don

And suddenly all the critics shut up.

Prediction, 6-0 for Colorado.

Reality, 6-3 for Edmonton

'nuff said.

Donald

mario r

--


I have been a very vocal critic of this team so I will bite. No its not
"nuff said" one game is hardly going to silence concerns. Does the Colorado
game eradicate any memory of games like they played against Van and Cal? I
feel like it is fair to critique this team when they play like horseshit and
praise their effort when that is deserved.
Is it not clear to you that any team that dominated Colorado the way they
did should be capable of beating Calgary? Are you not at all concerned when
a well paid, professional team, can't "bring it" most nights? Is it not
abundantly clear to you by now that Calgary somehow "bores" this team and
they can't get up for them"? (An absolutely abominable attitude for any
Edmonton based team to have. In comparison the Golden Bears, an unpaid
hockey team have held up their civic duty quite well in beating the extinct
Dinos 33 times in a row!) Is it not of special concern that the Oil cant get
up for the 2nd and 3rd games of the year?
I should stress that I don't rate the performances on win or lose but on
whether the team played up to their potential. Unfortunately there will be
many nights this year when the Oil do not play up to their potential. So far
they have played well in 3 games and poorly in 2, curiously this is exactly
the same as their record.
Finally, I note that my expectation of what these athletes should produce is
correlated with their NHLPA member expectations on what they should be paid
for said efforts. Anybody who is demanding well in excess of a million/year
better frickin "bring it" most nights in a working class city or fully
expect to incur the wrath of working fans.

Minnesota was Jacques Lemaire and 25 players who got drunk on
his Kool-Aid

barton oleksy

I agree with you, Mario - one win like the one against the Avs isn't the
ultimate goal of the season. On the other hand, it sure as hell beats
*losing* that game! ;-)

But it's true that the Oilers have to find a way to play more like they
did Saturday night against *whoever* it is. Now reading the comments
from the players in the papers & such, there aren't that many teams that
will play that kind of style (Avs, Detroit, Canucks, and one or two
others were named as ones who play a more exciting style, up-tempo).
The Wild are the best example of a team that really tries to stop you
from playing an exciting game.

Maybe a good analogy is a tennis game - two players who like to serve &
volley, come to the net, make exciting shots vs. two base-line players
that like the long rallies back & forth. The first is definitely more
exciting to watch!

And you're also right about the salaries these days really dictating
what fans expect from the players. When the average salary is something
like $1.7 million U.S. per year, there's not much sympathy for a guy who
says "he just wasn't into it", like Arnott did a while back.

Bart

sjm23ca@yahoo.com

Apparently 'frequent poster' Don is planning the parade already.

The game against Colorado, the Oilers played extremely well (Colorado
played extremely poorly, and their goalie was, I believe 11 years old
- although that being said, in past years that usually equals a shut
out against) - but I will definitely give credit where it's due.

Ryan Smyth is proving things to me. Hemsky is going to be a Star.
Staios can play on my team any day. Salo actually battled pretty hard.
That's great news to me, for trade value for him.

Do we want to talk Jason Smith though? How about Eric Brewer? The
possible explanation why Raffi Torres played 30 seconds?

One game was good....but this IS the same team that shit the bed
against Calgary.

Facts is facts.


the Oilers lose Salo, get a decent defenseman (Ferguson tries hard and
all....but is terrible), and a centre, then we'll talk.

bort

no, but cynicism is cynicism.

gaol70

An affordable sixth or seventh defenseman who has a positive
plus-minus terrible?

Ferguson can play 10 minutes and not hurt the Oilers on the ice or in
the pocketbook. He's a sixth defenseman...he will never be more than
a sixth defenseman...but he fits that bill admirably.

bort

Sorry. Didn't know that I was going to be evaluated on my response.

mario r

Given that you first were *evaluating* S.J.M.'s response and the *fact*
that you are posting on usenet, a media known for - uh ....shall we say
critical feedback, you should hardly be surprized. Your last response
probably guarantees further evaluation.

mario r

You have a way with words!


Smyth is finding new ways to get the job done. the leadership, skill, and
poise he showed was impressive. All that talent on the ice and Smyth still
ends up being the key player for either side- wow. I particularly like how
Smyth is using finesse and grit to find open ice and also creating open ice
for teammates. In the past his game has been too predictable but it looks
like he has some new wrinkles.
Hemsky sees the ice better than I do watching the game. Remnds me a little
bit of that other zky.

I respect how you said in one sentence what took me a whole paragraph to say. good work!!!


Ferguson is to D, what Domenic Pittisful is to O, they both scream AHL to
me. I cannot fathom sitting somebody like Semenov so that Ferguson can play.
At least Ferguson has played well so far this year. Bergeron also deserves
to be on the ice but needs to play with a big D consistently.

rod gramlich

Wow .......... unless you've tossed dead fish at 20 paces, you shouldn't be
swimming with the sharks
:>)