Jamie Benn Fined For Crosscheck On Ryan Jones

Jamie Benn gets off with just a fine for his malicious crosscheck from behind on Ryan Jones.

Oilers Break Even Strength Drought, Beat Stars 5-1

The Stars couldn't resist playing this one short-handed, so they took 38 minutes of penalties to ensure they had fun.

Game Thread: Edmonton Oilers @ Dallas Stars - Climbing the ladder

The skilful employer of men will employ the wise man, the brave man, the covetous man, and the stupid man.

Danis Not Starting, Sportsnet Deletes The Tweet

False alarm all, this Tweet

The #Oilers start call-up goalie Danis vs. the Stars in Dallas tonight. Western region fans can tune in at 6:30pmMT on @sportsnet West

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 1, 2013

has disappeared from the Sportsnet timeline.

Yann Danis Gets The Start Against Dallas, Dubnyk Injured?

Sportsnet just Tweeted

The #Oilers start call-up goalie Danis vs. the Stars in Dallas tonight. Western region fans can tune in at 6:30pmMT on @sportsnet West

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 1, 2013

Yann Danis was called up just yesterday after Nikolai Khabibulin was put on IR with an unspecified groin injury, and makes a start immediately. This marks the 3rd straight game that starter Devan Dubnyk wears a baseball cap and the obvious question is "What's wrong with Dubnyk?" It could be an unspecified injury, or it could be the flu - Dubnyk's last start was against Minnesota, a team that was fighting the flu in the week leading up to their February 21st matchup.

It's odd that the Oilers wouldn't announce Dubnyk's flu if that were the case, so injury seems like the likely explanation. The goaltending market isn't flooded with sellers right now and goaltending won't be available until the end of March, so Oilers fans are left hoping for a flu, not injury.

Paajarvi scratched: Jones promoted, Eager on 4th line

When the Oilers announced the lineup for tonight's game in Dallas, they confirmed that Magnus Paajarvi was a healthy scratch.

#Oilers forward lines at morning skate the same as practice yesterday: 4-93-14, 28-89-83, 94-20-64 and 55-54-37

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) February 28, 2013

The move is a curious one, especially coming off of his performance in Chicago, according to Michael Parkatti:

But who put up the best Corsi rate? Can you believe it — it was the Gagner line, with MPS, Hemsky, and Gagner ending the night 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in Corsi per minute. Paajarvi was, in fact, the only player on the entire team to end the night in positives vs the Hawks. His play has been very solid for quite some time now, and he should be allowed to stay in the NHL to hone his craft. He looked perfectly fine on the 2nd line — in fact, he might be the best fit I’ve seen so far. He’s able to think quickly and complete short, direct passes to Hemsky while not getting in his way and providing some support to keep the zone. His positioning is excellent, and gives that line a bit more breathing room to finish their work offensively by how aware he is getting back.

Bob Stauffer noted that Krueger spoke with Paajarvi at practice this morning:

Ralph Krueger having an extended conversation with Magnus Paajarvi as morning skate starts

— Bob Stauffer (@Bob_Stauffer) February 28, 2013

Oilers @ Stars Lines and Pairings

Lines and pairings for the trip to Texas

Edmonton Oilers @ Dallas Stars Game 19 Preview

The Oilers need to hurdle a bunch of teams to get to the 8th spot. They start with Dallas.