Edmonton Oilers at Columbus Blue Jackets, Game 45 Breakdown

Edmonton Oilers
@ Columbus Blue Jackets

Tuesday, Jan 17, 2012, 5:00 PM MST
Nationwide Arena

The Cannon

Shooting Percentage and PDO: The Picture Stinks - The Cannon
Shots and goals is pretty self-explanatory, but PDO, in case you need a refresher, is measured by the team's shooting percentage plus save percentage. The most important thing for the Jackets, in my mind, was that the playoff squad consistently showed a higher goal scoring ability vs. shot levels through most of the season, particularly in the final 20 games (ie: the playoff push).

Favorite New Blue Jacket - The Cannon
After last night, there are at least some positives to look at. Ryan Russell and Tomas Kubalik both scored their first NHL goals. Derick Brassard looked pretty darn good, and Nikita Nikitin continues to tally the assists. Oh yeah, and Ryan Johansen will represent the Blue Jackets at the NHL Young Stars game.

Roster Move: Jackets Grab Gillies From Waivers - The Cannon
In what can only be called a bit of a surprise move, the Jackets have grabbed former Minnesota Wild forward Colton Gillies off waivers. reuniting him with former Wild coach Todd Richards.

Byers Suspended For Three Games - The Cannon
The NHL ruled that Byers could have made a hit to the shoulder or chest rather than intentionally targeting the head, that Byers' previous suspension was worth consideration, and the fact that Andrew Desjardins was injured on the play.

Burning the Midnight Oil - The Cannon
Call it speed; call it willingness to take risks. Whatever it is, the Oilers do it, and the Jackets never seem to have an answer for it. Perhaps missing some of their big guns will mitigate that a bit.

Taylor Hall – Sam Gagner – Ales Hemsky
Ryan Smyth – Shawn Horcoff – Ryan Jones
Anton Lander – Eric Belanger – Magnus Paajarvi
Josh Green – Ryan O`Marra – Ben Eager

Ladislav Smid – Corey Potter
Andy Sutton – Jeff Petry
Theo Peckham – Colten Teubert

Nikolai Khabibulin

What Is The Line In The Sand For Steve Tambellini? - Cult of Hockey
The competence of Oilers general manager Steve Tambellini is an open question among fans of the team.

G45 Oilers at Blue Jackets - Lowetide
The wild card in all of this is Daryl Katz. Is he a quick learner? Does the fact that Steve Tambellini is without contract (as has been reported by many) mean that the owner has another plan for phase two of the rebuild?

Today's Frustrated Edmonton Fan: SHorcov

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