A Copper Moon in a dark Navy sky and a Oilers Christmas wish..

Last night in Edmonton we had a once in a multi generation experience, a Lunar Eclipse on the winter solstice! It has been some 373 years since the last and will be 400 years to the next.
When I looked up into that dark midnight sky with a tint of dark navy canvas the full moon slowly became a surreal sight while it disappeared behind the planet. It was covered in a orange-copper glow against the navy canvas of a cold December 20 night on the first day on winter 2010.

Could this be a sign? A first for ever event in the history of NHL were a #1 draft pick leads his team into the playoffs and makes it to the cup final?
Or is it just a dream of a loyal Oiler fan?
I don't know maybe it's a bit of both or the musing from someone who was up to late and had a wee bit too much too much to drink but either way it makes for an exciting bunch of hockey after the Christmas break.

Perhaps the root cause of this pondering is all the recent talk from coach Renney and fellow Oilers fans on the prospect of the recent decent Oilers play leading to a play off birth. What would be best? Finish low and get another top draft pick or  squeak  into the playoffs only to be tossed in the first round?
In order for the Oilers to make it into the playoffs they will need a bit of luck and continued hard work with the help of a trade or. The goals for would need to be at an average of 3.72 per game and power play at 20% plus.
My Christmas wish for the team is to continue to grow, learn and win. If they win enough make into the playoffs, then go far or don't make it all and if the later then just miss the playoffs, get in the draft lottery and continue the rebuild.
I just hope the Oilers continue to entertain and show the promise of the future this team has.

NOW DROP THE PUCK ALREADY!!

The Trouble With Winning

Well there is some sense of panic by some when it comes to the Oilers 2 game skid but then what did you any reasonable Oiler fan expect?
Yes we had a very nice and surprising winning streak going but one has to be honest and understand that was not the way it will be this year. Yes the players and coaching staff want to win, play to win and expect to win every game as they should. If they didn't play that way there would be huge issues but too the fans we expect to see an effort, growth this year sprinkled with some disappointments and surprises along the way. The recent winning streak is just one of the pleasant surprises this but will not be the normal this year.
The problems of this recent winning streak were reflected  in the last win against tampa were the Oilers generated a whopping 1 shot in the third and even more apparent with the next two losses against vancouver and then Toronto.
The team got to too confident, too cocky and fell in that crazy habit of many past Oiler teams of "why shoot when I can pass". It is like they forget what got them the wins, hard work, solid basic play, going to the net and taking the shot! The last couple of games it is like they were more concerned about making the pretty TSN HON play that actually sticking to the basics and just shooting the puck and crashing the net.
The next games will be a real test of the coaching staff and the players themselves. Can they get out of this slump and be competitive again? Will we see solid efforts again? will they get back to the basics of pressure in all zones, shooting the puck and crashing the net? We can only hope that they learn from this past winning streak and shot drought of the past few games.

NOW DROP THE PUCK ALREADY!

Oilers November Review

Yes it is a few days late but here is my Oilers review of November.
It started of good with two home games we should have won against Vancouver and then Detroit but as usual we came out slow, fell behind and just couldn't catch up. Also we were haunted by an ex-oiler situation what with Torres getting a hat trick with 2/3 three goals of the fluky kind. Our defensive play was and still is lacking-to be kind.

Then came our annual November rodeo road trip. It started with a another surprising road win in Chicago but went to crap in a big hurry after that. We got our asses handed to us by Carolina, Detroit. Put in an effort in Jersey only to get completely humiliated by the Rangers and a bonus experience from NHL's lead moron Avery.


 We then came home where the Hawks got some revenge on us from the previous losses. We showed some signs of being a team with decent games against the 'yotes, a win in Duck country only to get schooled in Phoenix and a horrible display by the Oilers as a whole.

This appears to have been a turning point. Coach Renney told it like it was and called out the team which they deserved. What I liked best was how he said there was no respect for the jersey, the history the team they were playing for. Spot on Tom!

We appeared to be a different team after that, a good win against Colorado, solid effort in a loss against the Sharks. The month ended on the road with a win in Ottawa which carried over to two more wins in Montreal and Toronto, the start of our first four game win streak in a very long time.

My grades of the team;

Overall - C+  A tough month but as this year is all about growth, rebuild we seemed to have learned from our losses, mistakes and are playing like we belong. I truly believe we will look back at this month as a key month in the growth of the new Oilers.

Defence - D  Still looking bad and lost at times, hard times getting the puck out of our end. But some good hope there, Peckham is developing nicely, Gilbert is getting his game back and Whitney has become our leading point getter, no goals but lots of assists.

Offense - B   Better and better. My most pleasant surprise is Jones. Love this kid. Playing hard, getting big goals and causing trouble for other teams. Hall has got his confidence and wholly crap this kid is amazing. Eberle and MPS have cooled off but playing a key role in the exciting hockey the Oil are playing now, the future is looking great!

Goal - B-  Solid work by Khabbi who unfortunately got hurt. Management finally made a decision on the goalies, Dubnyk is our back up and I feel is the right choice. Gerber came up in relief of the injured Khabbi and did himself proud.

Coaching & Management - B  Had concerns about Renney but seems to have the team going in the right direction, playing well and learning from mistakes and growing as a team. Management finally made a decision on our goalie treble, finally down to 2 and the right two.

Oiler Fans - D  Have been very disappointed with this new group of bandwagon jumping, know it all so called Oiler fans. Some of the comments I have read in various media have been just disgusting, ripping apart everything Oiler. What the hell did these clowns expect? The Oilers to be a contender this year? If that is the case your as dumb as a puck! fuck off and go be a Canuck fan as we don't need your type! This and next year is all about re-building, it is going to be frustrating, hard to watch at times but will also have signs of hope for the future. If building a a contender was as easy as some of your clowns suggest why aren't you running a team in the NHL? Tape up your broken bandwagon  broken ankles
and put on the fish jersey from the west coast!

NOW DROP THE PUCK ALREADY!