Tonight in Edmonton it will be the battle of the top line cycles. The Canucks have the best puck-cycling line in the league, featuring Daniel and Henrik Sedin along with Alex Burrows. The Oilers top line of Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle are trying to be the new Sedin's line. Eberle said in an interview during the lockout that the trio has watched tons of film on the Sedin line, and try as hard as possible do emulate them.

So which line is better?

H2B has a combined four goals and 10 assists with a +1 rating over eight games played. The Hugerle Line has five goals and 16 assists with a +6 rating over eight games played.

Maybe H2B is still better than Hugerle, but the stats clearly indicate the Oilers line is playing better right now.

There's a number of sub-plots to the game that will make it more interesting:

- I suspect Roberto Luongo will get the start. He's been outstanding this season, and he's clearly the #1 goalie for the Canucks. What this means to his trade request and Cory Schneider's future with the team remains to be seen. It would be a heck of a lot easier on Canucks GM Mike Gillis if he needed to deal Schneider...Teams would be lining up for that. It's not that he's a better goalie, because he's not. His contract situation is much better. If it wasn't for Luongo's contract, Gillis could have dealt him three times already.

- Both the Canucks and Oilers are experiencing depth issues at the center position. For the Canucks, they miss Ryan Kesler tremendously. They've managed to hold it together so far (4-2-2 record), but they're winning with defense right now. For the Oilers, it's not the offense that's hurting...The loss of Shawn Horcoff (neck injury that will likely keep him out of Monday's game) and Eric Belanger (mangled foot from getting hit with too many pucks) has been placed on the IR and is out indefinitely. Anton Lander is up with the team, and I'm guessing the Oilers will move Lennart Petrell to center as well. While I think Lander and Petrell have more future with the Oilers than Horcoff and Belanger, there's no question H & B are better centers at this point of their careers. The Oilers will be hurting tonight in the face-off circle in particular.

- Once the Oilers placed Belanger on the IR, they called up Magnus Paajarvi. Rumor is, the Oilers will play Teemu Hartikainen, Lander and Paajarvi together on a line. They did this for part of the season in OKC and they provided the Barons with some solid two-way play.

- I guess that makes the 4th line Petrell with Ryan Smyth and Darcy Hordichuk? Motley Crue.

- Plenty of debate on Twitter as to if Nail Yakupov is in the Calder Trophy race or not. Cory Conacher is the rookie scoring leader, but the player no one can stop talking about is Vladimir Tarasenko. Yakupov is tied with both in the goal scoring department: 5 in 8 games. I'd still pick Justin Schultz over all three for the trophy, as he's been the Oilers best defenseman, he's scoring, and he's leading the team on most nights in ice time. Very rarely does a defenseman step into the NHL as a rookie who is good enough to play in the top pairing. No matter whom you prefer, the NHL has some dynamic rookies this season...will be the most interesting Calder Trophy race in years.

- Someone asked me on Twitter if the Oilers would be interested in adding Alexander Ovechkin. A world of no. There is such a thing as the "Russian Factor" but that doesn't mean it applies to all Russian players. Nail Yakupov wants to play for the Oilers and in the NHL. His family has moved here to be with him. Edmonton is becoming his home. Right from the start, all Yakupov has said is how much he wants to play in the NHL. Ovechkin, on the other hand, has said right out he'd just as soon play in the KHL. His point totals keep dropping every year, and I'd say he plays like a guy who doesn't care anymore. I don't care if we're talking star player or 4th liner; the Oilers want to develop a roster full of guys with a similar attitude and work ethic. Adding guys like Ovechkin or PK Subban would screw up the dressing room chemistry completely.

Keep in mind who's in charge now. Head Coach Ralph Krueger is a motivational speaker, and he looks for the positives in everything. Without naming names, I've heard that the Oilers are very keen to eliminate anyone in the room who has a negative outlook. While I'm not a huge Shawn Horcoff fan, I think the Oilers sent the right message to their players by not stripping him of the "C". There will be a new captain (Eberle) soon enough when Horcoff is bought-out this summer. It's absolutely no coincidence that Eberle, Hall and Nick Schultz wear the "A". That's your leadership group as the team progresses. All three are very hard-working players who hate losing and have complete loyalty to the team and the city. The Oilers are only going to bring in players who can fit with the character of the leadership group they are establishing.

Which brings me to my next point: Since when have the Oilers ever been a healthier organization from a team standpoint? You've got to hand it to Kevin Lowe: They have put together a team from top to bottom of solid, like-minded people who want to be here for the long haul. The roster is full of swell people, as are the coaching staff and management group. If this team is ever going to win again, it's because of the tremendous job Lowe has done in constructing something more than a hockey team. The Oilers are a family again.

- What is it about the Swedish culture that makes people from there so nice? Magnus Paajarvi and Anton Lander are wonderful people. Oscar Klefbom, who will be part of the mix next season, has been described as a rock star and natural born leader. Show me a list of Swedish players in the NHL, and I'll show you perhaps the finest citizens in the league. Dedicated, loyal, and hard working.

- Ryan Whitney is really dying out there. I wonder what's wrong. As much as he struggled last season, he wasn't this bad...and he's suppose to be healthy now. Wasn't last year. Is it a confidence thing? Is it a pride thing, considering Justin Schultz has completely taken over the role of "franchise defenseman"? Maybe he knows his days are numbered in Edmonton if he doesn't pick it up, although I heard on the weekend that Whitney wants out...Wants to play in the US for an Eastern Conference team. He's from Boston, so I can understand wanting to be closer to hope. He'd be a tough guy to deal right now, not because no one would be interested, but because the return on him would stink. They way he's playing, I'd seriously rather see Mark Fistric and Corey Potter out there.

The Oilers roster tonight might look more like what the roster next season...the first three lines at least. I'm assuming the Oilers will go back to Devan Dubnyk in goal.

L1: Hall/Nugent-Hopkins/Eberle
L2: Yakupov/Gagner/Hemsky
L3: Hartiakainen/Lander/Paajarvi
L4: Smyth/Petrell/Hordichuk

D1: N.Schultz/J.Schultz
D2: Smid/Petry
D3: Whitney/Fistric

G1: Dubnyk
G2: Khabibulin

Join the Discussion: » 381 Comments » Post New Comment

» Goodbye and Good Luck

» Ranking Top 5 Roster Groups - Blog #1

» Mods and Rockers

» The Reverse Psychology Blog

» The 10 Least Interesting Teams in the NHL