No rest for the wicked tonight, not while there are TWO Oiler games being played on a Sunday evening. So if you missed the last post because you actually did something on Saturday night then don't forget to check out
Some thoughts about how Hemsky is being perceived in Dallas. The Oilers will play against the Calgary Flames both at Home and on the Road in their debut to pre-season action this very night. This is an exciting time for Oiler fans as the team whittles down to a squad that is the deepest it has seen since 2006.
The Split Squad games are my least favourite if not for anything other than the fact that I will really be only able to pay attention to 1 game of the 2 that are happening at the same time. I would so much rather see an afternoon game then an evening one, but I'm not the schedule maker.
These games are where we start to look for hints of chemistry between new linemates, and there are plenty of them around. Pouliot and Pucrell, Nikitin and Fayne, Draisaitl and Nurse. Of these 6 players, 5 will surely be Oilers in October and they need to get up to speed quickly.
For returning players like Nail Yakupov this is the beginning of a brand new season that can make everybody forget the debacle that was 2013-2014. The Oilers will no longer have a 3rd line where the play goes to die, so even if Yak ends up on what we call Line 3 there's every reason to believe he will be getting offensive opportunities aplenty.
The young players on the team are all coming back weighing more than they did before the summer. Some are 10-15 pounds heavier than before. Marincin put on a significant amount of weight and we should see him use his strength to more of an advantage. So as long as the new weight hasn't slowed him down a whole bunch (he's still not heavy by 6'4" NHL Standards) then he has every chance to impress even more this year. The Nuge is also 10 pounds, or so, heavier than before. This is what happens when a player of his ilk is capable of training in the summer for the first time in forever.
That mended shoulder and added strength should go a long way for both RNH and the team.
This game is the first preseason action of the year so for NHL players it's about starting to return to form. For hopefuls this might be their only chance to show what they're made of, so it's a completely different mindset.
There are players here trying to earn a contract, a future in the NHL. These early games are their only chance to show the brass that they deserve that chance that only a handful of people ever get. No pressure.
OILERS @ FLAMES
LINEUP
Nelson will be coaching this squad and the plan is apparently to split the game between Fasth and Brossoit. Thee are 2 NHL lines here and 3 NHL defensemen. I contend that this group could have competed and own games against the ACTUAL 2009-2010 Oilers.
Yak Arco Purcell
Pakarinen Lander Pinizzotto
Hendricks Gordon Joensuu
Moroz Khaira Baltisberger
Nikitin Fayne
Marincin Simpson
Oesterle Musil
Fasth
Brossoit
OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME
1) Yak Attack. Goal scoring starts and stops with the top line here. Arcobello is trying to prove he's a legitimate NHL player, Yakupov is trying to re-establish why he was taken 1st Overall.
2) Honour Among Thieves. Pakarinen was brought in to compete for an NHL job but there is really just 1 opening for a winger on the squad (4RW) and the entire 2nd line wants it. It's going to come down to the wire for that spot but the race starts now.
3) String Bean No More. Marincin plays with Simspon tonight and it's his 1st game playing at his new weight. Eyes will be on him and how he can play. He had a tremendous 1st season with the Oilers and now he's trying to prove it was no fluke.
FLAMES @ OILERS
LINEUP
The team is giving the hometown crowd the first chance to see their highly touted youngsters in game action. This is the game featuring Nurse and Draisaitl so most eyes will probably be directed to this one.
Hall RNH Chase
Pouliot Draisaitl Perron
Tkachev Yakimov Westgarth
Roy Acton Platzer
Nurse Schultz
Ference Hunt
Klefbom Aulie
Scrivens
Bachman
OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME
1) High Octane. This looks like 5 of the Oilers' top 6 playing in Edmonton tonight. At this stage in preseason they should dominate the competition. We should see how the new and improved RNH looks and Chase should add an element to the line that normally isn't there.
2) Helloooooooo Nurse. Darnell Nurse will play for the Oilers sooner or later and he needs to make a statement in preseason if he wants to make that sooner. It isn't enough for him to look ok, or even good. Nurse has to be spectacular to force Edmonton's hand and earn even a 9 game look.
3) True Detective: Season 2. Yakimov and Tkachev showed up in a big way at the Prospects tournament but now the duo has to take their act to a bigger stage. Yakimov can breath easier knowing he's a part of Edmonton's plans, but for Tkachev the future is unclear. If he proves himself at this level there's a good chance he earns a contract from Edmonton.
Puck drops tonight at 6PM Mountain time for both games. They will be streamed online at the Oilers website. Game On!
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