Oilers v. Stars - Isaiah 14:12-17
by Scott Reynolds on Jan 7, 2012 11:00 AM MST
in Game-Day Threads
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PrintHow far you have fallen in the standings,
O Stars, you enemies of God!
How swiftly you have been cut down to size,
you nemesis of his people!
Every year, you say in your heart,
"We will march to the Cup, and sit above God himself!
We will do with the Lord's Cup whatever we want!
We will rule over every team,
even those in the far reaches of the north;
we will squash resistance with contempt,
and make ourselves like gods."
But now you have been brought down to Sheol,
to the curse of mediocrity and the playoff bubble.
Those who remember you from of old will wonder about you:
"Is this really the team that made the Oilers tremble?
Are these really the ones who once mocked mediocrity?
Are they the ones who trapped teams to death in the slush
and sent thousands away grumbling,
vanquished in their own cities?
Is this really the team that never - not even once -
let us play Game One at home?"
Edmonton Oilers (16-21-3) @ Dallas Stars (22-16-1)
American Airlines Center, 12:00 p.m. MST
Television: Sportsnet West
More analysis after the jump...
Home Team Scouting Report:
The Dallas Stars rode some hot goaltending to an 11-4-0 start, which gave them a huge jump on a playoff spot (no team since the lockout has amassed at least 22 points in the first 15 games and gone on to miss the playoffs). Unfortunately for them, they've gone 11-12-1 since, and that latter record is probably a better reflection of the team's level of play. On special teams, the Stars are 29th in the league at shot generation during five-on-four play, and 23rd in the league at shot prevention during four-on-five play. And they don't make up for those deficiencies at even strength. Their Fenwick percentage of 49.1% with the score tied isn't horrendous, but it's not going to make up for bad special teams very often either.
Expected Lineups:
Edmonton Oilers (16-21-3):
Hall - Gagner - Hemsky
Smyth - Lander - Eberle
Horcoff - Green - Hartikainen
Jones - Belanger - Eager
Smid - Potter
Sutton - Petry
Peckham - Teubert
Khabibulin
Dallas Stars (22-16-1):
Eriksson - Benn - Ryder
Morrow - Ribeiro - Ott
Benn - Wandell - Burish
Nystrom - Fiddler - Dvorak
Goligoski - Robidas
Grossman - Daley
Fistric - Pardy
Lehtonen
By the Numbers:
- Sheldon Souray has been excellent for the Stars so far this season. During five-on-five play, he's faced the most difficult zone-start ratio at even strength while taking on pretty tough competition, and yet he's still managed to post a Corsi of +2.3 per sixty minutes of ice time, one of the best rates on the team. He's played an active role on the PK (over two minutes per game), and has been a mainstay on the power play, registering five points. It's enough to make you wonder how on earth he looked so bad to the whole league when he was on re-entry waivers... Oh yeah, he's injured again.
- I think it's fair to say that Eric Belanger has generally been pretty disappointing this year, but one area that he's delivered is in the faceoff circle. Among players with at least 200 draws, Belanger is tenth in the NHL with a faceoff percentage of 57.1% and is one of thirteen players with a faceoff percentage higher than 50% on the PK.
- At the other end of the spectrum, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has really struggled on the dot. His 37.4% faceoff percentage is the worst in the league among players with at least 200 draws despite the fact that he's taken none on the PK (that said, he's only taken 19 on the PP, so it's not like there's a huge imbalance).
- One thing that Colten Teubert hasn't brought with him to the NHL is his enormous penalty total. In 13 games with the Oilers, he's received just five 5 minor penalties. That compares to 14 minor penalties (none of which were coincidental) in 18 games with the Barons. His NHL total still isn't very good, but at least it's not scary.
- With Josh Green and Teemu Hartikainen now up with the big club, there are now ten players (not including goalies) who have suited up with the Oilers for at least one game this season and have yet to score a goal. Can you name the other eight without looking it up?
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Sheldon Souray has been excellent for the Stars so far this season. During five-on-five play, he’s faced the most difficult zone-start ratio at even strength while taking on pretty tough competition, and yet he’s still managed to post a Corsi of +2.3 per sixty minutes of ice time, one of the best rates on the team. He’s played an active role on the PK (over two minutes per game), and has been a mainstay on the power play, registering five points.
That goodness the Oilers had that wealth of depth on the blueline and could cut him loose for nothing.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
With Josh Green and Teemu Hartikainen now up with the big club, there are now ten players (not including goalies) who have suited up with the Oilers for at least one game this season and have yet to score a goal. Can you name the other eight without looking it up?
Hordichuk, Whitney, Plante, Chorney, Omark, Teubert, O’Marra and Paajarvi.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Pretty impressive, especially for a statzi who doesn’t even watch the games.
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
by Scott Reynolds on Jan 7, 2012 11:35 AM MST up reply actions
Took me awhile to get Paajarvi. Then I thought about the not-so-golden players and figured it out
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
One thing that Colten Teubert hasn’t brought with him to the NHL is his enormous penalty total. In 13 games with the Oilers, he’s received just five 5 minor penalties. That compares to 14 minor penalties (none of which were coincidental) in 18 games with the Barons. His NHL total still isn’t very good, but at least it’s not scary.
Is that atypical?
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
His penalty total in the AHL? Yeah, it’s really high. Leads the Barons in minors per game. That he’s got less in the NHL? I wouldn’t think so. He’s probably getting a lot less ice time in the NHL, so he’s not going to take as many penalties.
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
by Scott Reynolds on Jan 7, 2012 11:35 AM MST up reply actions
Seems odd to me, especially because he’s been paired with Peckham, who is a penalty machine. Neither of them are effective puck movers at this level. I wonder if Peckham is taking penalties before Teubert has a chance to :)
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Stars broadcast crew talking about Oilers high-powered offense.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Tom Renney is out of his gourd. He just started Belanger, Hordichuk, Eager.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
And he’s using that as his checking line.
With Magnus Paajarvi in the AHL.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Paajarvi just needs to up the grit factor.
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
by Scott Reynolds on Jan 7, 2012 12:14 PM MST up reply actions
sigh
http://twitter.com/drmattrawluk/status/155728283399499777
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Took some revenge on Benn there.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
There’s no way I’m going to watch this game in full if Renney keeps allowing Hordichuk and Eager out against the Stars top line.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Stars color guy doesn’t realize Grossman pushed Hemsky beyond the net on the breakaway.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Hemsky was a bit slow to get off after that, so I’m glad to see him back out there now.
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
by Scott Reynolds on Jan 7, 2012 12:23 PM MST up reply actions
Eberle gone with a knee injury. O’Marra or VandeVelde up?
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Yeah, that was the shift after Hemsky went into the boards. Did you see what happened to him? As for the recall, I’ve got to think that Paajarvi or Petrell come back if Eberle is out for a while.
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
by Scott Reynolds on Jan 7, 2012 12:25 PM MST up reply actions
He got his left skate caught up with Dallas player and went down doing the splits. They were checking out the inside of his right knee on the bench.
It wasn’t a torque injuring. Seems like MCL or PCL would be most likely.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Cannonball!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AsId-qVIb4#t=01m24s
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Tough break for the Stars. That puck got up in a hurry off of Goligoski’s skate.
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
by Scott Reynolds on Jan 7, 2012 12:37 PM MST up reply actions
Same little drop pass from Hemsky to Hall as they used last game. If Gagner is around to drive the net on those like he did on the goal, he’ll be able to pick up some trash.
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
Gagner goes to the net like no one on this team but Smyth
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
I kind of feel bad for this guy
http://twitter.com/oilersforlife/status/155738248919003137
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
It’s amazing that it took this long to find the straw that breaks the camel’s back. If you believed coming into today, I would have thought that you’d believe until the team was mathematically eliminated.
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
by Scott Reynolds on Jan 7, 2012 1:01 PM MST up reply actions
Apparently Mark Spector had Cam Barker as one of Edmonton’s top three defenders coming out of camp.
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
The Edmonton media was giddy about the Barker signing. They won’t change their minds now.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Good vision by Gagner to find Smid on the open side instead of forcing the puck toward the net or into the corner.
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
Smid tried two shots there. That’s a homestand’s worth for him.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Remember Oilers fans, the ELCs of Hall, Eberle, Omark, Paajarvi expire after next season.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Not the point, I know, but Omark’s expires after this season.
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
by Scott Reynolds on Jan 7, 2012 1:05 PM MST up reply actions
Even better! Get rid of him and go with some young guys.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
If I was a GM, I’d be really tempted to give Omark an offer sheet in the 3rd Rd. Pick range. Seems to me that there’s at least some chance the Oilers balk at one year and $1.5M.
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
by Scott Reynolds on Jan 7, 2012 1:11 PM MST up reply actions
He’s a 40 point guy, what’s the top end of the 3rd round pick range?
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Depends on the cap, but it’s about $1.5M.
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
by Scott Reynolds on Jan 7, 2012 1:23 PM MST up reply actions
I’d go higher, into the 2nd round pick range. For a team that needs some cheap scoring help, he’s huge.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Gah. Hemsky was so close to getting Hall wide open in the slot.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Peckham was lucky that puck hit his skate. Jamie Benn was gone if that gets through.
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
Yeah, but he came to it with his skates lined up and sideways. Once he lost the race, he did things perfectly. It’s something, I guess.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Stars color guy says getting Hordichuk into the lineup gives the Oilers a boost.
This goon narrative won’t die for at least another 100 years.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Can’t believe Josh Green jumped in there. With Steve Ott, you clearly need Theo Peckham’s uppercuts.
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
Shows why Hordichuk and Eager are usless junk.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Hartikainen is a healthy scratch and Paajarvi is in the minors…
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
So what? Paajarvi isn’t much of a PP player anyway. The only thing in his favour is draft pedigree and that’s no reason for PP time.
by RiversQ on Jan 7, 2012 1:16 PM MST via iPhone app up reply actions
He’s better than Belanger or Lander?
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
I don’t know that he’s better than Belanger frankly.
by RiversQ on Jan 7, 2012 1:24 PM MST via iPhone app up reply actions
Have to think someone with more grit. Abney maybe.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Probably shouldn’t have Lander out there right now considering his reaction on that Ott hit.
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
I can’t believe Lander is back out.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Hall with a goal from Gagner.
That line is so damn good.
by melancholyculkin on Jan 7, 2012 1:18 PM MST reply actions
Yeah, Renney could run Smyth-Horcoff-Jones up a mountain like early in the season and protect that line, but unless he gets Paajarvi and Omark back and some defenders back, it doesn’t matter.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
boston/vancouver
On a different note – did you see the Marchand 5min pen ?
by southampton viking on Jan 7, 2012 1:18 PM MST reply actions
What did he do?
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
by Scott Reynolds on Jan 7, 2012 1:24 PM MST up reply actions
Targeted? Not even targeted, actually, just took out Salo’s knees. Should be a huge suspension.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Really? I didn’t think it was that bad. Salo saw it coming and Marchand was just under his hips.
by RiversQ on Jan 7, 2012 1:26 PM MST via iPhone app up reply actions
I’ll have to see it again. I saw it in real time and just one replay and didn’t think it was too bad.
by RiversQ on Jan 7, 2012 1:33 PM MST via iPhone app up reply actions
mmm 44 was still getting back up and no one covered the guy in the slot
by southampton viking on Jan 7, 2012 1:25 PM MST reply actions
Holy hell that was a terrible play by Jones. He was covering for Smid, and then just decided to skate into the offensive zone with Smid down on the ice.
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
It was almost like he gave up the 3 on 1 on purpose.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
And terrible defense by the Stars at the same time. Everyone stood and watched.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
He needed to bring it back to the backhand and roof it. Standard play for a defender.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Given how good the Avs are at evens compared to the rest of the group fighting for the last 3 spots, they have to be the favorite for the 6 seed, right?
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
I think L.A. is the class of that group.
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
by Scott Reynolds on Jan 7, 2012 1:43 PM MST up reply actions
I think LA cheated for defense under Murray, at least by some of the underlying numbers. They might be much better under Sutter if they just stop doing that.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
They just look better than the Avalanche to me. They’ve got a better Fenwick, Corsi, and Shot % with the score tied than the Avs, and the guys driving it have a history of doing it. The Avs are better on special teams, but L.A. was better last season than they have been so far this season at both PP and PK, so I have some hope that they’ll improve as the season progresses. Goaltending seems like close to a wash going forward.
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
by Scott Reynolds on Jan 7, 2012 1:54 PM MST up reply actions
I’m not sure Sutton can take flack for that hit. Not only did Eriksson turn into him, he ducked as he was doing so.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Jones looks like he’s moving in slow motion. He’s either gassed or hurt.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Yeah, this period hasn’t been close so far. Khabibulin is having an odd game though. Some really great saves, but it seems like less rebound control than usual.
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
by Scott Reynolds on Jan 7, 2012 1:58 PM MST up reply actions
I’m so flummoxed that Hordichuk is on the ice with Jamie Benn.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
kiss of death
1st OT for a long time tonight ?
by southampton viking on Jan 7, 2012 2:00 PM MST reply actions
Now we’re hoping…
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
by Scott Reynolds on Jan 7, 2012 2:02 PM MST up reply actions
That was the first time he’s played like Jason Smith all season long.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
I’d love to know what Belanger was doing on the faceoff prior to the goal. He won it, grabbed the puck and softly tapped it back to Smid.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
This is an ugly third. Thank Kurri the Stars can’t hit an open net.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
No kidding. I almost feel like the Oilers will tie it just to punish Dallas for missing so many great chances.
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
by Scott Reynolds on Jan 7, 2012 2:12 PM MST up reply actions
Yeah… all they needed was a chance from behind the net!
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
by Scott Reynolds on Jan 7, 2012 2:14 PM MST up reply actions
http://twitter.com/amy_m_bull/status/155757937309130752
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Sometimes I think Copper & Blue should snatch up a bunch of tickets to a game at Rexall and we could all sit in one section. I’m just imagining it…
Random Oilers Fan 1: “Gagner you suck!”
Derek Zona: “Well actually, according to his statistically relevant historical comparables he’s right where should be. In fact, if you examine his underlying numbers….”
Random Oilers Fan 2: “Why is Horcoff out there? Horcoff you suck!”
Scott Reynolds: “Just so you’re aware, Mr. Horcoff has one of the toughest zonestart ratios on the team and routinely faces top competition. I think you might be suffering from something known as confirmation bias, and furthermore….”
by melancholyculkin on Jan 7, 2012 2:35 PM MST up reply actions 1 recs
This game needs more
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmxcmpR1GQA#t=0m52s
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
That puck hit both Teubert and Green on the way in.
Minnesota fats goal
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
I love how Jones was behind both dmen on the rush leading up to that GA. What’s the update on Josh Green’s late charge for the green jacket? He’s tearing it up in the GA department.
by RiversQ on Jan 7, 2012 2:16 PM MST via iPhone app reply actions
Scoring chance count for this period is going to be ugly. Seems like Dallas gets an odd-man rush every two or three minutes.
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
One thing this trip has demonstrated: the Oilers have the “give up 4 goals per game” thing down to a science.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Maybe they’ll be able to push it to five by the end of the year.
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
by Scott Reynolds on Jan 7, 2012 2:27 PM MST up reply actions
Poor Horc.
http://twitter.com/kleco63/status/155766178483150848
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
http://twitter.com/BakedOilersFan/status/155766666066804737
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Did he have a particularly sub-par game today?
by melancholyculkin on Jan 7, 2012 2:46 PM MST up reply actions
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