Oilers Recall Yann Danis, Barons Recall Olivier Roy

The Oilers team Twitter account announced today that Nikolai Khabibulin will miss at least a week:

Goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin will be out of the Oilers line-up for 7-10 days with a sore groin.

Khabibulin left last night's 5-2 loss to the Canucks after reportedly "tweaking" his groin on the Canucks first goal, a goal in which Khabibulin was pulled far out of position and took a bump as he struggled to react to a cross ice pass. In Khabibulin's place the Oilers have reached out to the Barons for help. From the team website:

General Manager Steve Tambellini announced today the Edmonton Oilers have recalled goaltender Yann Danis from the Oklahoma City Barons of the American Hockey League.

Danis, signed by the Oilers this summer to shore up the Barons goaltending situation and perhaps serve as a contingency plan for Nikolai Khabibulin has been outstanding in Oklahoma City. He ranks third in the AHL in save percentage and .926 while tandem partner David LeNeveu ranks sixth at .923. Danis has carried the Barons, first in goals against, 14th in goals for, to the top of the Western Conference playing behind a defense tattered by injury and NHL callups.

Neal Livingston broke down Danis' style:

With that classic butterfly, Danis is a cool customer who’s also a really smart stick user. Very little gets in on the glove side, the five hole, or over the blockers. You’ll have to go high shoulder corner to beat him, and that’s hard to do with a cool customer that runs angles beautifully.

Tracking his NHL readiness is nearly impossible. But given the chance, I think he’d surprise a few.

The Barons announced that they'll temporarily replace Danis with the hottest goaltender in the organization. Per the Barons team site:

...the Oilers assigned goaltender Olivier Roy to the Barons from the Stockton Thunder of the ECHL, Barons General Manager Bill Scott announced today.

Roy is on an amazing run, having posted a .959 save percentage in his last nine games, raising his season save percentage to .927.

While LeNeveu's stellar play will likely keep Roy on the bench for most of his stay, Danis should get a chance to play in Edmonton. Danis' high level of play in Oklahoma City combined with Devan Dubnyk's recent struggles give the Oilers an ideal chance to have a look at Danis before his contract expires. Danis does have previous NHL experience - 49 games and a .912 save percentage over three seasons and three different teams - but last played in the NHL in 2009-10 as Martin Brodeur's backup.