Thursday, December 22, 2011

Pre-Game: Game #34 Oilers vs. Wild



Thankfully for the Oilers the Xmas break is here after tonight's game. After a torrid start, the season has hit the gutter. Losing games they should win, being competitive in games they should be overmatched, but still losing. It's tough to get a sense for the fanbase, but I feel a sense of apathy is slowly creeping into the team and its fans. The management talks of playoffs like its a plausible goal. If it was so plausible, they would try and do something about it, but instead, there is no cavalry coming and this team will fight to keep itself from drowning. Management just sickens me lately with there lack of doing anything when everyone knows what the shortcomings of this team are. Addressing the shortcomings a little sooner when the Oilers were off to a 8-2-2 start may have helped this team stay afloat. I know the window was small, but it was there, but it may be too late now. As much as this team tells us that the playoffs are important, I don't believe it. Everytime I hear Steve Tambellini or Tom Renney talk, I change the station. Minnesota comes into this game stone cold. Losers of 5 in a row with a couple of loser points mixed in. I know Minnesota has had the Oilers number over the last few years, but the Wild are a hurting unit and now would be a good time for the Oilers to break a slump of their own.

Forwards Oilers
- The kid line reunited means bling bling.
Defense Oilers
- If the Oilers had a couple of bigger forwards to keep pressure in the other teams' zone, maybe the Oilers' D wouldn't look so bad. Just sayin'.
Goaltending Wild
- Backstrom and Harding are one of the best tandems in the NHL.
Special Teams Oilers
- Despite struggles, the Oilers still have the top 10 PK and PP in the NHL.
Coaching Wild
- Psst....Tom...Smyth-Horcoff-Jones
Intangibles Oilers
- The Oilers are well rested having not played since Monday and then Xmas break after game.

Oilers: (my version)
Hall-NugentHopkins-Eberle
Gagner-Lander-Hemsky
Smyth-Horcoff-Jones
Eager-Belanger-Hordichuk

Whitney-Potter
Smid-Gilbert
Peckham-Petry

Khabibulin
Dubnyk

Wild:
Bouchard-Cullen-Heatley
Powe-Brodziak-Johnson
Clutterbuck-Peters-Palmer
Ortmeyer-Staubitz

Scandella-Spurgeon
Stoner-Zidlicky
Schultz-Zanon
Falk

Harding
Backstrom

Game Time - 7:30 PM MT @ Rexall Place on Sportsnet Edmonton.

No comments:

Post a Comment