GDB XXXVIII: A new beginning in the same old year
bingofuel
December 26 2009 11:14AM
After a brief two-day respite from Oilers' hockey, the team of apparent have-nots are left-coast bound today as they take on the Vancouver Canucks at GM Place. And I'm not going to lie to you, Nationeers, things haven't been so rosy at OilersNation lately.
Let's recap, shall we: after going 5-0 on the road, the Oilers then went 0-5 — with four of those games taking place at RX1 — completely nullifying fan excitement and causing some people to renounce their season-ticket status. About the only bright light over the last five games was the fact that Oil fans got to see Alexander Ovechkin live; as you'll recall, his Capitals squad mopped the bloody ice with the hapless Oilers.
Now it might not be the New Year yet, but after a two-day pause now is the time for the Oilers to resolve to begin demolishing teams. The Canucks are 6-4-0 in their last 10, which isn't that much better than the Oilers when you think about it. Oh sure, they have a much better season record than the Oil (21-16-0 vs 15-18-04), but in the immortal words of the Black Eyed Peas, tonight's gonna be a real good night.
And if it's not, I'll eat this new sweater Santa brought me.
The Sounds of Silence
Meanwhile, OilersNation is a ghost town. Gregor's off to Costa Rica, Wanye's still exploring the planet, Willis is welding random pieces of metal together in Fort St John, I'm stuck in Calgary, and Brownlee Claus is beating the shit out of all the bad kids with giant coal-filled red sacks.
Yep, it's been a quiet Christmas here on the internets.
Here's hoping the deafening silence is enough to get this squad of n'er-do-wells to actually, you know, play a proper hockey game. Because the moment this cluster of insufferably poor players repeats what they've done for the last five games, I have World Juniors and the Spengler Cup to watch.
It'll be close, but I'm going with Oilers 2-1 in OT.
So how many of you are going to be skipping Oilers hockey in favour of other hockey? Or in favour of something completely unrelated to hockey?
And how were your Christmases? Did everyone get as much socks and underwear as I did?
I thought peehole underwear was banned? I have 4 dozen packs to take back, thanks!
I've got your red sack right here, Bingofuel.
4-1 Canucks.
This will be a real ugly loss. 9-1 canucks
Not even going to bother to stay up or get up and watch this one (5am start in Athens)...Only interesting story that comes out of this game is the rekindled spark of Luongo's bid for the #1 job in Feburary with a 12 save shut out in a 5-0 drubbing of the Oilers...Bryan put the mic down and step aside, theres a new Hall coming to town.
6-2 Canucks. Sedin's will pad the stats with 4 points. Gagner and Brule score for the Oil.
8-3 'Nucks.
As I hung my Team Canada Olympic jersey that I got for Christmas in my closet alongside my six Oiler jerseys, I heard that little voice saying "at least in February I will be cheering for a team with a chance of winning."
I shook it off, and went downstairs for some more Oilers Kool-aid. That's booze, kids. I'm talking about booze.
It will be a close game. JDD will redeem himself, but hes only one man. 2-1 Nucks.
GAME DAY!!!
3-2 Oilers
With goals from Penner, Gilbert and Horcoff.
GOILERS!
The Oilers will win tonight just to confuse us. Quinn will hate the way they do it... Lowe will be quietly proud of all the skill he assembled.
Taylor Hall, welcome to Edmonton!!!
Oh yeah baby, number 1 overall draft pick, here we come! However, if you take a closer look at how and when this team wins, tonight they are due.
JDD will get the shutout and thecaptainethanmoreau will score two goals and an asist, thus, completing his points quota for this year and next preseason (which I hope is somewhere other than Edmonton).
I will be watching anything rather then the losers the Oilers have. I'm done with the Oilers this year. They don't care and even if they did they have no talent. A bunch of midgets on the ice it's a circus. Tambo promised a team to play against and then got forwards that stand three feet tall on skates.
@Robin Brownlee
Can you beat an honest answer out of Laforge regarding potential seat licence fees for RX2?
I'm not a wealthy fan. It's a sacrifice for me to maintain seasons seats... almost my entire entertainment budget is eaten up by an organization that has consistantly failed to entertain. Realistically, it would be insane for me to hang on for three more sh!tastic seasons only to be unable to pay ransom for my seats in the new building anyway. What are you hearing? Anybody (other than DeepOil)?
Yeah, I think this pretty much covers it.
Just enough win in the Oil to lift our hopes for one more brief moment so that they can be dashed to the ground again in three consecutive losses to the Flamers and [I can't believe I'm saying it] the Leafs. That's the nice thing about these Oilers. Just when you think you have seen rock-bottom and genuinely don't give two squirts about them anymore, they find a way to get you to stand back up so they can kick you in the teeth one more time.
entertain they had the same BS season opening ceromony. Stupid dancers. Welcome to the Katz era. Just like the Leafs we will suck forever now. If i was a draft pick I wouldn't want to play in Edmonton a organization stuck in the PAST. Lets face it I would put money down that the Oil draft another small forward or ten foot tender that gets beat high. LOL .
Does any one think Quinn will get fired ? They were sure the coachiong was the reason last season. Quinn has got Penner wo play well and the rest to suck even more.
THIS TEAM HAS NO HOPE
No Quinn won't get fired. With no changes to the roster (for the most part) since last year, its obvious that coaching isnt the issue. Actually I think Quinn has done quite well considering all the injuries and sickness he's had to deal with.
Its pretty much impossible to polish a turd.
Future Oiler Eberle is playing in about 5 minutes. I will be watching him, hoping that he brings his teammate Hall with him to Camp next season.
Uglier than Brownlee's red sack.....6-2 Canucks.
Havnt seen any highlights yet but on a bright note Svensson had 4 points in the World Junior today?
@Lofty
BINGOFUEL,
I think you've had about two gallons too much egg-nog if you think the Oilers have a realistic chance of "demolishing" the Canucks tonight, or anyone else, for that matter, in the foreseeable future. Sure, this team (who could rightly be compared to a Video Lottery Terminal in its "never know what will come up next" randomized win-loss pattern) "could" win tonight, just like I could see three cherries come up in my next drunken gambling stupor at my neighbourhood watering hole. Anything is "possible". "Probable", however, is entirely and obviously different.
Look, loyal Nation followers, I hate to crack your hopes for the future, but the Oil is "done" for the rest of this season; likely next too. They would have to play near .750 hockey the rest of the way to maybe sneak into eighth; this team rarely played that winning percentage in the glory days of Wayne and Mark, let alone the current mess that this franchise is in now. In light of this already failed, no playoffs season, I'll tell you what the real key is for this team this week: make sure you damn well lose to the equally hapless Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday. The Oil and Leafs are equally terrible bottom feeders, and this really is a "MUST LOSE" game in this Dive for Five Stretch Run.
Bottom line, Brownlee is bang on: 6-2 Canucks, and likely a two or three goal spread after just one period. Horcoff will score a meaningless one with minutes left.
I was just looking at the standings and noticed something. The Oilers have the same amount of goals for that Chicago has. Yet, they are in first place and Edmonton is last....... Chicago has allowed only 74 goals while the Oil have allowed 123. Yikes!!!!
Ditto.
Merry Christmas OilersNation!
What's the over/under Gregor comes homes with Costa Rican cooties?
I'll take 'yes' for 100 clams
Not sure if this is correct, but as per Sportsnet.ca:
Penner-Gagner-Nilsson
Stone-Horcoff-Brule
Moreau-Cogliano-Stortini
Jacques-Potulny-O'Sullivan
Also, sounds like Potulny missed his flight back from the Christmas break (as per Sportsnet's HockeyCentral) and missed the morning skate. He may have already made it to Van City by now, but they weren't sure for sure if he'd be there in time or not. Perhaps that is why they have him on the 4th line.
BROWNLEE?
All I know is that Taylor Hall is gonna look damn good playing with Eberle and MPS next year
"I was just looking at the standings and noticed something. The Oilers have the same amount of goals for that Chicago has. Yet, they are in first place and Edmonton is last....... Chicago has allowed only 74 goals while the Oil have allowed 123. Yikes!!!!"
And yet the fan base is constantly banging their drum elite offensive talent. Give this team 3/4 competent 2 way players in the prime of their careers and it's back in the mix.
~hey, captain obvious got a new common sense machine for christmas!~
@ RC
Ha-ha, poor O'sully, deeper into the doghouse. He's quickly turning into this years Penner.
Why is everyone so quick to assume MPS will be in the lineup next season? Along with Eberle and their "superstar" draft pick? I don't think anyone outside of hockey circles (read: fans) has a real clue as to whether or not MPS can play next year. I think its probably a safer bet to assume he's one more year away. That could change next September, but here Oil fan goes setting the bar awfully high again. Is there room for both Eberle & Svensson? Eberle & Cogliano? And the 'new' kid?
My thoughts... can they really afford to add yet another 'smurf' without subtracting one? Eberle is here next year, taking Cogliano's spot as he gets traded sometime this season or in the off-season. MPS plays next year in Sweden or Springfield (or Oklahoma or wherever the farm team is next year. Is it in Springfield for another year?)
Enjoy the game tonight fella's. I have a feeling the kool-aid will be flowing in full muthafunkin effizzay. Oil win!
I can definitely say I was happy to see a 4 point night for MPS.
I'll take yes for 100 crabs.
^^^^^ i cant wait to be an oiler
Keep losing... why would i wanna be on the Carolina beaches.. Cmon now!
The Oilers are inspired after watching the Canada-Latvia game and obliterate the Canucks 16-0...or possibly the other way around...
Forget the over under on crabs, who wants to take the odds on Canuckle fans starting the Oilers suck chant off of the first sign of body contact?!
tell me where I said this was going to happen with the Oilers? Please do tell me where I said "Hall is gonna look damn good in an Oilers jersey playing with Eberle and MPS"? cause I don't see it.
Let it be known I have convinced 4 Australians to watch this live on the net and I have found a bottle of rye. Merry Christmas, don't disappoint Oil!
I think I've seen that movie. It didn't end well.
Good work by the Oil in the final minutes of that period. I think they have mustered up enough hustle to sufficiently break our hearts in the third now. Nothing left but to sit back, relax and soil my self in shame and defeat.
That didn't seem so bad, reasonable jump. Brule gets mad ice time now I see.
Is it just you and I tonight Wanye? Has it come to this?
Luongo is a wuss.
Fun while it lasted. But seriously, the puck leaves the playing area in the opposite zone. How is that still a delay of game. Thats just plain bad luck.
That was a huge fight by Stortini. Rypien is a buzzsaw when he goes and Stortini handled him well.
Although I couldn't say who won.
Well while I love the intensity... STAY out of the box guys. We have a horrible PK these days.
It is us Shaun, but that's ok. That Potulny is a sho nuff playa
@Wanye
*C-c-c-combo breaker* Yeah I like this simple hockey game he brings in. Kinda like a young red-head with better hands.
Storts should learn how to throw a punch. What's with the forearm shivers?
I think Storts was punching while blocking. Rypien swings like a mental patient having fits so its best to cover your face as often as possible.
I actually think this isn't going badly at all. Ill take bets the Oil pull it out. Anyone?