The Edmonton Oilers had no business beating the Florida Panthers last night. The Oilers barely managed a paltry 13 shots on net-minder Tomas Vokoun. Yet with some brilliant re-directions from forwards Dustin Penner and Ryan Jones, coupled with some outstanding goal tending from Nikolai Khabibulin, the Oilers were able to steal one.
The win goes to show two things, one, that the Oilers are still a work in progress and two, that the Oilers desperately missed Khabibulin last season. Watching the young Oilers falter under an intense Panthers forecheck wasn't all that surprising to me, I expected this would happen a lot this season, but what I did not expect was Khabibulin standing on his head. It's too early in the season to be making bold predictions, although this never seems to stop analysts from dumping their Nostradamus-like revelations on us, but if the Oilers can continue to get this level of goal tending you can expect to see them make a serious push for the playoffs.
The Oilers continually get compared to the likes of the Coyotes and the Avalanche of last season. Both those teams made surprising runs to the playoffs and they did so on the backs of great coaching and great goaltending. I love the combination of Renney and Krueger behind the bench and if one of Dubnyk or Deslauriers can provide decent back-up goaltending, and they will need at least 20-25 games from them, then the Oilers could very well emulate the Avalanche' season. ( I say the Avalanche more-so than the Coyotes for the simple reason that I doubt the Oilers will cruise to 50 wins and 107 points.)
Judging from last nights stagnant offensive output its safe to suggest that some line-up changes will be expected. Penner finished last season on a line with Cogliano and Brule so it wouldn't surprise me to see that line reunited. This would bump Paajarvi up to the top line with Gagner and Hemsky. I really have liked the chemistry from the Hall-Horcoff-Eberle line and I don't see any reason to split that one up just yet. The fourth line has been the most impressive for me. Fraser and Jones look very comfortable together and whether it's Zach or Big Mac attacking on the right, you know this line will bring it every shift.
For the time being the Oilers are undefeated! As a fan I will relish this moment, as a skeptic I laugh in my own face. The Oilers will have some time off to work on some of their shortcomings before playing the Wild on Thursday. If they can come out strong like they did against the Flames then the they should be fine but if they come out flat like last night, much like the Eskimos, the streak will end at two.
49ers are 0-5
I cannot understand how and why Mike Singletary still has a job. It doesn't make sense. The 49ers came into the season with high expectations, whether this is the cause of the teams downfall is not really known- some teams can't handle the pressure I suppose- but high expectations or not this team should be better than this. The 49ers join the Carolina Panthers and the Buffalo Bills as teams who still have yet to win a game. At the moment it looks as if big changes are needed, so why are the 49ers brass so gun shy?I'm not in the locker rooms or on the sidelines or at practices but it looks to me like this team is not responding to what the coaches are preaching. They continually make mistakes and not just the turnover ratio, which by the way sits at a glaring -10, but penalties on both offense and defense have hurt this team more than anything else. Which leads to the conclusion that the firing of offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye wasn't the only move needed in order for the team to respond on the field.
The finger must also be pointed to the players themselves, they must be held accountable. While the defense hasn't been stellar they're not the ones losing games for their team. Quaterback Alex Smith has thrown nine interceptions and only six touchdowns in five games. While Frank Gore has only one rushing touchdown and averaging only 3.5 yards per carry it is important to point out that he is number two in receiving behind tight end Vernon Davis, with 284 yards and two Td's. Other than Davis and Gore the 49ers have no clear offensive weapons and wide receivers Crabtree and Morgan barely get the ball enough to criticize. Either the offensive line needs to give Smith more time or Smith needs to be smarter with the ball. I'd say he needs to get his receivers more involved with the game but I fear that will just lead to more int's.
It's easy to criticize a team that has yet to win a game. Either this team is not as good as everyone thought they were or the team is just as good but have chosen to shut down and ignore the flamboyant ramblings of Singletary (seriously that "we will stop Drew Brees" rant was ridiculous.) I liked Singletary, the guy has that no B.S , old school mentality but clearly it's not working (Personally I like the look of Pete Carroll on the Seahawks' sidelines.) Either you make personel changes on the field or on the sidelines, either way changes are clearly needed sooner rather than later.
Khabibulin Photo Credit: John Ulan
Singletary Photo Credit: siliconangle.com
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