Post-Game: Exhibition Game #7 Oilers 4 Wild 3 (SO)

Scoring Summary
1st Period
NO SCORING

2nd Period
MIN Pierre-Marc Bouchard (Kyle Brodziak) 0:37

EDM Anton Lander (penalty shot) 6:57

3rd Period
MIN Mikko Koivu (PP) (Marek Zidlicky) 0:47
MIN Devin Setoguchi (PP) (Mikko Koivu, Marek Zidlicky) 5:44
EDM Linus Omark 1 (Assists: Anton Lander 1) 13:38
EDM Ryan Jones 1 (Assists: Jeff Petry 1, Linus Omark 1) 14:05


OT Period
NO SCORING


Shootout
Shootout Summary Clock Team Description
Minnesota Wild MIN Mikko Koivu shootout saved

Edmonton Oilers EDM Linus Omark shootout saved

Minnesota Wild MIN Pierre-Marc Bouchard shootout saved

Edmonton Oilers EDM Anton Lander shootout goal

Minnesota Wild MIN Devin Setoguchi shootout saved

Summary1st Period
Penalty Summary Time Team Penalty Players
2:14 Edmonton hooking - 2 min L. Omark drawn by P. Bouchard
8:45 Minnesota puck over glass - 2 min D. Heatley
15:45 Minnesota tripping - 2 min J. Falk drawn by G. Brule

2nd Period
Penalty Summary Time Team Penalty Players
1:30 Minnesota boarding - 5 min E. Nystrom drawn by T. Fedun served by C. Wellman
1:30 Minnesota game misconduct - 10 min E. Nystrom drawn by T. Fedun
1:30 Edmonton roughing - 2 min T. Peckham drawn by E. Nystrom
4:45 Edmonton holding - 2 min A. Lander drawn by M. Zidlicky
6:57 Minnesota hooking M. Zidlicky drawn by A. Lander
11:06 Edmonton holding - 2 min R. Keller drawn by D. Setoguchi
13:52 Minnesota hooking - 2 min N. Johnson drawn by A. Hemsky
15:51 Edmonton unsportsmanlike conduct - 2 min D. Hordichuk drawn by K. Brodziak
15:51 Minnesota unsportsmanlike conduct - 2 min K. Brodziak drawn by D. Hordichuk
16:06 Minnesota interference - 2 min G. Latendresse drawn by R. Jones
19:45 Edmonton holding - 2 min A. Lander drawn by M. Koivu

3rd Period
Penalty Summary Time Team Penalty Players
2:59 Minnesota hooking - 2 min G. Latendresse drawn by A. Lander
4:44 Edmonton holding - 2 min A. Lander drawn by N. Schultz
12:40 Minnesota fighting - 5 min B. Bulmer drawn by L. Petrell
12:40 Edmonton fighting - 5 min L. Petrell drawn by B. Bulmer
14:50 Minnesota holding - 2 min G. Zanon drawn by A. Hemsky
18:22 Edmonton cross checking - 2 min G. Brule drawn by D. Setoguchi

OT Period
None

Shots On Goal - Oilers 38 Wild 25

Game Notes:
- A very gutsy game from the Oilers tonight. Lots of hustle, lots of try, they really gutted this game out, especially considering they played more than half the game with 3 defenseman and 1 forward playing defense. A real yeoman effort from Tom Gilbert, who played over 33 minutes tonight, which is a real long night. Theo Peckham got in over 27 minutes, while Jeff Petry finished over 25 minutes. Ryan Keller also dropped back on D and played over 24 minutes tonight. These are the types of things that will make Oilers fans proud this year. They have shown a penchant of not quitting, which is all part of the growing process. They had all kinds of reasons to bail on this game but they didn't. Its a shame what happened to Taylor Fedun tonight. He was having an outstandnig training camp and was in the conversation to be one of seven defenseman to start the year with the Oilers. But one play on a bang bang icing call and he is out indefinitely with a fractured femur. It'll be a long road to recovery for him and its a damn shame. Smid and Chorney did not finish the game either. Dubnyk played alright stood tall on most shots, but others sifted through him. It was his weakest effort of the preseason but only because his other games were stellar. He was solid in the shootout. The Oilers lost the special teams battle, a common theme from last year. Once the preseason is over and the filtering of players in and out stop, they can focus on schemes and personnel. Another test for the Oilers Saturday night against the Vancouver Canucks.

Player of the Game:
- Anton Lander's name was all over the score sheet, some bad, some good, but he had the ultimate effect on the hockey game. Scored on a penalty shot in the 2nd, won a clean faceoff that allowed Linus Omark to snipe one and scored the only shootout goal. He also took 3 aggressive penalties of which the Wild scored on 2 of those penalties. So, it was a very uneven game for Lander, but his will to win is undeniable. He was very much a key cog in the victory tonight. Honorable mention to Linus Omark, he made plays when the chips were down as well. Peckham, Petry, Gilbert and Keller also deserve an HM for keeping the backend together long enough to pull a victory out.

Goat of the Game:
- Gilbert Brule. I hate to keep picking on the kid, but this game would have never made it to overtime if Brule would have been entirely out of the play. He took a cross-checking penalty just as Lennart Petrell was deflecting a Darcy Hordichuk shot over Backstrom's shoulder. It was just an unfortunate play all around. Brule played hard tonight, very in your face, but a play like that against a better team would have cost you a point in the regular season.

Next Game - Oilers vs. Canucks 8PM MT Vancouver on CBC

Pre-Game: Exhibition Game #7 Oilers vs. Wild

The Oilers are back at it tonight as they take on the Minnesota Wild. The Oilers have won 3 in a row coming into this game after beating Phoenix 3-2 on Tuesday night. The Oilers will try to continue their ways of being tough on the puck and being stout defensively. The Oilers are down to 32 players on the roster after cutting 3 players on Thursday. Two more games left in the preseason and then they start playing the game for real, tonight and Saturday night in Vancouver.

Paajarvi-Belanger-Hemsky
Petrell-Lander-Omark
Hartikainen-Brule-Keller
Hordichuk-O'Marra-Jones

Peckham-Fedun
Chorney-Gilbert
Smid-Petry

Dubnyk
Khabibulin

Game Time - 6 PM MT Minnesota @ edmontonoilers.com

Oilers Cuts from Thursday Sept 29

The Oilers assigned three players to Oklahoma City today.

Yann Danis G - Will have to clear waivers, which is expected tomorrow. Danis got into a half a game while the Oilers were busy putting Khabibulin and Dubnyk to the test, early and often. Something tells me Danis will get another shot this year with the Oilers. I don't think the Oilers' goaltending is as set in stone as a lot of people think it might be.

Colten Teubert D - Didn't get into a game because he got his nose caved in the first game of the rookie tourney. Its unfortunate that Teubert dealt with injury this preseason as I'm sure he was chomping at the bit to show the Oilers' brass what he had to offer. Teubert will have to continue his audition in OKC. Teubert may get a call if some of the current Oiler roughhousers on D struggle or get hurt.

Antti Tyrvainen LW - Had himself a decent preseason. The fact that he stuck around this long is a feather in his cap. I believe he has a 4th liner future with someone in the NHL if he sticks it out. May be back if some of the 4th liners on the Oilers stop being tough or get injured.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins: Where Do We Go From Here

Now that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has established that his game does translate at some level in pros, its time for his critics (myself included) to eat some crow. I had no doubt that his hockey sense and his vision would be on showcase in the NHL, its whether or not when push comes to shove and things get hairy out there, would he and the team as a whole, have the resilience to respond, either physically or on the scoreboard.

The Oilers are going to have to hurt teams on the scoreboard. They don't have enough team muscle to go mano a mano and hand out retribution. The Oilers are going to go full Detroit Red Wings on us, and try to hurt 'em on the powerplay. We'll see how that plays out for our young Oilers.

The thing that has impressed me about Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is he has brought his full arsenal of tools from Red Deer and has applied them all to his game in the NHL so far this preseason. From positional play, to stripping pucks from behind, to puck commander and distributor, the only thing left for him to show off is his sneaky quick wrist shot. Its rare that a player can bring all of skills quickly from juniors right into the NHL. The Hall-RNH-Eberle will be a petri dish line that all of the NHL will watch closely to see if 3 younger, smaller but highly skilled linemates can not only survive but thrive in today's NHL. If its something that can find a way to sustain the test of time, it will likely be duplicated all over the NHL.

Oilers fans abroad, will bear witness to an experiment that could take over the NHL, move away from the lead footed neanderthals that clog up all kinds of space all over the ice and much like the '80s, bring skill, speed and youth back to the forefront.

Put your goggles on boys, it will be one helluvan experiment to behold.

Post-Game: Exhibition Game #6 Oilers 3 Coyotes 2

Scoring Summary

1st Period

EDM Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Taylor Hall, Jeff Petry) 17:50

2nd Period

EDM Taylor Hall (Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Tom Gilbert) 1:10

EDM Taylor Hall (Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jordan Eberle) 13:49

PHO Ray Whitney (PP) (Daymond Langkow, Patrick O'Sullivan) 18:13

3rd Period

PHO Shane Doan (PP) (Patrick O'Sullivan, Daymond Langkow) 14:31

Penalty Summary

1st Period

PHO Oliver Ekman-Larsson 2min Holding 16:33

2nd Period

PHO Derek Morris 2min Slashing 4:17

EDM Eric Belanger 2min High-Sticking 13:57

EDM Tom Gilbert 2min Interference 17:58

3rd Period

PHO Adrien Aucoin 2min Cross-Checking 9:11

EDM Taylor Hall 2min Tripping 11:26

EDM Antti Tyrvainen 2min Tripping 13:46

PHO Ray Whitney 2min Boarding 18:03


Shots - Phoenix 20 Edmonton 32

Game Notes:

- It was the Hall and Nugent-Hopkins show tonight. They showed great chemistry together, and fed off of each others' abilities all night. Hall played well off the puck tonight, looking like a pure goal scorer. This game was a no hitter tonight and it was a preseason game so a longer look will be an order to make sure they can make things happen game in and game out. The biggest test will be how they handle physicality and how they respond to it. Someone will be looking to take their heads off at some point this season. How they handle it will tell us where they are at. I felt safer with the Hall-RNH-Eberle line than any other line tonight, they did a great job protecting the puck and backing each other up. I'm sure Tom Renney felt more than safe with them as well. It's hard not to get giddy about tonight after the show the kids put on, but you can something evolving here. But it was only one game and it was a preseason game. The tougher tests are coming. Khabibulin had himself another solid outing. Didn't have much of a chance on either goal, but battled and stopped the ones that matter. Light night for him with only 20 shots. Big time kudos to the defense and the centers supporting them in the defensive zone. Its amazing what happens when you have 4 centers in the lineup that can check their hats. less shots against. The only concern I have is the Oilers really petered out in the third period. Maybe Phoenix woke up, or less urgency to score, either way something of concern. A young team will need to develop a killer instinct. There is little doubt in my mind now, the kids will drag the Oilers as far as they can, after that, thats where they will lay. It just goes to show what the Oilers had and what they are about to have are miles apart in terms of ability and hockey sense.

Player of the Game:

Taylor Hall. He was mesmerizing tonight. He did everything with power and speed tonight. Either taking the puck to the net or releasing one-time lasers. He was the gamebreaker tonight. Offensively uncontainable. Only other person to consider is Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who was doing the dealing for Hall tonight.

Goat of the Game:

Ladislav Smid. This was a tough one, because no one was flat out brutal tonight but there were some plays that made you go hmmm. I'm not sure what Smid was doing on the first goal of the game. It looked like he was going for a line change but the problem was that the puck was still in his zone and more importantly his man was alone in front the net alone. It was an easy deposit for Ryan Whitney and a blown coverage for sure. I didn't get the number of Smid's partner on that play but he may have been even at more fault on the play.

Next Game - Friday Sept 30 2011 Oilers at Wild 6 PM MT @ edmontonoilers.com

Pre-Game: Exhibtion Game #6 Oilers vs Coyotes

The Oilers come into this game feeling good about themselves. After sweeping the Flames on the weekend, the Coyotes come to town. The Oilers will have to maintain a new found attitude of playing hard on the puck and keeping pucks out of their net. Ales Hemsky will likely see his first game action of the preseason. He will likely play with Ryan Smyth and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. The Oilers cut 12 players on Monday, leaving the Oilers with the Oilers with 35 players. The Oilers have to get down to 23 players by next week, meaning more cuts are coming and/or players headed for injured reserve. Khabibulin to likely get the start and play the whole game.

Smyth-Horcoff-Hemsky
Hall-NugentHopkins-Eberle
Tyrvainen-Belanger-Jones
Green-Lander-Keller

Smid-Potter
Sutton-Fedun
Chorney-Gilbert

Khabibulin
Danis

Game Time - 7PM MT Rexall Place @ edmontonoilers.com