Sometimes wins are the road are purty, but most of the, they're ugly. Call tonight's game fugly, super-ugly, or Snooki...I'll call it another win for the Edmonton Oilers.
Good, Bad and Ugly time...
The Good
- Nikolai Khabibulin. What exactly did he promise Satan for the ability to put together the string of games that he has so far this season? He made a couple ridiculous, impossible saves again tonight. The sad thing is, he would have got the shutout, if it wasn't for a bad defensive play by Tom Gilbert. Khabby is the MVP of the entire NHL right now, which feels just as ridiculous to write as it is impossible to believe. His sub-1 goals against average remains intact after tonight's game. When is the last time a goalie carried a sub-1 GA and a +.960 SP after nine games played?
- Ryan Jones is a warrior. I feel bad for not being more supportive of him during the pre-season. In my defense, he didn't look too interested back in September. He looks interested now.
- I liked the play of the 4th line again. They give exactly what the Oilers need from the 4th line game-after-game: Decent individual play on the PK, almost mistake-free play in their defensive zone, and they collectively have the ability to frustrate the opposition. The more I see Lennart Petrell, the more I wonder how the Oilers survived without him.
- Ales Hemsky had a good third period. He wasn't great in the first two, but keep in mind he missed most of training camp and only played prior to tonight four periods of hockey this season. At one point, I saw him take a big hit, and he didn't shatter when it happened. A positive sign indeed, as the Oilers need him. If Ryan Smyth's shot was 2 inches lower and if Shawn Horcoff could bury chances, Hemsky would have had a three point night.
- Ryan Smyth once again gave everything. Shawn Horcoff looked comfortable and could have had a goal if he had hands. Ladislav Smid continued to be a rock on D, and Corey Potter continued to look very Ryan Whitney-like. Tom Gilbert, aside from his shot-deflection gaff, played a decent game. Horcoff and Belanger continue to dominate in the face-off circle.
The Bad
- The Oilers were badly outplayed for most of the game. The shot clock said so. The penalties for and against said so. Everyone watching the game could tell the Habs out-skated and out-chanced the Oilers for at least two-thirds of the game. Without the brilliant Khabibulin, this game is an Oilers loss.
- The Hall/Nuge/Eberle line is experiencing their first real hiccup. Relax, friends; they are a bunch of kids and they play like it. There will be hot for stretches, and will look over-their-heads during other moments. It's all good. Well, not tonight it wasn't good. Tonight, it was pretty much all bad, except for one shift in the third where they cycled the puck in the Montreal zone for a full minute. Taylor Hall threw one big hit, but once again took several big ones against. Sooner or later, he's gonna get hurt if he keeps getting clobbered like that.
- I've read lots of complaints about Cam Barker's play. I didn't think he looked that bad, but whatever. Majority rule. Jeff Petry and Theo Peckham didn't do much for me either. Petry panics with the puck.
- The Oilers need to be bigger up front. K, here's the thing: If your first line is the kids, and the second line are the geezers, the third and fourth lines need to have beef on them in order for the Oilers to sustain their current success. Anton Lander and Ryan Jones are average-sized players, while Petrell and Ben Eager are big. Eric Belanger isn't big, and Sam Gagner is little. The Oilers would benefit from having a big bruising winger on the third line. I think Gagner needs to go and Teemu Hartikainen is the eventual right answer.
The Ugly
- The game. Could you image being a Habs fan and paying $300 or more to go see that piece of junk? I like that the Oilers are winning, don't get me wrong. It's just too bad they've had to turn into the Nashville Predators to do it. Defense-first Oilers hockey is so much not the Oilers team that won cups in the 1980's. At times, all this cautious hockey is painful and dull to watch.
Being a Habs fan must really stink right now, as the team is going nowhere this season. They have a few quality players (I like Pacioretty, Subban, Price and a couple of others), but for the most part, this team is well below 20 or more teams in the talent department.
Randoms
- Your friend and mine, Senators blogger Travis Yost is reporting scouts from Edmonton were in Ottawa and scouts from Ottawa were in Montreal checking out the Oilers. Of course there's gonna be speculation as to which players are being looked at. My guess? The Oilers are looking at David Rundblad and the Senators are looking at Sam Gagner. Would a Gagner-for-Rundblad deal work straight up?
Here's the problem: From the Oilers point-of-view, Rundblad is an unproven but highly respected prospect, and Gagner is a 2nd line center who has shown he can be a 50 points per season guy. Plus, he's still very young. From the Sens perspective, Rundblad was the best defenseman in the SEL last season, and Gagner still has yet to establish himself as a quality #2 guy. With the deal, the Sens know they could be giving up an eventual NHL star for a center who is just not bad.
If there is a deal to be made, perhaps a few extra names will need to be thrown into the blender. Perhaps the Oilers include a younger defenseman to make room for Rundblad, and perhaps the Sens throw in a draft pick to cover the spread. Maybe Theo Peckham is included from the Oilers and a 3rd comes back from Ottawa?
- Linus Omark played another impressive game in the AHL today. His skill level is way beyond the AHL, and he knows it. He would have returned to the SEL already, but it sounds like he's waiting for the Oilers to deal him instead. If Hemsky can stay healthy and if Gagner isn't dealt, there's no room for Omark on the Oilers. Even if Gagner is dealt, Magnus Paajarvi sat out tonight because the Oil have too many bodies. The Oilers aren't going to play Omark ahead of Jones, Paajarvi, Eager or Petrell, as all four play specific roles on the team.
I would love the Oilers to move Omark, Gagner, perhaps a prospect and perhaps a fourth asset like a draft pick to bring in a "star" player, but the likelihood of Omark and Gagner being dealt together is nil. There just isn't much of a market for small, skilled forwards right now.
- Why are people bringing up the Taylor vs Tyler thing right now, just because Tyler Seguin is off to a great start in Boston? The Oilers have Hall and Nuge. If they wouldn't have taken Hall, the Oilers would have Seguin and most likely Landeskog. Which pair would you rather have on your team? I'm sticking with Hall and Nuge. Why? Seguin might have more points right now, but Hall has a killer instinct. I've seen the same sort of desire to win from Nugent-Hopkins. Plus, we know the ceiling on Nuge is potentially astronomical. He might turn out to be the best player from this entire group of four.
Do you know who won the 2010 Draft? Both Edmonton and Boston. And who lost? Toronto. Try to keep focused on that instead of trying to debate which is better between Hall and Seguin. As long as TO loses, does anything else matter?
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