Powerplay Woes Continue

As I sit here, playing with the new All-In-1 HP printer Mrs.Pikey and I got for Christmas, I can't help but think that the Oilers didn't get the powerplay quarterback they were hoping for. I can just see it now....It's December 25th...Craig Simpson wakes up, gets out of bed, and realizes that his hair hasn't moved or changed since 1988. He lumbers down the stairs, still wiping the sleep from his eyes. He looks at the Christmas Tree and instead of a neatly wrapped PP QB in the form of a Peter Forsberg or Chris Drury, he realizes that his PP QB is still Marc-Andre Bergeron. Instead of getting down about it though, he goes into the kitchen to fix his morning coffee. He grabs a cup, puts in some sugar and pours his coffee. Now here is where it gets interesting. He goes to the fridge and grabs the milk. He goes to pour the milk, but before he can, he has to pass the milk to every member of his family, before trying to shoot the milk into his cup. After the milk has been passed around 5 times, Simpson thinks it's ready. He goes to pour, but spills a little on the counter. That counts as a missed shot. So he passes the milk again 5 or 6 times, before trying to pour it into his cup again.

Now, excuse the sarcasm, but that little story is indicative of the Oilers powerplay. (Of course, as I write this, the Oilers have just scored 2 powerplay goals to go up on Los Angeles 3-2).

Someone, I don't care who, but someone in Oilers management needs to realize that the club needs some help.

Ladislav Smid is starting to look a little tired, Daniel Tjarnqvist looks suspect, Jason Smith is battered, Staios is starting to wear, Marc-Andre Bergeron is Marc-Andre Bergeron, and Matt Greene is, well Matt Greene's ok.

But why hasn't Jan Hejda been given a chance. In the 8 games Hejda has played in Oiler silks this year, he's looked good. He hasn't looked out of place, and he hasn't cost us any games. When he was sent down to Hamilton before the Xmas break, he played 5 games in 7 nights and had 3 assists. Give him a shot damnit!

One of the best blogs on the internet (other than mine) is suggesting that maybe MacT give Smid a rest and insert #25. Is there anything wrong with a rookie playing 50 or 60 games, instead of 82. This blogger thinks not. The Oilers desperately need a puck moving d-man, but they also need a reliable veteran back there (another suggestion from Lowetide...see link above). Let's see if Hejda is that veteran.

Oh, and I almost forgot...It's time for the Weekly Shout Out!!

This weeks Weekly Shout Out goes to Atypical Albertan. ATA, after a seemingly endless period of self-imposed celibacy, is back on the horse.

So ATA, you get the Weekly Shout Out, for finally getting your dinky stinky (even if you haven't yet!)

Weekly Shout Out!!

In a new feature here on Oilers By Pikey, it's time for the first ever "Weekly Shout Out!"

This week's award goes to my buddy Sketch and his wife (technically, you've lived together long enough to be considered common-law by the Government Of Canada).
Sketch and the little lady bought their first house in Calgary this month, and move in at the end of December. From all of us here at Oilers By Pikey, we give you Sketch, the first Weekly Shout Out!!

On a side note, it doesn't come with any sort of prizing or swag, just bragging rights!!

What will the Oilers find Under the Christmas Tree?

Just 8 days to go until Christmas, and thankfully, I wrapped up the rest of my shopping in an hour and a half today. But if one more senior or father steering a shopping cart hits me in the ankle, I will lose it. But, hopefully, I won't have to go back to the mall..(On a side note, when did parents stop parenting their children....I saw shit today at the mall that if I had pulled as a child, my mom and dad would have beat me senseless...In the words of Dennis Leary "My parents used to beat the living shit out of me, and quite frankly I'm looking forward to beating the living shit out of my kids...before you go calling the Kids Help Line or the RCMP, I'm not advocating child abuse here...I'm just saying some parents need to regain control of their snotty, bratty offspring!!)
But as I speed walked through the mall today, I started thinking...what will the Oilers find under their Christmas tree? The NHL Holiday Roster freeze goes into effect on December 19th, and I have a feeling nothing will happen in Oil Country before that. I still think the Oilers need a puck moving D-man, but a recent article indicates that Kevin Lowe will most likely hold off on making a deal until at least mid-January. So we're back to the original question...what will the Oil find under the decorated Pine Tree? Ales Hemsky came back in last Friday's loss to Colorado, so does that count as a present? Ryan Smyth can't be that far away from coming back, and I would have to think that that would be considered a most kind gift as well. But what I really want to see under the tree is the return of one Petr Sykora and one Joffrey Lupul. Both these guys haven't performed as expected during the Oil's recent injury woes, and with their salaries, they really should be. I know in a previous post, I mentioned that Sykora looked lost out there without Hemsky, but what's Lupul's excuse? Sure, he's a home town boy, playing in front of a very unforgiving home town crowd, and he was the key piece of the Pronger deal, but so far he's scored 9 goals. That puts him on pace for 25 this year. Now, there's no way that I could even score 2 goals at the NHL level, let alone 25, but Lupul scored 28 last year playing on the PP and getting third line minutes. In my humble opinion, Lupul needs to at least match that. But on the flipside, maybe it would help if Kevin Lowe could get #15 a centre he can rely on. Lupul just hasn't clicked skating beside Horcoff, Sykora or Stoll. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how Lupul does with Marty Reasoner, one of the smarest hockey guys on the Oilers in my opinion. Also on the wishlist, the Northwest Division Crown, 2 50 goal scorers, and 1 Stanley Cup.

Glad I didn't Pay 12 Bucks for that!!

Another Oiler game, another Oiler loss. At least this time it was to a team with some talent. The Nashville Predators are no pushovers, but the Oilers are SUPPOSED to have the deepest set of forwards in the league. But the question I have is, is ANYONE in Oilers management paying attention to the fact that our defence sucks??!!?? You look at guys like Jason Smith and Matt Greene, both big, physical, hurting players. But they need a partner who can move the puck, which currently they don't have. Steve Staios is playing well, as is Ladislav Smid (I can't say enough about this kid), Daniel Tjarnqvist is suspect at best, and well Bergeron, don't get me started on #47. But we need a puck moving defenceman!! BADLY!! I know I have ranted about this previously, but I am getting so frustrated watching these Oilers not play the game that they get paid millions to play.

On another note, is Oilers Pay-Per-View a joke to anyone else?? Morley Scott is a great colour guy, but a play by play guy he is not. Gene Principe is a great guy, but get him back rinkside instead of in the booth. Isn't there a way that they can hook up the audio feed so that Rod Phillips is the play by play guy, just like he is on the radio. I know Rod is starting to lose his mind a bit, but surely he is better than the monstrosity we are subjected to now. I would even rather have Kevin "That Didn't Miss By Much" Quinn calling the game over Morley.

Another thing...PPV's are advertised as ALL-ACCESS, but I'm sorry Mr.LaForge, but I have to call bullshit. Following Jarret Stoll around on a game day does not count as ALL ACCESS.
I have only ordered 1 PPV this year, and the saving grace was that 3 other guys came over to watch it so it only cost us 3 bucks each. I'll pay that to watch the Oilers shit the bed. But 12 bucks?? Can we get a discount if only half the Oilers show up? How is watching the Oilers on PPV for 12 dollars different from watching the Oilers on Sportsnet West for free?? Commercials, I guess, but there are still commercials during PPV, only that they are made by and for the Oilers.

As my buddy ATA says, the more people that buy the PPV, the more money the Oilers will think they can make, and the more games that will eventually make it to PPV. Stand up for quality dammit, and don't buy the PPV's!!!

Panic Button Deactivated Part 2

Nevermind the earlier post about Stollsie. He's back. And he almost just got hurt again!
He's still a trooper!

Panic Button Deactivated

You'll have to read my last blog to figure out the title, but suffice to say, the Oilers have ended their 3 game losing streak. With a 4-0 win over Vancouver (I know it's only Vancouver, but a win is a win and a shut out is a shut out!), the Oilers have maintained their grip atop the Northwest Division. Some may say this division is really tight (looking at you ATA, and no (gimme your finger) it's not tight like this)...but I would prefer to see the Oilers with Detroit like points. If you look at the Western Conference, the Ducks are in first with 46, Detroit in second with 37 and the Oil in 3rd with 30. If it weren't for the division seeding, the Oilers would be in 7th, just 2 points ahead of the Flames. I don't know about you but this does not make me all warm and fuzzy. The Oilers may have ended the streak, but many a thing must they work on.

And what did the Oilers do to piss of the Karma gods. As I sit here, it is currently 2-1 Oilers over Carolina after 2. The Oil are leading, but lost Jarret Stoll in the 1st, after he blocked 2 shots on the same Penalty Kill in the same spot within seconds. But he did make it to the bench by himself. What a trooper!! But how many more will go down to injury??

Pronger's Absence Starting to Be Felt?

As I sit and write this, the Oilers are mirred in a 3 game losing streak that doesn't look like it wants to end. And it doesn't look like the Oilers themselves want to end it either. A 7-3 loss to Colorado, while not enjoyable, is understandable. But a 4-0 loss to Columbus??? The same team that signs a 1 year lease every year to stay in the NHL basement? The same team that signed Anson Carter for 3 mill and have only gotten 4 goals out of the dreadlocked left winger?? Are you shitting me? These Oilers have basically imploded in a matter of 5 days. On Tuesday, I was worrying about Pronger have a good game against us. Now? I'm worried about the Oilers ever getting out of this slump. Now I know this attitude seems slightly pessimistic, but having watched the Oilers in these last 3 losses, I think I have reason to be concerned. The Oilers just haven't been working. They haven't been competitive. And Petr Sykora looks lost out there without Ales Hemsky. And now that the heart and soul of the franchise, Ryan Smyth, is out indefinitely with a broken thumb, I'm almost ready to press the panic button. Guys like Lupul, Horcoff, Pisani, Peterson (how is still with the big club?), Winchester, Thoreson, etc need to step it up. And we shouldn't have to be pointing it out. These guys should relish the opportunity to cement their place in the lineup. At the beginning of the season, all we heard about was the Oiler's incredible depth at forward, and how injuries won't be a problem. But with Lupul the only one close to being in double digits GOALS wise, perhaps the depth isn't what is was trumpeted to be. The problem here is that the Oilers can't get out of their own zone. They can't make that pass that is needed to get beyond the blueline. And it's starting to cause alot of baldness in Oil Country from us pulling our hair out in frustration. Is now the time that Kevin Lowe pulls his head out of the sand and trades for a confident, puck handling blueliner? This guy thinks so. But what does a Liberal viewpoint matter in Alberta?

Speaking of the Liberals, we have a new party leader. Stephane Dion. Is this the man to lead the Grits back to the seat of power? Probably not. Is this the man to re-energize the party and chart a new direction? Maybe. Can we call him Steve? Yes. But in all seriousness, I don't think Dion is the guy I would have voted for, because my support was fully behind Gerard Kennedy. Although, with the way the delegate system works, I, in essence, would have voted for Dion, because Kennedy dropped off of the 3rd ballot and threw his support behind Dion. All I can say is thankfully Ignatieff didn't win. The last thing the Liberals need is a leader who is basically a mini Stephen Harper.

And over here in Alberta, Steady Eddie (Ed Stelmach) is the new premier. Thank Fucking God it wasn't Morton. That's all I have to say about that.