The Oilers get back into the swing of things after taking a few days off between games. The team managed to have an off day to enjoy their Halloween party then fit a couple of practices in before tonight's game. Perhaps it is exactly what the team needed. Things could not have been going worse for the Oilers in terms of injuries, ineffectiveness, and in the losses are piling up. This bit of down time was hopefully able to correct and tweak what was wrong.
That being said, the injury situation isn't getting any better. Justin Schultz is suffering from some kind of groin issue and Philip Larsen has taken his spot on the roster. Joensuu is still not quite ready to come back and neither is Smyth. Perron has been experiencing neck and back pain since his last game and the team has placed him on retroactive IR. The Oilers are in serious trouble when it comes to their roster and need to find a way to overcome.
Ryan Hamilton looks to be getting the nod for tonight's game. The Oilers are a smallish team to begin with but all of their injuries seem to have taken out the players with the most jam and size, so the situation has been exacerbated. Hamilton is a meat and potatoes player who understands what Eakins needs from him, and he brings the element of size that the lineup needs. I am not sure how much size is needed against the Red Wings as compared to the Kings, but the club has few options at this point.
I recently pointed out that the Oiler defense has been guilty of standing still while attempting their breakouts. It forces long stretch passes that are easily cut off. The forwards gather up speed and get too far away from the passers. The Oiler blueline needs to be more mobile with the puck on their stick. Larsen showed in the preseason that he was very capable of making those plays. He has played very well in OKC to date and now he gets a big opportunity because of Schultz' injury. Let's see if he can show his mobility, I think it's his best attribute.
LINEUPS
The coach is rewarding Jones' good play by putting him on a line with RNH and. Eberle. Jones looks like he's getting it again out there. Eakins described it as playing with desperation again. He should bring an element of physicality to the line that otherwise isn't there. Bachman plays again as well. He is getting every chance to prove he belongs here. Another 4 goals and he will probably be back in OKC. Keep it to 2 or less and he could be Dubnyk's backup.
Jones RNH Eberle Yakupov Gagner Hemsky Hamilton Gordon Arcobello Gazdic Acton Eager
Belov Larsen Smid Petry Ference N. Schultz
Bachman
The Red Wings are 6-2-2 in their last 10 and laying waste to the West as they make their swing through this conference so far. They played last night against the Flames and won. The Oilers hope that there are going to be some tired legs in the Detroit lineup. They are putting Petr Mrazek in net tonight. Mrazek has a 3.14 GAA and .891 SV% in the AHL this year. THE AHL!
Zetterberg Datsyuk Bertuzzi Cleary Franzen Alfredsson Tatar Weiss Abdelkader Miller Andersson Eaves
Kronwall DeKeyser Quincey Smith Kindl Lashoff
Mrazek
OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME
1) Power Play execution. The coach took the ice in today's pre-game skate to get his message across for the PP. You cant win in the NHL if your special teams aren't contributing.
2) Smart Hockey. The Wings are a veteran team and making boneheaded decisions against them like they did against the Leafs will just out pucks in the back of the Oiler net. Maybe dont pinch EVERY opportunity that arises against Datsyuk.
3) Mrazek is a liability in the Red Wing net. Score early and often against him. He cant get it done in the AHL, the Oilers cant let him look like a competent goalie in the NHL.
Puck drops at 8:15PM Mountain time on CBC. Game On!
MOVEMBER UPDATE
Half the people I know say I look weird like this, but I'm still basically clean shaven. I guess I have a weird face. Mobro.co/MattHendersonHB
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Pacific Buzz(with Carol Schram(VAN), Matt Henderson(EDM) and Jason Lewis(LA) Recorded 11/03/13