Around the Sphere: Nov 17, 2008

One of the most common critiques of OilersNation is our lack of a blogroll (to date). Since there is a ton of quality writing going on about the Oilers in the various corners of the internet, I thought I’d throw up a mess of links for anyone who has a couple of free hours on a Monday afternoon.

Let’s start with Lowetide. Today’s post is a game-day thread for the Oilers/Red Wings tilt tonight. With 77 comments already, it’s already busy.

Pat McLean, the story-teller and man (myth? legend?) behind Black Dog Hates Skunks writes in detail about Craig MacTavish, and suggests that he may be in some trouble. It’s a common sentiment these days, and MacLean does a good job of explaining why.

If you don’t like Craig MacTavish, you’ve got some company at Bryanbryoil’s Place, which mentions his demise in 4 different blog entries. There’s also a nice post about Geoff Paukovich, which is worth the read because few fans pay as much attention to the Springfield Falcons.

Coming Down the Pipe! is a blog run by the guys at the Pipeline show, Dean Millard and Guy Flaming. For prospect information, these guys are seriously plugged in, and today Flaming talks about Devan Dubnyk.

Have you ever wondered what kind of rule changes the NHL has instituted for powerplay situations? Me neither, but the comprehensive history is the subject of Bruce’s latest post, and it gives some perspective on the architecture of the game of hockey; perspective that Gary Bettman and his minions could certainly use.

I’ve long been a fan of the work that Tyler and Dennis do at mc79hockey.com, and Tyler’s latest post is no exception. Have you ever wondered why Craig MacTavish likes his powerplay lines and even strength lines to be, if not identical, at least very similar? Turns out there’s a good reason. There are a bunch of excellent comments after the post, as well.

David Staples, the hockey hobbyist who writes for the Edmonton Journal, and one of the most prolific bloggers out there, leaps to the defense of Dustin Penner, arguing that the fault lies less with Penner and more with the way he has been used by Craig MacTavish.

All Oil…all the Time! reflects on the loss to Toronto and the team in general, but reminds us all that the Leafs haven’t won anything since 1967.

Frustration seems to be a common sentiment among Oilers fans as we watch the inconsistent play of the squad. At Punjabi Oil, LittleFury looks at his own commitment issues with the team.

Bringing Back the Glory tosses some philosophy at the Lowe/Burke feud, in light of Burke’s “release” from the Anaheim Ducks.

After the Green Light is Dawgbone’s relatively new blog, but so far in its short existence, there’s been a remarkable amount of quality content. His latest piece is a thorough analysis of Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers, that reads like a letter from his goaltending coach.

Irreverent Oiler Fans introduces us to Shawnomir Viscoff, a pretty good two-headed monster who compares favourably to other similar players, like Nikrik Lidsterberg. This particular Vic Ferrari post also shows some fun with numbers, for those of you with statistical inclinations.