First game on the circus trip. 930 start. Oilers are awful and have a guy with 2 last names. Tune in to see if CH's vociferous defense of #19s offense pays dividends.

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

Not awful. The race to the bottom between Buffalo and Phoenix last year -- which, in the NHLiest turn of events ever, Edmonton wound up winning -- was awful. This is just pretty bad. They have a semblance of structure and are slowly cobbling together a competent defense with Darnell Nurse and Andrej Sekera. Chiarelli and McLellan weren't gonna turn this thing around in a year, though; the alumni club was just so bad at doing anything. This is going to be more like how the Winnipeg Jets had to inherit the Atlanta Thrashers and make some sense out the mess a whole bunch of total fucking idiots made.

This is the last time the Blackhawks will play in the Northlands Coliseum/Edmonton Coliseum/Skyreach Centre/Rexall Place:

Another quirky old barn will bite the dust this summer. Nassau is gone, the Joe's days are officially numbered, and the Saddledome will be the next to go. After that, there will be no buildings that predate the early '90s. I hope the new place will keep the bench-side cameras, the dim lighting, and the fast ice, but they probably won't. Goodbye to the place where Wayne Gretzky flourished, hello to The House That Drafting First Overall Four Times And Threatening To Move To Seattle Or Hamilton Built.

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Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

I hope the Oilers get good again. They're a cornerstone franchise. Their being this bad is as bad for the league as the Blackhawks being bad was. It may even be worse.

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Keep me updated. I think the dog is laying on the remote and I don't want to get her up.

I'm always amazed at how the Oilers ice. It just looks spectacular on TV compared to other rinks. It has a special glow. Greatest ice in the history of ice!!!

How do they do it? Curious Hair probably has the answer. He always has the hockey answers.

The Hawks had a putrid first period and the Oilers are still spazzes after all. That about sums it up.

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How's Toews look tonight?

They don't have as many non-hockey events as other arenas, so they don't have to put down flooring as often, which traps humidity and is bad for the ice. The lighting system doesn't get as hot as other arenas' lighting. Also, Edmonton's climate is mostly cold and dry, so that helps.

The funny thing is that while everyone raves about the quality of Edmonton's ice, the Oilers faithful complain that it's not even as good as it used to be. Of course, neither are the skaters on it.

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Every single skater in this game looks bad. Corey Crawford looks good. The existence of a goalie for Edmonton is unconfirmed.

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Kane to Keith for a tip in. 1-0. For Spaulding. But you should move the dog.

She's too sweet to move. Let sleeping dogs lie is very true in my house. She will be trouble.

Panarin got one off a turnover. 2-0 Hawks.

Breakaway for the Oil. 2-1.

Blackhawks down!!!! Blackhawks down!!!!

CSN off the air!!!! Faint audio only!!!!

Now they're back.

Eberle is an outstanding player. No shame in giving one up to him.

That Panarin goal was stealthy. Two more assists for Kane!

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Marko Dano has been completely atrocious, by the way. Falling down all over the place, offside plays, maybe Stan sent him to Rockford out of training camp for a reason.

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Kane's on pace for like 55-120 or something like that.

On pace for 56 and 73. I don't think he'll make it but 50 goals and 100 points are certainly possible. I can't believe we had not only no 100-point scorers but no 90-point scorers last year. Unacceptable. Unacceptable.

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Ok. I thought he had more assists.

I want to see a Hawk get 50-100. When was the last time this happened, Curious Hair? Savard or Roenick?

you are irritated that we had no 100 or 90 pt scorers on a team that won the Cup?

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

She got up!!! No more updates, but thank you. I kinda want to go to bed though. I'm tired.

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Roenick had 53 goals in '93, 107 points in '94, thanks, hockey-reference.com!

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What happened to Teuvo?

I know. You look at Gretzky's seasons and it's amazing. I know it's a different leauge, but still. Wow. He had four 200 point seasons in a 5 year span. The one year he missed was 196.

http://www.hockey-reference.com/players/g/gretzwa01.html

Brett Hull had 86 goals in 1991. Teemu Selanne had 76 goals in '93 as a rookie. Now we have Faulknerian idiot manchild Jamie Benn leading the league with 87 points.

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WOW.

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Shaw!

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Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

That was a pretty funny goal. I'm happy for Shaw. Poor guy's been in such a slump.

This sets up getting a third point for Kane on an empty net, I hope.

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