Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Oilers v. Red Wings - Zephaniah 2:1-3

Gather together, you pathetic Oilers.
Come on, bring it in you shameful people.
The appointed time is almost here
and God's chosen instrument is about to sweep us away.
Yahweh's anger is almost fully complete for another year,
his unending punishment ready for a small reprieve.


See Also:
Oilers v. Red Wings - Zephaniah 2:4-7

Oilers v. Blues - Zechariah 5:5-11

Then the angel who was speaking to me came closer and said, "Look up, do you see those numbers floating in the sky?" And so I asked, "What do the numbers mean?" Then the angel of Yahweh replied saying, "They are wins and losses and near-losses all counted and assigned to the Oilers as payment for their sins."

See Also:
Oilers v. Blues - Zechariah 5:1-4

Oilers v. Ducks - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-28

Let us all be joyful no matter the circumstances. Let us all pray continually for God's deliverance. Let us give thanks for God's generosity in letting us being truly terrible instead of the worst kind of middling. Indeed, this sort of thankful spirit is exactly what God desires from us as we prepare to cast lots for the first pick overall.

See Also:
Oilers v. Ducks - 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Oilers v. Ducks - 1 Thessalonians 5:12-15

Oilers v. Canucks - Psalm 27:4-8

There is only one thing that we ask of Yahweh,
one thing that we seek:
That his favour would rest upon us every day
and that his hand would be with us forever.
We dream about the promised team he is creating for us
and expect to get a foretaste of that victory tonight.


See Also:
Oilers v. Canucks - Psalm 27:1-3

Oilers v. Sharks - Psalm 74:12-14

You, O God, are our king for all time,
you bring salvation to your chosen team and hope for the future.


See Also:
Oilers v. Sharks - Psalm 74:1-11

Oilers v. Red Wings - Ezekiel 25:15-17

This is what Yahweh, the sovereign God of Edmonton has to say: "Because the Red Wings play with ennui in the regular season, splattering one team after another like mosquitoes and because they would dare seek revenge against my people by convincing Marian Hossa that Edmonton isn't the place to play I will speak.

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Avalanche v. Wild - Scoring Chances #38

TmPTimeNoteCOLOpponent
MIN118:00
4523373941311212551555v5
COL115:43
458232641511122532555v5
MIN111:48
4162237415557212224325v5
MIN111:45
4162237415557212224325v5
COL111:16
922232739411214163234555v5
MIN110:16
8222526274157112532515v5
MIN12:50
8232526274136202532
5v4
COL10:14
9162239415236112232515v5
COL10:12Goal9162239415236112232515v5
MIN218:09
45163741551125323451555v5
COL216:12Goal822252627413691520325v5
MIN213:16
8222526274135212224325v5
MIN212:52
8222526414436212224325v5
MIN212:13
823252627413691232
5v4
COL210:20
8252641445236141516325v5
COL29:32Goal9222327394136112532515v5
COL28:42
4537415559915203234555v5
MIN27:57
45252641
514213255
4v4
COL26:53
823262741
36932

4v3
MIN26:06Goal489162541520223255
5v4
COL23:45
4252627394169152032555v5
MIN23:35
4252627394169152032555v5
COL22:45Goal1541445255
59111422324v5
MIN313:31
15223741525579152032345v5
COL311:04
825264144522124323451555v5
MIN38:44
2639414452
59111415324v5
MIN37:56Goal4515374155511121632555v5
MIN36:05Goal582539414479141532345v5
MIN35:50
8222526274157111416325v5
MIN35:49
8222526274157111416325v5
MIN33:26
9232739415236111425325v5
MIN33:23
9232739415236111425325v5
MIN31:58
822252627415791520325v5
MIN31:56
822252627415791520325v5


#PlayerEVPPSH
4J. LILES11:30374:31010:2800
5B. CLARK11:06253:48000:2800
8W. WOLSKI11:31484:47130:5900
9M. DUCHENE10:57423:42010:0000
15M. HENDRICKS6:24020:04001:5810
16D. TUCKER12:11233:37010:0000
22S. HANNAN18:595100:05002:5100
23M. HEJDUK9:21334:38120:0000
25C. STEWART14:534103:54030:0000
26P. STASTNY13:53595:05122:3501
27K. QUINCEY15:30493:24122:5100
37R. O'REILLY13:35160:21002:5800
39T. GALIARDI13:52553:05004:1101
41C. ANDERSON43:1610188:41136:4811
44R. WILSON13:50220:26003:2911
45C. DURNO6:18000:00000:0000
52A. FOOTE15:37430:21003:2911
55C. MCLEOD10:57150:30000:5510
59B. YIP5:03100:00000:0000


PeriodTotalsEVPP5v3 PPSH5v3 SH
1454401000000
2775512001000
31101900000100
4000000000000
Totals1222101813001100

The first period was a little dreary but the second period was one of the most exciting I've seen all season. The final chances tally looks bad for the Avalanche but they began the third period with a three-goal lead, so a big negative number isn't all that surprising. That said, goaltending really was the difference in this one as Nicklas Backstrom allowed three goals on the first seven scoring chances against. None of the goals were really his fault but you need more saves than that if you're going to win the game.

After jumping out to a 3-0 lead the Avs had what I expected to be the worst defensive breakdown of the game. The Wild rushed in 3-on-1 while short-handed and closed the gap to 3-1. BUT, right after generating a power play of their own and giving themselves a chance to really get back into the game, the Wild made the worst change I may have ever seen. The Avs dumped the puck down the ice and all of the Wild players went to the bench. The puck bounced off the end boards in the Wild zone and into the high slot which left the Avs with a 2-on-0. Short-handed. Of course they scored and the Wild were suddenly down 4-1 heading into the third.

The game was very physical the whole way through. At one point in the first period Kyle Quincey took out Antti Miettinen as he was racing toward the boards on what was a pretty brutal hit. Owen Nolan stepped in to fight Quincey who politely declined and earned the Avs a two-man advantage. The Avs didn't score on the two-man advantage (they were plain awful on the PP) but the Wild didn't forget about Quincey. With the score 4-1 in the third period Derek Boogaard boarded Quincey and in doing so grabbed the back of Quincey's head with one hand and smashed it into the glass. How he got away with a two-minute penalty and no suspension I have no idea, but it goes to show that the Code is certainly not completely dead. If you don't want to fight, some teams will really make you pay the price. At any rate, Minnesota poured on the pressure for the rest of the period but could only manage two more goals and ended up losing the game 4-3.

One last thing I wanted to relate was a great play from Backstrom killing that 5-on-3 in the first period. Backstrom caught a shot from the point with about five seconds left in the first penalty and when he realized there were no Avs in front he quickly played the puck to a defender who iced it and made sure the Wild wouldn't need to take another defensive draw with only three guys on the ice. A real heads-up play by Backstrom and a perfect indication of how out of synch the Avs were on the PP all game.


Friday, March 19, 2010

Avalanche v. Blue Jackets - Scoring Chances #37

TmPTimeNoteCOLOpponent
COL119:40Goal8222526274113205051615v5
CBJ119:13
23394144525518222526335v5
COL116:39Goal4589234113253350515v5
COL115:48
82325262741136505161
5v4
COL115:46Goal82325262741136505161
5v4
CBJ114:06
82225262741817202232615v5
CBJ114:03
82225262741817202232615v5
COL113:18
154144455259310141732405v5
COL112:38
823252627418222632

5v3
COL112:15
823252627418222632

5v3
COL112:03
48232526413325051

5v3
COL112:00
48232526413325051

5v3
COL111:59Goal48232526413325051

5v3
CBJ15:16
154144455259816182232935v5
CBJ14:54
92223273941820223250615v5
CBJ218:57
822252641442032365051615v5
CBJ218:52
822252627412032365051615v5
CBJ216:32Goal1522274155
1820325161934v5
CBJ215:08
825264144521417323640515v5
CBJ212:04
822273741
1016182032614v5
CBJ211:33
526394152
1014162032504v5
COL210:25
82325262741822252632
5v4
CBJ29:55
4591639413236505161
5v4
CBJ26:37Goal3739414452
1016253233504v5
COL23:36
82325262741817182232
5v4
COL23:35
82325262741817182232
5v4
COL22:34
823252627413236505161
5v4
COL22:31
823252627413236505161
5v4
COL22:06
459163941310161832935v5
CBJ318:20
923394144522526323336515v5
CBJ318:17
923394144522526323336515v5
COL312:47
82526414452820223250615v5
CBJ312:29
82526414452310141732405v5
COL39:38
222326273941310203250615v5
COL38:52
459233941310161832935v5
COL38:03
82526274144822253250615v5
CBJ36:45
4523374155310141732405v5
COL33:29Goal4523253941318222532935v5


#PlayerEVPPSH
4J. LILES13:48411:33010:0000
5B. CLARK13:03411:33011:1101
8W. WOLSKI14:17463:13702:0001
9M. DUCHENE13:09331:46010:0000
15M. HENDRICKS6:34110:00000:2901
16D. TUCKER12:30101:46010:0000
22S. HANNAN15:45250:13002:4302
23M. HEJDUK12:59453:13700:0000
25C. STEWART15:09463:13700:0000
26P. STASTNY14:55463:13701:4801
27K. QUINCEY16:55343:13702:4302
37R. O'REILLY14:35010:00002:5802
39T. GALIARDI14:48441:46012:4602
41C. ANDERSON48:279124:59715:1504
44R. WILSON18:08370:00001:2101
45C. DURNO7:51110:00000:0000
52A. FOOTE19:08260:13002:3202
55C. MCLEOD12:02020:00000:2901
59B. YIP6:39110:00000:0000


PeriodTotalsEVPP5v3 PPSH5v3 SH
11053520500000
2681351000400
3545400000000
4000000000000
Totals211791271500400

For the second consecutive game the score dictated the flow of play for most of the contest. After five minutes of action the Avalanche had a 3-0 lead and were up 4-1 in scoring chances with two of those coming on the power play. After that, the Avs pretty much shut the game down for two periods, scoring once more on a 2:00 five-on-three but otherwise generating only 2 chances at EV, including one stretch of over twenty minutes after they went up 4-0 where they didn't generate a single chance, EV or otherwise. And that's to be expected to some degree. The fact that the Avs came out and played hard in the 3rd period was enough to convince me that despite the 12-9 disadvantage in chances the Avs were probably the better team at EV on this night. The 21-17 overall margin was well-earned.

The Avs were again good on the power play, generating a lot of chances and making sure to, essentially, put the game away by scoring on the five-on-three. Things could have been better on the PK what with the Jackets scoring two goals but four chances in over five minutes isn't all that awful and the second goal just found a seam through a screen. Probably the most egregious PK error came when Ryan O'Reilly and T.J. Galiardi managed to have their two-on-one come to nothing (no shot of any kind) against Jakub Voracek. Wowzers.

Stewart, Stastny and Wolski were outchanced somewhat in this one, but they were also tasked (by Hitchcock as much as Sacco) with taking on the Rick Nash line so the 4-6 split isn't as bad as it looks, especially since they were protecting the lead. The same is true of the defensive pairing of Hannan and Quincey who have been taking the tough match-ups almost all year. Foote and Wilson had a tough game against some lessers. Wilson seems to have impressed enough to earn a spot in the Avs top four D which is quite an accomplishment for a rookie. The last two games have shown pretty poor results but generally he's held his own quite well. Milan Hejduk also returned to the lineup and had a positive impact, especially on the PP with the 5-2 marker just icing on the cake. Meanwhile, the fourth line of Yip (1st NHL game!), Durno and Hendricks actually played fairly well, and certainly a lot better than David Koci who is serving a suspension for his hit on Mike Green. Hopefully that line shows some chemistry and Koci stays out of the lineup.