SB Nation - Andrew Cogliano

Khabibulin Done?

Derek Zona — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 01:48:42 -0000

Message boards and blogs devoted to the Edmonton Oilers are ablaze with talk that Nikolai Khabibulin could be done for the year as he has surgery to repair a herniated disc. Having suffered through the same injury, if he's had to go the surgical route, it's severe. At this point, a surgery like this brings into question Khabibulin's ability to continue his career in the NHL. If that's the case, Steve Tambellini has caught an amazing break in the world of cap management. Of course, the injury leaves him with a significant hole in the lineup as Khabibulin was brought in specifically to be a big-game goaltender and a playoff workhorse. For a team like the Oilers, battling along in 10th place, Tambellini has two options:

a. Find an affordable goaltending option to split time with Jeff Deslauriers and hope that superior defense saves the season.

b. Let Jeff Deslauriers and Devan Dubnyk split the work for the rest of the season and see if either one is a long-term solution.

Given the continuing state of the goaltending market, Tambellini shouldn't have to do anything major to land a serviceable goalie to help out the rest of the way. This is exactly why I think that Tambellini and his shadow management group will choose:

c. Go after a big name goalie and try to hit a home run.

Enter Tomas Vokoun. This weekend, Chris Botta reported that Randy Sexton is actively shopping Vokoun to anyone that will have him in what can only be a salary dump. He also falls into the light-thinking trap of reporting that Vokoun "...has the 2010-11 season left on his contract at a hefty $6.3 million..." even though his cap hit is $5.7 million. While the $6.3 million may matter to a somewhat cash-strapped team like Florida, the cap hit matters most to teams that fly close to the cap ceiling. Teams such as...the Edmonton Oilers.

If Khabibulin down and out for good, Edmonton will get cap relief to the tune of $3.75 million per season. The one way out of the ridiculous Over-35 Contract that the Oilers gave Khabibulin is contained in Article 50, Section 50.5 (PDF Warning) in the Collective Bargaining Agreement - AKA the Mike Rathje Section.

The Oilers have an over-abundance of small, skilled forwards that may be attractive to a Southeast team, especially a kid like Andrew Cogliano. Cogliano's speed has been dazzling scouts, personnel people, coaches and fans, but his game hasn't quite come together. He would be a perfect candidate to move to Florida as the central piece of a Vokoun deal. Edmonton would need to clear an additional $2 million in cap space to get Vokoun under the cap, space that can be provided by Ethan Moreau.

Would a trade of Ethan Moreau and Andrew Cogliano for Tomas Vokoun be so far-fetched? In this case, I don't think so. Tambellini gets to blame the "unforeseen injury" to Khabibulin and gets to move Cogliano without criticism from most quarters. Florida gets to clear a huge salary from the books and gets a promising young center in Cogliano and only has one season of Ethan Moreau at $2 million.

As far as the optics go, Vokoun looks like a coup for the Oilers management team, as he's a world-class goaltender (a real one, not like the crumbling wall was purported to be) on a team that is "pushing hard for a playoff spot". Vokoun also falls into the whale category that the crew of the Pequod has been hunting for the last two-and-a-half years.

I know, I know - Vokoun seems like an unbelievable option. Martin Biron, Jaroslav Halak, Ty Conklin - they all make much more sense. Ask yourself this - over the last two years, what has the Oilers management team been, if not unbelievable?

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

Derek Zona — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:30:11 -0000

More photos » by Christopher J. Morris - AP

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It's been all about disappointments and Dustin Penner thus far for the Oilers. Who's has suffered the biggest letdown, and besides Big Pun, who has surprised the group?

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 commenter here and the biggest optimist that any of us know.

Find the entire series here, tagged 2009 midseason roundtable

The conversation continues after the jump.

3. Who or what has been the biggest disappointment thus far?

Shepso: I hate to say it, as I called him as the player to watch last time (though I did also pray to the gods for Penner) has been Patrick O’Sullivan. He started off strong and has just disappeared, shootout brilliance not withstanding. He tried really hard and gave great efforts at the start of the season, but the well appears to be dry now. Aside from Patty O, the return of Grebs on Acid hasn’t been fun. I hope he gets it out of his system while he’s on the IR. The Wall really hasn’t been great, but I know he too is trying very hard and has been working with a mostly AHL caliber of defense in front of him so I can’t justify ripping into him just now. I’ll save that for year three of his contract. Finally, Nilsson’s horrific -12 makes him my absolute worst goat of the team thus far.

As far as situational disappointments, I assumed Tom Renney’s PK would be a lot better thus far. I am also really confused about the deployment of Andrew Cogliano. He has speed, he has hands, he has o-zone awareness, yet he has been lugging around dead weight for much of the season. His game is more suited to the wing, yet he is insisting upon playing center while Duff Man was apparently brought in to play the wing. I like 91 centering 18 and 46 a lot more than 13.

Finally, and this is more of a heartbreaker then a disappointment; the flare-up of Fernando’s colitis is just so tragic for one of the best guys to play for this team in a number of years. I know this sentiment has been and will continue to be echoed throughout the blogging community and the city of Edmonton as a whole. Good Luck Fernando, we all miss you and wish you luck and a quick recovery.

Chappy: He's starting to turn it around, but I'd really like to see a bit more from Shawn Horcoff.

HBomb: Patrick O'Sullivan would get my vote. The guy can shoot the puck, but he has no finish whatsoever. He's like Joffrey Lupul in that he's got a slow release and takes time to get his shot off at full power, but when he does, it's impressive. Unlike Lupul, however, O'Sullivan's skill-set prevent him from achieving absolute uselessness when he's not scoring. He's not a lost cause, but at the same time, he's probably very available as a trade asset if Tambellini ever decides to try and improve this hockey club.

Dawgbone: Without a doubt Shawn Horcoff. In past years when he wasn't scoring he was at least generating scoring chances and doing a good job at getting the puck going the other way. This year nothing was going right for him early, and while things have gotten better, he still isn't having much luck (it seems any mistake he makes ends up in the back of the net). What's really troublesome is that he's not even taking draws anymore. Hopefully that's just a sign of tightness in his shoulder as opposed to an actual injury. Another disappointment this year has been Andrew Cogliano. 28 shots in 23 games is not enough, especially with his speed and ability to create his own shot. His biggest downfall has been missing the net. Among all forwards who have 20 or more SOG, Cogliano has the worst % of actually getting his shots on net (28 SOG on 39 attempts). That's defenceman territory.

Doogie2k: Probably Patty O'Lanterns. I swear, that kid must have an extra NOT gate in the circuitry that decides whether to pass or shoot: so many times, I've seen him pass when he had a lane, or shoot a muffin into the goalie's logo when there's been an open man. And speaking of muffins to the chest, I've also never seen so many shots directly at the goaltender from an alleged goal-scorer. Seriously, when was the last time there were so many bad decisions in someone paid that much? (Oh, wait, I watched Alexei Kovalev in Montreal last year. Never mind.)

Ender: Cogliano. Yes, he's been stapled to Moreau, but with the guy's skill level there's no way he shouldn't have charged up the roster like Gagner has. Maybe if their roles were reversed their stats would be as well, but Cogliano seems to have more or less given up on a 1st or 2nd line role, which is super disappointing - though it'll likely help with the cap.

Other than that, obviously my biggest disappointment has been seeing a healthy OIlers team for what? 2 games this season?

SumOil: I will like to answer this question as who AND what has been the biggest disappointment. There are many things wrong with this team-lack of intensity, lack of actual NHL players etc..etc..but the two biggest disappointments so far have been

a. Gilbert b. Passive Oilers management.

Tom Gilbert: Gilbert has been one of my favorite oiler in the last 2 seasons. After his 45 point season last year, I expected Gilbert to be an even better defenseman this season. I thought he will get way better defensively while regressing a little in his offesive production. This season has been a disappointment. His offensive game seems non-existent and he hasnt inspired any confidence with his defensive play either. He has regressed so much since last season, that if traded for Stafford at this moment, we will have robbed Buffalo. Gilbert is a good, smart hockey player just entering his prime, and its time he starts playing like one.

Oilers Management: Oilers management has been as passive as a monk this season. They seem to have an excuse for everything and are probably more optimistic about this team's chances of making the playoffs than a certain fan we all know ;). Make a damn move. We need a defensively responsible center who can win face-offs(after Hemsky's injury, we also need a top 6 forward but that can be a start). If not that, make a trade for the sake of making one. This might wake up the players who have gotten too comfortable with their lazy play knowing that their jobs are secure. There are many teams that struggling like the Oilers and will like to trade to send a message to the players. But no our GM wants to wait till 2020 untill the roster gets healthy. If we have learnt one thing in the last 3 years, it is that some one or the other is always injured(flukey one or not) and a definite plan B is a necessity.

4. Who, aside from Dustin Penner, has been the most pleasant surprise?

Shepso: I’m thrilled about the emergence of the real Dustin Penner. Last year I wrote about the unfortunate mistake that was MacT’s disciplinary strategy and the effect it must have had on DP’s development. Feel free to read it - I think it was my best work last season. Anyhoo, I am really rather proud of how he has rebounded and think he is the best player on the team by leaps and bounds. However, it is one of the other pieces of the former Heatley puzzle that has been the most pleasant surprise; Ladi Smid +7. That is what we needed from him. He makes great decisions with the puck, he hits, his skating is much better, and he just looks really happy to be on this team right now. That to me is the best news of the year. Quite frankly, the kid has been an absolute gem, and when paired with Lubo, looks capable of being an all-star shutdown defenceman.

Chappy: Having seen a lot of rubber in their own end, I think our goaltending has been our best asset so far. I think Nikolai Khabibulin has held the team together nicely since his gaffe in game 1. Should Khabibulin need a break (and I see him needing a few more than he's gotten so far) Deslauriers is showing that he can fill in nicely for 20-25 games. I'm very impressed at our goaltending tandem. Here's hoping Khabibulin comes back sooner rather than later from his back flare-up.

HBomb: Gilbert Brule's showing some promise. Yes, he's got some warts on his game, but he can finish and his faceoff ability isn't Cogliano-esque. Before he was hurt, Ryan Stone was the runaway winner in this category. Did anyone expect him to even make the hockey club?

Dawgbone: Vishnovsky. We all knew how good he was before he got hurt, but the question was could he come back from it? I think that answer is a resounding yes. Aside from needing some time early in the year to get back into gear, he picked up where he left off last year. He's been so good that I'm convinced that the Oilers make the playoffs last year if he didn't get hurt. Another pleasant surprise has been Brule. I was never a big fan of his, he reminded me a lot of Jani Rita. Very obvious skills that jumped out, but never in a position to use them. In the games I saw last year Brule was running around all over the ice and was never in position to make a play. This year he's been much better at finding lanes and attacking from in front of the puck as opposed to from behind the puck.

Doogie2k: I'm gonna stick with my original answer and say Ladislav Smid. Sure, playing with Lubomir Visnovsky will do that for you, and yeah, he was my personal Golden Rooster for the most recent Blackhawks game, but in most of the games I've watched, his decision-making has been much better and much calmer, he's been more willing to pinch to keep a play alive, and he's lost his man far less often than in past years. I know his on-ice SCD/15 year-over-year doesn't seem bear out this improvement at first glance, but considering that as a team, the Oilers have been much worse in the scoring-chance department this year, I'll take the relative stagnation as a sign of improvement.

Ender: I've been pretty happy with both of the goaltenders, which was the biggest question-mark for me coming in. From what I've seen they both easily have the skill to make it happen and while they both terrify me while handling the puck, I'm ok with my Penner-esque complaints against them. I said this about Penner last year and I'll say it about these guys this year - It's great that they can play at the level they do, but when they seem asleep in 1/3-1/2 of their games it pisses me off. If the results are there regardless, great, but my god I'd feel more confident watching the game if they got off of the Benadryl.

SumOil: There is one player who has has the biggest improvement from for the Oilers and that is Smid. However the player who has surprised me the most is Gilbert Brule. Last season when he was called up,he struggled in the big show. His performance in the A did not inspire much confidence in his play either. During the pre-season there was a lot of talk about him getting Brodziak's role as the 4th line center. Most of us felt that this was more to do with his draft pedigree than him earning his due. However, Brule has been one of those positive contributors this season. He hasn't been able to replace Brodziak as he isnt as defensively reliable, but has consistently provided the team with secondary scoring. Early on, being on a line with Penner did help his stats and when(finally) Penner was promoted to the top line, many of us feared that his scoring will slow down considerably. However, he is third among all forwards in scoring and 2nd in goals. Quoting Bruce McCurdy after Brule's performance against the Sharks:

"Brulé is no Hemsky obviously but I'm starting to think we might have an Actual NHL Player™ on our hands. He's showing some real intensity to go with a nose for the net and a quick release."

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

Derek Zona — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 18:00:14 -0000

More photos » by Jimmy Jeong - AP

2 months ago: Edmonton Oilers' Ladislav Smid, left, from Czech Republic, and Jean-Francois Jacques (22) help teammate Sheldon Souray off the ice during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Calgary Flames in Edmonton, Alberta, on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jimmy Jeong)

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Injuries and a new coaching staff - how has the initial portion of the season matched with expectations? The Copper & Blue's roundtable is back to answer those questions.

Find the entire series here, tagged 2009 midseason roundtable.

They all weigh in after the jump.

C&B: Can the Oilers, in all honesty, blame injuries?

Shepso: I really don’t know how to answer this question as the team hasn’t played with a full roster since approximately game three, at which point (I believe) the team was 1-1-1 including two brutally humiliating defeats at the hands of the flames. The 6-2-1 start to the season really seemed to lull the team into a false sense of security. In other words, they had bought into the false consciousness initiated by their supposed success, even though management was still providing them with a less than ideal situation in which to work with, thus alienating them from themselves and their labour and leading to the inevitable crash in productivity based on unsustainable expectations and an internalized over-inflation of their material value. (Papa Karl, I do love you… now when is the revolution going to start?)

Basically, what I am getting at here, is that the team bought into the myth that they were good enough, despite being outplayed and outshot, despite the swine, the pubis thing, the gradual losses of Steady Stevie, big sexy, Lubo, Ladi, Chorney, Hemsky, Horcoff, Nilsson, Brule and now even Duff Man has mono… Ok, well, maybe the injuries are a little bit to blame, but the fact that DP is suddenly our best man on the draw (9/11 last night) and is really carrying the team on his (not so fat) back, well, the system was flawed from the start-kinda like capitalism. I want to, and several times have implored others to tow the company line and wait and see what happens when everyone is healthy, but the thing of it is, most of the team is back now and they still don’t look so great. Sure, a 4-0 win Monday night is still a 4-0 win, but so is a football in the groin sometimes. This team coasts at the best of times, doesn’t seem to work very hard and gets outplayed in nearly every game I have watched this season. The only really consistent players have been Penner night in and night out (that A he wears sometimes should become permanent), Souray when he’s been healthy, and Ladi freakin Smid. The team still has holes to be filled, and the injury imp, bastard that he is, is not completely to blame.

Chappy: Being well out in front of the league in man-games lost to injury, you have to at least partially take injuries in account. It seems like every other game another guy is hitting the deck. I'm sure Dean Arsene is a stand up guy, but I can safely say that no one expected to see him on the big club this year.

HBomb: They can argue it's had an impact, but there's obvious deficiencies on this roster even when everyone's healthy (3C, 2LW being the two most obvious spots). If they say at the end of the season that the Injury Bug is the reason they didn't make the playoffs, I hope someone in the Edmonton media has the guts to call BS.

Dawgbone: I think blame is a bit of a poor choice of words here, because while this team really wasn't good enough in the first place, it's been compounded by the injuries. It's one thing to have a team with a couple of holes here and there. You can sort of work through it, hopefully catch some breaks (like they did early), and see if something comes up later in the season where you can address a couple of needs. As it stands now, there isn't anything that gives you much hope that they will be in that position. The biggest issues with the injuries is that it happened to areas the Oilers were strong in (for the most part). The Oilers top six (Souray, Lubo, Gilbert, Grebs, Staios, Smid) have combined to miss 36 games. Jason Strudwick is second amongst Oiler defencemen in games played. You can live with guys like Stone, JFJ, Comrie, etc... missing time because there are several guys in the lineup that can fill those roles. Once you start losing 2 and 3 of your blueliners at one time it makes things far more difficult. Not only do you already have the initial holes in your lineup, you've now got new leaks springing up on the other side of the ship.

Doogie2k: I can interpret this question two different ways. One is, "can we blame injuries for how bad the team's been this year?" My response to that is, "Well, of course." Souray missed a good 15 games, Horcoff and Hemsky and maybe even Visnovsky have been playing hurt at various times this year (and now Hemsky's gone for the year, which helps not at all), and Pisani and Pouliot have played barely and not at all, respectively. I also think Ryan Stone was actually playing well before he got hurt, and that the Oilers have missed him more than most might think: he's big, gritty, and not a fuck-up, which is a big deal on this roster. And all that's to say nothing of the escalating diseases running through the dressing room: first the regular flu, then swine flu, and then Comrie with mono? What's next? Tom Gilbert on the IR with chlamydia? While you can argue over the extent of the injury effect -- indeed, Scott and Ender did, just the other day -- it's inarguable that injuries to our best players have cost us games. You can't lose some of the few guys who can play in both ends of the rink for that amount of time and not have it affect your game.

The other is, "can we blame injuries for Tambellini not making a move to improve the team to this point?" That's a bit more complicated, because I think Tambellini believed that he needed a good look at the lineup before he could judge not just what the team needed, but what they could deal. The problem is, his coach has been saying since day one that they've only got one good two-way centre (who's been playing through a busted shoulder), and that it's a small team without enough grit and defensive awareness to compete, and I think that's informed our frustration with his lack of a deal, especially since it's exactly what we've been saying for a couple of years. The other problem that Tambellini faced, of course, was the cap and the fact that any move he made was going to need to involve similar or more money going back the other way, which most clubs aren't interested in at this stage of the season. It'll be interesting to see what he does over the next few weeks now that he has some space to play with, and whether his fellow GMs buy his public stance that he's playing wait-and-see, or if they'll be able to smell the desperation of a man with one of his best players on LTIR.

Ender: To some extent, yes. Realistically this team doesn't have a lot of players who will tilt the ice by themselves (if they have anyone). As such the key to this team's success *has* to be their team/line play. All the team-building weekends in the world won't help you if the lines aren't together for more than a week or if your roster changes by 20% on a week-to-week basis. As it is, the "healthy" players seem to be playing hurt and I honestly can't think of any team in the league who has the depth to deal with these sorts of injuries on this short of a timeframe.

SumOil: There are many teams who have been bit by the injury bug and have remained competitive, if not dominant. Three teams that come to mind are the New Jersey Devils, the Red Wings and the Bruins. The Devils at one point had 4 of their regular 6 D-men out to injuries. That did not slow them down. The injury bug for Bruins and Red Wings has been well documented. Even then, they have been competitive. They have definitely lost games, but have played with vigor and purpose often out-shooting and/or out-chancing their opponents. Its not the injuries that is hurting the Oilers as much as an obvious lack of depth and refusal of sticking to the game plan. There aren't players in the system who could offset the loss of either Hemsky, Penner or Horcoff. Also most of the players in the AHL are either on AHL contracts or just not good enough to be in the NHL.

Injuries are an excuse by the management and the players for the poor showing. Patrick O'Sullivan is generally playing in an uninspired lazy manner. Players are abandoning their defensive assignments. Many of the roster players aren't contributing in any positive manner. Is it the fault of injuries that Gilbert is unable to break the opposing forwards' puck-cycling? Of course injuries are somewhat responsible for our record. However they cant be blamed for our mistake prone insipid play. First show me hard-work, commitment to game plan and mistake free hockey and then blame the injuries if you lose.

C&B: Have Quinn and Renney mattered at all?

Shepso: In a word, kinda. They have employed better tactics offensively, but on the defensive side of things, not so much. The forwards seem to be lost in the defensive zone, often caught over-pursuing and not doing the little things with the puck to get it out to safety. On the offensive side of the game, the "skill" guys are still trying to be too cute with the puck. If I see one more blind-side behind-the- back spin pass, I might start breaking things. The biggest difference is in the change of attitude that a lot of the players seem to have, about not being afraid to screw up anymore. The biggest impact has been clearly on Dustin Penner, who is emerging as an elite power forward, and we are all so thankful that his boxcars have finally caught up to the underliers! One thing I must say about Quinn is that I really love his pressers. He is brutally honest and his old-coot folksy ways actually make him more fun to watch then MacT sometimes. His directness is refreshing and I think he knows exactly what is wrong with this team. I can see him making a push to get upstairs should Tambi falter at all. He knows how to win and will instil a new culture in the locker room; he just needs a bit more time to do it. Renney on the other hand has been less visible. His PP is doing better(ish) but I just don't want it to turn into the one-trick pony show of pass it to Souray. I also think that Gagner should be taking some of Horc's PP1 time, just to take the pressure off of Hemsky and add some creativity to the formation. Horc should be on PP2 with Cogs and POS. I think that tactically the team plays much better at Evs in the offensive zone and that they make the most of their chances when they get them, but defensively, based on the calibre of players available, I am surprised by the more recent poor play in the d-zone. Some of that must be attributed to coaching now that all the starters but Grebs are in the lineup.

Chappy: Yes, definitely. I think the ship Quinn and Renney are running is a tight operation. Quinn is a straight talking, no nonsense kind of guy evidenced by his press conferences. I think we all can agree that we love seeing what the staff has done with Penner so far this year.

HBomb: Absolutely. Dustin Penner has taken the next step, the powerplay has improved, and the team's effort level, for the most part, has been more consistent. However, as the saying goes, you can't make chicken salad out of chicken feathers, and your record tends to reflect what type of team you are. This is an 11th or 12th place hockey team folks, no use trying to deny it.

Dawgbone: Not enough. It really depends on how much credit you give them for Dustin Penner. He's clearly outplayed everyones expectations, and he's showing no real signs of slowing down. The PP has been excellent as well, despite missing some key components on the blueline for various stretches. That being said, the PK is still a complete disaster (sure they are higher in the standings but they are only marginally better in %), and this team has gotten completely smashed at ES (on pace to be a -32). Much like last year, this team is getting routinely out-shot and out-chanced, but I think things have actually gotten worse. A very hot start in terms of shooting % really masked the early deficiencies of this club, but the injuries have evened that out in a hurry.

Doogie2k: I figured it would take some time for their game plan to take hold, and injuries/personnel haven't helped, but I don't think the team is playing dramatically better than they were last season, at least so far. They've been more interesting to watch, and less likely to give up and go home, but the stupid mistakes and terrible coverage are still well in evidence. The bright side is that Quinney are certainly more willing to call a spade a spade when asked publicly, rather than scapegoating and covering for the favourites, and are trying to reign in the bad habits without creating the culture of fear that the late-era MacTavish teams seemed to have -- where one mistake led to a night full of tentative and passive play -- but clearly, it's going to take more time for them to have the intended impact. I do wonder if the team would even be doing this well if they were still coached by MacTavish, though: like I said, MacT's post-2006 teams had a tendency to fall apart when they got behind, and we've already seen these guys claw back three or four times to either make it interesting or win the game.

Ender: I think so. Sure, the lack of line-matching is hurting the team right now, but I have a feeling that it just puts more pressure on players to develop faster which could come in handy when (if?) the team gets healthy. All that said I have a really hard time judging these coaches given the injuries because they seem to think (which I agree with) that team-building is the most important aspect of their job, even moreso than winning. If they had a healthy roster, I'd be expecting a lot more out of this team.

SumOil: Of course the response to this question is that it is too early to say anything definitive. However there certainly are many positives compared to last season. Quinn's assertion of having a big body on each line is certainly different from MacT's policy of sticking the skill men together. It certainly has paid dividends. These 'coke machines' have led the skilled men do their thing. Early on Stone meshed well with Sully and Comrie. JFJ has done his fair share of work with his hitting. Its exciting. Also I see a better PP and PK structure this season. While our PP has been good(sans the last two games), our PK problem is more dues to lack of proper personnel rather than execution. While Penner and Smid have flourished under the new coaching regime, Gilbert has been bad. I am not experienced enough to say whether it is a confidence problem or misuse by the coaching staff. I certainly miss Charlie Huddy.

Situational Faceoff Percentage

Scott Reynolds — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 19:00:30 -0000

Faceoffs are reasonably important. Especially faceoffs in the offensive or defensive zone where puck possession leads more directly to success. Gabe Desjardins has demonstrated the impact of the outcome of a faceoff at even strength. No doubt there would be similar results if one looked at the outcome of faceoffs on special teams. I bring this up because the Edmonton Oilers are not very good in the faceoff circle and have recently taken to using options like Patrick O'Sullivan and Dustin Penner in order to compensate for an injured Shawn Horcoff, ineffective Andrew Cogliano and "signed-to-play-wing" Mike Comrie. I wanted to look at what their track record might tell us about what we should expect from them going forward. In order to do that, however, I wanted to first look at the difference between faceoff success on the power play, on the penalty kill and at even strength.

More after the jump...

First, I need to acknowledge that Tyler Dellow has already given us some data that shows teams and players have a much better faceoff percentage on the power play than they do when short-handed. It seems obvious, but isn't always something we think of when we talk about a particular player's faceoff percentage. I decided to put together a couple of charts illustrating this point. The first is a chart of players that took more than 200 faceoffs while short-handed last in both 2008-09 and 2007-08:

The final "totals" column is just adding all of the faceoff performances together so those that took more faceoffs contribute more to the average. That means that the players who took the most faceoffs over the last two years on the penalty kill ended up losing a significant portion of their success. Although for some players there are some pretty big jumps from year to year, in absolute terms, the guys who did the best at even strength also tend to do the best short-handed.

The next chart is for players who took at least 200 faceoffs while on the power play in both 2007-08 and 2008-09:

I think there are some pretty interesting things here. The guys taking the most faceoffs on the penalty kill are generally what we might call "specialists." Teams really don't want to lose draws when they're penalty killing and make it a priority. On the power play, faceoff ability takes a backseat to offensive ability in general. The only player you might regard as a specialist who makes the list is Rod Brind'Amour who, in his best year, won two thirds of his faceoffs on the power play. This will generally serve to drag down the numbers of the specialists and pump up the numbers for the stars. Again, there isn't a lot of consistency at the player level from year to year but the totals stay very similar.

So, back to the Oilers, when deciding which guys should be taking draws I think it's probably wise to just look at even strength numbers. For instance, Dustin Penner's faceoff percentage in 2007-08 was 55.0% in 189 faceoffs but in the 93 faceoffs he took at even strength he only won 40.8%. Here are the career numbers at even strength for all of the Oilers who have taken 50 or more faceoffs this season, adding in Marc Pouliot and subtracting Shawn Horcoff:

It's not the prettiest of charts. There are only two guys on the team who have cleared 43% for their career and, at least so far, Dustin Penner and Patrick O'Sullivan aren't good options on the dot. Sam Gagner has improved a lot so far this year (100 wins and 103 losses) and could be a decent option going forward but with Horcoff not taking draws the Oilers could really use some help in this area. For most clubs faceoffs aren't a big deal because the pack is bunched so close together but the Oilers are bad enough territorially and bad enough at faceoffs that it could well be hurting them. It would obviously be preferable to improve the territorial play but it's probably significantly easier to improve the faceoff situation.

And poor Marc Pouliot. Gilbert Brule hasn't been used at all on the PK so when Pouliot gets back he's likely going to immediately step into some pretty tough minutes (defensive zone draws and lots of PK). It's a virtual guarantee his counting numbers are going to be awful as he heads for restricted free agency. Good luck getting paid kid!

Should the Oilers Swap Mediocre, Speedy Forwards?

Benjamin Massey — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:00:48 -0000

More photos » by Paul Chiasson - AP

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Earlier this week, well-known hockey site The Fourth Period speculated that the Montreal Canadiens are interested in moving the Kostitsyn brothers.

Well, that's hardly news. Elder brother Andrei Kostitsyn, 24, was signed to a three-year extension beginning last season with a cap hit of $3.25 million per year. Kostitsyn scored 23 goals and 41 points last year, but even that was a drop from his previous year's performance. He's never been known for his defensive play or his productive, team-first attitude. He and Sergei were linked last year to the a gang bust which, even though it was completely unproven and later shot down by the courts, was called "the darkest day in Canadiens history" by people prone to overreacting without evidence.

Better yet, young Sergei Kostitsyn has been angsting over whether he wants to play in the American Hockey League at all this season. Sergei played fifty-six NHL games last year and recorded twenty-three points: in short, he was Robert Nilsson. But Sergei is younger than Robert and has a much better contract, although Kostitsyn isn't exactly tearing the cover off the ball in the AHL.

No, there's no surprise that the Canadiens are looking at trading the Kostitsyns. The only surprise is when the Fourth Period says the Oilers are interested. And even more than that, the name being thrown around is alleged wunderkind Andrew Cogliano.

Nobody wants the Oilers to add more soft forwards. But giving a soft winger back in the process?

The Copper & Blue is not known for its rousing defense of Andrew Cogliano. Frequent phrases include "treading water" and "has he actually developed as a hockey player, like, at all since he was nineteen?". But he's two years younger than Andrei Kostitsyn and both have a reputation as smooth floaters. Cogliano makes less money, and though he becomes a restricted free agent at the end of the year it's hard to believe he'll end up drawing Andrei's salary without a sudden and entirely unpredicted offensive outpour. Andrei Kostitsyn had that common form of luck where his career year matched the last year of his contract.

Among Oiler forwards to play at least forty games last year, Cogliano was eighth in QUALCOMP and ninth in QUALTEAM: in short, he was a third liner. With a plus-minus per 60 even strength minutes of -0.06, he didn't quite manage to saw off those mediocre opponents. That number has markedly improved to 0.65 so far this year while treading water in QUALCOMP and QUALTEAM, though it's early. So Cogliano isn't really good and can't handle tough matchups, but if he's not progressing he's at least taking care of himself.

When you look at Andrei Kostitsyn's numbers last season, they're unimpressive in a lot of ways. His plus-minus per sixty was -0.41, fourth-worst among qualifying Canadiens forwards. He scored 1.03 goals per sixty, well ahead of Cogliano and third on the Canadiens, but 0.48 assists per sixty was worse than, among many others, his brother Sergei.

There are two interesting points in Kostitsyn's favour. First off, his QUALTEAM was second worst among Habs forwards who played at least forty games last year, better than only the great Glen Metropolit. But his QUALCOMP was first. By the numbers, he was playing the toughest possible opponents with the worst possible linemates. He was found wanting but who wouldn't be? QUALCOMP and QUALTEAM numbers aren't perfect, but that is a remarkable statistic.

Second, Kostitsyn had a PDO number of 989 in 2008-09, tied for third worst on the Canadiens with Metropolit. For those who aren't familiar with the PDO number, it is the sum of a team's 5v5 shooting percentage and save percentage when the player in question is on the ice. By definition, 1000 is the league average. Bearing in mind that Kostitsyn shot 13.6% last year, it indicates that he was being let down by his linemates' shooting percentages and his goaltender's save percentage; that his plus-minus was so poor because his puck luck stank. Andrew Cogliano had a PDO of 1011 (actually pretty poor on the Oilers) while shooting 15.5%. So, with only a 1.9% swing in individual shooting percentage between Cogliano and Kostitsyn, Cogliano's PDO was 22 points above Kostitsyn's. Cogliano's linemates were helping his numbers and Kostitsyn's were hurting his.

That's just a long way of saying that, comparing Andrei's numbers to Andrew, Kostitsyn looks worse than he actually is.

Andrei Kostitsyn may well be a better NHL player than Andrew Cogliano. In his 22-year-old season, Kostitsyn scored twenty-six goals and fifty-three points. With eight points so far this year, Cogliano is clearly not going to do that. But Sergei Kostitsyn looks like a pretty marginal prospect and the brutal cap difference between Cogliano and Andrei Kostitsyn swings me.

The Oilers already have too much tied up in soft forwards who can't outscore. Unless the Canadiens have a driving need for Ethan Moreau, the Oilers would be adding nearly two million bucks in salary while making a slightly-better-than-lateral move for the third line wing.

I'm not an Andrew Cogliano fan, but is that anyone's idea of a smart move?

Poll

As an Oilers fan, which would you rather have?

Andrei and Sergei Kostitsyn

43 votes

Andrew Cogliano

124 votes

Neither

44 votes

211 votes | Poll has closed

Buffalo - Springfield Post-Game. That Was Springfield, Right?

Benjamin Massey — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:31:42 -0000

More photos » by Don Heupel - AP

Buffalo Sabres right winger Drew Stafford tries to hit the puck past Edmonton Oilers goalie Nikolai Khabibulin, top, during the first period of the NHL game in Buffalo, N.Y., Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009. (AP Photo/Don Heupel)

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You know what? I used to like Buffalo Springfield.

Would-be Falcons were certainly making an impact on the night. Whether it was Ryan Potulny's limp-wristed feebleness leading to the first goal or Liam Reddox getting nerve stapled by Clarke MacArthur on a play that should be a ten-game suspension and will be a firmly shaken finger from Colin Campbell saying not to do it again, it was all about the guys from the Falcons. And the guys who maybe should be on the Falcons (O HAI JASON STRUDWICK).

So when you think about it, were we really all that bad?

The fact that the Oilers lost without distinction is obvious. They've had a few all right games in a row on this road trip and I wouldn't have picked them to get two points on the entire tour, so it's easy to take a loss to the Sabres as a moral victory, in context. They played like a team which had just gutted out a shootout loss against a superior team in Ottawa, which they were. They had every reason in the world to lose this game, and they did. The end.

Well, the end until news of MacArthur's non-suspension comes down, at which point I can dope up on rageahol like it was meant to be.

Most of the Oilers weren't dreadful individually. Patrick O'Sullivan made some classic Patrick O'Sullivan passes to nobody, sure, but he also scored a lovely goal and was a quarter-inch from a hat trick. Nikolai Khabibulin takes the rap for the second goal, which fluttered through his five hole like a butterfly into the eye of a hurricane, but he also made some nice saves. Perhaps his rebound control on the first goal wasn't the best either, but any NHL goalie will let his share of pucks out when he's down like that.

Liam Reddox was actually one of the best Oilers out there because he played like he wanted something from the game. He was tenacious and always hard on the puck, gave the Sabres hassle whenever they were near him - he was, in short, the usual Liam Reddox. Not that skilled but certainly more useful than guys like me usually gave him credit for. Steve Staios was also a highlight - and I want you to know how difficult it is for me to say that. Though his one mistake in the third period was a heinous giveaway leading to a penalty and only Khabibulin's right pad saved him from an embarrassing minus, Steady Steve actually earned his nickname.

When a team suffers as many injuries and as much fatigue as the Oilers have, the role players like Reddox and Staios have to step up. Unfortunately the stars weren't keeping pace. Dustin Penner had his worst game in some time, with a number of stick-cracking slashes by the Sabres going uncalled but the big genius largely ineffective even when he did have all his equipment. Ales Hemsky, rushed back into the lineup to replace Ryan O'Marra, was simply dreadful. Andrew Cogliano was a non-entity, carried by the stronger play of Ethan Moreau and Zack Stortini on his line. Sam Gagner was possibly not on the ice at all.

The injuries, though. We hope Reddox is all right; playing in his next game has nothing to do with it. We know Grebeshkov is going home after a dirty knee-on-knee play that got no call; one suspects that Bryan Young is sitting excitedly near the phone. We still have Bryan Young, right?

It was a game to forget, except for Clarke MacArthur. The Oilers and Sabres don't play that often, but when they do I hope the Oilers have long memories.

The Copper & Blue Reverse Three Stars, Unfair Though Selecting Players from the Minor Leagues May Be:

18th Star: F Ryan Potulny. Scored a goal last night against the ~~Senators~~ Avalanche, and fair play to him! But I didn't see the game ~~last night against Ottawa~~ against Colorado, I saw the goal tonight against Buffalo. And against Buffalo, oh boy did he ever look like an American leaguer.

I pin the first goal on him, as we discussed. With the Sabres moving the puck around our zone, Potulny was skating to and fro awkwardly as if desperately afraid to be caught doing nothing but equally afraid to be caught out of position and therefore being stuck between various extremes of uselessness. The puck went into the corner and Potulny threw his stick out awkwardly, subscribing to the Red Green school of defending and keeping his stick on the ice. The puck clattered off his feeble grip and deflected out in front, whereupon the Sabres ended up banging it in.

The Steve Smith who wrote the Red Green show? Not that Steve Smith. Ryan Potulny would do well to remember that.

Apart from that, he did very little. He generally handled the puck like it were radioactive and was thrown out on the last, desperate shift of the game because who the hell else were you going to put out there? Potulny has lovely soft hands and I like him, but the reason he's not playing in the NHL is because of his skating and because his puck sense isn't the greatest. Boy Jesus, he proved that.

19th Star: F Ales Hemsky. Has Ales Hemsky ever played well hurt? I don't think Hemsky is a stereotypical European sissy by any means. He can fight in the corners and he'll use his muscle when he can. We've all seen him block shots or take heavy blows in the corner that he knew were coming and keep going. He's not afraid and he's not going to shy away. But sometimes he gets hurt, and when he does it gets ugly. He's willing to play almost every time and we all wind up wishing he hadn't.

He plays a very difficult style of play. Even aside from his famous Euro Dangles he twists and turns when he's skating, tries to do everything at speed, and will try to play his way through gaps smaller than most players would attempt. If part of him really isn't feeling right, it may just completely throw him off. Well, he looked completely thrown off tonight. Towards the end of the game when he got into an unprovoked tussle with Patrick Kaleta, he looked utterly miserable, like he was about to throw up on Kaleta's face but was concerned he might be suspended for it.

20th Star: D Jason Strudwick. He's like Mark Messier at this stage. A constant danger, a reliable threat, and somebody who you never, ever can take your eye off for any reason. The only difference is that Messier did it helping his team.

Running out of hyperbole now. Stop sucking so much, Jason.

Season-to-Date Standings:

21 points: Jason Strudwick

14 points: Ethan Moreau

11 points: Mike Comrie, Nikolai Khabibulin

8 points: Denis Grebeshkov

6 points: Jean-Francois Jacques

5 points: Patrick O'Sullivan

4 points: Ales Hemsky, Theo Peckham

3 points: Sam Gagner, Shawn Horcoff, Patrick O'Sullivan, Ryan Stone

1 point: Andrew Cogliano, Tom Gilbert, Ryan Potulny

Edmonton - Ottawa post-game: WTF?

Bruce McCurdy — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:59:11 -0000

More photos » by Adrian Wyld - AP

Thecaptainethanmoreauscores!

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Game stars from an alternate universe:

1) Steve Staios: A brilliiant game from the oldest Oiler, who has been written off around the Oilogosphere as a waste of time and money. Went +3 in a 3-3 tie in which only 2 teammates (Grebeshkov, Stortini) mustered as much as +1. Was the only player on either team to score multiple points (2 assists). Blocked a team-high 5 shots in his team-high 30 shifts, during which time Oilers outshot Ottawa 17-3 (!). That's right, during the 22:44 he was out there Staios made more stops than Deslauriers did! Steady Steve lived up to his moniker on this night, battling like a demon in the corners and slot. A great game from an unlikely source.

2) Ethan Moreau: Oilers captain takes a lot of grief around the 'sphere, but tonight he played a strong game. Led the team with 5 shots (tied with Reddox) and 3 hits (also tied with Reddox! and Pisani), and scored a first-period goal by jumping on a loose puck and driving the net. His line with Cogliano and Stortini had a solid night, generating 9 shots among the three of them (about 8 more than usual) and playing solid two-way hockey. Moreau was a little unfortunate on Ottawa's third goal when he attempted to cover for Visnovsky for which he was pilloried in some corners, but he provided a lot of solid play throughout the game which mostly went uncredited. Well, that just changed.

3) Kevin Lowe: For having the balls to pursue Dustin Penner as a RFA. K-Lowe has taken quite a few slings and arrows around the 'sphere for that and other decisions over his years at the helm ... maybe when things do work out he deserves a little credit.

...

20) Lubomir Visnovsky: Darling of the Oilogosphere had a dreadful night, making numerous bad plays two of which led directly to goals against. It showed up in the numbers too, as Lubo had the worst goal differential (-2), shot differential (-6), Fenwick # (-7) and Corsi # (also -7) of any skater on either team.

...

A little tongue-in-cheek up there, but not a lot. To call this an unusual game would be a huge understatement, with many players going against the form chart. Oilers outshot their opposition for the first time since Game 1, and by a convincing margin (34-25). Andrew Cogliano had a strong night in the faceoff circle (8/13, 62%), Liam Reddox was a force in all three zones, Ryan Potulny took a huge defensive zone faceoff in the dying seconds, and Ryan O'Marra played an NHL game.

Oh, and Dustin Penner was close to unstoppable. That much at least was business as usual in 2009-10.

Silver Nuggets: Spezza playing tonight, Lehner has swine flu

PeterR — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:27:03 -0000

Here's a look at the day's news for the Ottawa Senators:

Jason Spezza will play tonight on a first line with Milan Michalek and Daniel Alfredsson. Shean Donovan and Jesse Winchester will be healthy scratches.
Big changes tonight up front. Tonight's other forward lines: Kovalev-Fisher-Shannon; Foligno-Regin-Neil; Ruutu-Kelly-Cheechoo.

Prediction panel for tonight's game is close to consensus. (Citizen)
Looks like Jesse Winchester has finished up his conditioning stint in Binghamton and is back in Ottawa. As mentioend above, he's not playing tonight. (Sharp on the Sens)
Jarkko Ruutu's making some waves with his offensive contributions so far this season. (CP)
Nichols takes a pretty cool look at the Senators' giveaway/takeaway ratio, and comments on how that reflects the effectiveness of Cory Clouston's system. Ottawa's best is Jarkko Ruutu (0/5) and the worst is Alex Kovalev (8/2). (The 6th Sens)
The Binghamton Senators got their first shutout of the 2009 calendar year on Wednesday, coming away from Albany with a 2-0 win thanks to goals from Cody Bass and Martin St. Pierre plus a 25-save performance from Mike Brodeur. (Press & Sun Bulletin)
Looks like Sens' prospect goaltender Robin Lehner has come down with H1N1 virus. If only he was a Calgary Flames or Toronto Maple Leafs prospect... (Sault Star)
Speaking of the H1N1 vaccine, the Senators aren't jumping any queues, and Daniel Alfredsson has yet to decide whether or not he'll get one--despite a letter from the Swedish Olympic committee suggesting he do so. (Citizen)
And again, speaking of it, Pynch is wondering if the fact that Calgary and Toronto got special treatment for H1N1 shots means they have an unfair advantage over their competition, including particularly the other four Canadian-based teams. (Another Sens Blog)

(Read one more... )

A little late, but Dustin Penner and Andrew Cogliano dressed as Dany Heatley and a "no-trade Claus" (Santa Claus with 'no-trade' written on him) for Hallowe'en. (Oilers On Demand, h/t 6th Sens)

Where Does Cogs Sit On The Bus?

Scott Reynolds — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:30:30 -0000

I was going to write about Andrew Cogliano anyway but if Robin Brownlee's interpretation of Shawn Horcoff's shoulder is correct (and Horcoff didn't take a shift in the last ten minutes despite playing a strong game), Cogliano's performance as a centerman becomes even more important. Many have noticed that Cogliano's performance in the faceoff dot is poor (last season it may even have been historically bad). Many others, myself among them, have also taken issue with Cogliano's performance defensively overall as he really seems to struggle when the puck is in his own zone (and he's certainly not the only one). So far this season Cogliano's performance has been pretty disappointing (although he's improved his faceoff percentage to 38.7%!) as he's only scored 6 points in his first 15 games in spite of a very healthy 20% shooting percentage. In order for the Oilers to have success they'll need more production from Andrew Cogliano and from the Oiler depth in general. I'll break down Cogliano's first fifteen games in a couple of different ways after the jump.

Most observers would agree that Cogliano looked his best through training camp and at the beginning of the year (and really, the Oilers as a team looked pretty good through those first two games against the Flames). Is it just a coincidence that Cogliano was used as a winger during this stretch? In addition to these first few games Cogliano was used as a winger a couple of times later on in the season, so let's start by giving Cogliano's splits as a center and as a winger so far this season (The scoring chances do not include the game between the Oilers and Red Wings but otherwise all scoring chance data comes from Dennis King and all Corsi data comes from Vic Ferrari. Thanks very much to them both):

	GP	Corsi +	Corsi -	Corsi %	SC +	SC -	SC %
Cogliano as Center	10	75	134	35.89%	20	31	39.22%
Cogliano as Winger	5	53	71	42.74%	11	15	42.31%

Looking at things in this way makes Cogliano look much better as a winger than he did as a center but, to be perfectly frank, he looks bad in either case. To put these numbers in perspective, Cogliano played almost exclusively at center last season and had a scoring chance percentage of 48.5%. Clearly he's regressed from there and although we're still talking small numbers here there isn't a lot of evidence in these five games that Cogliano will be much better on the wing than he was at center.

How else can we divide the data to explain for Cogliano's strong start? Well, the Oilers played their first three games at home, so let's take a look at Cogliano's home and road splits:

	GP	Corsi +	Corsi -	Corsi %	SC +	SC -	SC %
Cogliano at Home	9	88	127	40.93%	15	28	34.88%
Cogliano on Road	6	40	78	33.90%	16	18	47.06%

At home Cogliano played four games on the wing and five at center. On the road Cogliano played one game on the wing and five at center. These numbers are fascinating because of the discrepancy between Corsi and scoring chances. Although we've seen that over the long haul Corsi and scoring chances track closely which one, over a small sample, is a better indicator of a player's past performance? To be honest, I'm not at all sure though I suspect that the Corsi number is likely a better predictor of future success since it is based on a higher number of events. Regardless, his results are, once again, bad in both situations.

What else may have helped Cogliano at the start of the year? His linemates. Cogliano has played most of his time with three different sets of linemates: Penner-Brule (first three games, Cogliano on wing, all at home), Moreau-Stortini (all ten of Cogliano's games at center, five at home, five on the road) and Gagner-Nilsson (two games on the wing, one at home, one on the road). Here are these results:

	GP	Corsi +	Corsi -	Corsi %	SC +	SC -	SC %
w/ Penner and Brule	3	33	32	50.77%	7	10	41.18%
w/ Moreau and Stortini	10	75	134	35.89%	20	31	39.22%
w/ Nilsson and Gagner	2	20	39	33.90%	4	5	44.44%

Note: the scoring chances for the Red Wings game with Nilsson and Gagner are not included.

These numbers are, to me, a bit disconcerting. Although it's good that he plays well for the first three games with Penner and Brule the fact that he's been unable to come close to matching those results with other groups suggests that he might be more of a passenger than a driver of results who has some skill at finishing plays in the offensive zone but who struggles to get the play moving in the right direction. If Horcoff really is injured that puts the Oilers in desperate need of guys that can drive results and although Cogliano is still very young and could still improve, at this moment, he's not one of those players. In the past, some (including Oilers' brass) have called him "Marchant with hands" but I think, unfortunately, a better past-Oiler comparison might be "Lupul with speed."

As You Were - Blackhawks 4, Oilers 3

McClure — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 04:59:21 -0000

More photos » by Nam Y. Huh - AP

2 months ago: Chicago Blackhawks' Jack Skille celebrates after scoring against the Edmonton Oilers during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Chicago, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

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Well, that's a bit more like it. Tonight, as opposed to Monday, the Blackhawks decided that they were actually going to give a shit to start the first period. Funny result when that happens, isn't it? On the second shift of the game, Patrick Sharp scored on a nifty passing play from linemates Jonathan Toews and Andrew Ladd, kept together after the third period of Monday's game. While he was not credited with one on the stat sheet, an assist should go to defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson who made an excellent play to keep the puck in the offensive zone and shuffle it to Ladd. But we're not done with Hammer just yet.

Between Hawks tallies, the Sopel/Barker experience queefed out another scoring chance for the opposition, with Andrew Cogliano scoring on a 2-on-1 as a result of a Sopel miscue, one neither he nor Barker got back in time to recitify. Starter Antti Niemi could hardly be blamed for that play, which momentarily deflated the building, as it was the Oilers first shot on net.

Later in the period, Super Nintendo Hjalmers exhibited some of his much ballyhooed hockey acumen while skating backwards along the blue line to get a shot from the middle of the ice through traffic, which resulted in Jack Skille potting his first of the year banging home the rebound. From the outset, the Hawks were heavily peppering returning would-be-savior Nikolai Khabibulin from all angles, and Nik was perfectly content to leave many a juicy rebound for the Hawks to pounce on. Glad to see Skille notch one, hopefully the Hawks will put another ten bucks on his iPass as a bonus.

Into the second, the Hawks continued their territorial dominance, as Niemi was rarely tested, and the Hawks increased the lead to 3-1 on a marker from Kris Versteeg, who banged home a centering feed from a free-wheeling Brian Campbell, who was streaking behind the Edmonton net on a delayed penalty call. It should be noted, again, that Niklas Hjalmarsson made the outlet pass to Patrick Sharp, which is what got the whole play started. Sharp would then later be awarded a penalty shot after being taken down on a partial breakaway, but was stoned in his attempt by Khabibulin. Not a surprising result, considering the shootout isn't really Sharp's forte, and Khabibulin's seen the limited moves Sharp has in that situation for the last four years. In an interview with Judd Sirott during the postgame, Sharp hinted that there may have been a playful exchange between former teammates after the shot.

Edmonton made it more interesting than it really should have been in the third, with a pair of somewhat flukey goals. The first a bad bounce off a skate in front on a centering feed from gelatinous cube Dustin Penner, which was initially ruled no-goal, but was overturned on review. Cam Barker would make amends for the earlier goal against with a power play bomb from the blue line, with Patrick Sharp providing the screen in front of Nik. After a couple of questionable penalty calls on Brian Campbell and Dave Bolland, the Hawks yielded a 5-on-3 tally (with an empty net) to Denis Grebeshkov off of a scrum in front of Niemi that realistically should have been blown dead about a half second before the puck squirted to Grebeshkov. The final horn would sound before Edmonton could mount any further of a comeback, with the Men of Four Feathers emerging victorious for the first time in regulation at the UC.

Stray Observations

As was noted by Sam after the Flames game, Niklas Hjalmarsson is becoming "a thing". The scoresheet will only show him as a +1 with an assist tonight, but he was a factor on the first three goals of the game, and again very defensively sound, allowing Brian Campbell to do what he is paid to do, which is be dynamic with the puck
The "Patrick Kane is much stronger" refrain is not going away either. Having seen him three times live now, it's becoming clear that once the puck is on his tape, it's going to stay there for as long as Kaner damn well pleases.
I, for one, am not terribly concerned with Jonathan Toews not yet denting the twine. He's doing everything else correct, and factoring in on goals, as he did on Sharp's opener. The two of them with Ladd make for a nice combination as well- big, fast, and skilled.
Once again, the Hawks outshot their opponent by a substantial margin, this time 38-19, keeping pace with their current trend.

Player of The Game

While I did throw a lot of love toward Hammer above, and it was, in the opinion of this observer, an error to not have him as one of the official three stars of the game, the honor tonight has to go to The Shooter, Patrick Sharp. Who continued his scoring streak, and used his speed to create opportunities all night long.

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