Punch his fucking face off!Ryan Fucking Potulny? What a game last night! I've liked what I've seen from this guy all year but man, I think that may have been his coming out party. When we got the official word that Hemsky was going to be gone for the rest of the season I thought of two scenarios playing out there; 1. The team continues to shit the bed, and shit the bed even more so, hopefully landing a top 3 pick in next years draft, which would be fucking amazing. Or 2. It would turn into 07/08 all over again when a group of unproven rookies lit it up during the final stretch of the season after everyone else got hurt, and someone would step up and take the team on their back. Now I'm not saying this is going to continue for the rest of the season, but if last nights game is the jumping off point, and guys like Potulny and Jacques and, fucking Patrick O'Sullivan this is your time to finally turn it on and show everyone I'm not an asshole for picking you as my star, can take their game to that next level then perhaps this season isn't a wash after all.
Let's recap a bit here shall we. Did anyone honestly think the Oilers would get a point out of last nights game? Nevermind the fact that they got out to a 2 goal lead in the third and more or less outplayed the Sharks for a full 60 minutes, minus, you know, some brain farts that always seem to derail this team. I took solace in the fact that the only two people doing anything for the sharks last night were Marleau and Thornton. That line is easily the best line in hockey, but unfortunately Staios reverted back to his goat status, and Big Sex looked a step behind all night and they got burned for all four of the Sharks goals. Especially that shorty that tied it up with under a minute left. God dammit that was just a comedy of errors wasn't it? Between Gagner winning the draw but breaking his stick, to Staios and Souray going nowhere near the puck nor picking up a man, to Marleau being left all alone in front, and finally JDD flopping around on the ice for some reason. Fuck that was a moral killer. Thank god we've got scoring sensation Ryan Potulny in the line up, otherwise that game probably would have been 4-0.
Anyway, like I said it was a solid effort all around and the boys looked pretty great. Hopefully they can carry that momentum into tonight's game against the shitty Canucks, but if history has taught us anything it's that anytime the Oilers start to get hot, the wheels fall off almost twice as fast. I'm going to take 2 games in 2 nights as a welcome sign, that way the boys didn't have time to digest what happened last night and can come out firing again. JDD has looked pretty decent carrying the weight so far, but I would love to see Dubnyk get the start tonight. I bet Quinn is going to go the safe route and put the proven tender in there, but I think Dubnyk is ready to step up.
Anyone remember when the Canucks signed Kyle Wellwood, and he was going to lead the team in scoring and win them a cup? How's that working out for right now? 4 points in 20 games you say? Hmmm. I don't want to say I told you so, but, I TOLD YOU SO. Fucking Canuck fans. I'm all for being optimistic about new players coming onto your squad, but I'm also about being realistic about what they can do, and there was a reason Kyle Wellwood wasn't playing for anyone when the Canucks picked him up. I also take great delight in reading Canuck fans bitch and moan about how underwhelming Alex Burrows has been so far. Because his 28 goal season last year clearly wasn't a fluke. It's not like he scored more goals last year than his entire NHL career combined. Look, as much as I hate Alex Burrows for being a cunty little prick, he is a hard worker, and a solid skater, but he's third line grinder/agitator. But anyone who thought he was going to continue this insane upward swing and somehow score 40 goals this year is retarded and knows nothing about hockey AKA a Canuck fan.
A win tonight would tie the Oilers and the Canucks in the standings, which would be awesome, because anytime the Canucks are even the slightest bit ahead of the Oilers I'm fuming with rage. Unfortunately for our boys the Canucks are far better at home than they are on the road, and the Oilers have only won 2 games away from Rexall. I'm not liking our odds. But I have faith. Actually I should probably be more pessimistic. Every time I'm pessimistic the Oilers seem to come out and play an amazing game. So I'm going to chalk this one up as another loss due to a lackluster effort coming off a great effort the game before. Same old story we've seen all year.
jeanshorts prediction: Canucks 3 - Oilers 1 and I walk down to the Shangri La and wait outside for the Oilers to get back after the game and give them a piece of my fucking mind. Except Potulny. Between the stache and the game last night he gets a pass. For now.
GOILERS!
IQWT
-jeanshorts
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