Oilers Gameday – Vs. Stars

Home sweet home? In theory it will be for the Oilers, but home ice has NOT been kind to this club in recent memory. In fact, the Oilers have less than 20 wins in their last 40+ home games. That’s just unacceptable for a team trying to turn the corner. The Oilers return from a four game road trip in which they went 1-3-0, and are trying to somehow turn their season around.

This will be the first of two home games, as the team will host San Jose on Friday night before heading back on the road on Saturday to take on Calgary.

The Stars enter the game well rested, having been off since Saturday, and are starting a three game road trip that will take them through western Canada. Dallas and Edmonton are meeting for the first time this year, and will link up again on December 1st in Dallas.

Stars forward and former Oilers captain Shawn Horcoff will be in the lineup tonight as he faces his former team for the first time. Horcoff was dealt to Dallas on July 4th in exchange for defender Philip Larsen and a late round draft pick.

Last Game:

Edmonton: The Oilers fell 5-4 in Chicago on Sunday night to close out their four game road trip. Edmonton was able to hang with the Hawks scoring wise, but simply made too many defensive mistakes and left goalie Devan Dubnyk out to dry far too often. Brandon Saad opened the scoring late in the first by knocking home a puck in front of the net.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins fired a shot top-shelf on Corey Crawford early in the second to tie things up, while Nail Yakupov ripped a one-timer home on the PP to give Edmonton a 2-1 lead. Late in the period, Hawks forward Andrew Shaw was left open in front of the night and put home the game tying goal.

Bryan Bickell gave the Hawks a lead when he banged home a rebound, but David Perron would tie things up by tipping home a shot on the PP moments later. Chicago would go up 4-3 on a Marcus Kruger goal in front of the net, and Duncan Keith would fire home the game winner on the PP a few moments later.

Jordan Eberle tipped home a Nick Schultz shot late, but it wasn’t enough and Chicago was able to hang on 5-4.

Dallas: The Stars fell 5-2 to Chicago on Saturday night at home. The Stars scored first thanks to a Cody Eakin goal, but soon lost the lead when Marian Hossa snapped home a shot. Tyler Seguin gave Dallas another lead in the second period, but it was all down hill from that point.

Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane both scored later in the second period to give the Hawks the lead, and Hossa would add a second in the third while Niklas Hjalmarsson would add an empty netter to seal things up for the Hawks. Kari Lehtonen made 26 saves on 30 shots in the loss.

Last Meeting:

The Oilers and Stars met three times last year, with the final meeting coming in Dallas on February 28th. The Oilers rolled over Dallas in this game by the final score of 5-1, and were back stopped by some very good goaltending.

Edmonton opened the scoring 1:13 in on a Sam Gagner marker, while Justin Schultz would add another tally late in the period. In the second period, Jeff Petry would fire home a shot to give Edmonton a 3-0 lead, and Devan Dubnyk would stop eight shots in the period.

Ales Hemsky added a power-play goal, while Ben Eager scored his first of the season to put the game away in the third, while Jaromir Jagr added a garbage time goal for Dallas to make it a 5-1 final. Dubnyk stopped 33 of 34 shots, while Lehtonen would save 33 of 38 shots.

Players To Watch:

Edmonton: Oilers forward Nail Yakupov is all the rage right now. Yakupov’s agent, Igor Larionov, made a comment to ESPN Magazine hockey writer Craig Custance about how he and his client are unhappy with the use of Yakupov and are okay with a move. The fire got added fuel from Yakupov’s comments yesterday about his frustration level after practice.

Yakupov is a dynamic forward and has struggled this season, but with this off-ice controversy of sorts going on I can’t help but think he puts on a show tonight to distract everyone. He has that kind of talent. Either way, he’s well worth keeping an eye on tonight.

Dallas: Horcoff homecoming, that’s all I need to say. Shawn Horcoff spent 15 years in the Oilers organization, and even served as captain during the end of his time with the team. Horcoff was a key part of the 2006 Cup finals team, and played nearly every position asked of him by the Oilers. He was an Oiler through and through and never once voiced any public displeasure, even during the worst of times.

Horcoff was a heart and soul Oiler, and should be remembered the right way when he returns to the Rexall ice tonight.

Lines:

Edmonton Oilers Expected Lines:

Ryan Smyth – Mark Arcobello – Nail Yakupov

Taylor Hall – Sam Gagner – Ales Hemsky

David Perron – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle

Jesse Joensuu – Boyd Gordon – Ryan Jones

Andrew Ference – Jeff Petry

Anton Belov – Philip Larsen

Nick Schultz – Corey Potter

Devan Dubnyk

Dallas Stars Expected Lines:

Jamie Benn – Tyler Seguin – Valeri Nichushkin

Alex Chiasson – Cody Eakin – Erik Cole

Shawn Horcoff – Vern Fiddler – Rich Peverley

Antoine Roussel – Travis Morin – Ryan Garbutt

Brendan Dillon – Stephane Robidas

Alex Goligoski – Trevor Daley

Jordie Benn – Sergei Gonchar

Kari Lehtonen