You people are hilarious.
Sometime I write blogs to amuse myself, and last night's one was a great example. I blamed the ref for the Oilers loss. Who over the age of 12 seriously blames the ref for a loss? Thanks for all the fun messages, Tweets and emails telling me what a dope I am. I need to write more blogs like that I think, because the reaction they cause is hilarious.
On a more serious note, someone sent me a message saying Sam Gagner was actually injured and couldn't play yesterday. "He's been out all week with back problems". Yeah, whatever. Gagner has a bad back. He also has a bad stick, bad hand-eye coordination, bad skating, bad breath, bad luck, bad cheese...
Maybe the Oilers sat him because he's hurting, or maybe they sat him because his game stinks. They could tell everyone Gagner was too hurt to play in order to save him some embarrassment. He certainly didn't look that injured during Oilers practice this morning. He was playing on a line with Magnus Paajarvi and Ales Hemsky. The Underachiever Line? The Three-Strikes Line? The Trade Me Line?
At the end of the day, all I care is if the Oilers are winning, and right now, they're not. Gagner is not the entire reason they are losing, but the more important detail is that he doesn't appear to be part of the solution. We all know why the Oilers are losing games right now, and it has nothing to do with the forwards.
Linus Omark's knee is whack, and he'll be out for six weeks. So much for the concept of dealing him to get a decent defenseman. It's okay though: Why should the Oilers deal for a defenseman when they'll have Theo Peckham, Taylor Chorney, Colten Teubert and Jeff Petry in the line-up for the next game? Yikes, has the Oilers season ever fallen apart quickly.
Ryan Whitney is apparently a week away. Who knows what the diagnosis is on Andy Sutton. Cam Barker is gone for three months. Corey Potter's ankle is being looked at today, but the early indication is his injury is of the 7-10 day variety. All things considered, the Oilers will be playing with two 3/4 guys (Tom Gilbert and Ladislav Smid) and four AHL-level players for a little while. The current four game losing streak is going to grow.
What makes me angry about all of this is, it doesn't have to be this way. The Oilers started the season playing to potential. Last night before the officials took a holiday, the first two lines were absolutely tearing up the Ottawa D. Maybe officiating didn't decide the game, but two missed calls certainly changed the momentum. The Oilers have the skill needed on the forward lines to score plenty...all they need is the puck. Tom Gilbert is the only D man the Oilers currently have playing who can successfully complete a pass longer than 10 feet. Why is management so blind to this?
I listen to hockey-talk radio, and the Defeatists are taking over. "This is a developing team. I'd rather see the Oilers give ice time to kids from the farm than acquire someone. We need to be patient. We knew going into this season the Oilers weren't going to be very good."
You suck! Stop talking! No one wants to see the Oilers go on 10 game losing streaks anymore. For the first 15 games of the season, the Oilers play equaled their talent level, for once. Fans were happy. Fans aren't happy now. Last year's team has returned and management is ignoring it.
Why do we go through this year after year? The injuries start, and everyone starts saying, "we knew they weren't going to be any good." Why is sucking so acceptable in this market? The Oilers have numerous assets they could live without for the sake of getting a real defenseman or two.
Sometimes you have to give something to get something. It's okay; it's a business, and hockey players are nothing more than pieces on a chess board. It's time to sacrifice a bishop or two so we can take the queen.
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