Monday Puck Drops

-Oilers play the Preds tonight at 9:30 ET. It's been a little while since the Oilers have had a win, hopefully it comes tonight. It's Ryan Smyth bobble-head night.

-Sidney Crosby is back tonight.

-A Detroit Red Wing with a huge lipper in at 30,000 feet. Tweeting.

-December Hockey Night, with an Ottawa blogger.

-This day in Habs History. And this day in hockey history with an Oilers twist.

Oilers lose 4-3 to Canucks on Hockey Night

[Event Summary]

Taylor Hall got robbed of a goal--but it was able to give Ryan Nugent Hopkins his first hat trick of his career. Hall had two assists on the night and was +2, but the Oilers in the end fell to 1-1-1 on the season with a 4-3 loss to the Canucks on Hockey Night in Canada. 

It's a hockey night

First counting hockey night of the year for Edmonton Oilers fans. They play host to the Vancouver Canucks at Rexall Place coming off the heels of a 2-1 OT loss in Minnesota on Thursday night. I was pretty upset the Oilers

Tonight's game also comes with a little good news, the Oilers are one step closer to the new YEG arena being completed. It's looking like a foregone conclusion that the Oilers are going to get their new arena, and I couldn't be happier that the Oilers are staying in such a rich hockey town.

I hope Taylor Hall nets a goal tonight and gets in the point box. He seems to have a flare for the dramatics on Saturdays and Hockey Nights. I'll be back with a nice post-game post after CBC's broadcast tonight most likely.

Oilers Opening Night

[Oilers 2, Penguins 1 (OT)]
[Lowetide] [Oilers Nation] [Empty Netters]

That was an epic opener. 

There were definite lulls in the play last night, but to go with it there was a certain degree of magic. The number one overall draft pick Ryan Nugent-Hopkins tying the game 1-1 at 15:05 of the third period with his first NHL goal--spanking in a backhand assisted by Taylor Hall and Tom Gilbert.

It was one of those magical, defining moments that you only know you're witnessing right when you see it.

The Oil battled hard, killing off each and every powerplay opportunity that the Penguins mounted. A huge part of that was Devan Dubnyk. He was absolutely lights out, matching and then outplaying Brent Johnson all the way into a shootout that would see the Oilers victorious after makes from Jordan Eberle and Ales Hemsky.

Something felt different about last night's game. This Oiler team is up and coming, and they can play with anyone on any given night. Tom Renney is now 8-0 in season openers. That is absolutely amazing.

No one out there is predicting them to do this thing this year and make a playoff run. Except this blogger. This team will be in it until the end. No one planned on Dubnyk arriving as a big-time goalie and no one outside of Edmonton and the people who watch the young signature talent on this team will know of the run they're about to make until it happens. But when they are put on notice after a hot start, the Oilers will have to adjust.

I think that this was a storybook start to what is going to be a special season.

And my God is Hockey season magical. Everything about it.

Oh my God I'm hooked on Fantasy Hockey

Last night even with the baseball playoffs going on I couldn't get enough of my fantasy hockey teams!

Opening Night 2011

-Pro Hockey Talk has their predictions for 2011-2012.
-Their Eastern Conference Playoff teams here.
-And their Western Conference Playoff teams.
-SB Nation has 5 things to watch from Opening Night.
-Opening night preview of the 3 games of the evening from Sporting News.

-Nice write up about Taylor Hall by a former player. He expects Hall to have a big year. He also adds Eastern & Western conference predictions.

Hockey Season Traditions

For me, I like going to Tim Horton's before the Oilers games and then listening on the radio or watching on the net. It's a new tradition I started last year when I started following the Oilers. I used to like putting in a chew of dip tobacco right at the first face off but I know I need to quit and I am trying to.

I love the games around new years day (for the time off work and it's around the time of year that games are getting into full swing) and have watched the Winter Classic for the past several years just as hard as I watch college bowl games.

I also take my wife to watch some high school hockey at the local rink on a couple friday nights each winter after the first snow. It's fun to watch how hard these HS aged kids battle.

I love game day reading the fish wrap each morning in the Edmonton Journal to get me ready for that night's game.

I also like finding hockey books at Barnes & Noble bookstore and piling them 3 or 4 high and deciding on one to take home and enjoy each hockey season.

There's more I'll think of but I am excited for this time of year and for some of these favorite traditions of mine to make a return. It's almost here!

Bruins Bar Tab

This is awesome.

Oilers Opening Night is less than a week away

Less than a week from now, on Sunday night the Edmonton Oilers will open their season at a little hockey palace called Rexall Place against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The #1 overall pick Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will start the season in Edmonton.

The video is from one year ago at this time.

Taylor Hall 'The Cup' Rookie Card

I wanted a Taylor Hall Rookie Card from Upper Deck--it's called 'The Cup' apparently. They just looked really snazzy and it featured not only a clearly signed autograph of my favorite hockey player but also a piece of his game worn jersey in the form of a patch.

I go to Ebay to check it out, and sure enough; it's between $2,300 and $3,500 dollars.

With my wife no longer working full-time and still in school; there's no feasible way I will own one of these 99 cards.

This is what Hockey is all about

This is why I love Canadian hockey and a Canadian team:

Canadian hockey fans are amazing. As was the case in 2010, I felt the pull of the magnet to check out the prospects every single day. I was far from alone; every day hundreds of local hockey fans gathered in Millennium Place to do the same, many of them on more than one occasion. Sitting among those fans from day to day, chatting casually about this prospect or that, I felt a strong sense of community, of a shared and deep-rooted interest. Just as the 31 scrubs on the ice represented the seedlings of Oilers future, those who gathered to watch them were the grass roots fans of the club, and of the game. More so than at an actual Oilers game, where availability and affordability are issues. Not much corporate schmoozing going on at Millennium Place, just interested folks keeping a watchful eye on the hopefuls below. Lots of room for kids, and for interaction with some of the sweaty heroes at the end of the day.

Man, is the season here yet?

Oilers take Nugent-Hopkins #1 Overall

Hopefully this is the tandem that takes the Edmonton Oilers to new heights over the next 15 years.

Hall & Nugent-Hopkins. Just stay healthy fellas. Don't drink too many pints and be down with too many fast women.

Keep your heads where your ass is at and the Oil will be in great shape.

- Posted from my iPhone

Game Seven Stanley Cup Finals goes down tonight

The day has arrived, and tonight after game 7 the NHL season will end and a new Stanley Cup Champion will be crowned.

These two teams will be forever married in history; the Boston Bruins and the Vancouver Canucks. Many are predicting that this champion will be decided due to an unlikely hero.

We expect to be much more involved on this blog starting with the NHL Draft at the end of this month and into next season. Watching the Oilers chase their own Stanley Cup dreams will be something we'll follow on a game by game basis beginning next October.

But all is not forgotten with the 2010-2011 season. After all, this is the season that we fell in love with the game of hockey. This is the season that we studied the game, attended two games live, watched the Winter Classic, went skating several times, and watched some high school hockey games on Friday nights.

It's a great and glorious game filled with tradition and the finest trophy in sports. For these reasons, we'll be tuning in tonight. And although we're in the heart of America and it would be easy to pull for Tyler Seguin and the Bruins; it's also hard not to be happy that a Canadian team has the opportunity to bring the cup back to the roots where the sport was born on frozen ponds.

Daniel Sedin guaranteed victory in game 7. Something has to give. It all goes down tonight.

The Deadspin Story of the Canucks Bender

This is AWESOME.

Every Rookie Taylor Hall Goal

Edmonton is getting their new downton arena

Great news last night.

I'm so happy for the people of Edmonton.

“It will reflect the Edmonton Oilers, five Stanley Cups and what we want downtown Edmonton to be,” said the owner who finally will be able to be celebrated in the city after the messy bit of business to get to this day.

Edmonton City Council approves the framework to build a new downton arena in Edmonton. Finally, the Oil get their new barn. I think they should call the new place "The House that Hallsy Built". 

The Champions fall in Vancouver

[Nucks Misconduct]

[Box Score]

It would have been nice to have seen this game instead of getting a text in the form of an ESPN alert. But unless I was watching the game illegally on the net somewhere or paying extra dollars to have Versus, there was no way for me to watch this game.

From NHL.com:

"This is what legends are made of," Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo said, referencing what was spoken inside the relatively quiet room. "Game 7, OT. It doesn't get any better than that. Somebody is going to become a hero."

Take a bow Alex Burrows. It was you.

Burrows capped off one of the craziest emotional roller-coaster nights in the Canucks’ 40 NHL seasons in Vancouver by ripping a knuckling slap shot over Chicago goalie Corey Crawford's right shoulder 5:22 into overtime. Vancouver's 2-1 victory set off a wild celebration on the ice, in the stands and in the streets while relieving an insane amount of tension from the entire city.

The win sends the Canucks into the Western Conference Semifinals, where they will face the Nashville Predators. All Vancouver had to do was withstand a near-miraculous comeback from the Blackhawks, both in the series and in Game 7.

Chicago became the seventh team in NHL history to force a Game 7 after losing the first three games of a series, but the fourth to lose the final game after winning Games 4-6. The Hawks also trailed 1-0 heading into the final two minutes of regulation Tuesday, but Jonathan Toews scored a game-tying shorthanded goal to send this one into overtime.

The champs are all finished. Toews got them close but could not get them past the Canucks. The picture above says 1,000 words. It's a shame that more of this country can't see games like this to make them fall for hockey. The drama, irony, and all that is rich this time of year. 

The Game by Ken Dryden & Miscellany

I started reading a book this past week that will hopefully educate my hockey knowledge: The Game by Ken Dryden. I'm told that it's the greatest hockey read of all time.

It's a great book and it helps you learn about those dynasty Montreal Canadiens teams of the early to late 70's. It's great to read this book and learn about the life of a hockey player and what it was like to be a pro athlete back in that era before contracts were astronomical and before the game became so different.

I'll update the blog with anything that I see that I like in the book.

Meanwhile, Ryan Nugen-Hopkins as well as Adam Larsson say that they're content to stay with their current teams next year rather than get NHL experience.

Edmonton will select #1 Overall again

I watched the draft lottery on NHL.com live last night, and I was happy to know that the Oilers have landed the #1 overall pick again. These guys really are like the Cleveland Browns when I first started following the Browns hardcore. Now the key will be selecting the right player.

I think Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is that player, but we'll see what Steve Tambellini thinks.

The New Jersey Devils lucked out, winning the draft lottery to select 4th overall, moving up from the 8 spot.

NHL Draft Lottery Tonight

Big night tonight in the next chapter of Oilers hockey.


By virtue of their league-worst record, the Edmonton Oilers hold the highest odds of obtaining the first overall selection at 48.2 percent, followed by the Colorado Avalanche (18.8 percent) and the Florida Panthers (14.2 percent).

I'll be tuning in, fingers are crossed for the Oil, who could have a new look to them next year.