Shane Doan's dirty hit on Shawn Horcoff near the end of the 3rd period should have been a 5 and a game penalty. It wasn't. Actually, Sam Gagner from the Oilers got a penalty because the refs thought he was tackled improperly by Coyotes forward Nick Johnson. Horcoff left the game, and my guess is, he has a concussion. Doan, as usual, got away with it. I love his talent, but he's one of the dirtiest players in hockey.

Johnson scored on the Coyotes powerplay, tying the game, and giving them a chance to win a game neither team deserved to win. Thankfully, the wrong was righted when the Oilers were given a powerplay for no reason in OT, and Nail Yakupov scored another goal that belongs in t-ball. Amazing hand-eye on that kid.

A few random thoughts on the night:

- Corey Potter was terrible again. Seriously, why are we continuing with this experiment?

- Ales Hemsky, Sam Gagner and Nail Yakupov have absolutely no chemistry as a line. Gagner with Yakupov looks okay. Hemsky with Gagner looks okay. Hemsky with Yakupov looks okay. But all three together? They don't look okay. I don't get it.

- Has Lennart Petrell been hooking up with Lance Armstrong behind the drug store? Petrell was playing out of his mind tonight. Was all over the ice: Shooting, hitting, blocking, making plays. I wish the Oilers would give this guy a three year deal, because he's exactly the type of Bottom 6 forward we need. Physical. Defensively sound. Hard working. Affordable.

- Devan Dubnyk was solid, solid, solid. He's growing on me as the future starter.

- Sam Gagner is looking as good as Hall, Eberle and Nugent-Hopkins. I'm truly thrilled for him, as he's a player who has faced so much unfair criticism from guys like me over the last five years. I said it before, and I'll say it again: One of Hemsky or Gagner needs to go. Gagner has played his way onto the future roster; Hemsky is playing his way off of it. You don't deal a guy with Gagner's amount of heart and passion away.

- Nail Yakupov: 4 goals in 6 games. Over an 82 game schedule, he's having a 55 goal season. Two winners in OT. He is the finisher everyone told us he'd be. Love it.

- Derek Morris going nuts on Ryan Whitney at the end of the game was brutal. Morris thought Whitney hand-passed the puck to Yakupov, and lost his mind when the goal was scored. Morris should get a game or two off for attacking Whitney the way he did...but if Doan is allowed to get away with such a disgusting cheap hit against Horcoff, Morris will likely be allowed to get away from pounding Whitney for no reason.

- I'd say the Kid Line struggled against Phoenix, but the whole team struggled to do anything. I understand why the team can't get more than 15 people to buy tickets to their games. They play an awful clutch-and-grab, neutral ice trap style that sucks the life out of the game, the opposition, and the fans. Just move the team already.

- Speaking of "the team", it sounds like Greg Jamison can't come up with the money needed to buy the Coyotes. But after seeing them play tonight, would you really want to?


The Oilers record is now 4-2, which means they don't suck. The sad news is, the San Jose Sharks are next up tomorrow night. I'm guessing Shawn Horcoff will be out, and if the Oilers have any chance against the Sharks, it will be because our forwards have found a way to shut their forwards down. Horcoff is our best shut-down forward, so we're in trouble already. As much as I rip on Horcoff, he's been our best all-around player so far this season.

Did I just say that? I even meant it as I said it.

If Horcoff is out, there might be time to call in Chris Vandevelde to play 4th line center. This will move Eric Belanger to the third line. I saw Teemu Hartikainen limping off after one of his shifts too, so let's hope this isn't the start of an injury trend for the Oilers. You know how this goes for them...Injuries in waves.

What else can I say about the game that was and the game that will be tomorrow?

- Ralph Krueger is an excellent coach, even though none of us can figure out the Potter thing.

- PS...Don't stick Potter and Nuge out there at the end of a game to kill a penalty when you're up by a goal.

- Yakupov might be the fastest player I've ever seen. He's still got plenty to learn, but there was one moment there when he was a blur, not a hockey player.

- Nikolai Khabibulin most likely will get the start against the Sharks. Talk about a rough way to make an entrance.

- As much as I'd like to change some of the lines, the Oilers are winning, and everyone knows you don't fiddle with what is working. Even though I think the Oilers will be shark bait again, I expect it to be a much closer game than last time around. Could it be the Oilers legitimately have a playoff chance? A chance to win the Division (because it's a soft one)?

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