Edmonton Oilers
@ Calgary Flames

Tuesday, Feb 21, 2012, 7:00 PM MST
Scotiabank Saddledome

Matchsticks and Gasoline

Net Management - FlamesNation
This weekend's recall of goaltender Henrik Karlsson and subsequent assignment of Leland Irving to Abbotsford had many wondering what exactly the Calgary Flames were thinking. Over the past months since Karlsson's injury in Vancouver, Irving has proven himself more than capable as an NHL backup and has given the team a consistent chance to win, something Karlsson hasn't done as consistenly. There is little argument Irving gives the team the best chance to win when Miikka Kiprusoff needs a rest, so, why has he been demoted to the American Hockey League?

Odds and Ends and Questions - FlamesNation
I was thinking about the first Olli Jokinen trade the other day and it's impact on the Calgary Flames since it occurred. I mean, how many moves in the past 3 years have had some relation to it? Obviously, if the first trade doesn't happen, then Calgary probably keeps their first rounder, Brandon Prust and Matthew Lombardi. The Flames don't have that insane salary crunch late in the year when the injury bug hits, and that maybe allows them to stay in 3rd going into the playoffs. They have more forward depth (and we never see Warren Peters) in the first round, and they play against lesser competition. Maybe they win that round or they go long enough to see Mark Giordano and Robyn Regehr get a little healthier. (Worth noting that in my opinion the 08-09 team prior to the Jokinen trade was probably the 3rd best Flames team ever constructed.)

2012 NHL Trade Deadline: Utter Blasphemy (Or Why I'd Take Jeff Carter Over Rick Nash) - Matchsticks and Gasoline
With both Columbus stars theoretically available at the trade deadline, the talk has shifted from "I'm not sure I'd want Jeff Carter" to "WOWEE DO I SURE WANT RICK NASH", seemingly without regard to actual production and future production. While that reaction shift is certainly entertaining, it's also off base for several reasons: production, contract, "reputation", and value of draft picks.

The Tardy Version Of Whatever The Hell It Is I Do Around Here (Last Decade) - Matchsticks and Gasoline
I thought hard about it though, and I feel he's worthy of the spot. Tommy Boy played 3 games this week on the second line , a role he's likely never played in his 10 year NHL career. Thrust into second line service from some pretty debilitating injuries from the team's core, Kostopoulos didn't look too out of place most of the time on a wing with Mike Cammalleri, who suddenly seems to be finding his game, and the also kinda new to bigger minutes Blake Comeau.

Ryan Smyth -- Shawn Horcoff – Ryan Jone
Taylor Hall – Sam Gagner – Jordan Eberle
Magnus Paajarvi – Anton Lander – Ales Hemsky
Ben Eager – Eric Belanger – Lennart Petrell

Ladislav Smid – Jeff Petry
Ryan Whitney – Tom Gilbert
Andy Sutton – Cam Barker

Devan Dubnyk

G59 Oilers at Flames - Lowetide
Ales Hemsky is an outstanding talent, and the truth is that he has miles and miles to go.

Kevin Lowe On The Success Of The Detroit Red Wings, The Failings Of Ilya Kovalchuk - Cult of Hockey
One of the managers he interviewed was Kevin Lowe, who built the 2006 Oilers team that came within a single win of a Stanley Cup. There’s a lot to the book and I’ll undoubtedly be referencing comments made by Lowe and others, but I wanted to start today with Lowe’s take on the Detroit Red Wings and what makes them successful. I’ve split the following quote into parts to make individual points stand out, but aside from that it is entirely as presented in Farris’ book:

Today's Frustrated Edmonton Fan: OilOnWhyte

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Vancouver Canucks
@ Edmonton Oilers

Sunday, Feb 19, 2012, 7:00 PM MST
Rexall Place

Nucks Misconduct

Milan Lucic's Church Vandalized in Vancouver - CanucksArmy
According to Milan Lucic's girlfriend Brittany Carnegie, who tweeted the photo you see above: Milan Lucic's family church, Saint Archangel Michael Serbian Orthodox Church in Burnaby, was desecrated by graffiti which, targeted the Bruins power-forward.

Gillis Angrily Declares "No True Scotsman!" - CanucksArmy
Responsible citizens, responsible fans, to behave responsibly, and that you’re not part of our fan base if you choose to be irresponsible -- whether you’re celebrating or you’re angry or whatever you are.

A Second Consecutive 'Once in a Lifetime' Season - CanucksArmy
Still, as far as regular seasons go it was unlike anything that anyone in Vancouver had ever witnessed and the thinking heading into this season was that the 2011-12 Canucks should be very good again, but none of what they did last season could possibly be duplicated. Teams simply don’t get on those types of rolls last season’s Canucks had year after year. Or do they?

The Good, The Bad and the Working Overtime - CanucksArmy
Has there been any Canucks player as exciting as David Booth lately? In my house the answer is no. We are very Booth friendly here. I remember back in October when yet another Canucks/Panthers trade was announced. Ryan Kesler needed a new line mate and who better than someone that he’d already played with (in the junior and minor league.)

Magnus Paajarvi – Shawn Horcoff – Ales Hemsky
Taylor Hall – Sam Gagner – Jordan Eberle
Ryan Smyth – Eric Belanger – Ryan Jones
Ben Eager – Anton Lander – Lennart Petrell

Ladislav Smid – Jeff Petry
Ryan Whitney – Tom Gilbert
Andy Sutton – Cam Barker

Nikolai Khabibulin

G58 Canucks at Oilers - Lowetide
The Oilers have a tremendous number of depth players who are not only underperforming their contracts, it is a mystery they are on the team. I’ll name Anton Lander and Lennart Petrell, but you could also include Theo Peckham, Corey Potter after the injury and Devan Dubnyk has also been disappointing. We’ve discussed Eager and Hordichuk before, the main problem I have with these players is having them on the roster at all, but I don’t know that we can say Darcy Hordichuk has failed to deliver on what we might have expected from him.

Today's Frustrated Edmonton Fan: JimRoepcke

Games remaining in Ales Hemsky's Edmonton career: 4

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Colorado Avalanche
@ Edmonton Oilers

Friday, Feb 17, 2012, 7:30 PM MST
Rexall Place

Mile High Hockey

Avalanche at Oilers Preview of Dread - Mile High Hockey
The Avs continue their 3-game Canadian road trip of terror in Edmonton tonight taking on the 2nd to last place Oilers. The Avalanche have been playing fairly well of late, but not getting the results they need to get a skate in the playoff door. Both Erik Johnson and Semyon Varlamov (1-3-0 vs Oilers) are coming off strong performances Tuesday night. Johnson in particular has been a beast the past few games and is taking the sting out of the departure of Chris GD Stewart (the "GD" now stands for "goal decline").

Avs at the deadline - February
The trade deadline is an exciting time for any team and their fans, and I can only imagine agony for players and their families. There are less than 2 weeks until the NHL trade deadline. The Avs are on the playoff bubble, so what do they do?

Colorado Avalanche Roster Moves - Mile High Hockey
The Avalanche and Monsters have just announced that goalie Cedrick Dejardins and forward Mark Olver have been recalled from Lake Erie. Tyson Barrie has been reassigned. Moving Barrie isn't a surprise as the team had 8 healthy forwards defensemen with Ryan Wilson returning from the flu.

Ask the MHH expert. - Mile High Hockey
The first question comes from Quietstorm560. He wants an explanation of the three point games. Until recently all games were only worth two points, a win was worth two points wereas a loss was worth only one point. Now, as soon as a game gets into an overtime situation both teams get a point, then the winner gets another point. This leads to a theoritical three point game. Let's have an example:

Moore wins the first battle against Bertuzzi - Mile High Hockey
You may recall that not too long ago, Todd Bertuzzi, Orca Bay Hockey Ltd. (the company that owns the Vancouver Canucks) and Marc Crawford settled out of court their third-party lawsuits that came as a result of the $38 million civil suit Steve Moore filed against Bertuzzi for the sucker punch that ended Moore's career in 2004.

Magnus Paajarvi – Shawn Horcoff – Ales Hemsky
Taylor Hall – Sam Gagner – Jordan Eberle
Ryan Smyth – Eric Belanger – Ryan Jones
Ben Eager – Anton Lander – Lennart Petrell

Ladislav Smid – Jeff Petry
Ryan Whitney – Cam Barker
Andy Sutton – Tom Gilbert

Nikolai Khabibulin

G57 Avalanche at Oilers - Lowetide
The Nuge has been out for so long I can barely remember the sublime passes, the sixth sense around the net and the anticipation that bordered on Keonesque. I sure hope he returns, my short term memory isn’t what it was, well, awhile back. I think the Oilers probably have three keepers up front in Hall, RNH and Jordan Eberle, plus Sam Gagner has done a lot to impress lately. I’d like to remind you that last season’s 5×5/60 for Gags (1.91) looks fine next to this year’s number (2.33).

Today's Frustrated Edmonton Fan: bpolivchuk

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Toronto Maple Leafs
@ Edmonton Oilers

Wednesday, Feb 15, 2012, 8:00 PM MST
Rexall Place

Pension Plan Puppets

Do The Leafs Need A Change? - Pension Plan Puppets
Recently lots of talk has been in the offing around what and where the Leafs need to change if they hope to make the playoffs. The main stream media has been discussing the trade possibilities posed by this young Leafs squad, and much of this is due to Brian Burke's stated view that he would like to make moves that improve his team's long term outlook. This does not mean the team should - or will - mortgage the future in order to pick up veterans for a push right now. But if a trade is made, what do the Leafs need more of?

Forget About the Unicorns Please - Pension Plan Puppets
After last night, the Leafs now find themselves on their worst losing streak of the season and going into the tail end of a back-to-back against a rested, and quick Oilers squad. Those four straight losses may soon become five. Things aren't so hot in Leafs Nation at the moment.

PPP's Top 25 Under 25 - #2 Jake Gardiner - Pension Plan Puppets
Since the lockout, many defenceman have burst into the league as rookies, made the transition almost seamlessly, earned praise from virtually every corner of the league, and significantly raised expectations going forward.

Magnus Paajarvi – Shawn Horcoff – Ales Hemsky
Taylor Hall – Sam Gagner – Jordan Eberle
Ryan Smyth – Eric Belanger – Ryan Jones
Ben Eager – Anton Lander – Lennart Petrell

Ladislav Smid – Jeff Petry
Ryan Whitney – Cam Barker
Andy Sutton – Tom Gilbert

Nikolai Khabibulin

Oilers, Leafs – Game 56 – Putting on the Foil
I predict a rather boring game, with both teams playing like shit. Maybe lots of screen time to Burke looking surly and Tambellini looking quite pleased with himself.

G56 Leafs at Oilers - Lowetide
Center Anton Lander: Everyone, and I mean everyone, I talk to raves about this guy’s leadership ability and desire. He’s got a little crust too. I sincerely wish we were talking about him doing excellent things in the AHL but that wasn’t to be this season.

Today's Frustrated Edmonton Fan: Denny_Sawchuk

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Edmonton Oilers
@ Ottawa Senators

Saturday, Feb 11, 2012, 12:00 PM MST
Scotiabank Place

Silver Seven

Even strength scoring - Silver Seven
Jason Spezza leads the Senators with 36 even strength points, but do you know who is second? It's Nick Foligno with 30, two ahead of Erik Karlsson and Daniel Alfredsson. In terms of per 60 minutes of 5-on-5, Foligno is in fact leading the way with 2.41 points per 60 minutes.

The Noon Number: 45.8 - Silver Seven
Last night's win over the Nashville Predators, combined with some relatively positive results in other games (most notably the Toronto Maple Leafs' loss to the Philadelphia Flyers) increased the Sens' chances 5.74 per cent since 24 hours ago.

The noon number: Six - Silver Seven
6 - The number of starts Craig Anderson has made for the Ottawa Senators in the past 18 days, as of today. As your math skills can tell you, that's one start every three days. That pace is hardly the grind alarmist statements like, "Craig Anderson has started 18 consecutive games!" are so eager to imply. For the more visual among you, here is a beautiful feast for your eyeballs:

Magnus Paajarvi - Shawn Horcoff - Ales Hemsky
Taylor Hall - Sam Gagner - Jordan Eberle
Ryan Smyth - Eric Belanger - Ryan Jones
Ben Eager - Anton Lander - Lennart Petrell

Ladislav Smid - Tom Gilbert
Ryan Whitney -Jeff Petry
Andy Sutton - Corey Potter

Nikolai Khabibulin

G55 Oilers at Senators - Lowetide
There are things that can be salvaged from a lost season. Magnus Paajarvi was lost early, worse later and by the time they sent him to the minors everyone (including the kid) thought it was a good idea. If MP can gain some confidence and finish strong, well that’s one fewer question to answer over the summer.

Today's Frustrated Edmonton Fan: Denny_Sawchuk

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Edmonton Oilers
@ Detroit Red Wings

Wednesday, Feb 8, 2012, 5:30 PM MST
Joe Louis Arena

Winging It In Motown

Home Sweet Joe - Winging It In Motown
It's been a run of historic proportions. The Wings have already broken their previous home win streak of 14 games. The old record was set during the 1964-65 season by the likes of Gordie Howe, Alex Delvecchio, Norm Ullman and Ted Lindsay. This season the streak has been led by the usual names of Pavel Datsyuk and Nicklas Lidstrom and guys who have taken the next step this season like Jimmy Howard and Valtteri Filppula.

STOP WITH THE WHINING ABOUT MULE! - Winging It In Motown
Since I'm usually the eternal optimist around these parts, this may be a bit jarring for some. Let me lay it out for you what's been bugging me. It's like a broken record. No complaining is going to change any situation or player. Let's face it, you know who I'm talking about. He's our Mule. He can be a goal scorer and contributes on the top lines more often than not. There are times when he disappears, only to reappear and take over a period. That's just how it goes.

Red Wings Face Goalie Conundrum - The Hockey Writers
Conklin was on a short leash, and while Detroit is often patient with its players to a fault, they expected more from Conklin this season, and they’re not happy with what they’ve gotten. That short leash is what allowed Joey MacDonald to leap frog his way into the net so easily, but how short of a leash is Joey on, and do the Red Wings have confidence in him in the first place?

Red Wings road woes continue - The Hockey Writers
It’s hard to pin point what exactly makes the Wings so inconsistent away from the Joe but here’s what they did on their recent road trip.

2013 Winter Classic To Be Officially Announced Thursday - The Hockey Writers
For the few that may not have heard all the speculation, next year’s Winter Classic will be contested between the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Detroit will be the home team and the game will be played at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor dubbed "The Big House."

Magnus Paajarvi - Shawn Horcoff - Ales Hemsky
Taylor Hall - Sam Gagner - Jordan Eberle
Ryan Smyth - Eric Belanger - Ryan Jones
Ben Eager - Anton Lander - Lennart Petrell

Ladislav Smid - Tom Gilbert
Ryan Whitney -Jeff Petry
Cam Barker - Corey Potter

G54 Oilers at Red Wings - Lowetide
I look forward to watching this team, mostly because Eberle and Hall do things other Oiler phenoms couldn’t do over the years. Sam Gagner has either turned a corner or peaked, and these are the last days of the Hemsky era and when it ends it’ll be forever. I know he’s the first off the ice at practice, but for me the actual games are what counts and since his arrival the Pardubice Prince has entertained and amazed.

Ken Holland's Draft Success - The Copper & Blue
Even though he's competing against a portion of himself, Holland torched the league overall. He was better than the league average in each section, including 7x better in the 51-100 slots and 2x or more better than the league average in the 101-200 and 201+ slots.

Today's Frustrated Edmonton Fan: elQuain

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Edmonton Oilers
@ Toronto Maple Leafs

Monday, Feb 6, 2012, 5:00 PM MST
Air Canada Centre

Pension Plan Puppets

How to Value Mikhail Grabovski - Pension Plan Puppets
He is only in his 4th season the NHL. He’s a little older than some players in their 4th season, but even so, it still takes time to get used to the best opponents in the world. I personally think Grabovski’s finally found his niche (last year) and will be able to maintain this level of play for a few years, though I don’t know if he’s got much more improving to do.

PPP's Top 25 Under 25 - #6 Nazem Kadri - Pension Plan Puppets
In almost 20 years of following the Toronto Maple Leafs, I cannot remember a Maple Leaf drafted prospect that oozed raw skill like Nazem Kadri does.

Brian Burke interview on The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos - Pension Plan Puppets
Brian Burke interview on The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos.

A Day of Remembrance - Pension Plan Puppets
Today marks the two year anniversary of Brendan Burke's sudden and tragic death in an automobile accident. Brendan was one of the first individuals in the hockey world to come out as a homosexual. Brendan Burke started something significant that has undoubtedly touched many lives. Brendan Burke made a difference. Today, Maple Leafs Hot Stove (please visit their site today to see their amazing piece on Brendan. I cannot do it justice) and Pension Plan Puppets ask that you try to make a difference as well.

Shawn Horcoff - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - Ales Hemsky
Taylor Hall - Sam Gagner - Jordan Eberle
Ryan Smyth - Eric Belanger - Ryan Jones
Ben Eager - Anton Lander - Lennart Petrell

Ladislav Smid - Jeff Petry
Ryan Whitney - Corey Potter
Cam Barker - Andy Sutton

Signs of Progress? - Oil Acumen
There are 30 games left on the schedule for the Oilers' 2011-12 season, and plenty of questions to be asked about how things are going. There have been a lot of criticisms, and long stretches of the year have been a struggle. But are things getting better? Below is a look at a few key areas after 52 games.

Say goodbye to Hemsky Oil fans - Jeanshorts And Baggedmilk
From what my source told me "There is absolutely no way he will be an Oiler after the deadline."

G53 Oilers at Leafs - Lowetide
The Steve Tambellini extension should come this week or next, and with it another round of gasps and eye rolls. The truth is none of it matters. Mr. Katz has his building, the current cement pond is full or close to and the GM is making enough progress to retain his job.

Oilers at Maple Leafs – Putting on the Foil
So tonight the Oilers face the Maple Leafs. The Oilers are pretty hot as of late, having earned 9 out of a possible 10 points in their last 5 games. The same can be said of the Leafs, themselves, who are on a streak of their own as they try to make the playoffs for the first time under the new CBA.

Today's Frustrated Edmonton Fan: amy_m_bull

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