Let's take a peek at our 4-5 loss to the Penguins, who're without their two best defensemen.

The team didn't do squat in the 1st 2 periods. Garon made 16/20 saves then JDD came in and played well making 15 saves on all shots faced.

The kids were horrible. Nilson(No shots), Coliano(NO SHOTS) and Gagner(1 shot 2 PIM) played horribly.

This was supposed to be the year that things clicked for us. We missed the playoffs last year by a measly 3 points. With all the injuries we had last season there's no excuse for our players to be playing like this when everyone's healthy.

There are a few players who've looked good, but most of the team is playing below expectations. 3.18 G.A.A and 88.1 sav% for Garon isn't good enough. Dwayne Roloson has asked to be traded and in response he's played better than expected with a 2.78 G.A.A and a 91.5 sav%.

Ethan Morreau aka Mr. Glass has looked great this year. He's contributed at key times. 4 goals and 5 assists in 13 games in incredible and it goes to show why he's out captain. He loves to get his nose dirty and can produce.

Sheldon Souray. I've seen him make a few defensive bloopers this year, but I firmly believe that what he brings is a much bigger asset than it is a liability. With 4 goals and 6 assists in 13 games, an even plus minus record, 12 PIM and over 60 minutes played in the last 2 games I say he's more than worth what he's being paid.

Ales Hemsky. I've doubted him and bad mouthed him over seasons past, but in he's played well so far. He's the only player on the team scoring a point per game(4 goals 9 assists) and he's looked really good in the past few games particularly.

Tom Gilbert started off slowly, but he's played very well the last 4 games and produced like a mad man with 6 points in his last 3 games played.

Anyone who's watched the Oil this year has to be tired of  the injuries the line changes. Cole and Penner getting time on the third line, Nilson going up to the first line and not to mention Sam Gagner's horrid production. (2 assists in 13 games played)

Anyone who's watched the Oil this year has got to be tired of our team not being prepared to play 60 minutes of hockey. 13 games in and we've yet to see Edmonton play properly for 60 minutes straight. On some nights it doesn't even look like the players care.

Anyone who's tired the Oil this year must be tired of promises and potential. Oil fans accepted the fact that the Oilers were forced to go into a rebuilding period. That was in the early 90's. It's now 2008 and if we Oiler fans believe that our prospects are good enough to deserve their positions and that our team as a whole is playoff worthy, what's gone on in the first 13 games suggest that we've got to either start benching players(Gagner being my first choice) or get a new coach.

So fire Mac-T... who to turn to?

3. Pierre McGuire - Love him or hate him on TV, he sure knows his stuff and obviously has a passion for the game and the next generation hockey players who've broken through into the NHL since the previous lock-out.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_McGuire

2. Ted Nolan - My #1. Got a Jack Adams in his 2nd year with the Sabers and managed to take 2 teams to the playoffs twice in 4 seasons of coaching. I believe he's a guy who can get a lot out of his players and he's able to motivate the lazy ones. What he did in Buffalo looked good, but I really believe that what he pulled off in New York was next to impossible.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Nolan

1.John Tortorella - Not my #1, but the #1 of most people talking about who'd be the 1st choice for a replacement for Mac-T. Winning a cup a few years ago looks good on his resume.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Tortorella

How long will it take for Kevin Lowe to fire his buddy? You decide!
Listed below are places where you can express your voice on this matter! Let's hear you holler Oilers fans!

http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=33746694957 -- New Facebook group to support John Tortorella for being Edmonton's new head coach.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6083692305 -- Facebook group of people who agree that Mac-T should be fired.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5111682718 -- Another group on Facebook composed of members who want to see Mac-T fired.

Get out the discuss! Spread the word at the water coolers in the office and everywhere else!

The time for change is now!!!

Let's say Penner ends up in Edmonton. The Sabers or Ducks could offer Stoll a hefty ammount of money next year and depdning on how many more trades Edmonton makes, they might not be able to match it next year.

I'm not saying Edmonton is going to make another big trade, but Lowe must be trying to make a deal, because Lowe has spent a lot of money and we're not a shoe-in for the playoffs yet. We're still a bubble team, assuming Edmonton doesn't come down with a bunch of injuries.

Let's imagine a situation where Edmonton does make a trade to bring in a player who's good for 40 goals or 90 points. If such a thing happened Edmonton would be taking on more salary than they'd be giving up.

One thing going in Edmonton's favour right now is that they only have 2 UFAs next year. Reasoner and Sanderson.

Restricted Free Agents:

Jarret Stoll(Center) - If he comes back from his concussion and plays as he did last year on the second line then he could get offers of over 4 million a season.

Marc-Antoine Pouliot(Center) - Put up decent numbers in the AHL before coming up to play on a team which wasn't doing anything right. His stats were horrible, but this guy has the potential to turn into a legit 2nd line player.

Robert Nilsson(Center) - Put up good numbers in the AHL, and played a measly 4 games on the Oilers after the Smyth trade. This guy should show up on the Oiler's roster once the season starts and he could end up having a really sweet rookie season. He's fast, has pretty good hands, and dispite being 5"11 183, he plays a gritty game.

Tom Gilbert(defenseman) - Put up 30 points in 48 games with a +6 and 32 PIM on their AHL team before getting 6 points in 12 games with a -1 and no PIM in the NHL. He's still only 24 and was playing on a team with really low moral. Should see some imrovement out of him. At training camp he'll be fighting for the last spot on the roster with a few guys.

Jean-Francois Jacques(Left wing) - Was a plus and put up 27 points in 29 games in the AHL before come to the NHL to acomplish nothing in 37 games. I'm not sure, but I imagine he was playing 4th line minutes. Landed a -11 and 33PIM. He's a 6"4 217pound beast. This 22 year old 2nd rounder still has some developing to do and it might show next season.

Danny Syvret(defenseman) - 5"11 203 pound defenseman who's responsible at both ends of the ice and is also a great passer. I was surprised that we signed dick Tarnstrom, because I really thought that Syvet was going to get the spot. Maybe he still can. Him or Tarnstrom might turn into a resurve defesneman. He's a 22 year old 3rd round draft pick. I wouldn't worry about this guy getting grabbed, because even if he does see action with the Oilers, his playing time will be very limited.

Patrick Thoresen(Left wing) - An undrafted 23 year old with good two way ability. Kinda Like Jacques, the potential to put up much better numbers next season is there, it just all comes down to whether or not the older guys can get the kids on the right track.

Zack Stortin(right wing)i - The last time this guy put up 40 points was 3 years ago in the OHL, so unless this guy really pulls a feather out of his hat and shows up at training camp looking like a totally different man, he'll still just be our bully and won't be due for much of a raise.

Edmonton has a lot of young guys trying to fight for a place on the roster coming up this year and the continuing theme for anyone writing a blogs about 2007-2008 Edmonton Oilers season predictions will mention a lot of garble able potential.

If the right guys step up and set the tone early in the year team moral give a lot of these guys the boost they'd need to be very effective players. Effective enough for teams the Ducks (who probably won't be able to afford to overpay players next year) Sabers (who obviously have tons of cap space) or anyone else who figures that Edmonton's restricted free agents are fair game now that Lowe has gone after a few an offered incredibly inflated contracts.

Really look at the list of teams who've played off in the finals over the last decade. There hasn't been such a great match-up in the finals for years. Both of these teams are loaded big name players.

Think about how many players on these two teams could end up in the NHL Hockey Hall of Fame. It's scary.

Defense: The Ducks have a few bigger horses playing on the blueline, but the Senators have six defensmen who're all playing great. Mezzaros and Redden have been more responsible for setting up the offense, Volchenkov and Phillips have been one scary shut down line, and Pressing and Corvo have been great all around as well. The Ducks haven't been playing their A-game through most of the playoffs and because of that the Ducks' top defensmen have to be getting a little tired of giving and taking all of the punishment.(And not to mention logging insane ammount of icetime.)

On paper you'd have to give this one to the Ducks, but the Senators' blueliners have been playing great and haven't been through as tough of a battle as the Duck's blueliners.

Offense: The Ducks have a good group of forwards. Several who can put the puck in the net at will. Heck I've been cherring Dustin Penner on even though I don't even like the Ducks. I like to see a big huge guy go out there, smush some guys and score a crapload of garbage goals in front of the net. The Ducks' offense has been a bit of a disspointment through these playoffs and if the Ducks are to have any chance of winning they're going to need their forwards to kick it up a notch or two or three, because the defensemen and goaltender can only do so much.

Ottawa's offense is a scary machine. Their top line of Spezza, Heatley, and Alfredson have been literally unstoppable. Don't expect this fact to chage. They made fools of the Devils in five games, remember? This is the first line of the decade. Really the last time we saw a single line dominate like this was back when Super Mario and Jagr were linemates. The Senators' 2nd and third forward lines aren't as skilled and flashy, but they're filled with fast skating players who play great two way hockey. Look for Mike Comrie to make a bigger contribution on the 2nd line now that he's back to 100% health.

This isn't even comparable. The fact is that the Sens have the guns up front and they're playing the best hockey of their lives. Something the Ducks don't have going for them.

Goaltending:

You've got to give it to the Ducks here, but give  Emery credit. He's responded well to the pressure. I expect Giggy to outplay the hell out of Emery. (And that's got to happen for the Ducks to even stand a chance against the Sens.) Giggy is going to make some unbelievably impossibly uber insane saves, but if Emery can stay consistant everything is going to be ok.

Prediction:

The powerplay for both teams will be pretty dry through the series and it'll become a really big concern as the series goes on. The Sens will learn the hard way that they can't bully the Ducks as they have in the previous series. The Senators will dress Mcgrattan in game 3 to go out and smash some heads and at the same time the Ducks will start to show signs of frustration, which will result in penalties and exhasted goalies and defensemen. The Senators wont give the Ducks a chance to breathe and the Ducks will find themselves being overpowered and way outgunned in game four... leading to the Senators taking the cup in game five!!!!

By the way if you didn't notice I've jumped onto the

"OOOOOHHHHHHH CANADAAAA!!" bandwagon.

It's been a pretty nice season for rookies this year, and my choice for the rookie of the year is Jordan Staal. He's 18 years old and almost didn't crack the lineup at the begining of the season, because the Pens were not sure if he was ready to crack the their lineup. Even after he'd been there for a few games media was wondering if he was going to be sent down for his first season, but he's come out smelling like a rose.

Being on pace for 32 goals and 44 points isn't anything special, but consider the fact that this guy has spent a lot of time on the third line, and the fact that he wasn't getting nearly as much ice time as Malkin through the year.

Seven short handed goals. No matter who you are, that's an impressive feat. That's a record for a rookie, and he's also leading the NHL in short handed goals.

25.71% shooting percentage. That's insane. I spend way too much time playing NHL07, and with my dream lineup the only players who get a better shot percentage than that are defensmen who are fast enough to do an end to ender and down along the goalie's side. What's that mean? It means it's unrealistic. Something you can't see a player do on a regular basis. Tsn.ca's scouting report suggests that this guy needs to shoot the puck more often. On pace for 32 goals with an average of around 1.3 shots per game. That's amazing.

Currently +15. If this isn't enough you obviously need to wake up, open your eyes, and re-read this whole post. This guy's spent a lot of time on the third line, and is a huge piece to their penalty kill.

Jordan Staal is like some kind of incredibly inexperienced dude that got tossed into the front lines in a war. They new the kid showed potential, so they just tossed him into the danger zone. This guy's been playing on the third line. An energy line which often plays up against the other teams best players. He's come out leading the league in shooting percentage(25.71%), setting a rookie record for short handed goals(7), leading the league in short handed goals, putting up 27 goals, and still walking away with a plus/minus rating of +15.

Not bad for a guy who doesn't see any time on the first line, and spent the first half of the season with almost no time on the second line.

My conclusion? This guy is real deal. A potential Mr. Everything. He's big enough to get his nose dirty, and skilled enough to put up great numbers. Since he's only 18, he still has the potential to develop further into an even better player.

2006-2007 Calder trophy winner?

You know who.

Ok I've got so much crap figured out here. Well part of it. Let's just say that I'm annoyed with online sports polls. Cheechoo of the Skarks managed to grab enough of my attention during the all star break. I'm not one to get excited over the all star break, but the fact that he made it to the all-star game this season just tells me that people in the California area either know nothing about hockey or are the biggest homers in hockey.

What did he have at the break? 16 goals? And he was minus what? I'm an Oilers fan and I wasn't thinking "Oh I hope Peter Sykora gets voted into the all-star lineup." Why? Because there were dozens of other players who were more worthy of being there. Whether or not your favourite player is having an off year, the all-star game isn't suposed to be about your favourite player shooting rubber around with the best players in the league. The all-star game is suposed to be one of those "what-if" situations come true. When you do have the best players in hockey playing a game together so that the NHL can hot dog and show off their best players right now. It's not about who was the best last year, or players who would be the best if they hadn't just gotten over a long term injury. It's a game where pretty much every player there should've been on fire for the most of the first half of the regular season.

Now I know how simple it is to track I.P adresses so my idea is that they either put a cap on each city for how many votes can be registered. OR they can split the world into regions and decide how much you'r vote is worth based on your city's population density. This brings us back to Cheechoo. I honestly don't know or care how many people are living in the state of California, but I know that there's a ton of people living down there. They were stupid enough to vote Arnie into office, so it's reasonable to assume that these were the same retards who voted him into the all-star game. If that's not reason enough to change the voting system for the all-star break, then maybe Gary Betman should get off the crack and make the important decisions while he's sober.

For another example I go to espn.com and see that Detroit is in the top five for the top five teams voted by of course... US! Was New Jersey there?

Californian: Of course not! They use something wierd called a trap. I've got not clue what it does, but I've heard that it makes watching hockey really boring. I wouldn't know, of course, because NJ only comes out here a few times a year. But my friend knows more about hockey than me and he says that the trap sux.

Of course New Jersey wasn't there. I've got New Jersey pegged for being one of the teams to hit the semi finals this year. The other team in the East will be either Ottawa or Buffalo. Buffalo is getting lazy, but I think that they'll wake up and take things more seriously when the playoffs come. As for Ottawa, I think that they've lost enough that they now realize that they've gotta put more into it to get anything out of it. At the same time I've never been a big Chara fan, for he takes too many penalties, and Mike Comrie looked great throwing the Oilers on his shoulders with Weight out and hurt years ago. He's fast on his feet, makes quick decisions, and plays a gritty game.

Anyhow back to NJ they don't have anyone worthy of all-star mentioning playing defense(Well Rafalski is pretty damn good but whatever), but they've got Brodeur, and they're playing a system which takes less pressure off of the less experienced and not so awesome defensmen playing for New Jersey this year. A lot of people will go on and on about how defense wins the game, but Brodeur is without a doubt the best goalie in hockey today and possibly the best goalie ever. He doesn't get hurt, he plays tons of games, and he's Mr. Cool when there's a lot on the line. Their forward lines are looking great. Their first two lines can put the puck in the net. Their forwards are fast and Jamie Landenbruner(sp?) is going to be Mr. Clutch wherever they go.

Detroit? Give me a break. Past Lidstrom they dont have anyone in the rear to go the distance. Schnieder(sp?) and Chelios are still effective players, but they're too old to play the agressive game that they like to play. Do you think that they'd be able to stand upto a guy like Dustin Penner for a seven game series? Actually that's not fair... let's just look at what happened last year. My Oilers pounded them into submission. By using the word POUNDED I'm refering to how my Oilers crushed them physically.

 Next up on the forward lines we have... nobody. I like Zeterberg(sp?), but Datsuk should be pronounced Datsuck, and Detroit's GM's name should be pronounced Datsucker, because this guy's never done anything. Like Yashin and Lang(Another Redwing who's destined to let his team down) he doesn't care once he's got the contract. His numbers are picking up now, but don't even try to trick me into thinking that he's going to do anything more than 0.3PPG once the playoffs hit.

And lastly, where's the character? Who's going to lead this team? Lidstrom is a shoe-in for the Hall of Fame, but that doesn't mean that he should be wearing the C. He's wearing the C because Detroit lacks a leader. A guy who'll rally the troops and give priceless advice to aid the rookies. When the playoffs hit players are hiting harder, skating faster and putting everything into everything if they give a damn about winning the Stanley cup. Some like Chelios could be that guy, but the chances are he'll be limping around like Stevy Y was after my Oilers had pounded on him for a few games. For christ sake, the Blues have more character than the Wings.

This irational rant was brought to you by the morons who think they have the right to vote when they don't know anything about hockey, politics, or whatever they're voting for because they have the right to do so.