HO HUM. Another game, another loss.

Oh boys. *insert heavy sad sigh here*.
For all of 24 seconds last night, it looked like we might have been able to pull out a win.
Twas not in the cards though.
Toby Petersen actually scored again (WUT. Petersen scored!??!? Are you shittin me?!?!?!)
I couldn't believe my own eyes .............
But in typical Toby fashion, he's left on the ice after scoring and fucks it up. The short-lived moment of joy of actually have a lead died when Arnott tied the game up 24 seconds after Toby put us ahead.
Gawd Toby; give me some hope and then royally piss me off (again) all in the space one shift. He also happened to be on the ice when Dumont scored the GWG.
Don't think you are ever coming off my shit list now.

Any coincidence that with the return of Hemsky, (Friday against the Avs, last night against the Preds) Sykora has scored in both of those games? Maybe it's just me, cuz Sykora's goal was scored when Hemsky was on the bench. Still, you can't dispute the fact that Sykora plays better when his Czech-mate Hemsky is in the line-up.

What's even more sad than the Oilers losing once again, is the fact that last night's game was probably the last Oilers game I personally will be able to watch until next season, mostly due to my work schedule. What a way to go out; losing the last home game 4-0 and still losing.

Thursday's game is on PPV, and unless you bought the whole package at the beginning of the season, there isn't much point in paying $11.95 to watch the Oilers blow another one out their asses.
Is there even any point in hoping that the boys can win at least one more game before this awful season comes to an end? I support my boys all the way, but having false hope before every game day only to have is dashed is starting to wear thin.

Even our joining of the Avs bandwagon isn't working out so well; Flames won last night, Avs lost; the point gap is now 7 with 6 games to go for each of those teams.

I did happen to laugh one time during the game last night. Oh Greener. I doubt he could have said any more cliches in that one. The look on his face and the way he just left was funny and confusing.
A+ for that one, Matty!

MacT is a smart man. Sometimes.

Quotes from an article in the Edmonton Sun today.

"You can always make the mistake in this business of thinking it can't get worse, and it always does when you think that," said head coach Craig MacTavish, whose club has one win in its last 14 games, and would rather not see that string of futility extended to one-for-20.

"We have to come out and practise hard and play hard, otherwise it's going to be two weeks of hell. It's already going to be bad enough without making it worse."

"I'm glad we're done at home," he admitted. "We're getting a little healthier and that will improve our game immensely, but at the same time, those fans couldn't keep that type of (positive) momentum much longer, I don't think."

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

Some of us fans gave up on the positive momentum already, myself included.
A few wins on the road to end the season would be nice, but really, it doesn't matter much.
One last GOILERS! for old times sake though!

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

One of my friends asked me who I was going to cheer for this post-season; because, let's be honest, no one wants the hockey season to be over in April; but I really didn't have a definite answer for that one.

I used to be a Red Wings fan, but after Yzerman retired and Shanahan signed with the Rangers last summer, I realized my loyalties were with those two players, and not the whole team. (Much like some Oilers "fans" wearing Ryan Smyth Islanders jerseys. Eww.)

As much as I love Martin Broduer; which is almost as much as I love the Oilers; I can't really bring myself to cheer for the Devils. Marty has 3 Cups already, so time for someone else to win!

Of course I cheer for the other Cdn teams not named the Flames, Leafs, and Canucks; but Montreal might not even make the post-season, and Ottawa is famous for choking. Here's hoping both Eastern Cdn teams do well.

My friend being a HUGE Eric Lindros fan (I dare you to find another person more in love with Lindros than Lindros is with himself) so he's trying to convert me into a (ACK!) Dallas Stars fan come April 10th. As a long time Oilers fan, that would be a very tall order; almost as bad as asking me to cheer for the Canucks. :/ Which I refuse to do. Ever.

He makes a very valid point:
I still can't believe you sold that Modano jersey, that's such a classic.
Then again you can replace it with a Stars Lindros with a Stanley Cup Finals patch on it.... and I'll marry you for it.


What girl could resist that offer?!?!? GO STARS!

‘I’ve missed a lot of games. It just hasn’t been a good year’

Hemsky is back in the line-up tonight.

With his return, Zack Stortini will sit. Expect Dwayne Roloson to start in net.

“Hemsky makes them go offensively and I saw Roloson stand against his head against Colorado. That will dramatically change their outlook,” Nashville coach Barry Trotz said.

The Predators defeated the Oilers 4-0 on Saturday in Edmonton. Neither Hemsky nor Roloson played in that one.

Hemsky has scored 3g-7a-10pts in 12 gp against the Preds in his young career so far.

"Six Pepsi. No, just regular."

Good times.

I love this commerical and have watched it countless times, mostly because for the life of me I can't figure out who the Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins players are in the cart-riding clip.
Thanks to this 'making of' video, I now know that the Sens player is Patrick Eaves, (Dion Phaneuf is a bad driver, btw) but I still don't know the Bruins player. Anyone?



Joe Thornton is just awesome.

LOL.

Ah, memories from Rexall Place.

Since the boys will finish the season on the road; and it will be a longgggggggggg 6 months until any of us will be back at the Rex to watch the Oilers play, some moments/memories from my games at the Rex this season.

A non-hockey moment to start!

At this past Saturday's game; before the game actually, I always buy 2 or 3 50/50 tickets. (One day I will win that $30,000; one day.)
I stopped at the 1st 50/50 seller; ( I never buy more than one ticket from one seller, some weird superstition that I have; I also can't buy a ticket from the same seller as the person/people I am sitting with.) and she asks me if I am over 18 yrs of age.
WHAT?!
I know you have to be over 18 cuz 50/50 tickets are like a lottery sorta dealio, but in the 7 years (since I was 20) that I have been going to Oilers games (and buying 50/50 tickets at every game) I have never been asked that. NEVER. SINCE I WAS 20.
So after I blurted out WHAT?!, I said, "I am TWENTY-SEVENNNNNNNN, but if want to see my ID, I'll dig it out of my purse for you."
The seller replies, "well, really I should see it, but if you have to dig it out......."
(All snotty like, geesh.)
I ignored the snotty tone, bought my ticket and on I went. Snorted afterwards, and thought 'wtf?! that was odd.'
Caught up to my girls and said "can you believe that?! She asked if I was over EIGHTEEN. Never have I been asked for my ID before to buy a 50/50 ticket, ahaha!"

Maybe I look younger than I thought, or maybe she was just being anal over the whole "18 or older" thing.
Still; it was weird at the time and funny afterwards. It's not like I was buying a beer; they obviously have to ask for ID for that.

Life is full of dissapointment.

Oilers 0, Predators 4.

I hate shut-outs against at home; we didn't even get to cheer for a goal. Gator had some sweet hits though, and Brian Young had the hit of the night when he flatten Hordichuk as he cut across the blueline with his head down. Our "secret weapon" didn't work on this night. Better luck next game boys.

Now a 6 game road trip to finish up the season, starting Tuesday in Nashville.

At least 80% of the guys came to sign autographs after the game, even Torres and Hemsky, who are notorious for walking on by.
The guys that did walk on by were Winchester (he was limping), Gilbert (he was with Winchester), Pisani, Petersen, (both had their babies with them), Markkanen, Jacques, Sykora, and Smith (he parks on the other side though, so he doesn't have to come by the stairs/fence where us auto seekers hang out). We didn't see Roli or Stortini come out. Sneaky guys.

Oh Sykora, we still love you even though you snubbed us, and despite the fact that you got rid of your dark emo haircut.

Oh well. I did get Sykora's auto at the WEM session early in the month, so it's all good. I'm not that big on getting too many autos anyways, ( I only managed to get 4 players tonight, but there was a lot more ppl there than the past 3 games we were trying for autos at) ; it was nice to see (most) of the boys appease the fans on the last home game of the season.
Laddy Smid is by far the most accommodating. I hope he stays that way when he gets more popular. Which he surely will.

Smashville game preview

Tonight is the final regular season home game for our mighty Oil, and the last game to be played at Rexall until the 2007/08 pre-season. It's going to be a long 6 months.
The Oilers off-season with no doubtly be filled with a few roster changes, hopefully some awesome 1st round draft picks, recovering fully from injuries, and a lot of golf/drinking.
More on that later though; we still have 7 games to play!

Now, the Oilers put a little winkle in the Avs bid for the 8th and final playoff spot with Reasoner's goal in the shoot out last night, putting a halt to their losing skid at 12 games, but the Preds are a better team; 1st place overall in the Western Conference better. A team with which the Oilers have had some trouble with this season, losing 5-3 and 3-2 to the mightier Preds back in November and December.

The Preds are dealing with some of their own injuries, but really, no other team is playing with 4 raw rookies on defense.

Speaking of the Oilers rookie laden defense, how about the Oilers record when Gilbert is in the line-up (4-0-1). Impressive on Gilbert's part, or just a lucky coincidence?

The Preds have a impressive Saturday night record: 18-4-2 (5-2-0 on the road).

What does all of this mean? The Oilers are going to be in tough to beat the Preds tonight, but hey! our secret weapon Gilbert is back in the line up!

Hemsky is doubtful for tonight's game, as his shoulder was not 100% last night.

It's been so long since we won, I almost forgot what it felt like!

The return of injured players sparked a come-back from a 2 goal deficit?
Roli actually played like we know Roli can?
Just plain sick of losing, realizing, 'hey boys, we got this shit!' ?!?!?

Any of the above reasons is fine with me, cuz really as much as we try to mask the pain of losing with sarcasm and the hope that (F)lames fans also feel the pain of missing the playoffs, losing just plain SUCKS.

I'm going with the injured guys returning to the line-up, plus Sykora and Lupul were scoring like we know they should.

Gilbert returns to the line-up; assists on Lupul's GTG goal.
Hemsky returns to the line-up, scores the Oilers 1st goal and gives them some hope.
Reasoner returns to the line-up and scored the GWG in the shoot-out!
Gooooooo Marty! He looked so modest after scoring as well. Due in part I'm sure to his shoulder not quite at 100%, as it still hurts him to lift his arms above his shoulder.
Roli returns to the line-up (sorta) after being pulled last game and plays as good as he did during the playoffs last year.

Thanks Jim Lang for wearing your "lucky" Whinnie the Pooh underwear and sharing that with all the Sportsnet West viewers on the 10 pm edition of Sportsnet Connected. A + dude.

Brodziak and Bisaillon assigned

Which means *maybe* (hopefully) the boys are getting over the flu and someone is coming off the IR?

Gilbert is close to returning to the line-up after suffering a concussion. He is listed as questionable for Friday night's game.

Among the forwards not on the IR, Hemsky and Reasoner are questionable. Both or neither could play on Friday; Brodziak's return to Wilkes-Barre is most likely the product of finally have 6 defensemen instead of only 5. Not that Toby was doing an awful good on defense, but he's not a defenseman by trade.


In other news, (do I say that too much?) the Flames are suddenly Oilers fans. Way to think that you are in control of your own destiny, if you have to put your hopes on a team that is currently on a 12 game losing streak to help you out. I say you should be more concerned about your own team winning, instead of hoping for the Oilers to beat the Avalanche.

Yesssssssssssssssssss.

Avalanche goal, scored by Laperriere @ 1:29 of the 1st period.
Avalanche goal, scored by Sakic @ 4:23 of the 1st period.
That's all they would need; lights out for the Oilers once again.
Final score: Oilers 1, Avalanche 5.
Enough said.


Flames: 86 pts, 9 games remaining.
Avs: 82 pts, 9 games remaining.

Gooooooooooooo Avalanche!

"Give them nothing; but take from them EVERYTHING."

A little heavy on the Eastern Conference teams, as compared to the Western teams in the clip, no?

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO AVS!

What kind of fan would you be if you supported the team only when they are winning?

^ That would be called a bandwagon jumper. Like some Flames and Canucks fans.

My Oilers are sucking something fierce, currently on an 11 game losing streak, but they are still my boys and always will be.

To all the Canuck fans at the game last night (especially the retards in the LOSERS t-shirts) F*CK YOU; You haven't won anything yet.

To all the Flames fans: look out for the Colorado Avalanche, they are gunning for your Flames, and for the sake of bringing your cockiness down a peg, I am hoping and praying that the Avs beat my Oilers Wed. and Fri. night to have a better chance of taking the 8th and final playoff spot from your damn dirty Flames; leaving you jerks on the outside looking in. HA.

Those damn dirty Flames put some more distance between themselves and the Avs with a 2-1 win over the Red Wings tonight. (They now have a 6 point advantage over the mighty Avs.) No worries Avalanche fans (and Oilers fans like myself wanting the Flames fans to feel misery) I feel confident that the Avalanche will prevail and over take the Flames.
Plus, the Flames suck hardcore on the road this season. Good luck with that *IF* you make the playoffs.

Dates to circle on your hockey watching calendar: Tuesday April 3rd, Avs @ Flames and SundayApril 8th, Flames @ Avs.

BRING. IT. ON.

"Should I stay, or should I go?"

Poor Brodziak. He doesn't know if he's coming or going.

To borrow the chorus from the Clash song in the title:

Should I stay or should I go now?
Should I stay or should I go now?
If I go there will be trouble
An if I stay it will be double
So come on and let me know

He took the pre-game skate at last night's game against the Canucks, then was sent down.
Hold on, not so fast.
Lupul, who sat out Saturday's game against the Blues with the flu, is apparently still sick, or sick again with the flu. What-in-the-fuck is wrong with all these guys?!?!? One gets the flu so the rest of them get it over the next few weeks?! Ever heard of a flu shot?! Possibly getting your own personal water bottle when you are sick to PREVENT the spread of infection?! Maybe the Oilers training/medical staff should look in to this for next season. Come on already.......... fucking flu..............
Moral of the story is this: Brodziak was re-called after the game (he didn't even leave Rexall) because Lupul is sick and questionable for Wednesday's game against the Avs.

Update on other injured Oilers: reported on Global Edmonton news at 6pm tonight; Staios is done of the season and will require surgery on his wonky left knee. Best of luck to you Staios. I hope the surgery fixes you up real well. I heart Staios.

Interesting to note: Petr Nedved and the Oilers parted ways on Saturday, but yet he is still listed on the Oilers roster as being on the IR. hmmmmmmmm. Seems to me the Oilers website is a bit slow with it's own news.........

Did Roli just call his mom a GOAL POST?!?!!?

Oilers latest press release


Great cause; the Oilers (and probably the rest of the NHL) are supporting breast cancer.

Roloson is a funny guy, (probably without meaning to be funny though.) I lol'ed.

“My mom is like the goal post, I’m always using her for support,” said Oilers goalie Dwayne Roloson.


^ Looks like he coulda used some support there.

MEMO TO LOWE: Please re-sign Petr. He actually likes it here! K, thanks. Love, Lady_Byng.

Petr Sykora would like to remain an Oiler.

I would like him to remain an Oiler too.

I'm sure quite a lot more fans would like him back next season as well.

Admitly, he hasn't had the best season (but neither has most of the team) so PRETTY PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE Kevin can you re-sign Sykora??!?!!

By gosh, he actually likes Edmonton!
Unlike some departed Oilers (cough*PECA*cough.)


Plus, we need to keep the hottness factor of the team up.
Am I right ladies, or am I right?!

RAWRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.

Stortini. Is. The. Shit.

I was at this game, and damn, did I fall in love with his style of play.

Rawr!

HOLLA!

"How do you even imagine Dallas can win this game?"

Say what?! GO FUCK YOURSELF MACT!

After talking shit about Jussi the other night, MacT is now dumping on the whole team! Well, the forwards anyways.

"You look at the chances we had (last night)," said frustrated Oilers head coach Craig MacTavish, "and (Marc) Pouliot had two wide open nets and he double hit the one.

"He didn't get it all, but it was going in the net and when he was retracting his stick it knocked the puck out.

"Raffi (Torres) had a wide open net. J.F. (Jacques) had a wide open net.

"Don't get me wrong. It is not a case of complete bad luck - we are not very gifted scoring goals right now.

"I am not here claiming we are snake bit."

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

He has some pretty good quotes at times, but geesus F, way to wreck what little confidence the boys had left!

A+ for being a jackass, MacT. A fucking plus.

*** Injury Updates ***

Following the injury trail


By JONATHAN HUNTINGTON, March 13, 2007

LOS ANGELES -- Jan Hejda is moving from the injured list to the finished list.

It appears the young defenceman is out for the rest of the season with a left shoulder injury suffered last week against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Rexall Place.

But with the Edmonton Oilers returning home today, there is a very good chance Ales Hemsky (collarbone), Mathieu Roy (concussion) and Marty Reasoner (shoulder) will soon return to action.

"Those are the three guys that look like they are progressing, and maybe we get them back sometime later on in the week or early next week," said head coach Craig MacTavish yesterday afternoon.

The Oilers host Minnesota on Thursday in the first of six straight games at Rexall Place, the final homestand of the year.

MacTavish didn't have a clear update on Steve Staios's progress on his left knee injury.

But the news isn't good on Jarret Stoll or Daniel Tjarnqvist.

"He is still not great," said MacTavish on Stoll, who has missed 18 straight games with a concussion.

"I'd love to see him be in a position health wise that he can play some games before the season is over.

"But obviously that is going to be dependent on how he recuperates and how long he is symptom free from the concussions that he took."

Tjarnqvist is likely done for the year with an inflamed pubic bone.

"I think so," said MacTavish when asked if the defenceman was out for the duration of the season.

"But you never know."

Tom Gilbert has resumed light exercising after suffering a concussion 10 games ago, but he hasn't resumed skating.

There is light at the end of the tunnel for Ethan Moreau, who still has a very good chance of returning to play before the end of the year.

"The timetable should permit him to play some games," said MacTavish.

I miss this scene. A LOT.

I miss Stoll. (On the IRL.)

I miss Pronger. (Traded.)

I miss post-goal celebrations. (The Oilers have scored 6 goals in 8 games, all losses.)

I miss WINNING. (See above.)

I miss the PLAYOFFS. (Photo taken during game 5 of the Oilers-Sharks series in 2006, a 6-3 Oilers win.)

Sad day. AGAIN. *sigh*

Oilers 1, Kings 5.

Well, coming into this game, the Oilers already depleted with injuries and the flu (ever heard of a flu shot?! MAN!) were on a 7 game losing streak, the Kings losers themselves of 5 straight. Something had to give right? Give the Oilers did; ending Los Angeles streak and furthering their own. The loss to San Jose was so sad it was funny; tonight's loss was just sad; very, very sad.
Let the crying games begin ..............





-------------------------------------------
Raffi in a rut!

His contract is up and his bargaining power is dropping daily

By JONATHAN HUNTINGTON, Sun Media

SAN JOSE -- Stuck in the worst rut of his professional career, Raffi Torres isn't making excuses.

"I'm not really doing anything out there," said the frustrated Edmonton Oilers' forward before last night's tilt against the San Jose Sharks.

"It's just kind of like killing time out there - that is what it looks like."

With only one goal in his last 12 games entering last night, Torres is nowhere near the form he showed last year when he potted 27 goals.

Like almost every other forward on this team, the well has gone dry.

"It is not fun at all," he remarked. "It's not like we are showing up at the rink and it is all fun and games.

"We are athletes and professionals and what we want to do is win.

"It is tough right now and we have to grind it out."

It's also bad timing in another respect for the 25-year-old winger because his contract is up at the end of this season.

Earning $925,000 US this season, his bargaining power has certainly dropped from last spring.

"Hopefully they (Oilers' management) know that when things go well they have seen that side (too)," said Torres.




:( Poor Raf. Everyone on the Oilers seems to be a in a rut this season though.
If all else fails, he can become a pimp. I mean, a golfer.

Instead of dwelling on the injuries and the 6 game losing streak, some sweet Hemsky videos for your veiwing pleasure!

Hemsky 2006/07 hi-lites (up to Jan 07/07)








Hemsky 2005/06 hi-lites; so slick!









Intermission interview, Dec 14/06

"you know me Geno, I don't shoot too much"







Isn't he cute as a button or what?!?!!!!?!?!!?

More injuries! YIPEE

Another game, another loss, another injury.
Two injuries actually.
Both Staios and Hejda left the game with injuries in the 1st period.
Staios got hit, not really hard from my view, but he landed awkwardly. Probably his bad knee again. Ouch. Poor Staios. :(
Didn't notice when or how Hejda got hurt, didn't even notice he was gone until mid-way thru the 2nd period when my friend commented "Where's Hejda?"
Got a text message from a friend watching at home that he, along with Staios, was done for the game. :(
Saw him after the game (yes, creeping for more autos!) with his left arm not thru his jacket sleeve.
Let me guess, a shoulder injury! GEESH.

What the fuck is with all the shoulder injuries and concussions this season?!?!?!
Who the hell is even left to re-call from the AHL on defense? Roy, Gilbert (both injured) are up, Syvret is up ..................... there is seriously no decent defensemen prospects to be called up if Staios and/or Hejda's injuries keep them out of the line-up beyond tonight's game.
Thank God we have Petersen to fill in on defense! :/

What the fuck did the Oilers do to piss off the hockey Gods?!!?!
Hasn't karma fucked us over enough already by not only us losing game 7 of the SCF last season, but to be out of the playoffs (so early) during the stretch run?!?!?
UGH.

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


The boys didn't play so terrible tonight, I think they looked a lot better than they have in the last few games, but still the same problem - couldn't score. Tampa didn't need many chances tonight, and when they did have them, they buried just enough to win. The Oilers had a few grade A chances, but Denis stymied them, until Smid broke his shut-out bid in the last 3 minutes with a bullet from the point. He was most impressive tonight.
The Oilers did come out hitting and kept up the physical play. Butttttttttttttttt again a team comes in having played the night before and walked out with the two points.

Now the boys head out for the California road-trip (Anaheim, Los Angeles, San Jose) with a 5 game losing streak packed in their bags, being out scored 19 to 4 in those five games, including two shut-outs against. So hurtin. So very hurtin.

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

Beyond my last two games I have tickets for (March 19 vs Vancouver and March 24th vs Nashville) I am giving up on trying to watch as many games as possible. It's just too painful to watch anymore.


It's tough sledding being an Oilers fan when they are a losing team. Tough sledding.
:,(

Oilers-Lightning preview part deux.

Oilers-Lightning pre-game notes

** fixed to include Lecavalier's goal from last night in his pts total.**


Edmonton has dropped its last four and is looking to get back on track prior to a three-game California road trip that begins on Friday. The Oilers are in a tie with St. Louis for 10th in the Western Conference.

With eight skaters out of the lineup, the Oilers’ depth is going to be put to the test once again this evening. However, the injury bug does help provide some opportunity to a player like Kyle Brodziak. Recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League yesterday, Brodziak will be initially slotted in to the top line alongside Raffi Torres and Shawn Horcoff.


Tonight marks the fourth game in the Lightning’s current season-long six-game road trip but prior to last night’s game in Vancouver the team returned home for a day in an effort to break up the monotony.

"It gives us an opportunity, knowing how many days we are going to be out there, to get them in their own bed so we are going to grab it," said Tortorella.

The Lightning have only one win in regulation since February 13 but have a record of 5-3-2 with four overtime victories since that time. Through the first three games of the trip, they have a shootout win plus a pair of losses.


ROSTER UPDATES: Edmonton — Toby Petersen (flu) is probable. Jarret Stoll (concussion) is out. Ethan Moreau (shoulder) is out. Tom Gilbert (concussion) is doubtful. Mathieu Roy (concussion) is questionable. Petr Nedved (knee) is out. Daniel Tjarnqvist (inflamed pubic bone) is out. Marty Reasoner (shoulder) is doubtful. Ales Hemsky (shoulder) is doubtful.
Tampa Bay – Andreas Karlsson (finger) is out. Rob DiMaio (concussion) is out.

OILERS TO WATCH: The line of Jean-Francois Jacques, Marc Pouliot and Fernando Pisani was the Oilers’ best line on Saturday night against Calgary. Jacques is still looking for his first career NHL goal but he’s getting closer. “Last two or three games I’ve had two posts and a couple of shots barely missed,” said Jacques. … Pisani has scored each of the Oilers’ last three goals including two on Saturday and one the previous Sunday in Minnesota. Pisani now has 14 goals, four less than his total of 18 from last season.

LIGHTNING TO WATCH: Tampa Bay has one of the league’s most potent offensive attacks. Vincent Lecavalier leads the league in goals with 43 and is tied for second in points with 89 with his teammate, Martin St. Louis who is tied for third in goals with 39… With 23 goals, former Conn Smythe Trophy winner Brad Richards also provides a consistent offensive threat every night and defenceman Dan Boyle is fifth in the NHL in goals for defencemen with 14 and sixth in points with 52.

FAST FACTS: Tampa is 2-5 in the second half of back-to-back games this season, having played in Vancouver last night… Lecavalier and St. Louis have both been dynamite on the road. Lecavalier has 51 points while St. Louis has 50. Both players have already eclipsed St. Louis’ franchise mark of 47 points set in 2003-04… Tampa is 10-2-1 in its last 13 road games… The Lightning has the league’s 29th ranked penalty kill at 77.7%. On the road, it’s even worse at 75.3%… Edmonton has scored 62 goals in the third period this season and also given up that same amount.


*** The Oilers will be wearing their 3rd jerseys for tonight's game.***


QUOTABLE: "Vinny said he couldn't breathe and I told him, 'Vinny, for what it's worth, while you were down, neither could I.'"
- Lightning General Manager Jay Feaster after star player Vincent Lecavalier had the wind knocked out of him in practice by defenceman Shane O’Brien.

Oilers-Lightning preview.

So. 16 games to go and the once mighty Oil are 13 points out of a playoff position.
Sure sucks to have all your hope gone this early into the stretch drive.
Usually it comes down to game 81 out of the 82 game schedule for the Oilers to sew up a playoff position or be out of it. Game 67 tomorrow night, and well, it just doesn't feel right.
Even with the excitment of the past weekend and becoming a master autograph seeker, my heart just isn't in it anymore.
I still love the Oilers and my boys, but what have we got left to cheer for?

The only thought keeping me excited for tomorrow's game is the fact that Vicent Lecavalier is the NHL leading goal scorer with 43 goals and is tied for 2nd overall in points with his Lightning teammate Martin St. Louis with 89. It will be bittersweet to watch those two (along with Brad Richards) dance around the mostly rookie Oilers line-up and light up Roloson.
The Lightning did lose 5-1 in Vancouver tonight, but who's kidding who? The Oilers don't really stand a chance. Not like it make much difference, unless they magically win all remaining 16 games. HA.

Reasoner's injury is questionable, Hemsky had his arm in a sling on Sunday (his shoulder injured AGAIN), Nedved (as useless as he has been) is back on the IR Stoll is still out, so on..........

Back to the drawing board folks. Lowe has his work cut out for him this (very long) off-season.

Tomorrow night's game is on at 8 pm on TSN for anyone still interested.

My standing-room only tickets are going to be fabulous.

Oilers future watch; copied from the Oilers website.

by Marc Ciampa

www.edmontonoilers.com

A look at some of the newest Oilers prospects:

Robert Nilsson - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL)

The most upset party in the deadline trade made by the Oilers last week may have been the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Not only did they lose their leading scorer in Robert Nilsson, they lost him to division rivals the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Nilsson instantly became the Penguins' leader in assists and points when he was transferred to Wilkes-Barre as a result of the trade and added to those totals with six assists in his first three games.

"It was awesome," said Nilsson to the Times Leader. "It was a lot of fun. There are a lot of great players and we think alike.

"It's fun to be with a winning team. I haven't been on one in awhile now. It's a lot easier to play when the guys are winners."

Nilsson found instant chemistry with another Oilers prospect, Rob Schremp. He set up both of Schremp's goals in his first game with the club.

"He's a highly-skilled player and we all know that because he played for Bridgeport," Schremp remarked. "He's tremendously skilled and finds the open man very well."

Through 53 games, Nilsson now has 39 assists and 51 points.

"Nilsson was pretty good," Penguins head coach Todd Richards said after his debut game. "I think there was a reason why Edmonton wanted him and we saw that tonight. He made a couple of great plays, great passes - especially Schrempie's second goal. That's an NHL play. He zipped it to Schrempie back door, empty net. It was pretty exciting to watch him play."

Ryan O'Marra - Saginaw Spirit (OHL)

Ryan O'Marra is a key cog in one of the Ontario Hockey League's best teams - the Saginaw Spirit.

With a record of 10-1-0 in their last 11 games, the Spirit sit second in the OHL's West Division and are poised to make some noise in the postseason.

O'Marra, a mid-season acquisition from the Erie Otters, has 16 goals and 31 points in 29 games.

Yesterday, O'Marra scored twice and added two assists in an 8-2 Saginaw victory over the Mississauga Ice Dogs.

Earlier in the week, O'Marra put up a "Gordie Howe Hat Trick" with a goal, assist and a fight in helping lead his squad to a 4-1 win over Owen Sound.

O'Marra was a teammate of Oilers prospect Andrew Cogliano and the most recent World Junior Hockey Championships held in Sweden.

Suiting up for all six games, he had two assists and eight PIM with a +1 rating for Canada.

Denis Grebeshkov - Yaroslavl Lokomotiv (RUS)

Denis Grebeshkov was acquired several weeks ago in the trade that saw Marc-Andre Bergeron move to the NY Islanders.

Although he is currently playing in Russia with Yaroslavl Lokomotiv, he is no stranger to the North American style of game.

From 2003-04 through 2005-06, Grebeshkov split parts of three seasons between the NHL and AHL.

His best season was 2004-05 when he put up 49 points in 75 games with the AHL's Manchester Monarchs. Last season, Grebeshkov was dealt from the Kings to the NY Islanders and played 21 games at the NHL level for New York.

This season, he elected to play in Russia instead of starting the season in the AHL. Through 44 games, Grebeshkov has six goals and 13 points.

In a recent interview with a Russian newspaper, Grebeshkov indicated a desire to return to North America and play for the Oilers next season.

Noteworthy

Brock Radunske was recently re-assigned by the Oilers from Grand Rapids (AHL) to Stockton (ECHL). Having scored 38 goals at the ECHL level last season, Radusnke picked up where he left off this past weekend. In two games, he had two goals and an assist... Three of the top four scorers on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are Oilers prospects: Robert Nilsson, Kyle Brodziak and Rob Schremp.


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Injury update:

The Edmonton Oilers have placed centre Petr Nedved on the NHL Injured Reserve List and recalled centre Kyle Brodziak from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League.

This is the second time that Nedved has been placed on the NHL Injured Reserve List as he was previously placed on the IRL on February 23rd and missed five games with a knee sprain suffered at Toronto on February 17th.

Nedved has scored 1-4-5 with 8 PIM in 19 games with the Oilers since being claimed off waivers on January 2nd from the Philadelphia Flyers. In 21 games with Philadelphia, Nedved scored 1-6-7 with 18 PIM.

Brodziak makes his first appearance with the Oilers this season. The 6’2”, 198-pound 22-year-old from St. Paul, Alberta has spent the entire season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. At the time of his recall, Brodziak, the Oilers 9th choice (7th round), 214th overall, in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, was second on the Penguins scoring list with a career-high 21-25-46 in 49 games. He also ranked second in goals and assists and was third in plus/minus at +11. He scored four powerplay goals and a shorthanded goal while registering 40 penalty minutes with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Brodziak made his NHL debut with the Oilers in 2005-06, playing 10 games with no points and four penalty minutes.

He has scored 39-70-109 with 130 PIM in 160 career AHL games since beginning his professional career with the Edmonton Road Runners in 2004-05.

Auotgraphs, autographs, and more autographs! And Moreau loves me <3

Yes, I am now a post-game autograph creeper; errr, seeker.


After the Oilers-Flames game on Saturday night, which the Oilers lost 4-2, pretty much killing any small hope of making the playoffs we had left, my girls and I decided to hang out outside of the Rex to see if we could score some autos. There were a few guys out there already, probably not as many ppl that usually hang out out there most of the time, but who knows? Was our first time being creepers.

1st came Staios and Lupul. Nice guys.
Next came Pisani, but he was with his wife and babies, so we didn't bother him.
Horcoff said he had to get home, so whatever.
Roloson didn't even acknowledge us. Sure, he had a shitty game and let in two terrible goals, but at least say "sorry guys I gotta get home" like Horcoff did, ya big JERK.

Greene, Smid, and Winchester all came out one by one, all of them came and signed for us.

We thought we saw Markkanen come out, but his head was down so far we couldn't tell.

Later we thought we saw Jacques, but like Jussi, he had his head so far down it was hard to see his face.

The next crew out was Stortini, Pouliot, and Syvret. My eagle eye picked out Stortini right away.
"STORTINIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!"
Super awesome guys, I love the rookies, they haven't become jerks yet, haha.
Of course I proceeded to embarass myself by yelling out
"Omg Stortini I love you! You are my new favorite!"
Geesh.
Good thing I wasn't drunk, cuz if I was, I'm sure the railing and fence would not have kept me from going after him, lol.

After some time with no one coming out, we decided to head home before we missed the last bus home. Good times.
Stortini, Pouliot, and Syvert just out of the picture.

My autographed hat.
Staios, Lupul, Winchester, Pouliot, Stortini, Syvret, Smid, and Greene.

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After our fun and somewhat chilly night of hanging out at the Rex after the Oilers-Flames game Saturday night creeping for some autographs, we went to WEM for the official Oilers autograph session on Sunday.
I was hoping and praying for one, because all the one or two player auto sessions they were having all over the city was making me think maybe the team session wasn't going to happen.

But alas it did, and my beloved Moreau was there, despite his shoulder injury.
Moreau was my main target, all the rest of the autos I managed to get where icing on the cake. Moreau delievered, and boy did I end up with alot of icing!

Got to the mall shortly before 11 am, ppl were already lined up. ( the players weren't arriving until 1 pm.) Crazy I tell ya. The mall officially opens at 11 am on Sundays, but I don't think the main doors are ever locked.
I had printed out a copy of the map of where the players were stationed from the Oilers website before hand. When I got to WEM, there were map cards available, so I grabbed one of those. Much easier to hang onto that than two sheets of paper.

So anyways, went down to the deep-sea adventure to where Moreau and Reasoner where stationed. The line was about 14 ppl deep already. Much to my dismay, the line-up was on the bridge that goes across the water. (I have a fear of heights and a fear of drowning.) It wasn't as bad as I thought it was, and it was worth it in the end.
Took up my space in line and chatted with the ppl standing in line around me while also texting Dani and Sal who where in different line-ups.
Some of my friends drove in from Wetaskiwin, I let them cut into the line with me when they eventually got there.
No one behind us bitched, so it was all good.

Finally it was time to start, and I couldn't wait to get my Moreau jersey signed.
Reasoner was up first, I got him to sign my white Oilers jersey.
I had thought of bringing either a card or a photo of all the players that I wanted to get autos from, but it was becoming too much a hassle to decide with players I would even be able to get to, so I settled on the white jersey to get signed by everyone else besides Moreau.
Like I said earlier, icing on the cake for any autos I got beyond Ethan's.

I wasn't even that nervous, not like when I met Raffi and Stoll at an auto session they did at United Cycle in April 2004.

I said "hi" to Moreau and we had a little convo.
Ethan "how are you?"
Me "Pretty good, how are you?"
Ethan "I'm good."
Me "How's your shoulder coming along?"
Ethan "It's getting better."
Me "Any chance you will play any more games this season?"
Ethan "I was aiming for the last 2 weeks, but now I don't know ........"
(cuz the Oilers aren't going to make the playoffs, so there's not much point for Ethan to play and possibly re-injure it right?)
Me "Yeah, I see your point."
Ethan " would you like me to personalize your jersey?"
(The whole time we were talking [which really wasn't that long, ha] he looked at me instead of signing while he was talking)
Me "SURE!!"
Ethan "What's your name?"
Me "Pam, P-A-M."
So he signs my jersey, TO PAM, ALL THE BEST!
Me" Thanks Ethan!"
Ethan "You're Welcome."



I even had my picture taken by the Oilers website (the back of me anyways) when Moreau was talking to me. Sweet.

From there, my Wetaskiwin friends wanted Hemsky's auto and I wanted Staios auto for my white jersey, so we parted ways.
Hemsky was hurt (his shoulder AGAIN) in the game on Saturday, so he wasn't signing anything cuz his arm was in a sling. She called me and asked where Horcoff was stationed. After I got thru the Staios-Jacques line I met her at the Horcoff-Winchester line.

I didn't want any autos on the crest of my jersey, just around it, but the girl at the Jacques table just took it from me "do you have your item ready to be signed?!" and put it down on the table before I could ask him to not sign on the crest.
"Me "Please don't sign on the crrrres.............t!" (as JFJ started to sign on the crest.)
He stops mid signature and looks up at me "Sorry!"
Me "It's ok, you didn't know; go ahead and finish." (I was cursing the girl in my head. Bitch).
JFJ "Sorry once again"
Me "it's ok, I'm just pricky about where I want the signatures on my jersey. Thanks Jacques."
Then over to Staios sitting beside him, "Don't sign on the crest please!" As I held onto the jersey and placed it in front of him myself.
I thanked him and away I went, in a rush to get over to Horcoff and Winchester. Forgetting to take pics of Staios and JFJ.
Damn that JFJ is one cute mofo.

Cut into the Horcoff line with my friends and talked to the girl standing in line with us. She said she met Lupul at a bar once and was a total jerk. To be expected I guess, some players aren't nice outside of meet-and-greets with the fans.

Winchester is not really one of my favorite players, he's not even really a good player, but damn is he cute. I'm not saying I'm going to become a Winchester fan now that he's way better looking in person than in pics, but as a (single) female you can't but help and notice that some of the players are pretty good looking. He has a cute boy-ish smile. Forgot to take pics of him and Horcoff as well (Horc's two different colored eyes make him endearing; he's not so ugly as he looks in photos either) cuz the hour and a half was coming to an end and I wanted to try to hit the Sykora-Stortini line. I had acquired Stortini's auto the night before after the game, but he's my newest favorite, and who doesn't love Sykora?!!?!?

The line was still redonkiliously long, so there was a chance I might not get their autos before the time was up.
The usher ppl controlling the line kept on coming back and telling us that, but thankfully I did end up getting thru. Not before I got out of the line-up and tried to take some pics of them 1st. I kept on watching to see if the girls I was chatting with in the line where getting any closer, and alas they did as the line started to move faster as the time was winding down. I quickly snuck back into the line, saying "you girls remember I was in the line with you right?"
"Of course, we'll just say we were holding your place cuz you went to the bathroom; if they ask."
It pays to talk to strangers sometimes.
The ushers didn't even notice, so it was all good.

In total I got 8 Oilers signatures, got my Moreau jersey signed, talked to some cool ppl in the line-ups which made the day go faster. Pretty successful I say.

Met up with Dani and Sal afterwards. We went to BP's and discussed our day with each other before they headed home and I went to work.

What a fun Oilers filled weekend, despite the fact that they lost on Saturday and don't really have much of a chance to make the playoffs.

I still love my Oilers and hope to see most of them back next season.
Espeically my Chopper (Moreau) and Stortini.

Sigs starting at the "O" on the OILERS logo: Reasoner, Staios, JFJ (on the crest ), Sykora, Horc, B-rad, and Stortini.

All the player's cards I collected. Misplaced the Horcoff one though.

PATHETIC

WOW. Am I ever glad the Oilers seem to not give a crap anymore.

Could there be a worse way to lose than 5-0 at HOME to the fucking Minnesota WILD?!?!?!!?
Well, maybe the 7-1 loss at home to the Avalanche last season, but that was back in November of that season, not the 1st game of March heading into the stretch drive when in dire need of points if they have any hope of making the playoffs.
The Oilers aren't mathematically eliminated yet, but 11 pts out with 16 games to go is a huge mountain to climb.

FUCKING AWESOME JOB BOYS.

Guess they needed an extra game to mourn the loss of Smyth?
Maybe they are all pissed off at the situation and have consented defeat?
Figuring that the farther they fall down the standings the better their 1st round draft pick gets?

Whatever their train of thought is, it comes down to one thing tonight; PATHETIC.

Thanks Horcoff for delivering on your word. (From the Edmonton Sun today.)
Although their playoff hopes are almost gone, the Oilers aren't throwing in the towel - yet. "Everybody's focus is: Wouldn't it be great if we could turn this thing around and make the playoffs," said Horcoff.

FUCK YOU HORCOFF.

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In other news, Reasoner left the game in the 1st period after a hit from Boogaard. Soild hit, but the man is a fucking monster, so you can't expect to not get hurt when he hits you.

3rd game this season for Boogard against the Oilers, 3rd time one of the Oilers has missed the rest of the game with an injury due to him hitting them (cleanly or not). Damn monster that he is. The Wild website has him listed at 6'7, 250 lbs. That's CFL defensive linebacker size for fuck's sake! Geesh.

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I now have a huge dislike for Wild fans.
Below is copied from the Wild website regarding tonight's game.

Period 1

17:33 - Harding comes up huge on an early scramble in front of the net. He robs Zach Stortini on the doorstep, and then flops around as Patrick Thoresen tries in vain to stuff in the rebound. Harding has no idea he's making the saves, but effective doesn't necessarily mean pretty.

16:33 - Two observations here: Up until 60 seconds ago, I had never heard of Stortini, and I already don't like the guy due to him unnecessarily going after Mark Parrish after Parrish fired a shot that Dwayne Roloson stopped. Secondly, I will always like Roloson because he was such a good guy in his time here. But he needs to give it a rest when it comes to sticking opponents when they get anywhere near the crease. How is that not a penalty when he repeatedly stuffs his blocker in the face of Adam Hall, who is just hovering around the crease and nothing more?

9:59 - I may sound just a tad bit hipocritical when I say this, but for some reason, I just can't help but laugh when I see Derek Boogaard plaster a guy against the glass about four seconds after the guy gives up the puck. If the shoe were on the other foot, I'd be asking for the guy's dismissal from the League. Anyway, keep it up Boogey!

8:37 - Pavol Demitra makes it look so easy sometimes. Martin Skoula makes a fantastic pass after Edmonton throws the puck carelessly into the Wild zone. He hits Demitra at the Oiler blueline, and he is in all alone, making a move to the backhand and shelfing a shot past Roloson. Demitra doesn't even bat an eyelash as he skates away from the goal having given the Wild an early lead. That gives him 20 on the year, marking the first time the Wild has had three 20-goal scorers.

6:54 - Moore nearly makes good on my prediction with a nice little pass to the front for Boogaard, but the big man can't get a stick on it. I like this Moore cat.

4:52 - I'm fairly certain that Oiler head coach Craig MacTavish is about to offer some long cash to anyone in the crowd to take a crow bar to Boogaard's knee. The thing is, Boogey's not doing anything wrong. He crushes Marty Reasoner with a clean check behind the Edmonton net. That draws Raffi Torres in who tries to hit Boogaard up high but bounces off like a Superball. Steve Staios comes in as well and Boogaard fights each of them off with both hands. Then Stoogetini gets in there and just bear hugs Boogaard, but refuses to go toe-to-toe. Boogaard gets two and a 10, which is silly, but Edmonton will be two men short so why would I complain?

3:47 - The Wild cashes in on the five-on-three, which is just unfair when you have Marian Gaborik and Demitra working together. On the right side, Gaborik sends a pass to the left of the net for Demitra. Three Oilers including Roloson slide over too far to take away the shot, so Demo flings it right back to Gaborik who buries a shot from the circle into an empty net. My wife yelped with glee, but apparently it was not because of the Wild goal, but because she found out she doesn't have to work tomorrow (she's a teacher).

0:00 - He didn't score, and he wasn't on the ice a lot. But Derek Boogaard is easily the MVP of tonight's first period. I can't wait to see more of him in the second!

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Enough of that. Damn Wild. Damn Wild fans.


Parting shots: I am going to the Oilers-Flames game on Saturday night; Battle of Alberta round 7. Should be interesting, with the Oilers now 11 pts behind the Flames for the 8th and final playoff spot. Can't wait to get into a drunken (or possibly sober) screaming match with some asshole Flames fans! YIPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.