The Fate of the Kid Line

Predictions

Will Robbie Schremp keep up his scoring pace? Will Gilbert Brule be a factor in upcoming games? Will Sam Gagner and Robert Nilsson come back from injury and take their roster spots back with a vengeance?

The game in San Jose was a big win but let's be honest -- the Oilers were chasing pucks and not defending players. Back-to-back games or not, it's simple hockey not to chase the puck but to play the man. I was surprised at the poise of some of the younger players in the last game.

Please leave your comments and predictions.

Baptism by Hemsky

The answer to the age old question of "Who made God?" has been discovered. The answer is Ales Hemsky.

Robbie Schremp, HockeyJesus himself, when placed next to Hemsky, made it apparent to all whose "right hand" the Bible's been talking about all along. Ales Hemsky's.

And the Los Angeles Kings experienced a Baptism by Hemsky tonight. Great move for the shootout winner and better move for the Penner tying goal.

Just amazing.

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During the Game...

... some breakouts were sloppy as hell but great puck movement was shown by Visnovsky, Gilbert, Grebeshkov, and Ethan Moreau.

... Erik Cole and Shawn Horcoff were dangerous all night.

... something dangerous happened everytime Schremp and Staios were on the ice. The difference? Schremp makes it happen in the offensive zone and Staios makes it happen in the defensive zone.

... Garon let out a lot of juicy rebounds.

... it was apparent that Brodziak was squeezing his stick a little too hard but he still managed to do all the simple things right, like get pucks deep. One notably bad giveaway in the defensive zone - but hey, mistakes happen.

... Souray played like a monster with a lasers. Except that his lasers are his slapshots and instead of coming out of his eyes like any decent laser-wielding monster, they come off the blade of his stick. Who woulda thunkit?

... Ales Hemsky showed why he is the most valuable Oiler player in at least about a decade. Yes, I must say even more than my favorite former/current Oiler, Tommy Salo.

... the Oilers couldn't kill off L.A. PPs. Work on it.

... Strudwick looked better as a forward than he did as a defenseman. He should stay there because Smid looked good.

... Marc-Antoine Pouliot looked like a good hockey player tonight. Was at all the right places to receive passes and backchecked like a demon. Might sense some movement in the "Prospect, Player, or Trade Bait" rankings if he keeps this up. Same goes for Schremp.

... Liam Reddox looked useful playing different roles. Love this hockey player.

... Dustin Penner was dominant.

... the Oilers disappeared for the second period.

... the Oilers showed that they cannot keep the lead if their lives depended on it.

... the Oilers showed what kind of depth the organization has with 4 regulars (5 if you count Jeff Drouin-DesLauriers) out with injuries large and small.

... Andrew Cogliano beat Jarret Stoll on the faceoff. There is hope after all.

... the Oilers won puck battles. Time to translate that hard work and success to the PK.

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Gilbert Brule plays tomorrow against the NHL leading San Jose Sharks. Gulp. Brule has 8 goals and 4 assists so he's a shoot first kind of player. Could have a drastically different impact on this team than a Sam Gagner or a Jason Strudwick.

Also, can Schremp keep up his scoring pace of 1.5 pts/GP? So far, some people may say that Cogliano makes Schremp look a lot better than he is. I'd argue that Schremp has made Pouliot look a lot better than he is, though Mr. Chicken has put in some hard work in the last two games himself. I think having those 3 elements - speed, skill, and "rough and tumble" are giving this line success.

But is it sustainable?

Need proof of their imminent success? They're already Legends of Hockey, apparently.

( Gilbert Brule, Robbie Schremp )

Revenge: Oilers @ Kings and NHL on Avery

Interesting little wallpaper I found on Google with an ironic twist. It's Mr. sloppy-seconds himself during his Los Angeles Kings days.

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Oilers @ Kings, 8:30 PM

We need to win this game because of the 2-1 loss back in November when the team was non-existent for 60 minutes. This keeps in line with our current trend of getting games back for wins we should've won. For example, the 5-2 shallacking of Dallas earlier this week in return for the 4-3 loss in Dallas.

Hopefully, we keep up the intensity and I'll be raring for HockeyJesus the Schremp to get some points.

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Sean Avery Gets 6 Games - TSN

I'm amazed that the NHL, a league that thinks that shoulders to the heads of players that cause concussions are legal would think that sloppy seconds, something that could mean anything from sex with multiple partners to mountains of leftover pancakes, could be found offensive. The range of denotations and connotations are humongous. Sure, it's within context of his personal life. But why are we involved in his personal life anyway? Because he wants us to be - or because we choose to keep publishing his words or airing his interviews?

Whatever happened to sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me?

The truth: the NHL can't stand someone who is willing to feed their own b.s. back to them. This is why Bettman, Campbell, Daly and others are picking on this guy. Is Avery the neighbourhood bully? No. That's because Phaneuf would've kicked his ass. But now Avery gets the scorn of the media, the NHL fans, and still has to face the wrath of the Calgary Flames when he continues his career.

Not exactly fair to the guy.

Schremp - - Shades of Smyth

I think the photo says it all.

Good win by the Oilers and perhaps they found the spark they needed after all.

Stars @ Oilers & Avery Quotable Quotes

Garon starts. Robbie Schremp plays for Nilsson. The legend continues.

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Proof that readers and writers of our OilersNation have more common sense than TSN

By Jeanshorts:

"I have always hated Sean Avery and the fact that most, if not all of his team, and his GM hate him just as much as everyone else in the league makes me giddy.
And lets be honest, the only reason he’s still in the league is because he’s good at pissing off every single person around him. Because the dude doesn’t hit, doesn’t fight, he can barely handle the puck and he’s a career third liner at best.

But I think it’s ridiculous that the league suspended him for making fun of no one in particular. Sure you know it was aimed at Shrek, but he didn’t come right out and trash him personally. If that kind of thing warrents a suspension then god forbid the league gets anywhere within hearing distance of the ice during a game, because you know that the stuff that comes out in the coarse of a game is 20 times worse. Let the players police themselves, and you won’t get Sean Avery’s running their mouths without fear of retaliation."

"Someone made a really good point on Off The Record yesterday. Basically, if he would have said it on the ice, like you said, no one would have known and it would have been taken care of by the players. But since he did say it in a media scrum and it got all this immediate attention, now Double Dion has to deal with it with his wooms, and now she is involved personally.

I still don’t agree he should have had that thick NHL rule book hurled at him by the Munchkin King in New York, but leave it to the NHL to have knee jerk reactions about everything."

By ThoughtPolice:

"I can’t believe that they suspended Avery over this of all things. Everyone is applauding this decision but it was made at completely the wrong time IMO. Why not punish him for his racial slurs against Georges and Gauthier? things he said to Tucker? And numerous other altercations?

His comment today was harmless only meant to rile up Phaneuf and his ex. I agree it wasn’t smart to say or kind but since when do we censor people for speaking their mind when the speech is clean?….since today in the NHL i guess."

By oilboy76:

"I see what your saying, and I think if this was an isolated incident(ie:not someone like Avery who’s always running on like a soup sandwich) it would of been dismissed as being an ignorant and rude remark."

By Travis Dakin:

"What Avery said was true, plain and simple. At the end of the day, we don’t know what has been said and done in their personal lives that may have contributed to Avery saying what he said. Fact is he may have been over the line with the comments, but he was ready to back it up on the ice. I admire that. Now go back to your bible and pay for the power of christ to compel Avery of his wicked ways. Do you see that black thing on your coffee table with all the buttons? Use it to change the channel or turn the TV off. I’m sure you are capable of making your own decisions as to what you would like to watch or not. Ridiculous."

"You cheer for a game where fighting is allowed and attempts to injure players go pretty much un-punished because that’s “rough and tough hockey” and yet when a player says something to anger another player and is ready to back it up, you get your panties all bunched up in a knot because some moral code was broken? If you want to play moral police, go preach to some sunday school kids. Otherwise, let the grown men playing a game for a living be themselves. And like I said, He was ready to back it up on the ice that same night. Had he said it from across the continent with no fear of retribution, I’d say he was a pussy. But no, just a damn fine showman and funny as hell."

And finally, Scott Gallof, a blogger from Hockeybuzz.com:

"When the NHL decided to suspend Sean Avery for meaningless comments he made in an interview, a big opportunity was lost to actually generate some interest and buzz about a game. The very second Sean Avery was moved from the line up for last night's game against Dion Phanenuf and the Calgary Flames all national interest in said game was gone. The casual American public needs story lines and drama to be interested. Now I wish I could sit here and state that the public should watch for the beauty of the game, and gosh darn it they should, but this is reality.

You need to know your buyers when you try to sell something. Gary Bettman and the rest of the NHL brass seem to have no idea to what the typical American audience is actually genuinely looking for. Sometimes you need to have that Reggie Dunlop ideology and make the people crazy and clamor for something.

If the league really feels the need to punish Sean Avery for those oh-so not nice, hurtful, callous comments, then slap him with a huge fine and go after his Gucci wallet, but let the conflict resolve where it needs to, right on the ice in the game of the week. Instead, Gary Bettman wants to coddle the public and keep them safe, to me it's like he's saying, "What would the public think with such crass comments coming from a hockey player!" Well, Gary I got news for you, right now Joe Public isn't thinking much of anything concerning hockey."

Preseason Game 3, FLA @ EDM : 3-2 Loss (SO)

I missed the game, but a few thoughts:

(1) Liam Reddox has turned out to be exactly the kind of player Craig MacTavish likes. He can play offense, forechecks like a demon, and is all over the ice. He's not shy to get involved in on-ice contact despite not being an overly physical player. This one's a keeper.

(2) As I had predicted, Rob Schremp came out and proved why he's well known to be a shootout specialist. He's not well known the way Sam Gagner is (nor as much of a well rounded player) but I think Schremp is at the point where he has enough assets to make the team. As excited as I am to see Gilbert Brule join the team, I think it's the right time for Schremp to come in on the 4th line, and earn his stripes. If an injury crops up, he will be available for 1-2 line duty.

(3) Jeff DesLauriers is looking like a legitimate NHL goaltender. A few tweaks here and there and we have 3 NHL goalies on the squad. That is a terrible situation. It's great for the goalies (competition) but bad for the team (taking up an extra roster spot). With the way Dwayne Roloson played at the end of last year and so far in training camp, it's difficult but one would have to say that he is most probably the odd-man out.

(4) Theo Peckham is a monster. 'Nuff said.

(5) The era of the Oilers' shootout domination - is it already over? Or is it too soon to proclaim anything? Or is it just that Gagner isn't around? Personally, I think Nilsson and Pisani should get as many looks on the shootout as Hemsky and Horcoff do.

(6) Who is going to end up in Stockton? Perugini, Fisher, Pitton, or Dubnyk? A combination of these?

shouldn't Steve Staios be s-squared as well?

I have an Oilers joke, albeit incredibly lame...well it's more like a random thought than it is a joke...

If Mellon Arena is called the Igloo and is home to the Penguins, shouldn't Rexall Place be called Fort McMurray then?

Get it? Fort McMurray. oil sands. Oilers...haha

Random idea from a comment left by the user Marion. Not bad, maybe we should refer to Rexall as Fort McMurray. But then would we have to rename the Oilers the Oil Sands (or Tar Sands)... maybe we should call it The Refinery?

Oilers drop pre-season tilt to Canucks by score of 4-3 (SO)

This is Cory Schneider.

He played tonight, and with the exception of looking confused after a few Sheldon Souray point shots, or out to lunch on Sam Gagner's moves on the breakway/shootout, was very calm and composed, and played his angles very well.

On some occasions, he was the only thing going for the Canucks. He probably is the best reason why the Canucks stuck around 'til OT where they won it in the shootout.

One day (if he isn't traded before then), he could be the reason the Canucks can afford to trade Bobby Lu the Saviour.

Quote me on this.

Post-game thoughts:

It looks as if the Oilers won't be relying as much on the shootout this year for wins. It could be that Garon was just warming up after a long summer... or it's an indication that the Oilers have moved beyond reliance on the shootout as a means to win games.

The powerplay looked deadly tonight even though they scored only one goal. The penalty kill also looked deadly - in the sense that it had trouble keeping the Canucks from driving the net. For the first time this training camp, Peckham looked a step behind, perhaps the sign that he is still a bit away from being ready for the NHL. Chorney, however, looked very smart, despite the questionable call at the end of overtime.

It always seems to me that Visnovsky is in the right place at the right time to one-time the puck. When the season rolls around I will be expecting to see all kinds of goals resulting from his shot or a rebound resulting from his wicked shot.

Last but not least, who is Dan Gendur and why is he scoring goals on us? We need to put the Hans Benson radar on this guy. Seek and destroy.

A few points I would like to make:

(1) Shooting tendencies: Since the shootout was instated, it always seems that Hemsky often shoots over the net wide on the right side.
(2) The wizard without a wand: Robbie Schremp looked very nervous on the shootout. If he gets another chance before (a) getting assigned to Springfield, (b) getting traded, or (c) making the team, look for him to be more controlled in what many rightfully attribute to be Robbie's domain.
(3) Comfortability in the lineup: Gagner looks even better than he did last year at the end of the season. Whether it is making Cory Schneider look foolish or little dangle plays that prevent plays from going offside, Gagner has shown that he can play on any of the top 3 lines with any combination of forwards and feel comfortable. Cole, on the other hand, has looked good but not in any way in-sync with the other Oilers forwards. Hopefully, that happens sooner than later.
(4) Watch out for that tree!: Is it just me, or did the Canucks get a lot bigger over the off season? We're gonna have to dress guys like Strudwick in those games.
(5) Like winning the lottery: The Canucks gambled on a castaway and signed a guy with major AHL success in Wellwood and Krog respectively, and it looks good now. Whether it translates to regular season success is yet to be seen.
(6) Heat seaking missiles: At least that's what the point shots on the Oilers PP looked and sounded like - things going really fast and exploding off of stuff. Somebody gonna get a hurt real bad. Thank you Russell Peters and Kevin Lowe.

New Oilers' nicknames:

Jason Strudwick - STUDwick
Rob Schremp - Lowetide calls him Sugartits, I think Wizard or Bubba Gump would be more befitting
Marc-Antoine Pouliot - Friendly Fire (he needs to stop running into his own team mates)
Lubomir Visnovsky - Mr. Lube