Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Post Game: Game #39 Sabres 4 Oilers 3

Scoring Summary
1st Period
EDM Taylor Hall 12 (Ales Hemsky, Sam Gagner) 10:33

BUF Jason Pominville 13 (Jochen Hecht, Brayden McNabb) 14:23


2nd Period
BUF Jordan Leopold 7 (Assists: Drew Stafford, Brayden McNabb) 5:10

EDM Sam Gagner 5 (PP) (Jeff Petry, Ales Hemsky) 9:24


3rd Period
BUF Drew Stafford 7 (Nathan Gerbe, Derek Roy) 14:34

BUF Nathan Gerbe 4 (Drew Stafford) 16:38

EDM Corey Potter 3 (Jordan Eberle) 18:10

Penalty Summary
1st Period
5:26 Buffalo tripping - 2 min M. Weber drawn by J. Eberle

2nd Period
5:34 Edmonton interference with goaltender - 2 min A. Hemsky drawn by R. Miller
8:04 Buffalo charging - 2 min P. Kaleta drawn by L. Smid
9:10 Buffalo too many men on ice - 2 min Bench served by N. Gerbe

3rd Period
10:54 Edmonton holding - 2 min T. Peckham drawn by N. Gerbe

Shots On Goal - Oilers 26 Sabres 33

Game Notes:
- Tough one for the Oilers to lose considering they have won a lot of games where they played a lot worse. The Oilers came out in this game with a lot of energy and puck battle but, as expected in a back to back, the energy was getting thin as the game wore on. Josh Green had a very inconspicuous start to his 2nd stint as an Oiler. He went -4 in a 4-3 loss. Not exactly contributing to the cause. He, along with Hartikainen and Horcoff playing on the wings, just couldn't get the job done in this game. Nikolai Khabibulin looked uncomfortable all night in net. Just wasn't sharp and had a hard time staying upright. Even though Dubnyk got the last two games, Khabibulin looked lethargic. Made some good saves but couldn't sustain some barrages thrown his way. Just some of these little things that add up to an Oiler. I must say I like the fact that the Oiler team is taking on a bigger look, but needs to find better matchups that can suit its players. Another winnable game lost.

Player of the Game:
- Sam Gagner. He, along with Hall and Hemsky were surprisingly dangerous tonight. As a line, they really skated well. Gagner chipped in with a nice goal on a one-timer on the power play and added an assist as well on Hall's opening goal. with Nugent-Hopkins out of the lineup, I expect Gagner to get an extended look at center. I'm not sure how effective he will be long term, but at least on this night, this line was more positive than negative. Even with the goal tonight, Gagner needs to shoot the puck more and recognize shooting lanes better.

Goat of the Game:
- Josh Green. Tough game for Josh Green. I blame Tom Renney and his intel more than Green himself. He was stuck playing over his head against tough matchups that he eventually drowned in. Green would be better served on the wing playing in a 3rd or 4th line role short term. He isn't much more than that. Very inauspicious start for Josh Green in his 2nd stint as an Oiler.

Next Game - Thursday January 5, 2012 vs. Blues @ St.Louis on Sportsnet Edmonton 6 PM MT.

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