Oilers Gameday – Vs. Hurricanes

The Carolina Hurricanes will always play a major role in my hockey fandom. Being just 19, I missed out on the Oilers Glory years, and don’t remember 1997 or 1998 quite well. 2006 is my lone bright memory of Edmonton’s hockey club. Carolina was my first real sports heartbreak. I was devastated on the June night, where it was quite warm with a little drizzle here in Boston.

Fast forward about seven and a half years. I can’t believe it has been that long, but it has. The Oilers have fallen into a ditch they can’t dig out of and haven’t made the playoffs in what is soon to be eight seasons. Nearly the entire roster, minus Ryan Smyth and Ales Hemsky, is gone, and the Oilers are trying to regain the memories and glories of that great spring.

Meanwhile, Carolina has made the playoffs just once in those seven years since, and doesn’t appear to be in good shape to get into the dance this year either. It’s been a big fall from grace for these two teams, but there is something about this game that still gets me excited. Something about reclaiming a lost memory….

As for the game, the Oilers are decently rested thanks to two days off. Defender Jeff Petry, who suffered a head injury Saturday, and forward Ryan Jones, who hurt his foot blocking a shot in practice yesterday, were both back on the ice today. Petry could return Thursday against Boston, while Jones will go tonight. Forward Boyd Gordon, who is nursing a shoulder injury, is close to returning as well according to reports.

Last Games:

Edmonton: The Oilers had a perfect chance to jump their arch rivals in the standings on Saturday night and make a statement on home-ice. Instead, Edmonton ended up with a disappointing loss that saw them revert to their “junior hockey” offensive tactics.

Lee Stempniak opened the scoring with a goal exactly 16 minutes in that would give the Flames a one goal lead they would hold till late. Devan Dubnyk would shut the door the rest of the way while Edmonton tried to tie things up. With just 11 seconds left in the game, David Perron would find Taylor Hall who would tie the game on his fourth goal in two games.

In OT, the Oilers would have a bad defensive break-down that would leave Jiri Hudler wide-open in front of the net, where he would deposit the game-winning goal just 3:14 into the extra frame to give the Flames the 2-1 win.

Carolina: The Hurricanes opened a west-coast road trip last night in Carolina against the Canucks in a tightly contested affair. Chris Tanev would open the scoring 3:35 in with a snap shot goal that would end up being all Eddie Lack needed. Justin Peters would keep things close for the Canes, stopping 24 shots to keep it a one goal game.

That said, the Canes simply couldn’t solve the young Lack, who was simply sensational, stopping all 31 Hurricanes shots. Jannik Hansen would add an empty net goal with a little over a minute left to seal the 2-0 win for the Canucks.

Last Meeting:

The Oilers and Hurricanes last met on December 7th of 2011, over two full years ago, at Rexall Place. The Oilers controlled the pace early and even got the first goal, an Eric Belanger re-direct, to take an early lead. Jeff Skinner would respond in the final minute to tie things at one.

In the second, the Hurricanes took over the game and dominated the Oilers. Jamie McBain would blast home a PPG 4:36 in to give the Canes a lead, while Patrick Dwyer and Chad Larose would each add insurance goals. Ben Eager would score late in the second to make it 4-2, but it was too little too late.

Tuomo Ruutu would make it 5-2 less than five minutes into the third to put things away. RNH would score a late goal to make it 5-3, but it would be simply a stats padding goal. Cam Ward would shut the door, and the Canes would once again get the best of the Oil.

Players To Watch:

Edmonton: Forward Taylor Hall was named the second star of the week by the NHL for his terrific performances against Colorado and Calgary. He had four goals in those two games and was driving the river in a big way. Hall is clearly frustrated with the way things are going, and is trying his hardest to change it. I suspect we see this great talent bring it tonight in another winnable affair.

Carolina: There was only one player better than Hall last week, and it was Canes forward Jeff Skinner, who had five goals in three Canes wins. Skinner is one of the games bright young stars and is starting to get back to his rookie form after a few injuries the past two years. Oilers fans should keep an eye on this young star they don’t often get to see.

The Lines:

Edmonton Oilers Lines:

Taylor Hall – Sam Gagner – Nail Yakupov

David Perron – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle

Jesse Joensuu – Mark Arcobello – Ales Hemsky

Ryan Smyth – Anton Lander – Ryan Jones

Andrew Ference – Philip Larsen

Nick Schultz – Justin Schultz

Anton Belov – Martin Marincin

Devan Dubnyk

Carolina Hurricanes Lines:

Jeff Skinner – Eric Staal – Tuomo Ruutu

Nathan Gerbe – Jordan Staal – Elias Lindholm

Jiri Tlusty – Manny Malhotra – Radek Dvorak

Zach Boychuk – Riley Nash – Kevin Westgarth

Justin Falk – Andrej Sekera

Ryan Murphy – Ron Hainsey

Tim Gleason – Jay Harrison

Cam Ward