Saturday morning is for cartoons, not Hockey. If I had it my way I'd be free to watch reruns of Earthworm Jim, Darkwing Duck, and Gargoyles with brief interludes from Mike Sobel right now, but instead it's going to be puck drop in Boston. I hope that when Sportsnet takes over we can watch some damn Oiler games in primetime on the weekend instead of the morning.
RANDOM THOUGHTS
I am not a fan of giving Goalies big contracts for significant term a la Varlamov. There are going to be a lot of quality goalies available in Free Agency this summer and not that many buyers for them. I would be happy if the Oilers found a 1a/1b tandem with Scrivens and one other stopper.
I'm not convinced Mark Fraser is a better player than any of the current Oiler blueliners but I dont hate the trade. The Oilers get pushed around a lot and they dont have a big physical player to change the mix of players on the ice. If Fraser can be a 6/7 guy under Eakins guidance then he can bring an element the Oilers dont have.
Now Eakins hasnt been able to turn Hamilton or Acton into NHL regulars but Fraser is probably closer to being an NHLer than either of those two.
You cant tell me that MacT hasnt identified toughness as an issue with the Team. I think if management could fit big tough players into their top 6 Forwards and top 4 D they would, but they have to work with what they have. If the Oilers want to change the physical mix of the top 6 it will mean downgrading in skill and it's obviously more palatable to change the bottom 6 to be more bruising. Is it ideal? No, but does it make sense to trade Eberle for Clarkson or something equally terrible? Of course not.
The Oilers have won 3 straight while their Captain has been out. Is that just coincidence or are the kids finally leading this team? This is Hall, RNH, and Eberle's team, not Andrew Ference's.
I know that being the best player on the team doesnt make one immediately qualified to be the Captain, but I think your Captain should be able to lead on the ice as well as off of it. Has Andrew Ference regularly affected the outcome of games? I dont know.
LINEUPS
Scrivens earned his 2nd start in a row with his heroic performance against the Sharks. Ference has apparently been cleared to play and will be in this game. I'm not sure if Fraser will play right away or if the Oil want him to get some practice in first but my guess is he plays. Either way, I dont expect to find out for sure before the game starts.
UPDATE
As per Eakins via Twitter Hemsky will also be in tonight. Just moments after that announcement was made the Oilers confirmed that Mark Arcobello would be assigned to the OKC Barons. It is unclear whether that is a paper transaction or if Marcobello will actually be heading to Oklahoma. My lines get all screwy with Hemsky in so i'm just assuming Joensuu comes out.
Hall RNH Eberle Yak Gagner Perron Hendricks Gordon Jones Gazdic Smyth Hemsky (?)
Ference (?) J. Schultz Marincin Petry N. Schultz Fraser (?)
Scrivens
OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME
1) *Cough* Defense *Cough*. 59 shots against...nuff said.
2) Adapt Fast. Athletes are creatures of habit to the extreme. These Oiler players are used to playing games at 7:30PM Mountain time, not 11AM. They need to find a way to be ready out of the gate at such an odd time.
3) Scrivinsanity. The Oilers paid a price to get Ben Scrivens and he has played very well for them. They need to see what he can do in 3-4 in a row or more. If he can be half as good as he was against the Sharks on a consistent basis then the Oilers will have a chance to win in every game.
Puck drops this Morning at 11AM Mountain Time on Sportsnet. Game On!
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