“Anything!… Very clever. Thank you for the comment. I first wrote one of these a few weeks back before my laptop overheated and I lost the word file. Always save your work kids! It was about the German Gold win and other random nonsense. These are just a few things that I looked up and was shocked to find.
Watching the Oilers vs Coyotes game left me with a lot of things I didn’t know. So many so, that I now question my very existence. I feel like I’m in some Mandela Effect Barenstain Bears situation. Let’s go through them as this one has a category all to itself.
I didn’t know you pronounced that players name that way – Now I’m not a linguist. I know generally how to pronounce Russian names because of having dealt with so many. I know generally how to pronounce French Canadian names as French is my second language…and my name. However those Swinns and Fedes can elude me. In this game though…I learned a lot about the power of language.
Clayton Keller. All night I was wondering what was going on as I was bombarded with the sounds of “Killer takes a shot.… Now things are a bit dicey in the US at the moment when it pertains to killers and shots fired, but this is in Edmonton. Who is this Killer and why is he taking so many shots? Now I haven’t looked this up, but I just assumed since every other hockey personality on the planet pronounced it “Keller,… that that was how you said his name. Maybe I’m wrong. Or maybe the commentator was watching John Wick.
Jordan Martinook. This one should be pretty standard. "Marti-nook." Clear cut. Calling him “Mardiner… every time he picked up the puck is a bit less forgivable.
Oscar Klefbom. Three times. Three bloody times. Kleborm! KlefboRM. There’s no “R.… Come on. This one…just…come on. You can say Puljujarvi properly, but not Klefbom.
Maybe I’m being harsh. Maybe he had a cold or something. It was just a little infuriating.
I didn’t know Cam Talbot was this terrible – I suppose this one goes without saying. Just look at his numbers this year or ask any Oilers fan. I knew he was playing badly, but I didn’t know exactly why until watching a full game and paying extra attention on him. Talbot was on his knees about 90% of the game. He’s not spectacularly athletic. Being down on his knees all the time was giving the Coyotes huge pockets to score on from sharp angles they have no business getting chances from. Then you add in that he couldn’t keep track of the puck when any player went wide on him and you have a huge issue. He’s 6’4. That’s larger than guys like Price and Lundqvist, but he looked tiny in the net. Lacking confidence. All of the clichés. Hopefully this is just a bad year and a one off. The Oilers really can’t afford a year without a strong performance from their goaltender.
I didn’t know last place wasn’t set in stone – With the way the Coyotes started the season in disastrous fashion, I sort of just assumed that like the Avalanche before them, they had the bottom spot locked up. Then I glanced at the standings. Wow. The Sabres and the Senators are really trying to get Dahlin. The Sabres are just two points up on the Coyotes, dealt their best winger and are without their best player. With a goaltending tandem of Lehner and Johnson (last night withstanding…he was great), you have to think they can gut this one out right?
I didn’t know that Columbus sans Panarin would be a joke – I think going into the year everybody expected the Blue Jackets to be a team that was tough to play against and rely on their strong young defensive core and superb goaltending. The offense would likely be middle of the pack, but not bad. What a change of events. Panarin has “just… 55 points this season. He’s on pace for his worst statistical season. Yet one might argue that this has been his very best season in the league. Columbus’ offense has been dreadful this year. Wennberg fell off a cliff. The Atkinson contract is looking fairly dubious right about now. Foligno’s good year, bad year routine is in full effect. Boone Jenner joined Wennberg in his cliff expedition. Lastly, the less said about Dubinsky’s year the better. Panarin is 20 points up on Oliver Bjorkstrand and has to drag the Jackets offense kicking and screaming up the ice. While I don’t really consider this year a “Hart… level performance, you can’t deny how hard Panarin has had to play this year to keep the Jackets in the playoff hunt.
I didn’t know Duncan Keith had one goal – This one is pretty self-explanatory. I knew Keith and by extension the Hawks in general. I didn’t know he only had one freaking goal this year. Keith isn’t really known for his shot, but playing 25 minutes a night and a lot of that on the Power Play you’d assume he would score more even by accident at that point. Another thing I didn’t know (let’s make it a two for) is that Jordan Oesterle (who?) is playing the second highest minutes on the Blackhawks defense. Definitely seems like a “mighty have fallen… situation.
I didn’t know about Jeff Skinner – Jeff Skinner is a -26 this year. I’m not a big fan of +/-. I don’t think anybody really is. However it’s hard to ignore what a terrible year Skinner is having. He doesn’t have an injury to use as an excuse this time either. While his goal scoring is more on par with his usual levels than last season, he just hasn’t improved on much of any aspect of his game. A lot is and should be expected from Skinner and at this point I wonder if this isn’t just a situation where a player needs a new home.
Thanks for reading. Norris discussion up tomorrow.