Never Give Up, Never Surrender

Ales Hemsky breaking away from the pack

I have man-love for Ales Hemsky.  He plays well whether he's got good teammates or bad, whether the score is 5-0 against the Oilers or they're down 3-2 with minutes to play.  He has been criminally under-rated by the NHL community and Oiler fans alike for years.  Far too many Oiler fans have suggested "trade Hemsky", even this year or last, hoping for another top pick.  Really?  How many even top 5 overall picks turn out as good as him?

I also have man-love for this Oilers squad.  I was wrong.  The loss of Whitney, while a stinging hit and one that we will feel for as long as he's out, didn't demoralize the squad.

This keeps coming as a surprise to me.  Maybe I have a pessimistic outlook in general, or maybe past Oilers teams have taught me not to expect much.  Certainly after last year, it was clear that outside of Penner and Gagner, the marquee names didn't have fight in them when the chips were down.

This year, it's different.  With Ryan Whitney out, the forwards stepped up their game.  They managed a very good cycle several times - something they hadn't even hinted at in previous games.  They kept the puck in the offensive zone and scored from puck possession alone.  This took the pressure off the defenders, though they too did step up their game.  Despite his late penalty, Ladislav Smid played a very impressive game.  He showed more offensive flair last night vs Colorado than he had all of 2009-2010.  He pinched in at the right times, he went deep with the puck (a la Hemmer), skating around the back of the net and though nothing showed up on the scoreboard, he contributed.

Andrew Cogliano played a very solid defensive game and finally had his efforts rewarded with nice boxcar numbers.  Sam Gagner fought hard along the boards as did, in fact, all of our forwards - I just mention him as a rebuttal to his critics.

They lost, but they fought tooth and nail.  They came back from a horrible third period.  I am as proud of this team as any Oilers squad ever, and I'm sorry for doubting them.