Oilers v. Senators - 1 Kings 20:1-4
by Scott Reynolds on Feb 11, 2012 11:30 AM MST
in Game-Day Threads
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PrintIt was once again the time of the season where the players were extremely discouraged. Paul MacLean mobilized his forwards, supported them with a mix of youth and experience on defense, and decided to use his starting goaltender. Then MacLean sent a messenger to the airport to meet the Oilers. The messenger found Tom Renney, and said to him, "I bear a message from Paul MacLean, coach of the mighty Senators! Tomorrow night, we will tear your team apart! We will not show mercy! Our men know that these points are critical for a spot in the playoffs, and they will stop at nothing to get them! Expect stick-work and taunting, and frankly, expect the better team to win!"
"We don't even want these points!" replied Renney. "We're aiming for the lottery! All I have to give is yours."
Edmonton Oilers (21-28-5) @ Ottawa Senators (28-22-7)
Scotiabank Place, 12:00 p.m. MST
Television: CBC
More analysis after the jump...
Home Team Scouting Report:
When I predicted that the Senators would be poor instead of horrendous before the season began, Derek said "This is the one I judge your entire series by." I can only hope that he's telling the truth because with a quarter of the season left, that prediction is looking much, much better than some of my other ones. Of course, there's still time for the Sens to tank, but I don't think that's going to happen. Their Fenwick percentage with the score close is a very respectable 50.2%, a bit better than I was expecting from them. That's been balanced out by some rather poor goaltending from Craig Anderson (EV Sv% of .913) and Alex Auld (EV Sv% of .896). Given the previous track record of the netminders, I think there's a much better chance that they'll be better the rest of the way than I do of the Senators as a team backsliding in terms of possession.
Expected Lineups:
Edmonton Oilers (21-28-5):
Hall - Gagner - Eberle
Paajarvi - Horcoff - Hemsky
Smyth - Belanger - Jones
Petrell - Lander - Eager
Smid - Petry
Whitney - Potter
Sutton - Gilbert
Khabibulin
Ottawa Senators (28-22-7):
Michalek - Spezza - Butler
Greening - Turris - Alfredsson
Daugavins - Smith - Condra
Foligno - O'Brien - Neil
Kuba - Karlsson
Cowen - Gonchar
Phillips - Lee
Anderson
By the Numbers:
- I probably bring this up every time the Oilers play the Senators, but Jason Spezza has been an elite scorer in the NHL since the lockout. Among players with at least 200 games, Spezza is seventh in the entire NHL in points per game at 1.08. That doesn't, of course, mean that he's been the seventh best player over that time period, but honestly, he's probably one of the most underrated players in the league.
- The argument against that is naturally that the guy has his struggles with injury, and that is true to some extent. Of course, Spezza is also in a tie for 45th in (regular season) games played over that same time-frame, which is, once again, surprisingly high.
- The best Oiler on that points per game list? Ales Hemsky in 36th at 0.88. Should probably trade that guy. The health thing comes up as a concern again, obviously, but even Hemsky does fairly well by this measure, tied for 65th with 401 games played.
- When I saw that, I figured there must not be very many guys who have played in each of the last seven seasons. I was surprised to find that the number of players with at least five games in each year was 274. Some of those guys are tweeners who have a hard time staying in the lineup, but others are just guys who have missed games because of injury. Maybe when it happens on the team you follow, you notice it more.
- To follow up on that, there have been just 19 players who have managed to play 75 games or more in each of the last six seasons. If you lower the threshold to 60, the number jumps to 104. There just aren't that many guys both good enough and healthy enough to play a full schedule year after year.
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where can i watch the game from BC? seems like the pitt vs peg game is featured gaaaaahhh!!!!
by One_Roy_Save_On_The_Calendar on Feb 11, 2012 12:01 PM MST reply actions
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockeynightincanada/video/live/#id=2116612856
pick your stream online, or watch both!
by Romulus' Apotheosis on Feb 11, 2012 12:04 PM MST up reply actions
Which dehydrant for the game?
Coffee or beer… or both?
by Romulus' Apotheosis on Feb 11, 2012 12:02 PM MST reply actions
Irish coffee? – O’Marra’s Delight!
by Romulus' Apotheosis on Feb 11, 2012 12:10 PM MST up reply actions
“We’re aiming for the lottery! All I have to give is yours.”
Nice work.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
On the other hand, it shows
Did he just get traded?
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Yeah… that was one of those, “Wait the game starts when?” mistakes.
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
by Scott Reynolds on Feb 11, 2012 12:23 PM MST up reply actions
What I find most fascinating is that Chris Phillips has played all 1,000 games with the Sens. That type of service record is a rarer feat in the modern NHL.
by TakeoutArtist on Feb 11, 2012 12:33 PM MST up reply actions
It is a pretty impressive feat. Holmstrom just did the same.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
To follow up on that, there have been just 19 players who have managed to play 75 games or more in each of the last six seasons. If you lower the threshold to 60, the number jumps to 104. There just aren’t that many guys both good enough and healthy enough to play a full schedule year after year.
WOW! I always assumed that was the case – that most players (everyday NHLers) struggle to stay in the line-up for 90% of the season.
That certainly puts to bed the canard that even outside of the last two years Hemsky has struggled to stay in the line-up vis-a-vis the rest of the NHL.
by Romulus' Apotheosis on Feb 11, 2012 12:19 PM MST reply actions 1 recs
Man, hard to believe that Michalek didn’t pot that one.
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
by Scott Reynolds on Feb 11, 2012 12:26 PM MST reply actions
That was an amazingly quick release from Alfredsson.
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
by Scott Reynolds on Feb 11, 2012 12:28 PM MST reply actions
So… not such a good shift from Gilbert. Khabibulin sure did make a great save on Spezza to save him, though.
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
by Scott Reynolds on Feb 11, 2012 12:33 PM MST reply actions
Good on Hall to both draw the penalty AND make a play on the puck to get it to Eberle.
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
by Scott Reynolds on Feb 11, 2012 12:36 PM MST reply actions
Great job by Hall and Eberle to get the puck back off Hall’s dump-in.
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
by Scott Reynolds on Feb 11, 2012 12:39 PM MST reply actions
The powerplay seemed to do a better job of passing the puck around, but unfortunately no good scoring chances.
Yeah, I thought Eberle had the one okay chance at the side of the net, but that was it.
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
by Scott Reynolds on Feb 11, 2012 12:45 PM MST up reply actions
Well, Hall certainly deserved that one.
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
by Scott Reynolds on Feb 11, 2012 12:45 PM MST reply actions
Can’t they do these interviews at the break… i.e., not during a power play?
by Romulus' Apotheosis on Feb 11, 2012 12:46 PM MST reply actions
Pretty interesting to hear Melnyk say so bluntly that his team doesn’t really have a chance to win the Cup. It’s obviously true, but not something you expect to hear from an owner whose team might make the playoffs.
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
by Scott Reynolds on Feb 11, 2012 12:49 PM MST up reply actions
Expect that to be a front page news in Toronto.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
What’s funny is Hockey GMs always give you a choice between mind-numbing obfuscation and false bravado (sometimes both). It would be interesting to see how the media and public would respond to a straightforward assessment like Melnyk’s – but maybe it’s an owner’s privilege?
by Romulus' Apotheosis on Feb 11, 2012 1:03 PM MST up reply actions
Somehow Ben Eager has more ES time than Taylor Hall.
This is not how to win a hockey game.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
I sure wish Hemsky would backcheck (snark)
by Romulus' Apotheosis on Feb 11, 2012 12:53 PM MST reply actions
Yeah, it’s pretty incredible that he’s been a toughs outscorer without ever playing defense.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Scott – in which article or comment did the “Havana Bananas” first appear?
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
by Scott Reynolds on Feb 11, 2012 1:01 PM MST up reply actions 1 recs
http://www.coppernblue.com/2011/2/25/2015561/oilers-v-blues-zechariah-5-1-4-a-classic#60098908
I’m funny.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Havana Bananas was a Bruce-ism.
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
by Scott Reynolds on Feb 11, 2012 1:20 PM MST up reply actions
Ridiculous like a fox.
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
by Scott Reynolds on Feb 11, 2012 1:28 PM MST up reply actions
http://twitter.com/SUNdvandiest/status/168422927111430146
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Is this Millen on commentary? Because apparently both Murray and Tambellini have done a great job.
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
I really enjoy watching Petry skate.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Potter is really limited right now.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
I know that lob must have bumped him up a step in your eyes.
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
by Scott Reynolds on Feb 11, 2012 1:36 PM MST up reply actions
Once Gilbert left the slot to chase high, it was a jailbreak in the zone there.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Nice pressure from the Sens. Gonchar, in particular, made an astute pinch to get himself into scoring position.
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
Two separate times in that sequence two Oilers ended up on the same guy up high.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Good thing that Khabibulin is playing well today, or this one would be embarrassing.
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
Lots of defense in that Pittsburgh Havana game.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Man, I loved the look on Paajarvi’s face when he potted that one. No futility record for you!
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
Those extra Gs for for Ales, eh?
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Was that Hemsky with the gaffe?
The Edmonton Oilers, keeping opposition fans happy for the last 6 years
yea. that’s on him… well the turnover is anyway.
by Romulus' Apotheosis on Feb 11, 2012 1:47 PM MST up reply actions
Well, Tyler’s probably not going to do one of those “Hemsky’s not responsible” +/- posts for this game.
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
Heh. Eh – turnovers happen. There was no recovery there at all.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
bittersweet
Cheering for the Oil but want Michalek to be successful… even worse, I’ve really enjoyed the Sens this year and hope they make the playoffs as they have a good ‘vibe’ about them and would love if they made it and the Leafs didn’t.
Also, Hemsky should get the 2nd assist on that one! He helped MPS break his streak and he’ll help Michalek win the Rocket Richard in the same afternoon.
Who made that pick for him at the blueline? Was it Jones?
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
by Scott Reynolds on Feb 11, 2012 1:50 PM MST up reply actions
Petry picked the puck, Jones picked the player
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
He was just trying to stay onside.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
hey who was that complaining about his ice time earlier !
by southampton viking on Feb 11, 2012 2:12 PM MST up reply actions
Horcoff, Hemsky, and Paajarvi could become a nice possession line.
The Edmonton Oilers, keeping opposition fans happy for the last 6 years
he fell pretty awkwardly… I’m guessing lower body.
by Romulus' Apotheosis on Feb 11, 2012 2:18 PM MST up reply actions
He’s already back. let’s see for how long.
by Romulus' Apotheosis on Feb 11, 2012 2:19 PM MST up reply actions
Oh hockey media.
Hemsky’s health is most important because he can be traded. Nice work, fellas.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Horcoff, Hemsky and Paajarvi just had a remarkable game.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
What?! The Oilers won without Top 4 defenseman Cam Barker?
The Edmonton Oilers, keeping opposition fans happy for the last 6 years
by OilLeak on Feb 11, 2012 2:57 PM MST reply actions 1 recs
I would vote it 91’s win, his best game by miles in a long time.
The Edmonton Oilers, keeping opposition fans happy for the last 6 years
Paajarvi may never put up the points, but he is the exact type of player that Oilers need if they ever hope to compete.
The Edmonton Oilers, keeping opposition fans happy for the last 6 years
Potter only played 12 mins, he’s struggling these days. Does Peckham play next game in favour of Potter?
The Edmonton Oilers, keeping opposition fans happy for the last 6 years
I wonder how much his injury is affecting his play
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Renney must be Coaching to win these days, because Playing injured players ove healthy ones makes no sense when the season is lost anyways.
The Edmonton Oilers, keeping opposition fans happy for the last 6 years
The games probably matter more to Renney than anyone else in the organization. I don’t know that he’ll get fired if the Oilers finish in the bottom five, but I’m confident that he won’t get fired if the finish outside the bottom five. So while the playoffs are out of reach, he’s only five points away from hitting that goal.
The biggest fanana of the Havana Bananas.
by Scott Reynolds on Feb 11, 2012 8:30 PM MST up reply actions
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