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Oilers to Give Head to the First 10,000

October 17, 2011, 3:50 PM ET [ Comments]
Richard Cloutier
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
It's Ryan Smyth Bobblehead night in Edmonton. I could continue to milk that joke that is this blog title, but I've decided against it. One "head" joke is enough for today.

I'll be going to the game, and will ensure I get there early enough to pick up my nodding Ryan Smyth doll. If you've seen pictures of it, you know it looks nothing like Ryan, but what the hell. Hopefully the sight of seeing 10,000 people holding up a nodding version of him will equal goals for the left winger.

Provided I get my free mini-Ryan Smyth bobblehead tonight, I will post a contest of sorts to give it away tomorrow. Details will be announced. Likely I'll ask you folks to write a story about your best Ryan Smyth memory.

The Oilers are playing against Barry Trotz tonight. The Predators could have 20 cinder blocks for players, and it wouldn't matter. This team is all Trotz, and will likely win the game because the man is a flippin' genius. Best case scenario for the Oilers? Oilers and Predators management will get together at a strip bar after the game, will get really drunk, and will make a deal where Shea Weber is sent to Edmonton. One can only dream.

Here's some randoms going into tonight's game:

- Ben Eager should make his Edmonton Oilers debut tonight. Good timing for him to come back, as winger Darcy Hordichuk tripped over the blue line last game and is out for four weeks because of it. Eager will see 4th line duty on a line with Lennart Petrell and Anton Lander.

- Defenseman Ryan Whitney tried hard to get onto the line-up tonight, but no dice. He didn't pass Tom Renney's game-day test (an injured player needs to beat Renney in a game of Catan within 10 minutes or they don't get to play). Word is, Whitney should be ready to go on Tuesday against the Flames. It doesn't sound like the Oilers will be sending him to OKC on a conditioning stint first, which speaks volumes about how badly they need to get a puck-mover on the roster.

- Ales Hemsky is out with a strained shoulder. Which shoulder? Does it matter at this point? The boy is made of glass. I've heard 100 different opinions, everywhere from "he's out a week" to "he's out four weeks". Once again, does it matter? He'll come back in time to play three or four periods and get injured again. I wish he could stay healthy long enough for us to deal him.

- Sammy Gagner will still be out of the line-up for another week. Word is, he's feeling better though, so it won't be long till he plays. Does Anton Lander get sent down to Oklahoma City when Gagner returns? Likely yes. Sadly. I like Lander.

- I sure hope the Oilers play the Tre Kronor line at least once before Lander is sent down. Eric Belanger is a demon on face-offs, but I haven't seen much offense from him. Shawn Horcoff is, Shawn Horcoff. 20+ minutes of ice each game, participates in five scoring chances, gets no points. Ever. I would like to see an experiment where Horcs is on the third line, Belanger is on the fourth, and Tre Kronor get second line and power-play minutes for a full game, just to see what happens. The Triple Oil Crown line can't score all the goals this season, and Lander has yet to be given much of a chance to play offensive hockey.

- Speaking of the Triple Oil Crown line, was Taylor Hall actually pouting that Nuge had a hat-trick already, and got credited with the third goal against the 'Nucks, even though Hall may have touched it before it went in? Maybe. Hall is a competitive player, and Nuge is outshining him in the "rookie" department. The worst that will come from competition is Hall will play harder. Ego sometimes is a really good thing when it comes to elite players. It's good news for everyone that Hall will need to work to be considered Top Dog on this team.

- Speaking of competition, you get the feeling all the doubt Nuge heard in the off-season has provided him with motivation. Could an Oiler player, for the first time ever, win the Calder Trophy for being the league's top rookie? Before the season started, I said no. Three games into it, I say yes, he will. He's likely going to lead the entire team in points, too. A very, very worthy 1st overall pick.

- For those of you keeping track, Nugent-Hopkins, who is suppose to be all about assists, has four goals and no assists in three games. Hall and Jordan Eberle, more the snipers of the line, both have no goals and three assists. Three point-per-game players on the Oilers...could it happen over an entire season?

- Nikolai Khabibulin should get the start for the Oilers tonight. Fair enough. Devan Dubnyk was ordinary in his last game against the Canucks. If Khabby wants to win his starter's job back, he needs to shine at a moment like this. Dubey will play on Tuesday, as it's standard to alternate goalies during back-to-backs. Actually, I could see the Oilers alternating goalies for much of the season, until one clearly demonstrates they are the better choice. Like I said before, competition is a good motivator.

- I just noticed I didn't remove Ales Hemsky from my roster for the fantasy draft this week. Damn it! I hate it when I do that.
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