6-1 loss to Colorado flatters Edmonton.

Lineup
Torres	Smyth	Hemsky	Brewer	Cross
Chimera	Reasoner	Dvorak	Smith	Staios
Moreau	York	Pisani	Semenov	Ferguson
Isbister	Horcoff	Laraque
			Conklin
			Salo
Scratched: Stoll and Semenov are healthy scratches.

Postgame

Irate and disappointed after Tues night's game vs the Blues, Oilers GM Kevin Lowe lashed out in the media about his team's lack of composure and he fingered three main culprits: Brewer, Laraque and Isbister.

Apparently Lowe is bound by some kind of Faustian pact where he's not allowed to breath Salo's name but we digress.

In any case all three of these players would respond on Thursday to varrying degrees of ineffectiveness but the good news is that they need not feel lonely on this journey of malaise.

But you know it didn't look like it was going to go that way on this Thursday evening in the non Elton John friendly state of Colorado.

The Oilers came out of the first period gate flying in a frame that was bespeckled with the odd scoring chance but was mostly spotted with aggressive play. This and their penchant for looking after their own end boded well for the overall result and the numbers likely to be put forth by backup tender Ty Conklin.

But then the second period brought pain and the unfortunate appearence of a pressed into unforseeable service by the Non Talented Mr Salo.

The Avs would open the scoring early on as an Oilers turnover lead to Milan Hedjuk waltzing unchecked to the right of Conklin and shoving home the 1-0 marker. Forsberg made it 2-0 a little over a minute later and just 1:55 into the second period the result was clear.

Ethan Moreau would do his best to delay the inevitable 22 seconds later off a right faceoff circle laser past David Aebischer but the respite wouldn't last long.

Fernando Pisani would check Joe Sakic into the left post and would garner a five minute major for his troubles. The enusing whistle's silence grew longer as Conklin had pulled his groin on the previous save and on came the bastion of small market goalies who make 12% of their team's payroll.

The Avalanche enjoyed their five minute powerplay and the many oppurtunites accordingly afforded but would score the 3-1 goal on a harmless Adam Foote shot that was let go unscreened and from near the blueline but would somehow escape the grasp of Salo.

There would be a dust up later in the frame as Moreau and Cross would respectively square off with Dan Hinote and Cody McCormack but the dye had been effectively cast.

So how did the three in question respond to their criticism? In one sterling moment Isbister allowed himself to be muscled off the puck by Selanne. Laraque didn't make much of an impact but here's the deal on the Big Guy. He will never ascend to anything more than a 4th liner because his conditioning and skating won't allow him top six status and he doesn't think the game well enough to be a third line checker. The problem with Laraque isn't that he disappears sometimes, it's that he's being paid so much that you'll continously look for him when he takes a powder. If Georges was making 600K, then no one would really care. But he's not and Lowe has himself to blame for paying so much for what is effectively a 4th line bookend.

As for Brewer, I think it's safe to say he played his worst game as an Oiler. He made one fine rush early in the first period but it was pure sideshow after that. No, I'll correct that and say it

But back to the game for a final mention.

Later on in the third period Peter Forsberg would collect his third goal of the night as he squeezed another saveable shot past Salo and the hats of the spontanious and tradition respecting flew off the heads of the Avlanche, the Oilers brassed wondered where lay the melons of their players.

Three Stars

Eric Brewer - This is an equal oppurtunity page you must understand. It looked as if Brewer would've rather been somewhere else.

Peter Forsberg - Three goals, no razors and strangely enough no dives.

Alex Tanguay - I wear a turtleneck and I suck off the respective teets of Hedjuk and Forsberg.

Oil Gauge

Once upon a time there was a man named Janne Niinimaa who was great when he played between 20 and 25 minutes a game. Then his workload increased and he became subject to various nagging injuries and he would eventually be dealt in a trade where the Oilers actually had to take on nearly indentical accumulative salary. Oh and BTW Steve Staios logged over 26 min in this one after playing over 28 in St. Louis.....Radek 'I have promise because Lowe says so dammit!!" Dvorak did actually look useful in this game. He played over 18 minutes, had five shots on goal and was hustling late in the game when the result was a forgone conclusion.....Nearly 20 minutes of icetime and an even rating for Scott Ferguson

OilSlicks

The worst game thus far for Hemsky. Looked to me like the Avs were checking him a whole lot tighter than anyone else has so far. That will be the next test for #83 and especially on the road where home teams have the last change.....Horcoff's game has fallen off since an early season burst. I don't know if he'll get a promotion to second line centre outside of a 27 game point streak but even with anchors like Laraque and Isbister his game has started to spiral again....A decent return to the lineup for Alexei Semenov. He still isn't playing the physical game that the Oilers crave like another coach that either played for the Oilers or is from Alberta but you didn't notice he was out there and that's a step in the right direction for the young fellow....I usually don't include tidbits from the other team but this game was played on a sombre note for some of the Avalanche. Word out of Colorado on Wednesday stated that Paul Kariya is day to day with a sprained wrist and the hockey world wept with the realization that him and Teemu Selanne would miss at least one game without enjoying each other's company. I pass along my condolences to Mr.Selanne. BTW, did anyone hear they took a paycut to play together? Golly gee willakers!!!

Next Game

BOA: Part 2 goes on HNIC. This is the rivalry that no longer exists. No one cares about it outside of Alberta. I live outside of Kevin Lowe's Hockey Guyana so you can trust me on this. In any case it's a chance for the Oilers to try and flex some home muscle against the perennial 98 pound can never make the playoff weaklings of Calgary.