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Game Thread: Oilers vs Sharks - Blow The Roof off of Rexall

Fans have waited a long time - will the Young Gunz deliver?

By Derek Zona
Fans are desperate to see the Oilers
Fans are desperate to see the Oilers
Dale MacMillan

Excitement is palpable in Edmonton after one game, and though the same excitement took hold last season, this year it's different - even Tyler Dellow is optimistic. The Oilers already took a game against the undermanned predicted Northwest division winners, and have a chance to do the same against the Undermanned predicted Pacific division winners.

It wasn't the Young Gunz™ that carried the day against the Canucks, it was Ales Hemsky, now healthy and looking like the Hemsky of old. But if the Oilers are going to be successful against fully-loaded teams, the Ryan Nugent-Hopkins line is going to have to pull it's weight. Tonight, that line should get a fantastic opportunity.

Team Reports

Oilers Report: Not many changes from the Vancouver game except that Ben Eager is suffering from bruised pride and swollen eye, so he'll sit this one out in favor of Magnus Paajarvi. Paajarvi, a healthy scratch in game one, could help out the Oilers penalty kill - using four forwards on the PK long-term can't be a viable strategy.

Sharks Report: The Sharks came out flat against the Calgary Flames before turning it on and embarrassing the Flames over the last two periods. They're still missing Brent Burns, out recovering from sports hernia surgery, so the defense doesn't have the depth in will in a few weeks. The Oilers can take advantage of that and steal two more points from a playoff team.

Expected Line Combinations

Taylor Hall - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - Jordan Eberle

Nail Yakupov - Sam Gagner - Ales Hemsky

Ryan Smyth - Shawn Horcoff - Teemu Hartikainen

Magnus Paajarvi - Eric Belanger - Lennart Petrell

Ladislav Smid - Jeff Petry

Justin Schultz - Nick Schultz

Ryan Whitney - Corey Potter

Devan Dubnyk

Scratches: Ben Eager, Mark Fistric, Darcy Hordichuk

Broadcast Information

Rexall Place, 8pm MST
TV - TSN
Radio - 630 CHED

By The Numbers

The Oilers are 19-8-5 in home openers in the NHL and 4-3 in the WHA for an all-time record of 23-12-5, and have won the last two.

  • Antti Niemi is 3-0-1 in his career against the Oilers with just a .902 save percentage.
  • Shawn Horcoff still needs one point to move into a tie for eighth on the Oilers all time scoring list with Esa Tikkanen Horcoff sits at 435 career points.

    • At some point this evening, Eric Belanger will play his 13,000th minute in the NHL when he plays his third minute of the game.

    After Nick Schultz plays his 9th minute, he will surpass 15,000 minutes played in the NHL.

  • No team brings out the rage in Ales Hemsky like the San Jose Sharks. Hemsky averages 1.22 penalty minutes per game against the Sharks - they're the only Western Conference team to draw more than one penalty minute per game from Ales Hulk.

    • The Oilers were 2-2 against the Sharks last season, but were outscored 9-7. Both of Edmonton's wins came via shootout, one at home, one on the road.

  • Patrick Marleau eats the Oilers for lunch. Marleau has scored 28 career goals against the Oilers in 55 regular season games - his best scoring rate against any Western Conference team. His 19.2% shooting percentage against the Oilers is his best shooting rate against any Western Conference team.

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