#and i would like my oilers bias commentators back

[nolanhattrick]

hi there! i just wanted to say that i think a majority of us (oilers fans) believe that what leon did to barkov wasn’t correct. headshots have no place in the league period. playoffs or not. the /real/ issue is the lack of standard in reffing right now. there’s mirror comparisons to foegele/bennett for the knee where they had ejected foegele for a non-injury, accidental collision. and also mirror comparisons to draisaitl/bennett where bennett had a flying headshot on broburg and didn’t even get called for it. the series is extremely tense, probably the worst i’ve seen in sports for a while, so i’d appreciate you not generalizing everyone in a community. we should all just be thankful that no one really got hurt. (except nurse ig idk if he’s coming back next game)

sorry for the novel. it’s just frustrating to see generalizations from an unrelated party in a tag that’s considered ‘for the fans’.

again, playoffs are different than regular hockey, and you cannot look at them in a vacuum. the plays and the players are sloppy, there are still only two refs on the ice and the two linespeople are still not allowed to make calls for any reason other than rule 81 (offside) and 83 (icing). the tattletale rule (32.4) is still in effect but when your linespeople are focused on ten people acting like they've never seen a hockey puck before, there are things they are all going to miss.

and when they do see it - the high sticking on hughes during the second round for instance - they make bullshit calls like kicking the victim of a transparent rule violation without calling the appropriate double minor:

[60.3 Double Minor Penalty - When a player carries or holds any part of his stick above the shoulders and makes contact with his opponent’s neck, face or head so that injury results, in the manner of drawing blood or otherwise, the Referee shall assess a double-minor penalty...]

because it's playoffs hockey. officiating playoffs hockey is hard, and i wouldn't want to do it. i don't know anyone that would want to do it. but when you look at the regular season, there are so many instances of teams getting reffed because connor mcdavid is connor mcdavid, and leon draisaitl is leon draisaitl, and "oh the 2997 oilers haven't won a cup yet".

and still, there is no such thing as consistent reffing in the playoffs babe. you're never going to get that. that's like asking for a popsicle in hell. all you're going to get during the playoffs is more extreme bias and more extreme "even it up" calls. just ask any canucks fan that was around in 2011.

if you actually watch the games too, you'll HEAR it in the commentary. i don't know how many times i've heard "if i would have done that, that would have been a call" from various panel members and color commentators while watching oilers games, regular season and otherwise.

and also like. tags are a method of blog indexing. they always have been. if you don't like what i have to say block me or filter out my blog name. do i need to treat you like the devils fans i had in my inbox spouting shit three months ago? because i had to speak to them like toddlers in order for some of them to understand how tumblr content filtering worked.

and no, the majority of you are not claiming that the hit draisaitl made on barkov was clean. there are a few of you on tumblr admitting that maybe it deserved a two minute minor. the rest of oilers fans on the internet and in real life are claiming it was a clean hit and that sasha barkov is a pussy who needs to go back to playing bantam hockey if he can't just get up and shake it off.

it's a really really good and helpful thing for you to stretch your legs and make friends that do not like your team. it centers your perspective on these things.

[captain-mcdavid]

cassie campbell pascal SHUT UP challenge

goodness gracious if i hear you kissing matthew tkachuk’s ass one more time imma mute this tv

[rosesvioletshardy]

because i’m back here are my thoughts on the games i didn’t lb for the time i’ve missed i watched some of the games and was following the others through twitter for the rest

03/26

bos/nyi: matinees (derogatory), bruins still suck and all 3 goals were from minnesota men

sens/cats: i don’t go here at all but panthers still suck and would rather kms than be a fan idc if g is there and would rather be a sens fan

flames/oilers: still hate the oilers, mike smith still sucks, johnny i fucking love you hope they re-sign you soon king you keep this team alive, marky i’m sorry you don’t have good defense sometimes and didn’t deserve to get scored on at all also flames own the oilers and the refs sucked the entire game and were oilers fans (nurse was literally holding down mang the last minute of the play and refs didn’t notice, gave matty the penalty when smith punched him in the head while he was in a headlock too and were blind to multiple others that shouldve been oilers penalties)

canes/blues: still love the canes and hate md13 & tda77 thank god for kk and that 7-2 W especially on brady and svech’s birthdays

03/27

nyi/tbl: matinees (derogatory), still hate tampa and they don’t deserve any respect at all, a bunch of missed calls,

phi/nsh: watched it after work, i hate roman josi with a burning passion, they always win then i don’t watch + joel is monicaphobic because he always scores when i don’t watch, also stop losing leads challenge and help your goalie out ffs

avs/min: watched some of it and finished listening at work. inconsistent reffing and were so many no call on the the wild but that’s not shocking they always favor them. truly can’t stand the wild idc if tyson is there, i can’t stand them. it was fully refs vs avs that entire game but good job for nate for standing up for mikko, otherwise fuck the wild they don’t deserve any rights at all

leafs/p*nthers: don’t go here but i hate the panthers and them losing makes me happy

3/28

canes/c*ps: truly one of their best games. fuck everyone on the caps especially tjo77, ao8, and tw43 as well as le20 for the hit on kk. svech noted goon™️, freddie is still hot. and capitals still suck, tw43 acts like a child, and i will never respect them or anyone on that team ever

3/29

isles/cbj: i hope ilya is okay, they actually played decent shocking.

flyers/w*ld: FUCK THE W*LD, as you can tell i still hate the wild and they don’t deserve any happiness, idc if he’s on the team, flyers are still falling apart. happy bday sanny :), i hope the wild don’t have any happiness and choke in playoffs. truly hated the bias towards the w*ld like ???? m*f is on my shitlist, baby flyer noah deserves everything, ref’s were 100% w*ld fans. thank you to bee for drawing a penalty for the frosty goal tho :)

avs/flames: i don’t like it when my teams play against each other. both teams actually played really well. tho i’m still not gonna lb when 2 of them play against each other. refs stop making soft ass calls challenge no wonder no one respects the refs

canes/t*mpa: i still hate tampa and they deserve absolutely no respect, i’m sorry it was national broadcast bc we all know they’re going to be biased towards t🤢l, and they still don’t deserve any rights, canes i’m sorry

3/31

isles/cbj: KEEP ZACH/MAT/OLIVER TOGETHER BAROLD! also find it funny both aho’s in the nhl scored at the same time. that old dudes opinion doesn’t matter at that one point in the 1st period like shut up already glad the mute button exists. (i know i’m talking about isles game but still — but avs will get past 1st & 2nd round just be mad they’re one of the best teams and panthers suck i hope they have no happiness). wasn’t shocking they gave up the lead they’re the isles of course. OLIVER MY BELOVED IM SO HAPPY YOU GOT A GOAL IT FEELS LIKE FOREVER 💞💕❤️‍🔥💘💖 PLUS PALMS GOT A GOAL AND IT FINALLY COUNTED

canes/habs: (insert the aho comment above here too). they played really went especially after playing the lightning so there’s. but habs are last in the league so it wasn’t shocking to see the canes win this game but FREDDIE SHUTOUT

avs/sharks: i’m begging the avs to actually score in the first period again im bored but it’s so nice to have nate back NEWY MY BELOVED also sharks were ugly for challenging it like it was clean and no interference y’all are stupid. DILF GOAL HELMS MY BELOVED i love it when helms scores he deserves it MIKKO MY BELOVED !!! NAZ AND EJ 2 POINT NIGHT !! BURKY MY SWEET BOY

flames/kings: upset haven’t had a marky shutout in a while :( BUT JOHNNY MY BELOVED SAID HES NOT GONNA LET THE KINGS GET ONE. YOU LET ERIK GUDBRANSON SCORE ON YOU ??? FOLD THE FRANCHISE. KINGS ARE STILL UGLY AND FLAMES ARE STILL FIRST IN PACIFIC

h*wks/p*thers: i hate both teams but panthers can choke more and again wish hell upon them and they don’t deserve any happiness and also gudas can fuck right off no wonder i hated him but i hate him even more now on that team they can all fuck off

pens/w*ld: y’all know i hate the pens because i’m a flyers fan BUT THE WILD FINALLY LOST AND THE PENS DID THAT FOR ME

4/01

nyi/nyr: (completely forgot to do it during the game so i did it after) MAT BARZAL 300th POINT AND A GOAL ??? I LOVE THAT ! 2 DILF GOALS ??? THEY DID THAT FOR ME ! ALSO ANDERS ??? FIGHTING ??? HELLO ???? how does this team beat the rangers but lose to a team like montreal i’ll never understand

4/02

avs/pit: nate vs his bestie </3. nate and geno talking about who sid loves more. darcy kuemper my beloved i’m sorry your team stresses you out and you and frankie both save their asses every game <3. MIKKO MY BELOVED !!! NEWY IS MICD ! the wrong nova scotian scored gross. SINNER BOY MY BELOVED. we got burky curling again. refs hate the avs but what else is new. CONTENT KING MY BELOVED <3. HELMS IS INNOCENT ITS HIS 800th GAME FREE HIM!! avs vs getting an en goal . AVS WIN IN REG MY BELOVED

canes/w*ld: didn’t watch much of the game because i was watching flyers but i still hate minnesota and they don’t deserve any right at all. FREDDIE MY BELOVED <333 m*f still sucks and i hate him wish he was still with the h*wks and suffering gross ugly game i don’t care about tyson anymore so his tag is blocked btw. WHICHEVER WILDS PLAYER MADE TURBO BLEED , IM IN YOUR WALLS 🔪 NO SHUTOUT FOR MAF IKTR TURBO MY BELOVED <333 it’s still fuck the wild i could care less for them and hope they have a first round exit

flyers/l*fs: it’s still fuck the leafs and fuck am34 and everyone on that team. toronto still sucks and i wish them no happiness. idk how some people find am34 attractive. finally yandle gets benched ive been saying it since they acquired him and he should’ve stayed whatever team he came from. BABY FLYERS FIRST NHL GAME <3333 LET ZACK FIGHT 🔪 CARTER THOSE SAVES HOLY SHIT ! KEVIN MY BELOVED !! leafs you suck x2! DRAKES DAD MY BELOVED !!! YOU LET FUCKING 6 HEAD SCORE ??? FUCK OFF

flames/blues: this team vs giving marky another shutout. um if im honest i stopped watch after the first period because i got hella depressed like usual and also logged off twitter but i was still getting notifs so RITCHIE ????JOHNNY MY BELOVED NOAH MY BELOVED DUBEY MY BELOVED blues i still hate you and you suck

[andrewuttaro]

New Look Sabres: GM 66 - EDM - Numbers

Perhaps this game represents the Sabres season; at least from a standings point of view this game last night was what being a Sabres fan has felt like this season. Favorable numbers toward the start followed by an ugly decline that turns the math against you. The simplest stat in hockey is goals. In this game last night Buffalo had more of those up until the dying minutes of the second period. It ended 4-3 Edmonton. I went into this game giving some good thought to the Phil Housley criticism. I thought: You know what, this guy is in his first NHL coaching job and in spite of it being his job, you could say he still is wrapping his head around what he’s got. I was feeling very generous having those thoughts and if the game didn’t kill the good will I was trying to foster for Housley then his postgame comments did. He said his team played 55 minutes of great hockey. The other 5 were bad minutes. That would be a nice piece of analysis with a team that consistently plays well and beats the teams they should. This team does not, and that comment is stupid. The numbers that do not represent time are against those comments. Jack Eichel scored two goals in a loss. Linus Ullmark was hung out to dry as his defense let up the greater number of high danger shots. The Oilers outplayed the Sabres in every statistical category except the powerplay and shots on goal. You had me fooled, Phil! I was sitting happy halfway through this game looking at the next four to five games being winnable! Boy, am I fool! The numbers are clear. After having an 83% chance of making the playoffs at the start of December, the Sabres are now nine points out at the start of March having gone 34 games without back to back wins! The 2014-2015 Tank team that was designed to lose and drove me to watch the Rangers most of that season, that team only got as bad as 31 games in that category. This ain’t it, Phil. I don’t know who I want to replace him in any intelligent way but when he’s back behind the bench for the home opener in October I am will not be a happy camper about it. This game was the microcosm of this season and oh so appropriately that microcosm ends in a loss.

The game starts off with an unlucky shorthanded goal against when Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl teamed up for the latter’s 41st goal of the season. Edmonton maybe wasting Connor McDavid and will likely miss the playoffs this season but there are guys tearing it up there in spite of it all. I hate that Buffalo and Edmonton are still comparable in this way because on the very same powerplay Jack Eichel revives the home crowd with a tight net-front goal to draw the score even again at 1. If there is one big positive for the Sabres in this game it was a full display of Jack Eichel’s leadership. The rest of this first period is a vision of what we thought the Sabres would be in 2019 in 2015. Jack Eichel helping Montour get a great chance. Okposo getting a great chance. Sheary knocking at the door. Jeff Skinner was chopping at that net like a lumberjack because he wants to get Rocket Rickard trophy votes. Casey Mittelstadt broke through Mikko Koskinen with a point-blank blast at 13:19 into the first period. The primary assist on that was Scott Wilson who, only now gets his first NHL point of the season having missed the majority of it with a gruesome ankle injury sustained way back in Training Camp. The fun only continued when Jack Eichel made it 3-1 unassisted in a no-look smacker that earned his team a standing applause as they went to the locker room for the first intermission! The likes of Jeff Skinner, Rasmus Ristolainen and Evan Rodrigues all shined bright with beautiful chances in the second period too. While the pushback came in the second that lead remained into the second half of the middle frame and I began to foolishly let myself hope looking at the schedule. Oh what a fool I am.

Less than four minutes left in the second period the whole Sabres defense was caught puck watching when Zack Kassian got a McDavid assist on a one-timer snipe that made Ullmark look confused. It’s now 3-2 Oilers and the floodgates are opened. A puck squirted out of a battle on the wall to Darnell Nurse who wired it home for the equalizer. Credit where credit is due, Jeff Skinner starts taking shots from Ovi spots to try and get the lead back, but the Oiler kept pushing. Give me an intermission, PLEASE! The horn to end the period did not come soon enough and with a mere five seconds left in the second period Adam Larsson takes a shot on net from way out that trickles in past Ullmark. Evidently Kyle Brodziak tipped it in, and I have not seen Ullmark angrier than after that goal. Some folks I heard wanted a challenge for a kicking motion by Brodziak but gee, I just don’t have the energy to litigate shit like that when the Sabres are this bad. Boos came down and Carter Hutton replaced Ullmark in net for the third. A one goal deficit never looked so demoralizing for a team and the Sabres never looked like they were going to come back. Sure, like many times this season its been encouraging to just see the Sabres have legitimate rushes in on net; hell, Brandon Montour is worth the price just for his ability to pass the puck to the offense if nothing else. In spite of Jeff Skinner not getting the puck across the line behind the Edmonton netminder and Jason Pominville blocking his own tap in (?) the threat of a Sabres equalizer just never seemed real. It ended 4-3 Oil.

I legitimately had a moment last night where I sat down to write this reaction and for the first time this season doing that I just couldn’t. My wife and I were having a good night and I just said no for my own mental health. With 16 games left in this season the Sabres need to go 14-2 to legitimately have a chance to make the playoffs. Pardon my French: What the Fuck? I had to talk myself out of buying a Skinner jersey that probably wouldn’t fit me at this time in December we were all so into this team. They were gold at that point, the best team we’d seen since before the Harbor Center was built! Now I would rather watch MLS Review videos and blog about a soccer team that isn’t even playing this calendar year than watch this team take on clubs they should be beating by multiple goals! WHAT THE FUCK! So, let’s turn away from the frustrating team stats for the far less frustrating individual stats.  Jeff Skinner sits at 36 goals 9 back of goal leader Alex Ovechkin. He probably doesn’t have the most goals by the end of this season but if he can get north of 40 and push near 50 in these last several games its going to do a lot for how we feel going into next season when he’s inevitable signs. He should get some MVP votes. Jack Eichel sits at 25 goals. He needs to reach 30. I say that because this season has been such an encouraging step forward for him that hitting the 30-goal mark needs to happen as a bookmark if nothing else. Casey Mittelstadt just hit 10 goals and sits at 21 points with his 11 assists. He’s probably not quite the Calder Trophy contender we thought he could be but that’s ok because he’ll be a great C2 real soon. His fellow rookie Rasmus Dahlin on the other hand should get the majority of the Calder Trophy votes in my bias opinion. Dahlin has more points than all but one rookie forward has. The lone guy ahead of him in that category, Elias Petterson, has cooled off a fair bit from the first part of the season in which he was destroying worlds with his goals. What Dahlin has done puts him in an elite company among rookie D-Men in this league already and that’s more special than anything Petterson has done. Rasmus Dahlin for Calder!

I hate pushing hard for individual awards because it feels so dirty against not making the playoffs. Then again, I still feel cheated that Artemi Panarin came in out of nowhere and stole it from Jack Eichel in 2016. Those however are the things I’ll cheer for to avoid the crushing gloom of what a missed opportunity season this has become. That and I eagerly await exit interviews to see how Jason Botterill and Phil Housley envision next season. There is an outside chance that changes Botts’ opinion of Housley prompting a coaching change, but the more likely and interesting outcome is the two of them hammering out a plan of Playoffs or bust. Their comments have grown a little bit conflicting in these late phases of the season in spite of that vote of confidence a couple weeks back. All this and the Amerks will go on a run. How many times have I mentioned that? Not enough, one more time: the Rochester Americans are going to probably win the division and make a deep playoff run. Like, comment and share this blog with your friends. The end of this Sabres season, for how disappointing the lack of a playoff berth will be, will be very interesting in terms of Front Office Palace intrigue. There will be a new Will for the playoffs in 2020 at that point and how this organization fixes to get there will be fun to watch. For now, we eagerly anticipate Jeff boy. Come on, Skin man, sign on the line!

Thanks for reading.

P.S. Columbus is my favorite non-Sabres Eastern Conference team to watch going into these last 15 games. They pushed all the chips in on a run this post-season and its not even for sure they make the playoffs right now.