The view from our hotel room. I had to explain to many of the citizens of the rain capital of Canada that the bright orange ball in the sky is called "the sun."
I make no effort to hide my disdain for this team and my reasons are many. You see, not so long ago.....wait....nope. I'm not ready to talk about it yet. Maybe another time...
I arrived in Vancouver mid Saturday afternoon, to the rarest of scenarios in our west coast metropolis this time of year - it was sunny and not raining. In fact, it was a balmy 19 degrees, pretty good for mid October. We also had very little issues with traffic, even downtown where our hotel was located in the famous shopping district of Robson St. Our rooms were ready upon check-in, where we had been upgraded to double beds instead of twins, free of charge. Awesome!
From there, we sauntered through the downtown area mingling with the locals and visitors such as ourselves at various watering holes and restaurants in preparation for the evenings' hockey game. Most of the people we encountered were in (and into) good spirits, were very receptive and friendly despite the donning of my #93 Nugent-Hopkins away jersey. The jovial atmosphere was boosted even more so by the fact that the B.C. Lions were playing at the same time across the street from their hockey brethren which put a total of 70,000 sports fans in the vicinity on top of normal downtown Saturday adventurers. I was even on the receiving end of many high-fives and fist-bumps from fellow Oilers fans who were also brave enough to show their colors!
It all seemed so wonderful. There I was with my Father and Father-in-law, spending some good male-bonding time together in anticipation of a great live NHL match-up, taking in the gorgeous sights and being treated like gold by the natives. How could this be? I was in the heart of the city that is home to one of the most evil-franchises in all of hockey. How could this team have duped all of these kind, hospitable people?
It was eerie. Then I thought to myself, "Maybe it's like that scene at the beginning of the first Ghostbusters movie where the quiet, unassuming librarian lady is seen reading books along the shelves. For a while she seems mild, curious and perhaps even friendly. That is until she is approached and prodded and then she turns and BLAMMO! she's actually a gnarly toothed ghoul just waiting to get her hands on you...
It's the only explanation that makes sense.
Regardless of the reason however, I decided to enjoy myself anyways and hoped that all of the pleasantries were a sign of more good things to come. Not that I let my guard down too far....
Again, I won't rehash the minutes of the game as most of you probably watched it, but from a pure spectator stand point, it was unbelievable. I will say this though, watching the game from the upper sections gives you an entirely different perspective of the game. I understand now what Dallas Eakins means when he says the game slows right down from above because it does. You can see all of the plays developing in slow motion, where all of the open spaces are, how players are managing their gaps and where the next shift in positioning is going to go. It was so cool!
Two games, two losses, one point. Not the start that any Oilers fan has been hoping for. It hurt me even more to witness it live, sitting with all of those Canucks fans (what's wrong with these people?). But it's only two games, right?
On the positive side, the Oilers picked up where they left off from Calgary, rolling four lines that were all capable of generating offense and controlling the puck. I even witnessed the team cycling the puck! I also got a boost of confidence from Viktor Fasth, who was unreal in net for most of 65 minutes. If it wasn't for those ghoulish Sedins and Edmonton's' inexplicable march to the penalty box seven straight times, this game could have ended much differently. Oh yeah, there was also Nuge's first fight. That was worth the price of the ticket right there. He held his own and I couldn't have been more proud of him!
DEFENCE: Brad Hunt's first goal came on the power play (no surprise) and was a thing of beauty. His lack of foot speed was more apparent from my eye in the sky vantage point, but he played an entertaining game. Maybe we could just trot him out for all 2 minutes of every powerplay and ride the pine for the rest of the game...Schultz was good-ish, his defensive zone break downs were less noticeable, but then again, so was his offence...the pairing of Fayne and Nikitin had a better game than they did against Calgary, but Fayne looked like he was reaching a few times or out of position or just a bit off. I wonder if coming from the reliable defensive machinery that is the New Jersey Devils to the chaos rules the day Oilers is messing with his game...Petry was by far the best defender on the ice and now I'm starting to worry we're going to lose him due to his contract...maybe we could trade Ference instead. I know he wears the "C" and all, but last night he looked like the Captain of his own sinking ship. He was awful...
FORWARDS: Marcobello had a terrific game. With responsible play, a good forecheck and some scoring touch, he is becoming a terrific third line C. My fears about his abilities are starting to dwindle...Nuge, Hall and Eberle were driving me nuts for most of the night. One shift they looked great and the next they looked terrible and disorganized. Last game I said that Ebs looked off and tonight it was Hall's turn. He was all over the place, maybe trying to do to much. A little more structure in his game would have paid huge dividends last night...too bad about all the penalties because the Draisaitl, Yakupov, Pouliot line was probably the Oilers best one, especially Yakupov. If he keeps this up, this could be a real break out season for him...Perron had a couple of assists last night and is noteworthy if for no other reason than I have him in my hockey pool this year...Jesse Joensuu scored just a beautiful short handed goal. Still no pre-season let down. 2 games down, 80 more to go...
GOALTENDING: Viktor freakin' Fasth. What a game. He is the biggest reason the Oilers even came away with a point in this one, which sometimes a goalie has to do in order for his team to be successful. 'In my mind', (as Craig Mactavish likes to say) he is the Edmonton Oilers' starting goalie, bar none. The only way Scrivens should be allowed near the net more than a handful of times this season is to pick up Fasths' mask and water bottle. Watch him Ben, maybe you could learn a thing or two...
On a final note regarding Saturday's contest - I heard/read a lot of talk about the Oilers "learning how to win". I'm not sure I agree with this. I don't know if it's something you can learn or if it's just something you DO. It's true that in both games this year the Oilers were either tied or leading going into the start of the third period only to lose their grip on the game and giving up the points. But last year, more often than not, the Oilers weren't even IN the game by the start of the third frame. They have no experience, really, being the better opponent through 60 minutes. I believe that this team just needs more opportunities being out in front on the scoreboard in order to gain the confidence of being able to, and just knowing, that they are the better team on any given night. With experience will come confidence will come execution. Whether or not they are a better team remains to be seen...
Lastly, I would just like to mention many of the things that I am thankful for:
Thank you to my beautiful wife, who both keeps me in line and picks me up, when I need it most. Thank you to my two amazing little girls, without whom I couldn't imagine any kind of worthwhile existence. Thank you to my parents, father-in law, brother, sister and in-laws for being a wonderful network of support and love. Thank you to my friends, you know who you are. Thank you to the good citizens of Vancouver and your breath taking town for showing me a wonderful time in spite of our differences and finally.... SCREW YOU Vancouver Canucks for trying to ruin my weekend of getting to see one of my first loves, The Edmonton Oilers live after more than twenty years of being away.
But really, did I expect any less from you?
Another restaurant pit-stop. We were very well-fed.
I only had one, I promise. At least at this particular pub, anyway.
It was eerie. Then I thought to myself, "Maybe it's like that scene at the beginning of the first Ghostbusters movie where the quiet, unassuming librarian lady is seen reading books along the shelves. For a while she seems mild, curious and perhaps even friendly. That is until she is approached and prodded and then she turns and BLAMMO! she's actually a gnarly toothed ghoul just waiting to get her hands on you...
It's the only explanation that makes sense.
Here we go!
The game itself was amazing. The production value at an NHL venue is second to none and has certainly come leaps and bounds since the last time I was at a game. From the sound to the player intro graphics to the lights, it was all top-notch. I can't imagine what it would have been like if it was for a team that I didn't wish at the bottom of the ocean!Again, I won't rehash the minutes of the game as most of you probably watched it, but from a pure spectator stand point, it was unbelievable. I will say this though, watching the game from the upper sections gives you an entirely different perspective of the game. I understand now what Dallas Eakins means when he says the game slows right down from above because it does. You can see all of the plays developing in slow motion, where all of the open spaces are, how players are managing their gaps and where the next shift in positioning is going to go. It was so cool!
OILERS 4 - CANUCKS 5 S.O.
Two games, two losses, one point. Not the start that any Oilers fan has been hoping for. It hurt me even more to witness it live, sitting with all of those Canucks fans (what's wrong with these people?). But it's only two games, right?
On the positive side, the Oilers picked up where they left off from Calgary, rolling four lines that were all capable of generating offense and controlling the puck. I even witnessed the team cycling the puck! I also got a boost of confidence from Viktor Fasth, who was unreal in net for most of 65 minutes. If it wasn't for those ghoulish Sedins and Edmonton's' inexplicable march to the penalty box seven straight times, this game could have ended much differently. Oh yeah, there was also Nuge's first fight. That was worth the price of the ticket right there. He held his own and I couldn't have been more proud of him!
DEFENCE: Brad Hunt's first goal came on the power play (no surprise) and was a thing of beauty. His lack of foot speed was more apparent from my eye in the sky vantage point, but he played an entertaining game. Maybe we could just trot him out for all 2 minutes of every powerplay and ride the pine for the rest of the game...Schultz was good-ish, his defensive zone break downs were less noticeable, but then again, so was his offence...the pairing of Fayne and Nikitin had a better game than they did against Calgary, but Fayne looked like he was reaching a few times or out of position or just a bit off. I wonder if coming from the reliable defensive machinery that is the New Jersey Devils to the chaos rules the day Oilers is messing with his game...Petry was by far the best defender on the ice and now I'm starting to worry we're going to lose him due to his contract...maybe we could trade Ference instead. I know he wears the "C" and all, but last night he looked like the Captain of his own sinking ship. He was awful...
The enemy was always close. They also looked much older and smaller in person.
GOALTENDING: Viktor freakin' Fasth. What a game. He is the biggest reason the Oilers even came away with a point in this one, which sometimes a goalie has to do in order for his team to be successful. 'In my mind', (as Craig Mactavish likes to say) he is the Edmonton Oilers' starting goalie, bar none. The only way Scrivens should be allowed near the net more than a handful of times this season is to pick up Fasths' mask and water bottle. Watch him Ben, maybe you could learn a thing or two...
On a final note regarding Saturday's contest - I heard/read a lot of talk about the Oilers "learning how to win". I'm not sure I agree with this. I don't know if it's something you can learn or if it's just something you DO. It's true that in both games this year the Oilers were either tied or leading going into the start of the third period only to lose their grip on the game and giving up the points. But last year, more often than not, the Oilers weren't even IN the game by the start of the third frame. They have no experience, really, being the better opponent through 60 minutes. I believe that this team just needs more opportunities being out in front on the scoreboard in order to gain the confidence of being able to, and just knowing, that they are the better team on any given night. With experience will come confidence will come execution. Whether or not they are a better team remains to be seen...
The walk home was eerily quiet after the game. Perhaps not unlike after a nuclear fall-out. Or maybe that's just how I felt...
Lastly, I would just like to mention many of the things that I am thankful for:
Thank you to my beautiful wife, who both keeps me in line and picks me up, when I need it most. Thank you to my two amazing little girls, without whom I couldn't imagine any kind of worthwhile existence. Thank you to my parents, father-in law, brother, sister and in-laws for being a wonderful network of support and love. Thank you to my friends, you know who you are. Thank you to the good citizens of Vancouver and your breath taking town for showing me a wonderful time in spite of our differences and finally.... SCREW YOU Vancouver Canucks for trying to ruin my weekend of getting to see one of my first loves, The Edmonton Oilers live after more than twenty years of being away.
But really, did I expect any less from you?
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