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By Racki, April 22, 2013 11:04 am

-={ Puttin’ On The Foil Presents… }=- vs 17-20-7 Record 28-11-6 Location: Rexall Place Date: April 22, 2013 @ 7:30PM MST TV: SNETW

PRE-GAME RANT

I must admit, my interest in the game slowly dropped off as it wore on. I thought the Oilers came out flying, especially Taylor Hall (no surprise). But it looked as though that storm was quickly weathered, and the Ducks killed the Oilers in period 2 (although they just had the one goal). Seemed to be a pretty prototype Oilers game.

Quite frankly, there isn’t much to talk about now. The Oilers are officially eliminated from the playoffs (although mid-way through their losing skid, you knew they were done). I guess in a bit of good news, Taylor Hall is officially the first Oiler since Doug Weight to finish a season a point per game player. Of course, this is a shortened season by a fair bit though, so that is a bit “tarnished”. But it is a good sign for him. Also, Yakupov is now just 3 points back of the rookie scoring lead held by Jonathan Huberdeau and Cory Conacher (28 points each). Justin Schultz has 23 points and leads all rookie defensemen in scoring. He sits at 19th in scoring for all NHL defensemen.

There is some talk about whether Ralph Krueger should be fired. I’d say no. The Oilers have tried this a number of times, and it never seems to work. They haven’t had a guy who is the type to really rip into a player though, granted.. you know, like a John Tortorella or Peter Laviolette.. or some would say Lindy Ruff (not sure if that is the case). Really though, I think a coach can only do so much with this kind of team. It is clear to me that the player personnel is wrong, and that is something Craig MacTavish is going to have to do his best to solve. He noted something we’ve (or I have, anyway) felt a while.. this team needs better depth and a better support cast for its young stars. So we’ll see if he can put his money where his mouth is.

I am hoping for a better game tonight from the Oilers tonight, but not getting my hopes up. Some other players besides Hall are going to have to figure out how to score, however. It’s probably long over due to start calling out Gagner, Paajarvi, Jones, and Horcoff.

Eric Belanger is in for Magnus Paajarvi (injured foot), and Ryan Whitney is in for Mark Fistric. Not sure about the lines now.. we have plenty of faceoff talent now! We should win this game now, right?
Continue reading 'Oilers 0, Ducks 3 – Game 45 – 2013-04-22 @ 7:30 PM MST – SNETW'»

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By Racki, April 21, 2013 10:57 am

-={ Puttin’ On The Foil Presents… }=- at 17-19-7 Record 27-11-6 Location: Rexall Place Date: April 21, 2013 @ 6:30PM MST TV: SNETW

PRE-GAME RANT

The Oilers are back at home after a super short, 1 game road trip. They will face the Anaheim Ducks at home today, and again tomorrow (also at home). I don’t expect this to be too pretty of a set of games, as they face the #3 team in the league.

Word just came down that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is going to be evaluated in Cleveland. It’s pretty much a given that he is done for the year and will require surgery on his shoulder. The expected heal time for this is 6 months, which puts us into late October, which will mean he’ll miss training camp and the start of the season next year. Definitely not good news… but if his shoulder has been a problem for a while and hindering his season, this will hopefully help him get back to form again. The Oilers will take some heat over this being overdue.. wouldn’t be the first time we’ve heard this. Not sure if they should take the blame here or not… hard to say how much rests on the player and how much on the team, and if they were putting the Nugget at more risk by playing him through the shoulder injury and delaying surgery. Word is that it’s been a nagging injury since junior, so it’s similar to Taylor Hall’s story.

Anyways, Hartikainen will draw back in. Lander will fill in for the Nuge on line 2 with Paajarvi and Eberle. That has more potential to be dangerous for the wrong reasons, but it will be a good view at what Lander is capable of. Our top line better have a good game.. because the potential significantly drops off after that line.
Continue reading 'Oilers 1, Ducks 3 – Game 44 – 2013-04-21 @ 6:30 PM MST – SNETW'»

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By Racki, April 19, 2013 10:20 am

-={ Puttin’ On The Foil Presents… }=- at 16-19-7 Record 14-22-7 Location: Pepsi Center Date: April 19, 2013 @ 7:00PM MST TV: SNETW

PRE-GAME RANT

There it is, the stock Avalanche photo. The Avalanche often bring out the best in the Oilers.. so I like to do my part to maintain superstitions and appease the hockey gods by not changing this pic. Hopefully we’re in for yet another entertaining game. I would prefer the Oilers win, but if they’re going to lose, at least go out guns blazing.

So I’ve still yet to see the details on Andrew Miller’s signing.. but I wonder if we’ll catch a glimpse of him. The contract was a 1-year deal.. I’m just not sure WHICH year it was for… the 2013-14 season? Or the remainder of this one? If it was this one, we’ll see him soon.

No word on lines yet, that I can find. Still pretty early though (10:20AM as I write this), which I have just discovered and am now making a sad face. My work day needs to go a little faster. I’ll update the lines when I have them.

Edit: Lines confirmed

Continue reading 'Oilers 4, Avalanche 1 – Game 43 – 2013-04-19 @ 7:00 PM MST – SNETW'»

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By Racki, April 16, 2013 11:33 am

-={ Puttin’ On The Foil Presents… }=- at 16-18-7 Record 23-16-3 Location: Rexall Place Date: April 16, 2013 @ 7:30PM MST TV: SNETW

PRE-GAME RANT

So the Oilers decided to cut loose patsy Steve Tambellini yesterday. In turn, the Oilers pushed Craig MacTavish into the hot seat as General Manager, and moved Scott Howson into MacT’s old position, which I call the “hanging out until I’m promoted” spot. I believe the correct title is Sr. VP of Hockey Operations, however. This came with a wave of emotions. Was it warranted? I definitely think so. But was it the complete “solution”? Definitely not. Kevin Lowe is still here, and a lot of people aren’t happy about it.

In yestereday’s presser, Edmonton Journal reporter John MacKinnon asked MacTavish how he can reassure things will be different when the people that created the mess are still here. Ouch. I think mostly that was directed at Lowe, but Howson and MacTavish also had a part of “the mess”, albeit a lesser one (especially Howson, who wandered off before shit really got bad). Anywho, MacTavish didn’t take this too well and ended up defending his time here saying basically that he didn’t think he did anything wrong with his time here, to which I agree. At that point, Lowe jumped in and went on a rant that will forever be remembered. He was clearly pissed off. He commented on how the group got the Oilers to 1 win away from a Stanley Cup… warranted. MacKinnon (or someone) then piped in “7 years ago”. Lowe’s response was that the reporter and everyone knew the “cycle of that” and that the Oilers “chased the dream” for fans, trying to get that team back to cup form, but failed. I think that’s fair, and puts a little more perspective on why they claim the rebuild started in 2010. I’m still not so sure about that, but it’s feasible. Lowe then went on to mention his place in Oilers history, with a Patrick-Royesque “I can’t hear you with my 6 cup rings in my ear” speech. That’s not what he said, but that was pretty much the gist of it.

Worse yet, Continue reading 'Oilers 3, Wild 5 – Game 42 – 2013-04-16 @ 7:30 PM MST – SNETW'»