Game 3: Edmonton 6 San José 4

That was something else. Right there you see Patrick Thoreson. A kid who didn't get drafted after his Jr career. He went to Sweden, worked his ass off and made an impression. The Oilers invited him to camp this year where he'd compete against NHL prospects like Pouliot, Schremp, Jacques, Mihknov... and he won a job. He won the coaches over in camp like no one has in a long time. Tonight he got on the board for the first time, and good for him. It's a great story.

For a while it seemed like it'd be the only good story from this game. The Oilers got into some serious penalty trouble, and got into a major hole. Hemsky in particular was a huge bonehead for giving the ref trouble after a penalty call. Cheechoo hammered us on the 5 on 3. This Sharks team is way too talented in their top 6 for us to give them that much PP time. You give Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleu and Cheechoo a 5 on 3 for an extended period of time and you are going to get scored on.

Weird feeling today? The confidence of many Oiler fans despite being down. When Lupul scored to make it 4-2 many of us had a terrific sense of calm. This team had the talent to come back. If they played their game it could happen. If they kept taking bad penalties it wouldn't.

Anyone who wasn't a believer should've become one in the third. The first minute of our 5 on 3 was painful as hell. Hemsky and Stoll back on the point was not a good set up. They knew the puck was going to Stoll for the shot so they could cheat towards him every time. Sykora and Stoll up there works much better. They call time out and things just snap into place. Not sure what Mac T said or Simpson, but they got the puck on net and Ryan Smyth did his job.

There are some fans who talk about trading Smyth every once and a while. He's not flashy, we have a lot of talent and it seems like maybe we could replace him. This is exactly the kind of game that shows you why you don't replace Smyth. There are only a few guys in this league who know what to do in front of the net on the PP. Smyth knows where to stand, he knows when to tip the puck, he knows how to do it, he knows how to push a goaltender's button. The man is a genius in his office. The other thing? Smyth scores. It's not pretty, it's almost never pretty, but Smyth scores. He just knows how to do it, and you can't teach that.

From there Roloson did for us what the three-headed monster wouldn't have last year. He held us in, didn't let in a soft goal, came up big on the PK... he was a true #1 for us tonight despite giving up 4. Thank god for that.

Finally, Hemsky does what great players do when they're having bad games. He scored anyway. Hell, Steve Staios even had a breakaway out there.

Our defense got pushed around a bit too much for my liking tonight. Looking a little weak along the boards on the PK. However, I think San José's PP is going to do that to almost anyone. Smid looked very solid again. Sykora makes me happy. Good game all around.

Penalties nearly ruined this night, but in a way they showed us the kind of team we have. It's what we all said. They'll drive us absolutely crazy, but they are going to be wildly entertaining.

Bring it on.

Next Game is Saturday in Colorado at 10pm Eastern Time. We should own Colorado, but I guess it's time to find out.

(PS - Ottawa and Calgary should watch a tape of this game so they can remember how to play hockey. Good god I nearly fell asleep.)

Hardly...

NHL Eastern Conference Predictions

See my other post for the West. I've been really busy so it's been hard to have the time to write this. I really have wanted to!

So now the east. I've been having a lot of trouble with the east. However, we're over a week into the season and I'm long long LONG overdue.

Eastern Conference

1) Ottawa Senators: Boy this doesn't look good when they're 1-2 and didn't look very good in any of the games. However, when I look at the talent in the league I still believe they are the best team in the east. With all the changes they've made I think it's going to take a while for the team to gel. They have to figure out the lines, the chemistry, all of that stuff. Is Gerber a question mark? Depends on his self confidence. Can he handle the spotlight in Ottawa? Otherwise I'm not worried, he was very consistent all season. They also have to get Volchenkov to play a more consistent game. I saw so much potential in that guy. Damn I'm somewhat concerned about this though. I do think they'll pull things together, look at the damn talent.

2) New York Rangers: The team is just as good as last year. Take off Rucinski and give us Shanahan? Tell me that's not an upgrade. Have trouble in the playoffs, so you add Aaron Ward and Matt Cullen from the Stanley Cup Champions. I love the moves. They have two reliable goaltenders. They added several Cup Rings in the off season. They have the most talented offensive player in the NHL in Jagr. This is a good good good team. I don't think enough has been made about the moves they made. They also have some good young players coming up. They have penalty killers, they have a good PP, they are going to challenge for first.

3) Carolina Hurricanes: Lovely start there guys, but I'm not going to pretend I don't think they'll turn it around either. Very deep team, especially at forward. Their division is still relatively weak. However, one thing people forget here about the Hurricanes is that Cam Ward did not have a great season last year. Did he come around in the playoffs? Hey maybe, or maybe he had a great run and is coming back down to earth. I don't think they're the best team in the conference, I don't think they were last year. But hey, things happen in the playoffs. People get hurt, teams go on runs. That being said, they should be able to score at least. Give them some time.

4) Buffalo Sabres: If the Senators don't win the conference my money's on Buffalo. Wow I'm a genius eh? Everyone else says the same thing. Still, they're another very deep team. They lost McKee, but added Spacek. McKee is a lot more solid, but it's not really going to hurt them. They lost Dumont which I think could hurt them, it depends how well the rest of the forwards jump up. They are one of the teams with a dominating goaltending duo so there are no off nights. Mind you, they also have a lot of injury prone players (Briere and Timmy C) and don't have any really elite scorers yet. I mean look at how a period of the CASH line nearly tanked the Sabres in a game the Senators had no right being in. Still, I like them at least third in the conference.

5) New Jersey Devils: Don't mess with Lou. Lots of people say the Devils basically cheated to get out from under the salary cap but I really really don't buy it. They dealt away a first round pick and Mogilny is injured. That to be is legitimate, it's not like either guy is going to be playing for them. They didn't escape anything but other than the hopes of other general managers. Meanwhile, the Devils kept their entire core in tact. The team stunk without Elias for half of last year, and now he's going to be there all season to truly establish himself as one of the league's best and most reliable players. The defense is solid if unspectacular. There are almost no guys who can't play a 2-way game on the team. Oh, and that Brodeur guy. They are very vulnerable in case of major injuries (Elias, Brodeur or Rafalski goes down and that's tailspin material) but none of their really important guys are injury prone so no reason to worry yet. Could be the scariest team come playoff team if they add another scorer around the deadline. Oh, and they have the room to do it.

6) Montreal Canadiens: I don't get any of the predictions putting these guys out of the playoffs. To me the top 6 in the east are very solid. Montreal has very few weaknesses outside of a 2nd line C and those are hard to come by in a 30 team league. Their defense has 6 solid guys, with 2 or 3 on top who would be in any team's top 4. They don't have a star stud d-man but few do. Plus Markov could still emerge. The wingers are deadly. Ryder, Samsonov, Kovalev... that's talent. The PP should be good given some time. They have a very strong duo in goal, and hell a lot of teams do now. I don't see where many of these magical trades of starters are going to happen because so many teams have 2 reliable guys and it's becomming almost a requirement. Why the hell did it take Edmonton so long to get ONE last year? Anyway I like the Habs, they just happened to be over matched in their own division so they'll be about in the same spot as last year. Remember last year, when they had Carolina on the ropes before someone's stick took out Koivu's eye. Also remember last year a lot of pundits had the Canadiens missing the playoffs and they made it. Also remember Bob Gainey is smarter than you.

7) Philidelphia Flyers: I hate the damn Flyers, and to be frank they didn't do that much to address their needs. Their defense was big and slow, so they did... nothing. Their goaltending sucked so they did... nothing. But hey, they got Geoff Sanderson and Kyle Calder, so watch out. Same team as last year except their goaltenders are even less confident and Forsberg's body could tear at any second. If that happens, goodbye playoffs. As it is, goodbye in the first round. I will add that I love Carter, Richards and Pitkanen - I'd trade almost anyone to get Pitkanen. Still, they're not good enough. Also remember Bob Clarke is an asshole. I'm sorry, I know I don't know him, I must have gone crazy with the cancer or something.

8) Florida Panthers: I agonized over this one. I think this spot is going to be the toughest, most hotly contested position in the conference. So why Florida? They've had a young core of players on the cusp of a break through for a while. Losing Luongo doesn't eliminate that. Horton for example was a step away from being a 35-40 goal scorer. Weiss just needs a couple of more steps to put up 50-60 points. Bouwmeester is not far from being a #1 in this league. So you lose Luongo, but Auld is more than capeable of starting in this league. He held his own in Vancouver last year and was hardly their problem. In fact he had some terrific games that impressed the heck out of me. His numbers were fine and he'll do well. Belfour is a good veteran for him to learn from. Bertuzzi should have 80 points or so playing with the guys there and under less pressure. Jokinen broke through last year and showed he's at least a PPG player. This is a team that's ready to make the playoffs. They also have some good veteran leadership in Joe and Gary - that dastardly Toronto duo. Plus they had a good run at the end of last season. I see it happening. I've talked myself into it.

One new playoff team of 8, how risky. So who won't make it?

9) Toronto Maple Leafs: Sorry Dad. This might get much worse if you keep getting injuries on D. Toronto's scoring depth is paper thin. Seriously, you could punch a hole through it with a sponge. But I love Kubina, and I think he's a very solid anchor to a pretty good group. He should've come to Edmonton. Oh, but Gill stinks, really stinks, like sucks a lot. They're going to be a little mistake prone... and they do have some decent 2-way forwards to cover up. Still, they have to be able to score. Where is that going to come from? Unless Kyle Wellwood really is ready to put up 100 points I'm not sold. Good start for Raycroft - and we'll see how that lasts.

10) Tampa Bay Lightning: Depth? Who needs depth? Seriously what to say about these guys. Richards, Lecavalier and St. Louis are the team. I like Denis fine, but who the hell is on D? Who is on the third line? They're going to get eaten alive by good teams. However, they're good enough to do pretty well against bad ones. I think this year will be a wake up call to Feaster that a few elite guys aren't enough.

11) Atlanta Thrashers: What did I just say? I may be totally wrong here, but if I'm right Waddell is out of the job. He's run out of time to get these guys to the next level. It's been said that elite teams have a good 1-2 punch at centre. It's never been said that elite teams have a 3-3-3-4 punch at centre. That right there is enough to tank them. Their D is average at best, their bottom wingers are weak. So the top guys are great and their goaltender seems terrific, that's not enough. Unless some guys on this team surprise the hell out of me, I don't think they've got a chance. But remember I said that about Carolina. So book it, Atlanta will win the cup.

12) Boston Bruins: They play in a tough division. Dave Lewis is a lousy couch. Tim Thomas is a career minor leaguer. Marc Savard has never done anything without the guys he played with last year. I love Bergeron. Boyes is OK, Sturm is a good player, and there are some solid role players. But there's too much fat at the top with Savard and Murray - both are going to underachieve big time. The goaltending isn't good enough, and the defense is weak at the bottom. Chara is going to be fine, I like Stuart, and Mara is a good offensive defenseman. However, the guys beyond them aren't solid enough in their own zone to keep the pucks out of the net. I think Buffalo, Ottawa and Montreal are going to chew this team up and spit them out for some massive goal totals this year. Sorry Z. Expect good things as their young goalies grow and the team gets turned over to Bergeron for good.

13) Pittsburgh Penguins: Crosby and Malkin are sure going to be fun to watch. This is a big season for Fleury in goal. He has to take the #1 job and prove he is getting better. No one expects a goalie this young to be the best in the league, but he has to show he's improving. There were lots of opportunities for the Penguins to do something and shore up their pitiful defense. They didn't. Doesn't matter how many young superstars you have if you can't clear the zone. Another high pick! I do expect Crosby to emerge as more potent than Ovechkin either this year or next. They were neck and neck, especially in the second half of last season, and Crosby is significantly younger. He'll be the better player, bank on it. That's my lock fo the decade.

14) New York Islanders: There's some talent here, but the team is such a gigantic mess I have no faith in them overcoming it. Hockey is a team sport where a stability and chemistry mean a great deal. When you are working in a miserable situation it'll impact you. Playing with Yashin, being coached by a powder keg, with a backup goalie general manager and an owner who wanted a Sumo goalie? Yeah that's ideal conditions. My apologies to the talented players on this team like Mike York, Witt, Zhitnik, Sillinger, Satan, Hunter, hell even Dipietro (except you'll never be as good as they hope) but good luck guys.

15) Washington Capitals: Have you SEEN this roster? Seriously? Semin looks pretty good, but never has one man team meant so much. There's nothing here. Zednik was just awful last year, maybe he rebounds. Kolzig is a very good goalie, but he's only getting older and his team is awful. There's no depth, no D, no anything. I don't know how they ever win.

So what happens come playoff time?

- Lou is going to probably bring in another depth defenseman because he never seems to think he needs more scoring. He'll be wrong. If he does add scoring, the Devils will be very scary.

- Muckler smartens up and brings in a veteran with singifant playoff experience and hopefully a RING. This will have to happen closer to the deadline due to money issues. Ideally the guy would be a Centre. Though I suppose Recchi from Pittsburgh is always a possibility. Some guys from the West could include Craig Conroy in LA (went to the Cup with Calgary), Weight in St. Louis (but he has a 2-year deal now so I dobut it), Bill Guerin in St. Louis (doesn't really fill a need though) Modano in Dallas (if things fall appart after he lost the C), Roenick in Phoenix (if he rebounds enough to be worth it), Nieuwendyk or Roberts in Florida (if they don't do as well as I think they will), Federov in Columbus (if he's a FA after this year), oh and here's a big longshot... Joe Sakic? Hey Colorado is going to suck. I really doubt it, but you never know.

- Buffalo is going to need someone to score the dirty goals on rebounds and tip ins, I think they'll miss Dumont. I doubt Biron gets dealt and his bitterness may cause some problems.

- Montreal needs what Ottawa needs, I bet they compete for the same guys.

- The Flyers won't add a goalie, they never do. If they do he'll suck.

First Round:

- Ottawa over Florida (5 games)
- New York Rangers over Phildelphia (6 games)
- Montreal over Carolina (7 games)
- New Jersey over Buffalo (7 games)

Second Round:

- Ottawa over Montreal (7 games)
- New Jersey over New York (6 games)

Conference Finals:

- Ottawa over New Jersey (6 games)

Stanley Cup Finals:

- Ottawa over Anaheim (7 games)

I just can't predict Chris Pronger winning the Stanley Cup. Guess where my head was and where my heart was. I'm going to keep trying with Ottawa so that one time I'm right. But I swear to god Muckler, if you don't add a veteran or two this year I hope you quit.

I'm not nearly as confident about my picks in the East as I am about the West. Interesting to note that I went so far out on a limb I predicted that 7 of the 8 teams that made the playoffs last year would make it back in this year. Prove me wrong, underdogs!

Hart Trophy: Joe Thornton (I see no reason why he won't again dominate the league in the regular season and be the biggest reason his team is in the playoffs. This is just enough time to move the trophy to Ovechkin and Crosby though.)

Art Ross: Thornton

Maurice Richard: Jaromir Jagr (More talent leaves the door open for him to score more goals.)

Norris Trophy: Wade Redden (He'll have another great season on a good team so his +/- will better than other contenders and he won't have a second #1 guy on his team as an excuse for voters to ignore him. However, Pronger and Niedermayer will. Plus Redden is a fresh face and Senators havn't won many individual awards. If not him back to Lidstrom.)

Jack Adams: Craig MacTavish (His team will have lost a lot of players from their run last year and yet he'll have adapted and brought them to battle for the division title. On top of that, he'll be rewarded somewhat for the run last year.)

That's all I'm going to bother with for now.

"That (banner) will haunt us until we get another one." Ethan Moreau

Game 2: Calgary 2 Edmonton 1

I'm gonig to try to write something after every Oilers game. Clearly I all ready missed Game 1 but I can summarize that one by saying "awesome."

Game two was not quite as good, but there are positives.

Smid shows the poise of a much older player. He's 20 years old and seems so confident out there. I also love how he mixes it up when someone gets in Roloson's face. Who is this kid, he's no enforcer but hell he's all ready confident enough to have an edge out there with seasoned pros. There were some problems on the 2nd goal, but I maintain that our forward was in too deep leaving Smid to have to turn around and go after the trailing forward. It happens.

I think Smid is going to be my favourite Oiler within 2 seasons. Mark it down.

Greene had another very solid game, though MAB wasn't quite as good. There's absolutely no question that the playoff experience meant a lot to Greene. He's a lot more confident out there now. Greene is going to stand up physically to any forward in this league, and his decision making is all ready a lot better than last year. is it too much to expect another Jason Smith-like career out of this guy? I don't think it is. And that is fantastic.

Tjarnqvist MUST clear the puck with more authority. I like his game otherwise, but my god his clearing attempts have been weak.

Staios and Smith are both rising to the occasion and playing great hockey so far.

Roloson is an elite goalie in this league. Period. He's very good positionally, he's in control of the game, he tries to get in the heads of refs and the opposition, he's a gamer. I can't say enough about him.

Our PK was terrific for the second straight game. I wonder if they'll be exposed at all when we play a team with a better PP? Calgary's second PP unit is probably among the very worst in hockey.

PP was way too scrambled today. They got a good goal early going to the net, and then dicked around way too much on future opportunities. As I said in the GDT, the Flames did a very good job pressuring our forwards in the neutral zone and at the blue line - we should have dumped and chased more when they proved their effectiveness there. A few times Hemsky was trying to undress too many guys in the neutral zone - that's fine in their zone, but get it in there first!

I think we still have some tinkering to do with who is on each PP unit. Torres doesn't control the puck down low half as well as Smyth does. Frankly the best possible set up is probably Smyth, Hemmer, Lupul, Sykora and ??? with Horc, Pisani, Torres, Stoll, ??? on the second unit. Either way, we have a scary PP, they were just disorganized tonight. Taking it too easy instead of getting the puck in and putting pressure on.

Really liked Thoreson and Reasoner out there in the limited ice time they saw - but Winchester was completely ineffective. Time to hit the PB, Brad.

Hey Pisani, you scored 14 goals in the playoffs, maybe you should start shooting the damn puck! Too many passes from him, get it on net, go to the net.

I think we're very strong against skill players, but as you saw by the effectiveness of Yelle tonight - we're losing some battles in the corners. That's somethign Mac T is going to have to work at with our forwards and our younger D. A few times the Flames were able to keep the puck inside our zone too long because they were able to out muscle us - but when it came to passes setting up plays, we broke those up very well.

All in all, Calgary tied the game at the end of the 1rst and closed up as tightly as possible from there on out. We also took way too many penalties in the 2nd, killing a lot of momentum and tiring out our better 2-way players. Once Calgary got the lead, they played a strong defensive game... let us come at them, pressured in the neutral zone and lets Kipper see high percentage shots.

I'm happy with our first couple of games. We're going to score more than 1 goal against most teams, and were quite close a few times out there tonight anyway.

Also, it's sure nice to see Lupul and Sykora shooting the puck out there. Sometimes their shots aren't even remotely dangerous, but it's nice to see some guys who think GOAL first. We didn't have nearly enough of those before.

The Battle of Alberta is 1-1 so far, and I'm looking forward to the next 6 matches. Hell of a battle of styles out there... and whenever I watch Calgary play I'm reminded how much I prefer our up-tempo style. 82 Flames games would put me to sleep.

Next Game? Thursday! Ah that sucks. What the hell am I supposed to do with my time until Thursday?