to have seen this guy's brilliance.

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  3. Some players are able to change their style mid-stream. Ovechkin isn't as physical as he was when he entered the league. He also isn't as effective as he once was. Wendell Clark was never able to change and his career was cut short becuase of it. Hopefully, Hall will learn to have a little more self preservation in his game. I'm no expert but he needs to understand how great the defenceman can skate in the NHL and respect their abilities to angle him into the corners and wipe him out.

    It's being reported everywhere that Boudreau is out in Washington and Hunter is in.

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  4. hunter1909:

    Do you think it was Neely's style that shortened his career or a cheapshot artist and a case of bad luck?

    The cheapshot that lead to Neely's career ending injury wasn't all that different than something that's happened to a hundred other guys. It was just a fluke that it wrecked Neely's knee to the extent that he couldn't come back.

    Kinda reminds me of what happened to Bo Jackson. Just a regular tackle from behind, that you see every Sunday but it caught Bo akwardly and his hip was done.

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  5. Twitter confirms Boudreau fired. Dregger has rumours that Paul Maurice could be let go and replaced with Kirk Muller.

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  6. MacT must be crying in Chicago right now with the coaching turnover in the NHL? Poor guy.

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  7. Congrats on the new job Hunter.Hope you still continue to post on this blog.

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  8. That nice young feller there, Jimmy sure looks like belongs on the Everly Brothers band.

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  9. If your a Head Coach in the NHL, it might be best not to answer your phone this morning.

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  10. At least they waited until after American Thanksgiving to let Budreau go - unlike last time when they fired Hanlon (and hired Budreau right in the middle of it all).

    I'd like to see MP playing up in Hall's spot to see what he can do. Keeps the chemistry that seems to be developing between Gagner, Belanger and Jones and it's a good way to jump start 91.

    Give it a couple of games and see what happens. My two cents.

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  11. Funny thing about Paajarvi vs. Lander is that both of their underlying metrics are near identitcal, and Lander is worse via SC. (although playing 4C is really gonna hurt you there, but he's not driving the bus either)

    Lander is Renney's golden child and PRV is Mattingly been told to shave the sideburns off of a bald head.

    Maybe its expectations?

    Going to the game tonight.

    Gagner is starting to play like Gagner at the right time.

    With Hall going down secondary scoring becomes more important.

    Oilers have to be tired and this will be the 3rd in 4 nights, but most of them are young and unmarried so a big Honey-do list probably isn't playing a big part as it can when vets get off the road from a week long trip.

    Haven't heard them call anyone up from the farm yet.

    6 healthy D and 13 healthy forwards on the roster.

    You'd think they'd want an extra D and F around.

    I don't understand not having a 7th D around.

    What if Smid hi-sticks himself during the morning skate?

    Go Oilers!!

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  12. All the other wunderkids are gonna have to get hurt before Paajarvi gets a decent shot...

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  13. It was a long shot, but Dillon Simpson has been left off of the selection camp roster this go around for WJC team.

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  14. pboy: Oh yeah, Bo Jackson. My generation precisely, but I didn't follow it much. Too commercial.

    I did follow the fracus about Tom Cousineau in Montreal a couple of seasons earlier, whose single-digit body fat index piqued the Canadian media into an unseemly lather. Soliciting family viewers? "Hey, honey, come watch the game, it's Joe Six Percent". And now the weather: Possibility of cross-over sport after the game.

    I'm right in the middle of building a Bo Jackson file server for my home network. Server-grade file system in a COTS white box.

    Any morning I could wake up with the COTS half heading for the exit in a neck brace. No biggie, you can always pull another white box out from under a white sheet to host the precious grey matter globule. You're offline for a couple of days at most.

    Unfortunately there's also a failure mode where the flimsy COTS box neck snap gives the file system a career-ending concussion. This is not a sane build. Yet if I forked out for creamy server goodness across the board, my NAS box would have enough grunt to host a LAN party for the Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe third generation reunion shindig. Next step up total overkill, priced to match.

    The Old Lady remembers Bo with a wistful smile, "I've always wanted a Nike, but I could never afford it." What was good for Nike, was bad for Bo.

    A buddy of mine has a story from his university days in Ontario where he borrowed some stupidly bored-out muscle car for a quick beer run, since his Germanic uncle was already in no condition to drive (as evidenced by lending his death cruiser to a nineteen year old). My buddy comes to a stop sign where he has to cross a busy west Toronto street. He spots an opening in traffic, gives the accelerator an assertive tap, the car growls and jumps and 360s across the intersection in a mad blur of blue smoke before he comes to rest in a palpitation seizure. Server grade engine, consumer grade power train. His uncle just laughed when he returned home delayed by a twenty minute intermission to depalpitate. "Ja, ja it happens--hand me a beer this very instant--and fetch the salami big as your head, the game now is started".

    Charting the cusp of survival--it's a gift. You welcome The Knowledge when you're an old fart with kids and you juke on a patch of black ice while merging onto the interstate. Just like something you haven't smelled for years, takes you right back to your misspent youth, all the way down to the Hershey's Kiss of quick reactions.

    I think Hall is more like Gilles Villeneuve than Bo Jackson. Many of those guys have long careers never more than inches from certain doom. But you know all along your last game is your last game. The upside--should you survive your head-banging instincts--is Forsberg 20 GP 9-18-27--after missing the entire regular season.

    There was some dough-ass commentator who trotted out the trusty cliche that the game might be "a little too fast" for Foppa in his playoff debut. My brother and I nearly fell off the couch. OK, his ankle might snap on the first shift, but keeping his head up weaving through traffic was not a possible failure mode for Mario Andretti.

    Hall is one of the thoroughbreds who could pull that off some day, because for him every game is played in Pamplona clutching his hat inches from ivory. Opponents will be trying to elevate while he merely intensifies. Plan on saving the game tape somewhere secure.

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  15. "Ja, ja it happens--hand me a beer this very instant--and fetch the salami big as your head, the game now is started".

    Its funny, I've said that exact phrase about 5 times in my life.

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  16. Cam Neely's problem ultimately was that the rehab of his knee was totally sidetracked by a calcification problem that stemmed from the knee injury. Once it went into his quadriceps, the calcification was about the size of a brick, which then led to the hip conditions that ended Neely's career.

    Bo Jackson ended up with avascular necrosis, which is the same condition that Ray Emery went through last summer. It can be caused my trauma, excessive alcohol consumption or the use of corticosteroids such as predonosone. Basically what happens is that there is restricted blood flow to the head of a bone such as a hip socket and this in turn leads to bone degeneration.

    Both the above conditions have little to do with playing styles. They could happen to anyone, even ordinary joe's like you and I.

    That being said, Taylor Halls does need to learn a little about self preservation if he wants a long career. On the Wilson hit, he avoids the first checker, but clearly does not see Wilson coming. No time to get ready for the hit, and he was hit in the danger zone (2-8 feet from the boards) when he got hit. I doubt it was the initial hit that caused the injury, but more than likely the hit against the boards after the hit.

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  17. Betting Randy Carlyle goes nowhere near a phone today.

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  18. As per Gregor Paajarvi on neither PP unit, but Belanger and Jones are.

    Ok then.

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  19. "Taylor Hall is questionable with a left shoulder injury" as per the NHL.com game preview posted on the Edmonton Oilers website.

    "Doubtful for Monday's game against Nashville" as per TSN.

    Hall is listed as day-to-day as per Yahoo! Sports.

    Why are we talking about him like he suffered a potentially career ending injury like Taylor Fedun?

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  20. Mike,

    No MRI results or prognosis yet so he's listed like that.

    That and shoulder injuries tend to become re-occurring. See: Hemsky, Grier etc.

    Khabby starts (expected) as per @NHL_Oilers, official Oilers twitter feed.

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  21. Eager left the ice early, presumably with back spasms.

    That leaves exactly 12 F, 6D, and 2G able to go tonight.

    Better hope no one slams their hand in a car door today.

    I don't understand keeping the roster this thin.

    Also,

    Sutton skated today, but not expected to go tonight.

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  22. LT - I know I am jumping the gun a little but with the top 20 prospects I am curious where Cornet ends up. By my calcs his first 80 games pro look good. 22 goals and 41 points. Definitely a streaky player off to a ridiculous and unsustainable pace this year to date, but those are a nice first 80 games all told.

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  23. besides busting that awful streak the best thing about last Fri's win was the chem on 10's new line and specially a little bi-play from 4-83.

    Now, though, 4's out and that's two major injuries in two years so he's entered the 83 zone where you honestly expect him to get hurt.

    No one's made of steel and no one survives getting pounded on all the time/and or putting themselves in harm's way.

    He's getting lessons the hard way but let's see if he learns.

    Oil have been a BAPF - bought and paid for - excellent home team but sometime tells me this one is a sleepy fucker and Oilers lose 3-1.

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  24. Do we finally get to see Harski called up?

    For that matter, how great would it be to call up Tyrvainen as well, and have a batshit-crazy, all Finnish fourth line running around? The entertainment value of this team would go even higher.

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  25. Clay,

    Hartski is out with a shoulder injury as well. No call up for him.

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  26. pretty sure Harski just hurt his ankle or shoulder and is out 4-6 weeks.

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  27. Roster can 24 players, right?

    At the very least, keeping 7 D for the Oilers at all times would make sense. The team is so snakebitten they are even losing prospect D to injury. And Whitney is just an injury looking for an occasion.

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  28. WG,

    Maybe Sutton could go if he had to, and that's the reason for the lack of a D call-up. No F though, which is baffling, but maybe they get the results of the tests today and will base their decision on those.

    This is Gumby after all, the God of India Rubber Balls and Elastic Bands.

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  29. For that matter, how great would it be to call up Tyrvainen as well

    He's hurt too.

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  30. Episode 2 of Oil Change is up at Sportsnet if anyone missed it. I didn't see any advertising for this one at all. Weird..

    Link

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  31. There was an advert for the new episode during the Minny Match.

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  32. Been reading various Oiler blogs and comments this morning and it looks as though Taylor Hall is an injury ridden waste and that the Oilers have no future.

    I look forward to mass optimism tomorrow after the Oilers win this game 5-2. I suspect Magnus Pääjärvi will be declared the next Gretzsier (or is that Messietzky?) after scoring two goals in the effort.

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  33. According to Joanne Ireland, Eberle said he thinks Hall's shoulder isn't too bad.

    Given that he's Hall room mate he was probably helping him test it out.

    - No not that way.

    Not that there's anything wrong with that.

    BQ,

    23 on the roster. 20 in a game.

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  34. spOILer,

    The fact that he took a shift later in that game makes me think he prays to a different god than most.

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  35. I'm pleased the good folks at Sportsnet were able to pick up this years version of Oil Change. 20 minutes of buffering time sprinkled throughout each 6 minute clip really adds to the presentation.

    Anyone having any different luck with different browsers? Is there a direct download somewhere perhaps?

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  36. Do you think it's a software issue Derek? Might just be your internet connection. I'm running Firefox 8.0 in whatever the latest Ubuntu Linux version is, and there was less than a second buffer time. A little too many commercials for my taste. I liked the moments with Smid. He doesn't hide his personality when the camera is on him, that's nice.

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  37. The fact that he took a shift later in that game makes me think he prays to a different god than most.

    I heard that Kevin Lowe made him go out for that shift by literally twisting his dislocated arm in the dressing room and that Daryl Katz texted him and told him that he had to go out or he was going to have Tambellini trade him to Calgary. Tambellini was apparently still undecided as to whether Hall should or should not go out for another shift against Colorado as of Monday morning - he is expected to have an opinion on this by Tuesday at the latest!

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  38. City TV says they have it up as well but I couldn't get it to load earlier.

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  39. One thing about not calling up a Dman is they have no way to bench Peckham for the stupidity following the Hall hit.

    If ice time is the only currrency, Renney has to spend on his players, continuing to reward Teddy for bonehead mistakes makes no sense to me. He needs to sit for a game and reminded that there are kids who would love his spot.

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  40. Book¡e, I lmao at that! Tears in my eyes...

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  41. delooper: I can't see it? This laptop is only a couple months old and has the latest versions of Firefox and Chrome and everything else seems to load quite nicely.

    I suppose it could be a network issue what with all the fire insanity around town in the last 24 hours.

    I'll just find a torrent at a later date.

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  42. Some pretty ugly statistics coming out of Nashville this season courtesy of Copper N Blue.

    Shot differential 30th in the league.
    Shots for 28th in the league.
    Shots against 30th in the league.

    These numbers on a budget team that just signed a goaltender for 7 Millon per.

    I get that Poile needed show some kind of financial commitment to his high end players in order to convince Suter and/or Weber to stay, but when one of them does sign a big money contract where does the cash come to pay for actual NHL talent?

    It's tough being a fan of a team that can't afford to pay its stars. I'm sure Oiler fans my age where the 90's were the norm and the 80's a distant legend, can agree.

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  43. Ryan from the Oilers said...
    MacT must be crying in Chicago right now with the coaching turnover in the NHL? Poor guy.


    Apparently 29 other NHL GM's have fax/text/email/internet issues.


    Episode 2 of Oilchange was on Sportsnet last night and City TV earlier in the week.

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  44. does anyone know how to watch or listen to games on an iPhone? No cable or internet at my house...

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  45. mtr-ttp

    If you don't mind paying, http://www5.hockeystreams.com/ has a stream for iPhones.

    I've never used it, but I've found their other streams to be very good and they archive everything so you can watch at your convenience.

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  46. TuneIn radio app. Look for 630 CHED or, alternatively, there's a sports section where you can find a direct feed for the game alone.

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  47. I have watched games on my iPhone from www.hockeystreams.com and it is a great feed. I also have not paid yet, just signed up an account and then hit "preview".

    Also there is a Corus Radio app that has 630 CHED on it which I use for listening to the games.

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  48. thanks Doogie, that works for me. Maybe I'll try to stream video if this doesn't use too much data.

    Maybe I can even hear Lowetide's show on Saturday...

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  49. Maybe Sutton could go if he had to, and that's the reason for the lack of a D call-up.

    Probably.

    Nothing bad ever happened from rushing a guy back from an injury and we know that the Oilers would never ask a player to play before they were ready.

    bookiething!

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  50. Now, though, 4's out and that's two major injuries in two years so he's entered the 83 zone where you honestly expect him to get hurt.

    I don't know about that. His ankle was a freak injury that won't be repeated (in that manner, anyway). He takes a lot of abuse but rarely even gets up slowly. Some guys can do that. No doubt he needs to know when to cut bait (ie. button hooks 5 feet from the boards are never a good idea, let the puck go then get it back FFS).

    As an aside, I think part of the reason Hemsky has looked a little less effective to me this year is that he seems to be protecting himself more. I've seen him let the D go in and get the puck first on a couple of occasions where he would have gone in first in the past. I'm not complaining, though, it's for the best.

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  51. As an aside, I think part of the reason Hemsky has looked a little less effective to me this year is that he seems to be protecting himself more.

    I've noticed this of late as well. I think part of it is his realization that he 1) doesn't have to go into the corners to get Hatchered by various Regehrs in order to be effective; 2) contract year--stay as healthy as possible for the betterment of both his team/future.

    IMO he's gonna have to queue-up a few less button-hooks . . .

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  52. Hey bros, it looks like Sportsnet and CityTV are only showing the new Oil Change episode to Canadian ip addresses. Does anyone know where a USA fan can grab that bad boy?

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  53. Bloggy: Try these

    http://hfboards.com/showpost.php?p=40069105&postcount=248

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  54. Hall's left shoulder seemed to have taken the impact on the "we want ten" goal attempt, the left shoulder looked like it took the brunt of the Keith hit, then the Wilson hit....the Wilson hit was certainly a doozy but wonder if anything was going on from the Chicago game...Hall did wince after getting up from the Keith hit.

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  55. Cabbie:

    Apparently 29 other NHL GM's have fax/text/email/internet issues.

    I thought MacT is on contract with Vancouver (AHL) and his out clause doesn't kick in till next year?

    Bloggy:

    Hey bros, it looks like Sportsnet and CityTV are only showing the new Oil Change episode to Canadian ip addresses. Does anyone know where a USA fan can grab that bad boy?

    You can access the site with a proxy server or VPN.

    It's hard to find good free vpns--I don't know of any myself. Most free ones are very slow and have limited bandwidth allowed.

    I just tried freeproxyserver dot ca and it worked for me.

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  56. I know very little about the present day CFL and even less about the games history, but that Mosca vs Kapp dust up they just showed on SNET was amazing.

    Old boys been holding a grudge since 1963! Amazing.

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  57. Someone in the ON GDB posted that Martindale has returned to Junior. I didn't know that was possiblr and I don't see any confirmation on the Gore Machine.

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  58. Spoiler: I see he's listed on both team rosters (Stockton and Ottawa) but no sign of a press release anywhere?

    What exactly does this mean to his ties with Edmonton?

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  59. My guess is that he's just gone back to the OHA because he's not playing in the ECHL.

    It's weird though. I mean, there can't be a massive leap from the OHL to ECHL.

    I wonder what happened.

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  60. Yeah, I see that too. 1 game with Ottawa and 16 with Stockton.

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  61. anyone know a link to watch the game online for free???

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  62. That can't be beneficial to Mr. Martindale's career.

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  63. The knock on Martindale is desire.

    Not sure if the ECHL would be that kind of guy's cup of tea.

    Goddam head cold turned into a chest cold, so I gave my tickets to my sister.

    Were good seats too with a parking pass.

    Dammit!

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  64. Tried that Oil Change link. I think A & R department for Vaseline has displayed a gross misunderstanding of it's target market with that Michael Strahan commercial.

    Are they really trying to sell men hand lotion that promotes friction?

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  65. Hemmer lays a little body. He and Young Magnus might work well using the crossovers since they both seem to prefer the other side of the ice.

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  66. slipper: Man, nothing is out of bounds anymore. :-)

    Paajarvi had a nice moment there with a swing into the offensive zone and then fired it wide. I fear Dennis' comments on his offense may be valid.

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  67. Martindale remains an enigma. He's obviously talented, considering his junior numbers (83pts +38) and his play during the rookie camp (by several eyes). Yet his ECHL numbers (1-5-6-16gp{-5}) are obviously underwhelming, so it seems like something is up. It is a difficult age for a lot of young guys to find their way in life, nevermind hockey. Hopefully a move to familiar territory will bode well for him.

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  68. The Nuge might have just caught Carrie Underwood's eye with that spin-o-rama. Shoulda skipped seconds at Thanksgiving, Old Man Fisher!

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  69. That was part of MPS' draft book. Finnish not finish.

    I think the resident contrarians have a point though that he might be a late bloomer. I think he's missing a bit of aggressiveness in his nature, and I think he's also feeling the pressure. Judging by the improvement in Eberles's shot (great play by Nuge there) and Gilbert's, maybe he can improve. And he needs the physical confidence to bang in some rebound goals and easy backdoorers (thanks aptly named Slipper).

    I think he could turn out to be a slightly less talented version of Hemsky.

    Or Pouliot.

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  70. anyone have a link for the game? Not near a tv at the moment

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  71. I think Hemsky gets injured a lot because early on in his career, he lacked the dedication to do the necessary strength training work.

    With Hall, I think that the biggest problem is that there seems to be a general lack of awareness in the way he plays hockey. And it goes beyond having the awareness to avoid getting hit. You can see that a lot of times when he controls the puck, he seems to be locked into some sort of tunnel vision. While his hockey sense and vision is still good, it's not as high as you'd like for someone whom you wish would become an elite player some day. I, for one, am really starting to question his ultimate upside.

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  72. Streams:

    http://www.firstrowsports.tv/sport/ice-hockey.html

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  73. Paajarvi with another opportunity. Nothing major yet but he's in the photo.

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  74. The Oilers don't need Paajarvi to be a 25 goal scorer. They need him to be a 15 goal scorer, and an elite shutdown winger. He has the tools to do that.

    With Paajarvi's size and skating ability, his puck lugging ability, and his defensive awareness at 20, the potential is there to be an elite matchup player, which is a key component of Stanley Cup winning teams.

    They have Hall, Eberle, maybe Hemsky, and Hartikainen for goalscoring.

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  75. It will take him a little while to explore his boundaries. Learn a little wisdom too. Every player except those generational talents born fully formed into this world, has questions about his upside, till he finally arrives.

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  76. Hall has 246 shots in 87 games. (A bit over one full season worth of hockey.)

    If he had the bounces going for him, let's say he could've and would've shot at 14%.

    If he had done that, he'd have about 34 or 35 goals in a season's worth of hockey: his first season.

    So there ae two possibilities. Hall is sort of crappy offensively and is likely to have a low SH%. Or Hall hasn't had a run of good bounces -or decent bounces- to inflate his stats to make him look elite.

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  77. If he shoots a pretty decent 11.5-12% for a 19yo, he's just about dead on.

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  78. Hall will score heaps of goals and one minor shoulder injury doesn't immediately make the just turned 20 year old kid injury prone.

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  79. We don't even know the extent of the injury, which will probably be the best indication of his durability.

    Hall is 11.75
    Ebs was 11.4 last yr, over 15 this season.

    exessum: yes, it is.

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  80. What's with the collars on Barry Trotz's shirts? Worst dressed NHL coach?

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  81. Jari Kurri had a career average of 19.1%

    82-83 20.6
    83-84 26.8
    84-85 27.2
    85-86 28.8
    86-87 25.6
    87-88 20.8
    88-89 20.6

    Not suggesting this is possible in today's NHL, but playing with a guy who can pass the puck can probably influence your SH%.

    If either 4 or 14 play for a number of years with 93 it might influence their SH%.

    Not suggesting 93 is comparable to 99, but the guy can really pass the puck.

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  82. What's with the collars on Barry Trotz's shirts? Worst dressed NHL coach?

    The man has no neck, cut him some slack.

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  83. 91's backchecking is making Horcoff look like Nilsson on his backcheck....cheat a little 91, endulge yourself in the Ozone.

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  84. Jones mistake was that he didn't hit Hall only way the refs would have let that slide.

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  85. WTF was wrong with that hit?

    Tootoo almost did a back flip there on the dive

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  86. That's not even a penalty and they give him a MAJOR?????/

    ridiculous.

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  87. Wow a five minute major for pretend eblowing but you get 2 minutes if you run Hall from behind. Good stuff NHL way to protect those players.

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  88. Can someone please explain officiating to me? Hall gets borderd and it's a non call. Jones with a clean hit gets 5 minutes?

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  89. So how does Peckham get a roughing call if Tootoo dove?

    Weird.

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  90. 5 minutes hey - guess the refs got bored of this game as well and decided they'd become the story.

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  91. Jones gets it. If Tootoo hits you, don't retaliate against Tootoo, retaliate against one of their "skill" guys, or at least a guy with more skill than Tootoo.

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  92. The rules are so dumb that any time a guy gets winded from a hit the refs think it was some nefarious move by the guy making the hit.

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  93. Now the refs will make a bunch of make up calls and the rest of the period will take an hour to play.

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  94. The worst played and officiated game I've seen in years.

    Good grief.

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  95. Edmonton brutal in their own end this period. I'm willing to give MVP a pass on that one after all the times he has bailed out his HUA defenders in the second.

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  96. I am writing from the past (about 20min behind via pvr). That call on Jones was totally BS. Not an elbow and not a head hit.

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  97. wow did peckham get burned. that was dreadful.

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  98. The officiating is terrible - no call on the Petrel breakaway?

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  99. Bookie, are there dinosaur's there? Be careful not to upset the space-time continuum

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  100. They look tired. Horrible period. They'll need to dig deep or find some luck for the final frame.

    7-10 days for Gumby.

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  101. Man, 91s gotta pull the trigger faster than that.

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  102. Paajarvi has a couple of 2 by 4's in his gloves.

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  103. Jesus Hemsky, shoot in the slot.

    Nice to see 91 fight for ice near the blue paint then find soft ice for a shot.

    Needs to work on a faster release.

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  104. Should have been a an interference call on Legwand there.

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  105. So maybe you leave MPS with Hemsky and Horcoff, and run Gagner with Hall and Jones? May work, spreads it out and maybe we get 3 lines that can score, MPS will get better, all about confidence right now and he needs to just get one off his ass or something.

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  106. MPS is starting to remind me of Dvo with those hands and the ferocious backchecking.

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  107. In 91's defense (quicker release), he isn't used to getting passed to like that.

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  108. The worst played and officiated game I've seen in years.

    Good grief.


    Did you just awaken from a 5 year coma?

    Actually, that would explain a lot ;)

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  109. At least the SN crew called out the refs for the Jones' penalty.

    Bookie, you should be able to go live at the end of the 2nd, you were only 13 mins back of the play.

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  110. The officiating was pretty brutal in Colorado for that matter. But that was more non-calls than phantom major penalties.

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  111. bookie is running on Cam Barker Time Spoiler, thirteen minutes behind the play.

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  112. Hi everyone,

    I am all caught up now - the
    Future is disappointing - I expected flying cars. Where are
    my robot servants and my automatic breakfast machine?

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  113. Ethan Moreau now outscoring Paajarvi.

    Uperis Slipper.

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  114. I've posed this question before, but is there any effort in the NHL to try to standardize penalty calls?

    I'll explain by use of an example. In the NFL, officials are trained that there is a correct way to ref a game and they should try as much as possible to meet this ideal. That's not to say there aren't differences among officials, only that the language of officiating isn't one of "judgment calls" but rather of getting the call right every time. All officials are graded by the front office after every game and this affects their rankings for things like the playoffs or even their future employment.

    Obviously, hockey is in some ways a faster (or at least more continuous) and thus, more difficult game to officiate, but I haven't heard of any effort being made to achieve a true common standard in officiating. Even if this could never reach the same level as football, making the effort might bring a lot of much-needed consistency.

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  115. I think we should take this intermission to give a huge Squeeee to the OKC Barons who went 3W over the weekend despite injuries to Harti, Omark, and missing 2 key defencemen.

    They are tops in their division, conference, and the league.

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  116. Cactus,

    The NHL does rate the refs' performance and use it to award playoff games.

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  117. The future develops by sundial.

    Alvin Toffler might disagree.

    Nice move by Gagner.

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  118. Spoiler: I know they rate it, but I'd very curious to understand the process better - it certainly doesn't seem to be rigorous enough given the vast differences in officiating from game to game (I refuse to accept that hockey cannot be officiated in a consistent manner).

    I think I'll have to do a little more research to better articulate this point.

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  119. And Tootoo sells another one. Zebras are buying what he's selling all night.

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  120. At this point putting Belanger on the powerplay is essentially declining the penalty. His P/60 is 0.49 which trails such offensive giants as Colton Teubert, Theo Peckham and Ben Eager.

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  121. Pääjärvi is currently out producing Moreau 3-0 in umlauts.

    That has to have some relevance.

    And I think you meant to say Up yours Slipper, but I'm not certain :P

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  122. Oops, overshotn I am now 7 minutes in the future. Nice goal by Smyth just happened!

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  123. Bookie, are the apes as terrible as they've been portrayed?

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  124. I think the Oilers are going to have to work on their third periods. Hell, the last two periods tonight have been bleak.

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  125. The refs are judged by a panel of who the hell knows, ranked according to who the hell knows what, and rewarded with playoff games...

    Pretty clear.

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  126. @ slipper.

    Message deliveredvia word verification.

    I understand Staples is now tracking umlats in an effort to make Paajarvi look like a real NHL player.

    It's a work in progress :)

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  127. The bounces sure haven't gone their way in the 3rd, the past two games, but that might be a consequence of being a tired team.

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  128. Bendelson: I am very interested, but need more details. What are the colours of their robes and do they chant anything during their meetings?

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  129. They know they need to generate shots, right?

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  130. Bone jarring hit by Tom Gilbert, take that haters.

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  131. Tuebert is calmer and more effective on the offensive bluline than I expected - gets shots through. Guy is growing on me.

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  132. Another game they get pass happy. another game they likely lose.

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  133. At this point putting Belanger on the powerplay is essentially declining the penalty. His P/60 is 0.49 which trails such offensive giants as Colton Teubert, Theo Peckham and Ben Eager.

    In terms of 5v4 scoring Belanger is 2nd on the Oilers behind only RNH

    All Oiler players 5v4 pts/60, min 10gms played, min 1.5m/60

    RYANNUGENT-HOPKINS 8.4
    ERICBELANGER 7.11
    COREYPOTTER 6.11
    SHAWNHORCOFF 6.06
    TAYLORHALL 5.05
    ALESHEMSKY 4.29
    TOMGILBERT 4.05
    RYANSMYTH 3.66
    JORDANEBERLE 3.11
    SAMGAGNER 2.64
    CAMERONBARKER 1.66

    Also,

    Bad series of plays there by Sam. Giving it away, then watching the puck and missing his mark.

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  134. Thanks Sam Gagner. Another beauty on your part.

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  135. 89 gives it away for free then stops in no mans land and watches the play happen.
    He's had flashes of the old 89, but he's got a ways to go.

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  136. They've all been bad tonight.

    NK's the only reason this game is close

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  137. They are losing nearly all the board battles.

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  138. God, I kept telling my viewers, WATCH THIS! and SEE HOW THEY RESPOND TO THAT! And I ended up with nothing; totally quiet Northlands and the game sucked; Oilers suck.

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  139. Great game Gagner. Can't score any points for your own team so get an assist for Nashville. Awesome passes off the shot clock too.

    Oilers looked like they died after the zero shot PP in the first.

    Nice goal by El Magnifico

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  140. Playoff teams win games like this one, or at least they get the tie. Same can be said for the game against COL. Pathetic play by Gagner on the second goal. Just gave it away and stood around, knowing he screwed up.

    I am conflicted. Some nights, this team looks like a playoff team- like their game against MIN last week. Other nights, this team looks lost when it comes down to crunch time. The turnovers and overall chaos in their own zone will prevent them from reaching the post season. And it's unfortunate, because they do have the talent to get there.

    But you just can't give the puck away like Gagner did- a gift that was an insult to the effort the rest of his teammates played with tonight.

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  141. Bunch of fancy Dans tonight.

    91 had some chances early, but not enough there to rely on him for much offense at this point.

    When does last year's Whitney arrive cause they need that guy bad.

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  142. A huge statement game from Paajarvi.

    Sooner or later.

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  143. Sad part is, up to that point, Gagner was having a good game and looked like one of the (few) Oilers who was capable of making something positive happen tonight.

    Can't excuse that play, but there were a lot of dumb plays by other players tonight that won't be critiqued like that one, simply because that was the one that ended up in the net. Such is how it goes.

    Offense was...non-existent. Did they even register a shot in the final minute? Pretty damn sad, considering the stinker of a 3rd period in Denver that preluded this game.

    I'd love to see someone examine the Oilers record in first games at home after 4+ game roadtrips over the years. Just based on what I remember seeing, this team has always had a penchant for laying eggs in those first games back home, and tonight was another example of it.

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  144. Not just lost, Bryzgalov-style LOST IN THE WOODS.

    If we can't win at home after a .500 ***WAR**, then what kind of NON-FOLLOWUP would we have in the playoffs, if we could possibly make them? Which tonight's loss says our chances just dropped like 80%?

    Fuckin' Oilers, man.

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  145. All it takes is one mistake to lose at the NHL level.

    Gagner made two in one shift.

    MPS looks like a beer league player that somehow dressed in an NHL game.

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  146. Actually, Paajarvi had some nice things. I don't know that coach Renney will give him another shot up there but he had two nice chances (well, decent chances) earlier in the game.

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  147. Wasn't a bright play by Gagner, but at the end of the day, they probably need more than 2 goals and 17 shots to win any given hockey game. To me, that was the story of the game. More than Khabi's one bad goal or the Gagner giveaway.

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  148. Actually, Paajarvi had some nice things. I don't know that coach Renney will give him another shot up there but he had two nice chances (well, decent chances) earlier in the game.

    I'm in agreement with this a hell of a lot more than whatever DSF is trying to sell. Paajarvi looked a lot better tonight than he has in a long time - amazing what putting a guy with other players with offensive talent will do (even on a night where Hemsky was far from his best).

    I'd like to see them try the same thing with 89. Tying the guy to Belanger on a checking line is the physical definition of the term "position to fail". When Hall gets back, tie MPS to Gagner, give them Jones as their other winger to be the line's designated garbage-man (a la Smyth), and run with it for 10 games. What have they got to lose?

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  149. Wasn't a bright play by Gagner, but at the end of the day, they probably need more than 2 goals and 17 shots to win any given hockey game. To me, that was the story of the game. More than Khabi's one bad goal or the Gagner giveaway.

    Quoted for truth.

    Tough to pin it on one guy when the whole team didn't generate nearly enough offensively. Pretty much the polar opposite of the first two games they played against Nashville this season.

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  150. For a first game, with unfamiliar linemates, I was okay with Magnus' play. Let's not rely on kneejerk reactions after a one game sample size.

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  151. For a first game, with unfamiliar linemates, I was okay with Magnus' play. Let's not rely on kneejerk reactions after a one game sample size.

    spOILer, stop making so much sense. Jeez...

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  152. I'd like to see them try the same thing with 89. Tying the guy to Belanger on a checking line is the physical definition of the term "position to fail".

    Man, honestly, don't look for "line chemistry" (which is willed, not naturally occurring) to fix 89 or 91; Sam has been all over every line in wing and center and Paajarvi has had every chance to succeed. Time to LOSE THOSE SUCKAS. FORGET EM!!!!!!!

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  153. Bloggy: I'm still of the strong opinion that giving up on Gagner at age 22 is unwise.

    Paajarvi after 100 NHL games?

    That would be the definition of "head-up-ass".

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  154. *puts on the big suit, tips hat, and does a David Byrne dance*

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  155. It is almost as though the Oilers are down some key players (on a substandard roster). To be all jumping off the bandwagon is crazy.

    It would be nice if PRV could get some mojo back, but I don't see it happening under Renney.

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  156. I regret that day that I ordered a Magnus "Pee" Yarvi sweater; his stick is where plays go to die, and he should have picked Svensson over Paajarvi if he wanted to grab two seasons.

    Goodbye, left winger vortex where no points are made.

    Magnus Paajarvi SUCKS!

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  157. Paajarvi had one chance and took an eon to get the shot off.

    A top 6 player who gets 1 shot on goal per game with a shooting percentage as bad as Paajarvi's has been historically won't be successful.

    The excuse that he is playing with "unfamiliar line mates" is just silly.

    He practices with them all the time and should have an inkling about their tendencies.

    You think he needs another 20 games to "settle in"?

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  158. Oilers' winning percentage with Taylor Hall out of the line-up:

    0.00%

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  159. This team is good enough to make the playoffs. But they don't yet know how to deal with adversity.

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  160. DSF,
    Seriously, go away.

    Less than 100 games. Even the sisters got more rope. PRV will get it back.

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  161. I would take about 600 hockey players in this league before Magnus Paajarvi, straight up. He's not good for the team: HE'S BAD for the team. He's weak, he's ineffective, he has very little, if any, NHL upside. Next target: LANDER. Lowetide's list is RIDDICK.

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  162. I'd take ANY current goal scorer over our zeroes, at this point in the season.

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  163. Irrational fans have made their way onto the internet now?!

    How did you all find your way over here?

    Some one should add Shea Weber's and Seguin's points per sixty together and divide it by the number of Stanley Cups the Detroit model has produced for the Wings and if the result is somewhere less than 5 they should blow this team up and start the rebuild over.

    I had something else to say about lateral skating movement and quick twitch muscles so I could come across as if i had some real hockey know how, but those points escape me now...

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  164. And Bloggy is actually MY fake account. So please, everyone take me even less seriously than you normally do.

    I just cannot help myself.

    I'm riddick that way.

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  165. Get what back Bar Q?

    His shooting percentage in the SEL was 5.5%.

    Last season was an out of body experience (8.8%) that afforded him top 6 minutes and PP time that he likely will never see again.

    He can't get back what he never had.

    How about that Wellwood kid?

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  166. Horrible effort by the Oil. How hard can it be to direct more pucks towards the net?

    And sup with Twitter. Page haven't even loaded for me since the game started -.-

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  167. Wellwood?

    52 goals and 100 points in his last 266 games.

    What am I missing?

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  168. A slipper.

    You're missing 17P in 23GP this season playing on the third line in Winnipeg.

    He has more points than the Oilers 3rd and 4th lines combined.

    All by himself.

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  169. $10 says Bloggy was planning the Stanley parade after they beat Chicago 9-2.

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  170. He has more points than the Oilers 3rd and 4th lines combined.

    Or the Canuck's third or fourth lines. Good thing they got rid of him. What did they get for him again?

    Ironic that a Canucks fan would be trolling on an Oilers board about Wellwood.

    Shouldn't you be planning your next riot?

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  171. I didn't expect 91 to pull a Tuffy Rhodes but I still liked what I saw in terms of the guy actually logging more than one SC for a game. Let's see - and hopefully Renney agrees - a little stretch where he plays with the boys and then we'll have a better idea.

    I know guys talked about how long it took him to get off a shot from the slot in the 3rd but what I liked was he went right back there seconds later. So there he was finding a soft spot on a semi-consistent basis; finding a place that's repeatable in terms of allowing for high quality SC's. Which is what my argument has always been regarding him.

    On 89, he was looking good and skating much better than anytime in recent memory and then he made a terrible play in his own end. One bad play? Yes. But he's gotta put his skate on that puck and wait for the cavalry if the other option is a soft chip into your own slot.

    Tough start for him but if you're not giving your team anything, you can't take anything away from them either.

    Overall, a result that was a bit easy to predict: first game off a trip and a bit of a Hall letdown whether they'd admit it or not.

    Still, very disappointing because we should not underestimate how important this six game homestand is given how soft the opp is.

    Preds-Wild-BJs-Flames-Hurricanes-Avs.

    Not a fucking world-beater amongst the bunch and it's a stretch from which you harvest four wins.

    Finally, I don't think it's too early to rush to judgement on how beaten up/how many games 4 will miss if he keeps playing like this. I've learned my lesson in that regard with 83.

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