SB Nation - Robert Nilsson

Minnesota Wild vs. Edmonton Oilers: Game Recap

nathaneide — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 06:15:43 -0000

1 day ago: Minnesota Wild's Nick Schultz, left, and Kyle Brodziak, right, congratulate Guillaume Latendresse, center, after his empty-net goal with seconds to go against the Edmonton Oilers in the third period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2009 in St. Paul, Minn. The Wild won 3-1. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

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Minnesota Wild 3-1 Edmonton Oilers

The Wild needed this game. They needed to get a team they had beaten in 10 straight games at the X. They needed a team against whom Niklas Backstrom is unbeaten at home. They needed a team looking up at them in the standings. They needed to get aggressive, forecheck with authority, drive to the net, look for rebounds and get a power play goal.

Against the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night, the Wild did everything they needed to get a convincing win. Sure, it was only 2-1 going into the last minute of play, but the game never felt like it was that close. Nice goals tonight for Andrew Brunette on the power play off a rebound of a bomb by Marek Zidlicky (Martin Havlat was the one who kept that play alive with a nice move down low to get the puck up top to Mikko Koivu who sent it across to Zidlicky). That was followed late in the second period by a seeing-eye backhander by Owen Nolan. The Irish God of War found the tiniest crack with that shot. Then to cap it off, Guillaume Latendresse was awarded for his great effort tonight with an empty netter.

What did I like tonight?

The forecheck. Edmonton was chipping the puck out of the zone all night rather than skating it out and taking the blue line with speed. That was all a result of the aggressive two-man forecheck. Cal Clutterbuck, Kyle Brodziak, Guillaume Latendresse, Andrew Ebbett and Mikko Koivu were making it very uncomfortable for the Oilers tonight. That trend must continue for the Wild's new system to work effectively.
Martin Havlat - Andrew Ebbett - Guillaume Latendresse. This is the line I've been waiting for since the first time Ebbett and Lats took the ice for the Wild. Havlat's a playmaker, ok, we can handle that. Ebbett is an energy guym can chase the puck down in the offensive zone and Latendresse isn't afraid to shoot, will plant himself in the low slot and can work the puck in the corners without losing it, because he's just that strong on his skates. Havlat needs to continue to work with these two, get comfortable, make that pretty toe-drag and feed it to the big man to finish.
Clayton Stoner. Sure, his "fight" with Ryan Stone was nice (that was a whooping), but more importantly, the kid shows what can happen with proper AHL seasoning. He's poised, makes smart plays, gets into the offense when he sees a chance, but always gets back to play his role. It's nice to see Chuck Fletcher and Todd Richards fixing the Colton Gillies issue by leaving him in Houston. Hopefully he can learn what guys like Stoner and Earl have learned with their time in the AHL. Too bad James Sheppard is stuck paying for the sins of Doug Risebrough.

A couple negatives tonight though:

Shoot the puck. Sure, it makes me sound like the drunk idiot yelling SHOOT every time their on the power play, but seriously, they were passing the puck around the Oilers like they were facing a squirts team, then when they actually took a shot, the Oilers had gotten back into position. The Wild were almost always two or three passes past when they should've shot. I'd like to see the number of shots the Wild have had blocked in comparison with the rest of the league. I think it would be telling.
The power play in general. Yeah, they got a goal, but they spend so much time chasing the puck in their own end because of blocked shots and deflected passes that they have a hard time getting into a rhythm.
FSN's crew. Guys, his name is lah-TAWN-dress, not lah-TAHN-DRESS. Bob Kurtz gets it right, just ask him.
The officiating crew. Robert Nilsson slashes Havlat all the way down the ice, Havlat gives him a shot back, Nilsson loses it, then Steve Staios jumps in and takes a couple shots at Marty and the calls go to Nilsson and Havlat? Then on the next stoppage Clutterbuck hits Shawn Horcoff at the whistle, Dustin Penner takes a shot at Clutterbuck and Kyle Brodziak pulls Penner off, but both Clutterbuck and Brodziak go and Penner stays out of the box even though he pushed a ref? Really? This is ridiculous. Then again, it's the same league that didn't suspend Sheldon Souray for punching Craig Weller with a cast last season, so go figure. Oh, speaking of which, Sheldon Souray drops gloves with Owen Nolan? Really? That's just pathetic.

Please read the game recap over at The Copper & Blue

Hockey Wilderness Three Stars

Owen Nolan (1 G)
Andrew Brunette (1 G)
Guillaume Latendresse (1 G)

Questions to Answer

Can the Wild get back on track by beating a team below them in the standings? Yes. From the opening drop, there wasn't a question as to who was going to win. This game was complete domination, even when it was 1-1.
With the flu going around the locker room, is chicken soup on the menu for the pre-game meal? The team looked relatively healthy tonight. They had much more energy than they did against Colorado.
Will Niklas Backstrom get back on his game, or are we seeing a long-term problem? Well, the goal was on a huge rebound, and he had three or four other big ones, but he stuffed Patrick O'Sullivan on the breakaway in the third period and looked more comfortable than he did in the previous two games.
Derek Boogaard has been on the verge of scoring all year, will tonight bring a Christmas miracle for #24? I thought he had it tonight, but the puck just trickled off his stick wide of the goal mouth.
Will snowmaggedon and the weather terrorists end the Wild's sell-out streak? 18,250. Guess it remains.

Oilers News and Notes

Derek Zona — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 17:23:18 -0000

More photos » by John Ulan - AP

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Hey look at that! It's a holding penalty on Dustin Penner. I'd love to talk to someone at the league offices and get an explanation as to how that is a hold on the Edmonton player. I, and everyone else that watched the game, saw David Steckel attempting to molest Penner as he carried the puck. When that didn't work, he tried to hold him. Penner pushed him away and....got called for a hold.

David Staples has a breakdown on the rumors that Tambellini is shopping the veteran core of this team and comes to this conclusion:

I also give it credence because it makes sense that the Oil would be testing the market value of these three players. This Oilers team isn't going to win big, or win at all, any time soon. Souray and Visnovsky have a limited shelf life as peak NHL players. Put this together and trading them would likely work for them as well as for the Oilers.

I still have my doubts because we've seen nothing but dithering thus far from Tambellini.

Interesting items below the fold:

Stealing money? My bet is that he was wearing a Moreau or an O'Sullivan sweater.

Another guy misses the point, scoring isn't the overreaching problem in Edmonton. Preventing goals is the problem. But sure, they need another scorer.

Birdwatchers Anonymous with a great breakdown of the Thrasher's shooting problems.

Bringing Back The Glory has a late-night donut with Robert Nilsson. Should have invited him over for a Turducken.

I missed one because I had no idea who was wearing the 'C' in Buffalo.

U.S. Versus viewers, take heart - Change is coming!

Mirtle's got a great collection of information on the Reggie Fleming news.

David Staples has done outstanding work on the arena project, past and present at Cult of Hockey

Edmonton Oilers Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Jean-Francois Jacques	other-excused	12/21/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Mike Comrie	other-illness	11/17/2009
Nikolai Khabibulin	back	11/21/2009
Fernando Pisani	other-excused	11/12/2009
Marc Pouliot	other-excused	09/30/2009
Ales Hemsky	shoulder	11/27/2009

Predators bounce back to beat Edmonton 6-3

Dirk Hoag — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 05:46:14 -0000

More photos » by John Ulan - AP

Nashville Predators' Jerred Smithson, right, celebrates with David Legwand after scoring on the Edmonton Oilers during the third period.

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The oft-cited mantra of NHL coaches is that their teams have to play 60 good minutes of hockey to win on any given night.

Tonight in Edmonton, the Nashville Predators only played 55 good minutes, but fortunately for them it was the final 55 minutes, as they came back from an early 2-0 deficit to beat the Edmonton Oilers 6-3. The win takes the Preds to 5-0-1 in their last six games.

Follow after the jump for video highlights, the recap, and advanced even-strength statistics...

Things looked grim when the Oilers scored twice in the first 5:01, making the Preds look disheveled and sluggish. Head coach Barry Trotz called a timeout, pulled Pekka Rinne out of the net in favor of Dan Ellis (more a motivational move than an indictment of Rinne's play), and hoped for the best.

And the best is exactly what Trotz got.

First, it was Ryan Jones getting Nashville on the board, thanks to an unlikely setup by Wade Belak, whose hard work and persistence on the puck led to a rebound chance that Jones buried to extend his goal-scoring streak to four games. Next, a typically workmanlike shift by the shutdown line led to a Joel Ward goal, and the game was tied.

Fans watching at home barely had time to hoist their drinks in celebration before Marcel Goc scored off a crossing pass from J.P. Dumont to put the Preds up 3-2 late in the 1st period. Just like that, what looked like an excuse to turn the TV off and head to bed became cause for firing up a pot of coffee and settling in for a classic late-night Alberta thriller.

Having fallen behind, however, the Oilers didn't buckle. Their infamous team speed presented a constant threat, and skilled forwards like Robert Nilsson and Gilbert Brule gave the Preds' defense fits at times. After a nifty tic-tac-toe passing play between J.P. Dumont and Jason Arnott ended up with a Patric Hornqvist goal midway through the second to make it 4-2, Nilsson put on his second display of speed, bursting through the defense to pull the Oilers to within a goal at 4-3.

Often, the Preds had to settle in to packing the slot defensively as Edmonton kept bringing pressure, but they were able to keep most shots from getting the net (in the second period, each team only fired 6 on goal). Nashville got a bit of breathing room in the waning seconds as Hornqvist got his second goal of the night, tipping a long slapshot on the power play from Ryan Suter to give the Predators a 5-3 lead heading into the third.

The final period was a classic example of a team hanging on for victory; the Oilers outshot the Preds 10-5, including a couple especially dangerous chances. In the end, however, Jerred Smithson buried a lead pass by Legwand to make the final score 6-3, just seconds after getting denied an empty-netter because the play was offside.

Dan Ellis ended up with 21 saves on 22 Oiler shots, and Hornqvist led the Nashville scorers with two goals and an assist. J.P. Dumont, David Legwand, and Ryan Suter each had two assists.

It was hardly a perfect game by the Preds, considering the sluggish start and 5 total penalties, including a Too Many Men call which typically drives coaches nuts. The penalty killers also got lit up twice, on the initial goal of the game and then later in the second period while trying to defend a two-goal lead. In the end, however, persistent work by the entire group led to a huge comeback victory over an Oiler squad that had won 5 straight before Tuesday night.

And what about this offense? After having scored 5, 7, and now 6 goals in the last 3 games, the Preds now sport a Goals per Game figure of 2.77, good enough for 16th in the NHL. Last two seasons, they've been mired in 24th.

From here, the Predators head to Calgary for a Saturday afternoon (3:00 Central) start against the Flames, before moving on to Vancouver on Tuesday to wrap up the western Canada swing. Their next home game is Saturday night, December 26 vs. Chicago.

For discounted tickets to any Nashville Predators home game, you can follow this link and use the special offer code "PREDS".

Looking at the advanced stats, it's a bit remarkable that the top line of Sullivan-Arnott-Erat actually shut down the Oilers, only allowing two shots on goal at even strength in roughly 15 minutes of ice time, and the Ward-Legwand-Smithson line tipped the ice in their favor for most of the night.. Rookie Nick Spaling had what appears to be a rough game, but it should be noted that 4th-liners often come out on the poor end of these metrics. His defensive play in particular was often helpful in holding onto the Nashville lead.

Even Strength		Individual Totals					Team Totals While Player Is On Ice
Player	Pos	EV TOI	Shots	Shts Blkd	Missed Shts	Blocks	SOG For	SOG Ag	SOG +/-	Tot SF	Tot SA	Corsi
Martin Erat	R	15:08	2	0	1	2	8	1	7	13	8	5
Jason Arnott	C	14:58	1	0	0	0	8	2	6	13	9	4
Steve Sullivan	L	14:55	1	1	1	1	8	2	6	13	9	4
David Legwand	C	13:53	2	2	0	0	9	7	2	19	12	7
Jerred Smithson	R	13:30	0	1	0	0	9	6	3	18	8	10
Joel Ward	R	12:50	2	1	0	0	7	6	1	16	9	7
Marcel Goc	C	13:37	1	0	0	0	5	6	-1	13	13	0
Patric Hornqvist	R	13:32	1	0	3	0	6	6	0	15	13	2
J P Dumont	R	13:25	0	0	0	1	6	7	-1	15	16	-1
Wade Belak	R	5:43	2	0	0	1	3	4	-1	4	6	-2
Nick Spaling	C	6:54	0	0	0	0	3	5	-2	4	9	-5
Ryan Jones	L	6:20	0	0	0	0	3	2	1	4	5	-1
Shea Weber	D	17:09	1	0	1	1	9	5	4	17	12	5
Ryan Suter	D	17:45	0	1	0	1	10	5	5	18	13	5
Dan Hamhuis	D	17:26	3	1	4	0	9	6	3	18	15	3
Kevin Klein	D	16:28	1	2	0	1	8	7	1	17	15	2
Cody Franson	D	12:07	1	1	1	0	7	5	2	14	10	4
Francis Bouillon	D	15:31	2	2	1	0	7	8	-1	14	13	1

Poll

Who is your Predator of the Game?

Dan Ellis, 21 saves on 22 shots

14 votes

Patric Hornqvist, 2 goals, 1 assist

72 votes

Ryan Jones, 4 game goal-scoring streak

12 votes

98 votes | Poll has closed

Some Perspective on Penner's Start

Derek Zona — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:20:43 -0000

Left winger Petr Klima of the Edmonton Oilers (right) and defenseman Steve Duchesne of the Los Angeles Kings tangle up during a game at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, California. Klima immediately apologized. via cdn.picapp.com

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Dustin Penner's blistering start has slowed a bit, but Big Pun continues to carry the team on a nightly basis. He's on pace for 40 goals, something that hasn't been accomplished in Edmonton since Petr Klima in 1990 He's on pace for 88 points, the most for any Oiler since Doug Weight's 90 in 2000. Let's check the twenty-one years A.G.

Year	Player	Goals	Player	Assists	Player	Points	Player	+/-
1988	Carson	49	Messier	61	Kurri	102	Muni	43
1989	Messier	45	Messier	84	Messier	129	Gregg	24
1990	Klima	40	Messier	52	Tikkanen	69	Klima	24
1991	Damphousse	38	Damphousse	51	Damphousse	89	Maciver	20
1992	Klima	32	Nicholls	32	Klima	48	Gelinas	3
1993	Arnott	33	Weight	50	Weight	74	Arnott	1
1994	Oliver	16	Weight	33	Weight	40	Kennedy	2
1995	Ciger	31	Weight	79	Weight	104	Satan	0
1996	Smyth	39	Weight	61	Weight	82	Marchment	13
1997	Weight	26	Weight	44	Weight	70	Tie	9
1998	Guerin	30	Guerin	34	Guerin	64	Poti	10
1999	Smyth	28	Weight	51	Weight	72	Smith	16
2000	Smyth	31	Weight	65	Weight	90	Tie	15
2001	Comrie	33	Niinimaa	39	Tie	60	Comrie	16
2002	Smyth	27	Marchant	40	Smyth	61	Reasoner	19
2003	Smyth	23	Smyth	36	Smyth	59	Ulanov	18
2004
2005	Smyth	36	Hemsky	58	Hemsky	77	Staios	10
2006	Smyth	31	Hemsky	40	Tie	53	Thoresen	-1
2007	Penner	23	Hemsky	51	Hemsky	71	Nilsson	8
2008	Tie	23	Hemsky	43	Hemsky	66	Grebeshkov	12
2009	Penner	44	Penner	44	Penner	88	Penner	32

Penner's projected goal total is good for 3rd over this time period. His pace would tie him for 13th in assists and 6th in points. He would join Mark Messier, Vincent Damphousse, Doug Weight and Ryan Smyth as Oilers who have led the team in Goals, Assists and Points.

He's also on pace to accomplish a feat that only one other player in the history of the Oilers has been able to pull off -- lead the team in Goals, Assists, Points, and +/-.

Edmonton - Tampa Bay post-game: Zorg, meet Gordie

Bruce McCurdy — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 06:20:53 -0000

More photos » by Chris O'Meara - AP

Edmonton Oilers right winger Zack Stortini, foreground, celebrates with the bench after completing his "Gordie Howe Hat Trick" by scoring the game-winning goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning during an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2009, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

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Well I know that we're all supposed to be pulling for losses and losing streaks so we can nab that all-important Bingo ball, but tonight the Oilers went and won again and that's four in a row now so when will these guys buy in to the game plan? Granted they haven't been beating up the class of the league but there's this old axiom that you can only beat the team you're playing, and to do that four times in a row on any road trip is cause for hope. Oilers were hanging on in the third tonight but had just enough in the tank and between the pipes to get the job done. 3-2 again, this time in regulation, over Tampa.

The "fourth" line of Zack Stortini centring Robert Nilsson and Ryan Stone has been together for four games now and Oilers have won all of them. The trio is +5/-0 in that time, with Nilsson also chipping in a couple of powerplay points while Stone and Stortini have looked after the physical side of the game including three fights tonight. Nilsson looks far more effective playing with grunts than smurfs so I hope Coach Quinn doesn't promote him too quickly. It's working, leave it alone.

The man of the hour tonight was one Zack Stortini, who made a gigantic impact on this game in just 6:22 ice time. "Zorg" hit for the Gordie Howe Hat Trick Plus with an assist, a goal, and two** fights against Zenon Konopka. The goal was the game winner, set up on an effective doubleteam forecheck, a nifty kick pass by Stone, and Stortini taking it to the net, walking in front of the goal line and finding the far corner beyond Mike Smith to put the Oil in front to stay, 3-2.

(**The second fight was pretty lame.)

Stone is the closest thing the Oilers have had to Glencross since Glencross, and the presence of an effective LW on the fourth line has made all the difference. He played another solid game tonight in just 6:07 ice time, and while the goals can't continue at this rate the hitting and the good positioning and the effective puck movement appear to be ingrained. He also proved pretty handy with the dukes when he took on Tampa hooligan Steve Downie and got the better of him, especially in the scrap's late stages after Downie attempted to slewfoot Stone.

The other good news is that after his disaster in Vancouver Jeff Deslauriers has bounced back with four solid efforts in a row, holding opponents to 2 or fewer each time. Tonight was a big step forward in my view, as he looked more composed and commanding than I've seen previously, tracking the puck well and handling it almost competently (which is a Huge improvement). He backed that up with 15 saves in the third including a huge stop on Downie in the final minute to hold that 3-2 lead to the end.

On the other side of the puck Marty St. Louis is just a wonderful hockey player who is a joy to watch.

Selected stats after the jump:

EV Corsi by line (listed in order of EV TOI)
-------------------------------------------------------
Horcoff -8, Jacques -9, O'Sullivan -12
Penner +1, Brule -1, Gagner -2
Cogliano +2, Potulny +2, Moreau -2
Nilsson +4, Stone +3, Stortini +2

Visnovsky -9, Smid -11
Souray +3, Gilbert +3
Staios -2, Strudwick -4

That first unit drew the lion's share of the assignment against Lecavalier (+12) and St.Louis (+15), which explains their results to a significant degree.

Faceoffs
-----------
Penner 5/10 = 50%
Potulny 5/11 = 45%
Gagner 5/12 = 42%
O'Sullivan 2/5 = 40%
Horcoff 4/15 = 27%
Stortini 0/6 = 0%
Cogliano 0/1 = 0%

Team 21/60 = 35% = Brutal

Horcoff 22:12
Jacques 5 hits
Staios 4 blocks
Stortini 1-1-2, +2, 12 PiM, 3 hits
Gilbert 1-0-1, +2, 4 shots, 1 hit
Deslauriers 32/34, .941, W

* * *

Lecavalier 22:51, 0-1-1, +2, 4 shots, 2 hits, 20/29 = 69%
St. Louis 23:22, 1-1-2m +2, 7 shots, 2 hits

* * *

Next up: @ St. Louis, Friday, 18:00 MST

Talk about a tough week for the Panthers

James Mirtle — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:50:15 -0000

Bryan Allen smacks teammate Gregory Campbell into next week after Robert Nilsson deftly avoids the hit. I haven't seen an update on Campbell's condition that describes the injury, but hopefully he's okay.

Edmonton - Florida post-game : Scorecoff!

Bruce McCurdy — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 06:50:32 -0000

More photos » by Alan Diaz - AP

17 days ago: Edmonton Oilers' Shawn Horcoff (10) scores the game-winning goal against Florida Panthers goalie Tomas Vokoun in a shootout in an NHL hockey game in Sunrise, Fla., Monday, Dec. 7, 2009. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

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Some days I get tired of reading a bunch of negativist bullshit around the Oilogosphere about how the Oilers should just roll over and tank the season because it's obvious that they suck and have no hope. Today is one of those days.

Oilers have responded to their latest kick in the crotch -- a season-ending injury to their perennial leading scorer, Ales Hemsky -- by going on a little run, being unlucky to only get a point against the Sharks, losing early in Vancouver but bouncing back to win three in a row, all on the road. After soundly trouncing the mighty Wings 4-1 right in the Joe, the Oil have won a pair of tight ones, coming back from 2-0 and 2-1 deficits against Dallas and Florida respectively to get the games to overtime, then winning both in the shootout on a decisive "goal" by Shawn Horcoff.

Tonight the Oil were outshot 35-28 with the difference occurring entirely on special teams where the Panthers were shooting from everywhere, although in the end both teams score 1 powerplay goal. At even strength the score was also 1-1; shots were 21-21; missed shots were 9-9; and the Oilers blocked 7 shots to Florida's 6. Seems pretty even to me. There were nervous moments to be sure, especially anytime Jeff Deslauriers came out of his crease to handle the grenade, while the veteran defence pair of Staios and Strudwick had a difficult night. On the plus side Lubo Visnovsky had a sublime game, finding the scoresheet twice with a slick goalmouth pass to Horcoff for the game's first goal and then a seeing eye shot from the point that Dustin Penner tipped home to knot the count at 2 early in the third. JDD had a solid game between the pipes when he actually was between the pipes; Horcoff scored in the real game and then again in the ersatz one; and Robert Nilsson had his third splendid game in a row.

Stats of interest after the jump:

Defence Corsi
-------------------
Visnovsky +13
Smid +3
Gilbert 0
Souray -2
Strudwick -7
Staios -11

Forward Corsi
---------------------
Stortini +8
Stone +7
Nilsson +6
Gagner +1
Potulny -1
Jacques -1
O'Sullivan -2
Cogliano -4
Moreau -4
Penner -4
Horcoff -5
Brule -6

Ethan Moreau: 4 shots, 3 hits, 2 blocks

Sheldon Souray: 2 shots, 4 hits, 2 blocks

Zack Stortini: EV shots on goal ON: Oilers 6, Panthers 0

Lubo Visnovsky: EV shots on goal ON: Oilers 11, Panthers 2

Jeff Deslauriers: 35 shots, 2 GA, .943 Sv%

* * *

Next up: @ Tampa Bay, Friday, 17:30 MST

Panthers gain point in 3-2 SO loss to Oilers

Whale4ever — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 04:04:07 -0000

More photos » by Alan Diaz - AP

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No one said it would be simple. Or non-repetitive.

The Panthers continued the puck-attacking, aggressive play which has been a staple of recent games, yet fell to a hot Edmonton club who's enjoyed the road of late. A 3-2 final goes out to the masses, but there was a lot to like about Florida's final appearance on home ice for a spell. And that's likely a positive.

Regardless of almost non-existent success at home (unless blown-lead, one-point gains are considered "successful"), the examples we've seen lately have been far more hopeful considering the future. And for the record, Tomas Vokoun looked good.

Stephen Weiss' goal streak was shut down and Nathan Horton garnered zippo on the scoresheet, but for the first time in a long while, secondary scoring ruled the day as Dominic Moore banged home two to keep the game within reach.

And from a Florida perspective, a 35 to 28 shot advantage is most definitely a plus.

Yep...it's still a loss - the seventh in their past eight games - but in that time the club has turned over a new attitude which was obvious from the start. They were physical and quick to defend their zone. It wasn't perfect, but far superior to what was witnessed even four weeks ago.

And how about this: Rostislav Olesz scored in the shootout. Don't know what type of compromising photos Rusty must be in possession of with regard to his coaching staff, but he came through when called upon...with the very same backhand-to-the-right play we've all grown so accustomed to.

Anyway, it was Moore for the Cats (with assists from Kulikov and 1,000 game-dude Dvorak), while Shawn Horcoff and Lubomir Visnovsky gained goals from Robert Nilsson and Ladislav Smid. Horcoff gained the game-winner in the shootout as well.

Not a terrible showing by any stretch for the home team, but a road trip is probably very welcome among the troops.

Notes: Michael Frolik (0 points) had nine SOG. Weiss and Bryan McCabe led all skaters with 24:39 TOI (see Weiss play. See Weiss grow). Edmonton's Visnovsky led the visitors with 2 points.

Next up: BJ action from Columbus on Wednesday.

Edmonton - Detroit post-game: Bizarrotown, USA

Bruce McCurdy — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 05:59:27 -0000

More photos » by Jerry S. Mendoza - AP

Edmonton Oilers' Robert Nilsson (12) blows past Detroit Red Wings' Jonathan Ericsson en route to scoring a spectacular goal during the first period of their NHL hockey game on Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009, in Detroit. Nilsson's beauty stood up as the game-winner. (AP Photo/Jerry S. Mendoza)

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Hey, exactly what I was expecting. Oilers rolled into Hockeytown and emerged a scant 2 hours and 15 minutes later with a convincing 4-1 win, outshooting the erstwhile Western Conference power 36-28 in the process.

Hey wait a minute, isn't this the same Detroit squad that ranks 2nd in the league in shots on goal and 6th in shots against? Isn't Edmonton, like, 3rd from the bottom in shots for, and 6th from the bottom in shots against? Check, check, check, and check. And Oilers outshot Detroit 36-28? Check.

Actually, "check" was the operative word tonight as the Oil put in a real solid team effort. Other keywords were "skate" and "pass", and even expressions like "hit" and "shoot" and "stopthedamnpuckalready" put in regular appearances. Although they were helped by a couple of ridiculously soft goals, the Oilers won this game on merit. Bizarre.

What changed? On the individual level, Ryan Stone and Robert Nilsson returned from lengthy injuries to play on a solid line centred (!) by Zack Stortini. Patrick O'Sullivan actually found the net, and then found it again 3 minutes later. Tom Gilbert came out of purgatory to be paired with Sheldon Souray and played a solid game. Jeff "Top Shelf" Deslauriers bounced back from allowing 7 goals in his last 30 minutes of action to play an acceptable, if occasionally chaotic, game between the pipes. The team skated hard and checked hard and broke out of their own end with some authority and came within a team-wide brain cramp in the dying second of the first of posting the shutout.

Actually, Detroit did "out-Corsi" the Oilers 58-53, but fewer of their attempted shots got through, with a key stat being 17 blocked shots for the Oil to just 8 for the Wings. And when the Oil entered the third with the lead in the third they played like they'd been there before and actually knew how to defend it. I was particularly impressed with their puck control in the defensive zone and the subsequent breakouts, with the result that the last 20 minutes simply flew by, completely under control. Where'd that come from? Did we enter an alternate, not-so-parallel Universe while I was drifting off?

Some interesting stats from tonight's game:

Defence Corsi:

Strudwick +4
Staios -1
Visnovsky -1
Gilbert -2
Smid -4
Souray -5

Hands up, those who guessed Strudwick. Liar.

Faceoffs (2 or more)

Stortini 5/7 = 71%
Gagner 7/14 = 50%
Horcoff 3/12 = 25%
Potulny 1/9 = 11%

Hands up ...

* * *

Individual stats (* = team high):

Smid: 1 shot, 2* blocked shots, +3*, 4 hits

Nilsson: 1 highlight-reel goal, 2 shots, 2 hits (!), +2

Potulny: 5* more shots, 2 hits, Corsi +6*

O'Sullivan: 2* goals, 1 on an actual shot ... well, sort of

Jacques: 7* more hits

Deslauriers: 27 saves, 1 GA

Souray: 1 assist, +1, 2 shots, 3 hits, 1 takeaway, 2* blocked shots

Stortini: 1 assist, +2, 2 shots, 4 hits, 5/7 = 71%*

Visnovsky: 1 goal, +3*

* * *

And for the cherry on top:

Oilers record with Ryan Stone in the line-up: 7-2-1
Oilers record without Stone: 4-11-3

Bizarre.

Oilers Roundtable Discussion, 1/3 of the way through the season - Part III

Derek Zona — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:30:10 -0000

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Can this thing be fixed? Can the Oilers turn it aound this year? Is this something that Tambellini can rescue? The Copper & Blue's roundtable is back to answer those questions.

Our lineup includes: the prolix Shepso, combining modern western philosophy and hockey at Bringing Back The Glory; Chappy, owner of This is Not a Love Song; HBomb, everyone's favorite bartender in the Oilers' 'sphere; Dawgbone, the pragmatic commentor that writes too infrequently at After The Green Light; Doogie2k, the go-to guy on physiology working at Still No Name; everyone's favorite antagonist Ender, Doogie's partner in crime at Still No Name; and SumOil, a frequent commentor here and the biggest optimist that any of us know.

Find the entire series here, tagged 2009 midseason roundtable

5. The fan poll in the preseason roundtable called this team a playoff team. Without roster changes, is there a even the slightest chance that this team makes the playoffs?

Shepso: I think this team is a still a work in progress that is missing too many key pieces, either due to injury or not having them to begin with, and as such they likely won’t make it again this year. They’ll be too high in the standings to get a lottery pick too, unfortunately. I say this is a 10^th place team, 3 down from where I ranked them in the last roundtable. And on that note by the way, Robert Nilsson is not a tradable asset at the deadline, unless it’s for 3 goats and a virgin to be sacrificed in order to appease the sky wizard and give the Oil the 1^st overall pick next year. I want to believe this team can do better, but I just don't see them as any more than a .500 hockey team at best right now.

Chappy: At this point, we'd need a clear run with no injuries. If the team can stay healthy and go gangbusters throughout the remainder of the season, then YES, there is a chance. I don't think that 6-2-1 at the beginning of the season was a fluke. Unfortunately, the team is down a few forwards, a defenseman or two, and a number one goalie right at the minute. There can't be any more serious injuries if the team is going to have a shot.

HBomb: Not unless they somehow get the percentage train going in their favor like it was the first 8 games or so and carry that through to April. They've changed GM's, they've changed coaches, but the player personnel remains much the same. Serious help is needed at forward to the tune of at least two decent veterans. Have fun trying to add them without any cap flexibility, Tambellini. You can send Kevin Lowe a Thank You Card at Christmas ("Dear Kevin, I appreciate you giving me a shot to finally be an NHL GM, but do you have any idea the mess you've left me? 2.7 million a year for Staios? 2 million a year for Moreau? Another 2 million to Robert Nilsson to sit in the pressbox? WTF?????)

Dawgbone: I think there is a chance. A big hotstreak can be the difference between finishing .500 and 10 games over. If Penner continues to play well, Hemmer stays healthy, Horcoff gets better and our blueline gets back to 100% there are enough pieces to snag extra wins. It is going to take some luck on the Oilers side, combined with things to go wrong with other clubs, but if the 07-08 team and the 03-04 team could nearly sneak in, I think this club could as well.

Doogie2k: Slightest chance? Sure. We're 25 or so games in; there's lots of time for things to change. Is there a realistic chance? I'm not so sure anymore. Unlike Colorado, the Oilers didn't bank a ton of points off their percentages before they started rolling snake eyes and had half their Real NHLers on the IR. Now, they're five points out of the playoffs already and have played more games than any of their direct competition. The only teams with worse road records are Minnesota and Carolina, the basement teams of their respective conferences. Again, injuries are a factor, particularly with that road record, but it's a lot harder to be optimistic now than it was two months ago. And with Hemsky out, I think that unless Tambellini can find someone to stop the bleeding, it's going to be a very long six months from here to mid-April.

Ender: I said a few weeks back that this team makes the playoffs if they're healthy by the end of November. That doesn't look like it's going to happen, so while I'm hopeful that Cogliano or Nilsson jump up, at this point I'm more or less writing off the season. I think the injuries have dug a hole that they're unlikely to recover from.

SumOil: In the pre-season I had even flirted with the idea of this team winning the division, but it all has come down crashing. There is an obvious lack of NHL players on this roster. We don't have enough skilled players. We don't have many good checking line forwards. With Hemsky out for the season, even the most optimistic of fans should have thrown the towel. This team was flawed at the start of the season and the situation has gone from bad to worse. I don't think that certain players have it in them to drive themselves hard and are happy under-performing.

Let me rephrase this question. How does this team sans any changes reach playoffs this season?
a. Defense will have to be extremely stingy(cue to Staios) and will have to support the goalie. While doing this, defense has to be responsible for at least replicating last season's offensive production(cue to Gilbert).
b. Patrick O'Sullivan will have to wake up and start playing ice hockey again. He will have to be defensively responsible (which he currently isn't) in a shut-down role with Horcoff while producing consistent secondary scoring (which is non-existent too)
c. Pisani's return is imminent to form the 3rd part of the shut-down line and relieve JFJ from that assignment.
d. Nilsson and Cogliano will have to return to their form from 2 season's ago.
e. Nikolai Khabibulin will has to return to the net and carry the team on his not so healthy back.

While a couple of these may happen, but all of them isnt. I have never felt so hopeless about this team's chances of making playoffs as I feel now. But hey, I am a huge believer of rebuild and Taylor Hall will look great in Copper n Blue.

6. If you could make a trade, what assets (non-toxic assets) are you willing to put on the table? What type of player would you be looking for in return?

Shepso: I am not sure what a non-toxic asset is at this point, but the only untouchables in my world are Hemsky, Penner, Gagner, Ladi and Lubo. Everyone else can go. Ideally, I would love to package Grebs and Moreau for a James Neal/Dustin Brown type player and a cheap center that can win draws, even if he can’t score. I would kill for a 2nd line Winger with some size and real, NHL calibre hands. As much as I hate to lose Cogliano and all of his upside, they way he’s being utilized makes me feel as though he should be cut loose. I really like the kid and I think he deserves the opportunity to play top 6 minutes somewhere, or at least top 9 and pp2 minutes and he could bring back something great (young, but great) in return. I'd love to get someone like Nik Backstrom or Alex Semin out of Washington too, given half a chance.

Chappy: If I'm pulling the trade trigger here, I'm going to ship out a defenseman (Grebeshkov) for a fourth line centre who can hit and win a faceoff or two. Give me Blair Betts. Grebs is in a one year deal with a 3.1M cap hit, and the Oilers are going to be needing all the help in that area that they can. Let go of Moreau and Nilsson for pick or two, it'll surely free up some space. What's Mike Peca doing these days? I'd pick him up for the remainder fo the year and let 'er rip.

HBomb: The guys I am shopping are Grebeshkov, O'Sullivan, and, if the return is favorable enough, Cogliano (Moreau, Staios and Nilsson are assumed as throwaways at this point). I'm looking for a top-six forward and a third line center in return, players with "wide ranges of skills". This team could use a Brenden Morrow or a Patrick Sharp. Some skilled size for the LW would be ideal (to ride shotgun for Gagner and whomever remains out of Cogliano and O'Sullivan).

Dawgbone: I think if we are talking about the Oilers moving valuable assets in the season (i.e. a guy like a healthy Souray), it's not to fill holes but to gather assets. Aside from that, there are guys like Cogliano and O'Sullivan who may still have lots of interest from other clubs. If one or both of them are traded I'd like to see a decent RH centre come back. It also frees up cap space for the summer, where the Oilers can try and concentrate on bringing in veterans who fit specific roles (which is what they failed to do this year). Guys like a Dvorak or a Betts... the key is to get 2 or 3 of these guys in order to provide a lot more balance throughout the line up.

Doogie2k: Ugh, I've always hated these conversations, and tend to avoid them, simply because they always degenerate into HF-esque pie-in-the-sky dreaming. (In fact, trade talk is second only to line combinations on my list of "shit I just can't be bothered to read.") Plus, I've proven to be a thoroughly mediocre fantasy GM over the years,and that's a lot less work than being a real NHL GM. Fortunately, most of the guys we see as "toxic assets" seem to have value in the world of NHL GMs. Nilsson probably won't be popular, but closer to deadline time, Ethan Moreau and Steve Staios are exactly the sort of player a lot of contending GMs look for to fill in gaps in the bottom half of their roster for playoff time. Of course, they're also both signed through next year, which makes the whole "playoff rental" thing a bit hard to do, but I digress.

I think Tambellini needs to decide what, exactly, he wants this roster to do. We know now that it's never going to be completely healthy, so the question becomes: rebuild or go for it? If he wants to still go for it, he needs to deal for some cheap to moderately-salaried veterans who know what the hell they're doing in the defensive zone, and who can maybe teach the kids the same thing for their future development. (I'd bet there aren't many available at this point, except from the two or three death-spiralling teams, but it's worth trying.) If he decides to tank for the draft, though, he'll need to get rid of an expensive contract or two and let the kids run wild. Sitting and doing nothing won't move this team in any direction in particular.

Ender: I don't know how a roster move will help enough to trade assets. For all the talk of faceoffs - as Scott and I discussed at some point last week - they don't make much of a difference unless you're already being dominated on possession. At some point you have to accept that the majority of this team's problems right now are defensive miscues by the forwards and while some veteran presence might help that somewhat I don't think there's anybody on the market or anybody that we could afford to tilt the ice enough. Unless you want to replace 3-4 players, anyway, and at that point you're losing a lot of your young, low-cap options. I don't think it makes sense moving forwards..

Sumit: How much difference does a couple of week make. Just 2 weeks ago I was thinking about trades to upgrade the skill and grit level of our team. I was ready to move prospects and young players to get more veterans or players in their primes. I was targeting Gagne, Stafford, Lang, Horton, However, now all I am doing is praying that Oilers dont make any such trade. A full rebuild is on the cards and it is time to protect and develop young assets. Lets go about this question in a more more organised manner. Which players(age 25+) will be extremely beneficial(experience, skill-set and salary cap hit) to the club 2-3 years from today? Hemsky, Penner, Horcoff, Gilbert and Grebeshkov. I will protect these players. Other than that Souray, Visnovsky, Moreau, Pisani and Comrie are not going to be a big part of this club moving forward. So dealing of any or all of them over time for prospects and picks will be the ideal situation.

However If you are asking what trade now to fix our situation. I propose the following:
Grebeshkov and O'Sully for Tyutin and Umberger
7th round pick for Adam Mair
Cogliano, 2nd for Frolov.