Giroux and Nugent-Hopkins Shine in Friday Action in the NHL

The youth movement in the NHL was in the spotlight on Friday in the victory of the Flyers over the Habs and the Oilers over the Wild.  The youngsters which are shining in this new NHL season are showing in the scorecards on a nightly basis.

Claude Giroux is proving to be a sensation for this year's edition of the Philadelphia Flyers.  The guys is a machine.  He tallied two more goals against the Habs in a 3-1 victory on Friday night.  The kid is young, fast, and he has great hockey sense.  He is the leader of the youth movement in Philly and we think he could easily become the heart and soul of the Flyers for years to come.  The burden on Giroux was huge after the blockbuster trades by Philly in the post season.  His maturity in dealing with the new responsibilities should give Flyer fans something to look forward to for years.

The young guns for the Edmonton OIlers came to life on Friday night again and carried the Alberta boys to a 5-2 win over the Wild.  Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Taylor Hall notched goals for Edmonton for a team that seems to be a clear contender in their division.  The success in Edmonton is the product of years of planning with smart drafting and trades.  The kids on the Oilers squad are the future of hockey in this great market and the addition of Ryan Smyth has proven to be the leadership influence which was needed to get to the next level.  We really this team and the fact that they can bounce back from adversity so easily.  Just like Giroux in Philadelphia; Nugent-Hopkins and Hall show maturity beyond their years and unlimited potential.  

THE EDMONTON OILERS ARE SHOWING THE NHL THAT THEY HAVE ARRIVED

During the last two years, many NHL teams thought a game in Edmonton was a guaranteed victory.  The Oilers were so bad that they finished in last place during those two years and the Edmonton faithful suffered through many lopsided losses.  It looks like the suffering and waiting has paid off for Oiler fans as this year's team seems to have turned the tide.  The Oilers have a young team which is loaded with prospects and anchored by veterans and this group is challenging all comers.  We think something special is happening in Alberta's capital and all the other NHL teams need to pay attention.

The NHL likes the flash of excitement from young snipers.  The league likes to see flash players score a ton of goals and the fans love it even more. Every NHL team that has won or challenged for the Cup in the last few years has had the help of some serious scoring punch. The Penguins have Crosby, the Capitals have Ovechkin and the Oilers have Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.  On top of Nugent-Hopkins; Edmonton has Eberle and Hall.  Smart drafting is threatening to turn the Oilers into a powerhouse.  It is isn't going to happen overnight but Oilers' management is off to a great start with the Nugent-Hopkins, Hall, and Eberle line.

Last night, the Oilers won again by a score of 3-1 over the Colorado Avalanche.   This victory came on the heels of a 2-1 victory over the Washington Capitals. Until they played the Oilers, the red hot Capitals were undefeated.  We expect that these boys will make the playoffs this year and surprise everyone with a strong showing.  Lock and load Oilers fans; you are set for an exciting season and soon enough the Cup will make its return to the Edmonton area.

THE EDMONTON OILERS AND MAPLE LEAFS ARE PLAYOFF BOUND - WE FEEL IT

Every talking head on ESPN and TSN can call a game or season after it has happened.  Only real fans can look at a team and see the potential before it comes to past. We see top of the line hockey potential in the Oilers and the Maple Leafs. The turnarounds in Edmonton and Toronto are for real.  Both squads have suffered through years of mediocrity and their respective success this year is the result of smart drafting and trading.  We expect both teams to make the playoffs this year. 

Rookie sensation Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is giving the young Oiler team an example to follow.  His quiet demeanour is very similar to another young star who hit Edmonton with a thunderclap; Wayne Gretzky.  Ryan Nugent-Hopkins doesn't talk smack on the ice.  He lets his stick do the talking.  He has joined Jordan Eberle and Taylor Hall to form an offensive trio which has put Edmonton back on the NHL hockey map.  Gone are the days when a trip to play the Oilers was a day off for the visitors.  Competitors have to be on top of their game now when they enter Rexhall Place.  The Oilers can put the puck in the net and now that Nikolai Khabibulin is playing better ; this team could cause issues to others in this year's playoff race.  We think it is just a matter of time before the boys in Edmonton taste Stanley Cup success.  If they can keep these young stars for a stretch and foster a team spirit; the Stanley Cup could be headed to Alberta's capital sometime after 2014-2015.

Toronto's success is due to some key veterans playing at the top of their game and a the aggressive play of a hot young goalie.   This year's edition of the Buds is being led by Phil Kessel, Joffrey Lupul, and James Reimer.  Kessel and Lupul are lighting the lamp at a an impressive rate.  Reimer has been solid in the net  and is play has been complimented by experienced blue liners like Dion Phaneuf.  High powered offense plus air tight defense means the Leafs will be on the winning side of many confrontations this year. This version of the Leafs is going to make the playoffs and fans at the Air Canada Center will finally have something to cheer about  when springtime rolls around.  If they can stay injury free and some of their rookies pitch in; the Leafs could post a serious challenge for other squads come playoff time.  

Oilers Debut NHL's First Canadian Jeerleading Team as Leafs Make Hall Eat His Words

"Hold on, girls. This could get ugly."

In theory, the Edmonton Oilers picked the perfect night to debut their new Octane cheerleading squad, that is if they had been listening to anything star-in-the-making Taylor Hall was saying in the media in the lead-up to their game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday.

"Hopefully we can compete a lot harder [than on Sunday], because [Toronto] is a team that, if we do, it's there for the taking," Hall said on Monday, one day prior to the Oilers' 4-1 loss to the Leafs. Put simply, he should have known better.

Now, I think most sane hockey fans will be able to agree that the P.K. Subban and Linus Omark situations of the recent past were much ado about nothing in terms of having to do with the lack of respect going around in the NHL among the game's younger players, especially in a day and age where another player seems to be taken off the ice on a stretcher every week thanks to a hit from behind. From that perspective, talk of a 360-degree spin in a shootout and some extra mouthing-off on the ice seems somewhat irrelevant. However, look no further than Hall's comments for a true example of a hockey faux pas. You don't give the opposing team any reason to get up for a game against you. It's just plain stupid, and, yes, disrespectful.

Forget what Hall meant to say, because one has to believe he's not that stupid to openly and blatantly call out a struggling team. The fact is he made it so the usually laclustre Leafs were given added motivation on Tuesday to play better than their usual waiting-for-springtime-to-bloom-again selves.

As such, the Oilers' new cheerleading team, the first employed by a Canadian team, was forced to make its first appearance under relatively harsh circumstances, with the opposition having good reason not to be distracted by anything other than the task at hand yesterday night. Perhaps no one was more focused than Phil Kessel, but that doesn't necessarily have much at all to do with his current scoring slump (read into that however way you like).

Kessel actually had two points on the night, including a goal, as the Leafs proved that either they're much better than the team that lost 5-0 to the Oilers a few weeks ago, or the Oilers aren't as good as their hot streak of 5-1-1 heading into last night would indicate. Considering they are the Leafs after all, it's likely option "B".

Enter Oilers Octane, who will surely give that extra boost to the line-up and the crowd alike needed to get this team into the playoffs. I mean, just looking at their pictures, it's clear that they're beasts on the ice, tough as nails, who clearly know how to take a bodycheck or two... wait, what's that? You mean the cheerleaders won't actually directly contribute to the games' outcomes? They won't be playing and replacing the likes of Andrew Cogliano and Jason Strudwick? Bollocks. Then what's the point of hiring a bunch of average-looking women (with admittedly great bodies) just to get the crowd going? Good question.

All due respect to the cheerleaders, who aren't really all that bad-looking (I was just making a point that the only help the Oilers need is with the actual playing of hockey), all their addition does is pave the way for other Canadian teams to buy into the gimmick that has already befallen 23 American teams. As mentioned in the previous post detailing the initial announcement (link here), the Oilers don't need sex to sell tickets. They do alright on their own, and with the team bound to improve drastically in the years to come with all the young talent being infused into the line-up, it makes little sense for Edmonton to be the first Canadian team to take the ill-advised leap. Now, Toronto, that makes more sense.

Perhaps the clearly overly hormonal Hall, who may still be going through the stages of puberty judging by the babyface look of his, learnt his latest life lesson as a result of maybe trying too hard to impress the team's new "players". Whatever the case, he likely did learn it, which is good news for the Oilers' future. The cheerleaders? Just one more sign hockey in Canada as a whole is going to hell in a handbasket, punctuated by Matthew Hulsizer being one step closer to keeping the Coyotes in Phoenix well into the foreseeable future, with the city of Glendale approving a lease for the team on Wednesday.

Avs probably still Kicking Themselves for Losing to Oil as Hall Nets First Game-Winning Goal

Everyone knows that the Edmonton Oilers have been a bad team this year, as their 6-11-4 record (as of Thursday night) speaks for itself. But few really know how bad. One stat potentially sheds some light on the situation: Their penalty-kill efficiency of 67.5%. Think about that for a second... on average, every three penalty kills they give up one goal, which I guess would be the NHL's version of the three-date rule.

Not only that, but they've also given up a league-high 3.86 goals per game, which, needless to say, is astoundingly high. Scoring on the Oilers has become so easy that there has been a sudden unmanageable increase in the number of horny, sexually frustrated teenagers looking to drop everything in order to pursue a career as an NHLer, which would be all fine and good if the only team they could most realistically make wasn't the Oilers.

However, all is not lost, as the future of the organization (admittedly long-term future) is still very bright. A recent TSN poll (link here) asked Canadians which of the six teams up north was in the most trouble. While the Calgary Flames seem to be running away with it right now, the Oilers are unjustifiably in second place (although one could argue that the Flames are also unjustifiably in first). Unlike the Toronto Maple Leafs, for example, the Oilers are knee-deep in top-level talent. The only problem is it's going to take a few years for that talent, like a fine wine, to mature. The Leafs may be better off right now, but when your only legitimate blue-chip prospect is Nazem Kadri you might as well forego the fermentation process altogether, get drunk off your ass as soon as possible, and try to drink away your sorrows, because they ain't ever going away any other way.

However, in the here and the now, there is a very real concern that the Oilers losing the way they have been will irreparably damage them. Thankfully Taylor Hall brought some joy, however short-lived it is to be, to the City of Champions on Thursday with the first game-winning goal of his career, scored with under 30 seconds left in the Oilers`game against the Colorado Avalanche. It may not be much, and in the end those two points may very well end up screwing the Oilers out of a top pick in June, but at least they would have screwed themselves in such a scenario... an infinitely preferable situation to the alternative, at least in hockey, anyway.

Finally!

Edmonton Oiler Taylor Hall netted his first NHL goal on Thursday and it couldn't have come against a more... I want to say "suitable" opponent in the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Jackets' quick 6-3 start (including their shootout win against the OIlers last night) aside, it's really only a matter of time before they show their true colours as an AHL-calibre team.

So, Hall now has three points in eight games. I think hockey fans, myself included, have just become very spoiled over the past five seasons with the influx of elite rookie talent year after year. There was Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, John Tavares, etc. Hall will likely be great, but not the next Great One, unfortunately. Hopefully the City of Champions will be able to cope better than all the fantasy-hockey poolies out there who made the mistake of drafting Hall first overall. Memo to the overzealous among us: It isn't as if Hall HAD to get drafted in any of your leagues. You wouldn't have wasted a pick on say Steve Montador, Chris Clark, Dominic Moore, or even Derek Stepan, would you? All of whom have more points than Hall.