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Horcoff Out; Paajarvi Out; Lander in; Petrell Has a Sore Paw

January 31, 2013, 4:04 PM ET [451 Comments]
Richard Cloutier
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
As I suspected, Shawn Horcoff was injured by the perfectly innocent hit from behind provided by Phoenix winger Shane Doan. Not only should have Doan received a penalty for that hit, but it should have been sent to the league for review. Absolute cheap-shot.

Anton Lander has been called up and will play for Horcoff tonight. In order for the Oilers to make roster room, it was necessary to send Magnus Paajarvi down. Gain a Swede; lose a Swede, I suppose.

Lennart Petrell will be a game-time decision tonight against the San Jose Sharks, as he hurt his foot during the Coyotes game. If he's out, the Oilers will play seven defensemen; meaning, Darcy Hordichuk will continue to sit in the press box because he sucks. LOL.

Devan Dubnyk will get the start in goal again tonight, which shocked me a bit. Sooner or later, the Oilers need to play a back-up, be it Khabibulin or Danis. There's no need to burn Dubnyk out.

I'm not sure what the Oilers need to do to beat San Jose tonight. I'd say the Oil could try to outscore them, but the Sharks have three of the league's Top 4 scorers right now. The Sharks are too big for the Oilers to out-hit. I guess the solution is playing a patience game...Be defensively responsible, keep it simple, and wait for the Sharks to take penalties. Perhaps the only advantage the Oilers have going into this is their special teams? I'm grasping here.

More after the game.
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