You Want The Numbers? You Can’t Handle The Numbers!

1. Sam Gagner should get his chances on the first unit, starting from game one,
2. Dustin Penner’s middling season did not extend to the powerplay, where he provides important finishing ability, especially when playing with other forwards more apt to pass, and he should maintain his status as the first option at left wing, ahead of Erik Cole, and
3. Jarret Stoll was a legitimate point man, and Sheldon Souray needs to prove that he can be an effective option on a powerplay nowhere near as formidable as Montreal’s.

Excellent post, Jonathan. I agree with all your conclusions. Stoll, Penner and Hemsky were ineffective as a line 5v5, but 5v4 they were by far the most effective Oilers in '07-08, with Gagner coming on strong at the end.

PPG
-----
Penner 13
Hemsky 8
Stoll 8
Horcoff 6
Gagner 4

PPP
-----
Hemsky 30
Penner 22
Stoll 21
Gagner 16
Horcoff 16

GF ON
--------
Hemsky +36/-7
Stoll +35/-4
Penner +35/-6
Gagner +25/-6
Pitkanen +22/-8

GF ON/60
------------
Hemsky 7.90
Penner 7.13
Stoll 6.94
Gagner 6.93
Grebeshkov 6.71

Surprisingly, Pisani led the pack in plus/minus per 60 (+6.47), largely because there were no shorties allowed on Fernando's watch. Souray had lousy counting stats but a very good rating (+3.01, third on the club), as the Oiler PP was mediocre with him on the ice but terrible with him on the bench. After he got hurt the PP as a whole improved, so go figure.

To me a first unit of Gagner-Hemsky-Penner-Visnovsky-Souray seems like a potent group and a natural choice as long as the new point men click with an already-dangerous front three. Gagner really showed his offensive moxie with the man advantage, and extensive PP duty will play to his strengths while allowing more balanced use of the workhorse Horcoff. Penner definitely is ahead of Cole in my books, not only is he a finisher as you point out but he is damned effective as a very large presence in front of the net even when he doesn't touch the puck. As for Hemsky, simply put, whatever unit he's on is by definition the first unit. He's a beauty powerplayer.

Oilers depth in skill players is manifest in a projected second unit of Horcoff-Cole-Nilsson-Gilbert-Grebeshkov, which should still be a decent threat to score. The underrated Pisani is a very nice ace in the hole, but perhaps more valuable on first-shift-after-the-PP duty, when the other guys are apt to throw their top guns out there.

This is the first time in a very long time that I'm excited about Oilers' powerplay unit as a potential difference-maker in the positive sense.

The underrated Pisani is a very nice ace in the hole, but perhaps more valuable on first-shift-after-the-PP duty, when the other guys are apt to throw their top guns out there.

THAT is a very good point, and one I hadn't even considered- Pisani has been surprisingly effective on the powerplay, but the first shift after is also extremely important, and he's an obvious choice, likely with Moreau and one of Pouliot/Brodziak.