Notes on the game

Oilers 5
Phoenix 2

Monday night started out well. First of all, it was Monday, one of the few nights I can get to an Oiler game without needing to completely rearrange the schedules of myself, the lovely Heather, the baby, The Boy and people at work.
I actually showed up early and got to "enjoy" the meal supplied to the media by the Oilers. OK. It's usually quite good. I should know better than to take cheap shots at food - this isn't the Gateway. Long story.
Then I got to lug about 30 pounds (I weighed it) of books up to the catwalk. Had to stop and pant for most of the pre-game video.
Most interesting things about the game:
1-During the home games, the Oilers invite a young kid to join the team on the blueline during the anthem. Smytty had the class to call the proud and nervous kid over to stand between himself and Horcoff and shared some words with the young player. That was just another example of why Smytty will always be loved in this city. He still is that kid. He loves hockey more than I do or just about anyone in Canada.
2- Cool of the crowd to cheer Georges. Lucky they did when they could, what with about twenty seconds (OK 6:10 - only Mike Zigomanis played less and he got injured in the second period) on the ice to do so.
3- Enough with booing Comrie. I hate to agree with Bob Stauffer - although he is right quite often and by right I mean I agree with him - but it's getting pretty old. And cheering "Comrie swallows" in the third period? Please. I know they're the cheap seats, but acting like jackasses just gives the rich twits in the gold seats more ammunition to think they are better than us.
4- Speaking of rich (not sure about the twits part, haven't met him) people, Monday's game was the first time that I noticed the winning ticket announcement for the 50-50 draw was not made until the end of the game. Were the Oilers PR peeps purposely waiting until the crowd was distracted by sirens, cheering and Three Stars to announce that Gene Zwozdesky won nearly $25 g's? It may not have been the same Tory MLA Gene Zwozdesky - it is a common name....
5- Thoresen is for real. And with three assists on his new forward line he should be playing with Hemsky and Sykora for awhile. Covered In Oil were trying to find a new nickname for Thoresen (nice move by Pleasure Motors!! with The Electric Norseman).
I wonder what nickname Raffi Torres has for Thoresen. The bad vibes in being moved from the second to the third line are probably slightly mitigated by the sweet-ass feed Thor made to Raffi for the first goal.
6- Nice dive, Cujo. He is still one of my favourite former Oilers, but that dive was stinky. Just before that play, Cujo was almost caught bobbling the puck beside the net, nearly giving up the puck. Reminded me of watching Joseph get stranded in the corners while playing with the Oil and usually losing the puck and giving a goal away. That new goalie rule (no playing the puck in the corner trapezoids) keeps the dog on a leash, though.
7- That Ugly Jacket the Oilers won't speak of may have been from Wayne's closet, judging from the beige (ish) sport jacket Wayner was wearing behind the bench on Monday. He must have pulled the elbow pads off.