Oilers v. Coyotes - Romans 8:18-21

Friends, I implore you to consider that, as bleak as things may seem, our current sufferings aren't even worth comparing to the glory that will soon be revealed in us. The whole league waits in less than eager expectation for the day when these top picks reveal themselves to be uniquely touched by God. For the league is filled with teams and fans constantly frustrated, not by choice, but because there can be just one winner. In this system of scarcity, God will reveal his power of liberation by taking those who have suffered most, granting them the glorious promise fit for the children of God.

Edmonton Oilers @ Phoenix Coyotes

Jobing.com Arena, 7:00 p.m. MST
Television: Sportsnet

Visiting Team Scouting Report: The Phoenix Coyotes might be in a little bit of trouble. They started the year with plenty of victories, but have cooled off substantially, and their underlying numbers aren't anything too special. They've earned just 49.2% of the Fenwick events with the score tied, good for just 11th in the Western Conference. They're not much better on special teams. The Coyotes are generating a respectable 65.2 shots per sixty minutes five-on-four, but that's just 6th in the Conference, and their 72.2 shots against per sixty minutes four-on-five is 12th. Given that there are ten teams with a reasonable chance at the playoffs in the Western Conference, it seems to me that the Coyotes will need some luck to get in.

Expected Lineups:

Edmonton Oilers (13-24-4):

Hall - Nugent-Hopkins - Perron
Horak - Gagner - Eberle
Smyth - Gordon - Hemsky
Gazdic - Lander - Joensuu

Ference - J Schultz
N Schultz - Petry
Marincin - Belov

Bryzgalov

Phoenix Coyotes (19-10-9):

Korpikoski - Hanzal - Vrbata
Chipchura - Vermette - Boedker
Kennedy - Ribeiro - Moss
Bissonnette - Halpern - Brule

Murphy - Ekman-Larsson
Yandle - Morris
Stone - Schlemko

Smith

By The Numbers:

• Roman Horak is set to make his debut with the Oilers this evening after a solid but unspectacular run with Oklahoma City Barons of the AHL. In Horak's 18 games with the Barons, he scored 11 points and took just 34 shots. As such, the biggest surprise is seeing Horak bumped into the top nine, while Nail Yakupov sits as a healthy scratch for the third time this season.
• Gilbert Brule is back in the NHL with the Coyotes after playing some of last season in Switzerland, and taking the rest off. He's played three games so far this season and has yet to register any points, although he does have three shots on goal. Clearly, he'll score a hat trick tonight.
• The players with the most total time on ice for the Oilers this season? Devan Dubnyk (1,499 minutes), Andrew Ference (868), and Jordan Eberle (842). Leading in this category requires you to remain healthy, but I still think it's instructive to see which players are actually seeing the most ice. The top four defensemen by this measure (in order)? Ference, Jeff Petry, Justin Schultz, and Anton Belov. The top nine forwards? Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, David Perron, Taylor Hall, Ales Hemsky, Nail Yakupov, Boyd Gordon, Ryan Smyth, and Sam Gagner.