Jordan Eberle scored the lone Oilers goal tonight - his 33rd of the season - in Edmonton's 4-1 loss to the LA Kings. (photo: Bridget Samuels/flickr)

Edmonton Oilers vs. Los Angeles Kings – March 30, 2012

First Period

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins wasted no time getting the puck to the net in tonight’s game against the Stars, forcing Jonathan Quick to make his first save only twenty seconds in. Nugent-Hopkins is tied for 2nd in rookie scoring with Colorado’s Gabriel Landeskog (both 49 points), right behind Adam Henrique of the New Jersey Devils (50 points). Remember, he’s played substantially less games than both of them this season. Edmonton’s youngest Ryan couldn’t open the scoring that early, but the Stars could.

At 0:52, Anze Kopitar managed to get the puck through traffic and Oilers goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin to put the visitors up by one. Seconds later, Matt Greene was called for hooking on Ryan Smyth, and the Edmonton’s second-best power play went to work. That’s when Jordan Eberle scored his tenth power play goal this year off of a tic-tac-toe play from Jeff Petry and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. LA went straight back to the Oilers net to pressure Khabibulin some more, but the score remained 1-1 with, yes, fifty-seven minutes left.

6:22 marked Sam Gagner’s holding penalty on which the Kings 23rd-ranked (no, that isn’t quite as impressive, you’re right) power play got their first chance of the night. A chance is all it was, though, because really, the Oilers’ penalty kill was just that much better than the Kings’ man advantage in that situation.

Anze Kopitar was assessed a tripping minor with just under ten minutes to go, and Edmonton was given another chance to better their power play. 43 seconds in, Willie Mitchell’s around-the-boards pass made it past Jeff Petry to Mike Richards, who sprung on a breakaway and backhanded the puck past Khabibulin for his second goal in his last thirty-two games. The rest of the penalty was killed off, along with the next few minutes, without a change in scoring.

It wasn’t until 18:25 that Ryan Jones was sent to the box for roughing after former Oiler Jarret Stoll got a shoulder in Jones’ face; Jones retaliated by knocking Stoll’s helmet off and was given the two-minute minor. The Kings couldn’t capitalize on the power play in the first, but needn’t worry as they were set to start the second period with one extra man on the ice. It was a well-needed break for the Oilers, who hadn’t recorded a single shot since Jordan Eberle’s goal at 1:34.

» Continue reading “Successfully Unsuccessful”

Rookie Curtis Lazar leads his team in playoff scoring with 7 points, putting him in 7th place in the WHL. (Photo: screenshot/oilkings.ca)

Kootenay Ice vs. Edmonton Oil Kings – March 25 and 28, 2012

Over 8,400 people were in attendance on Sunday to watch the Edmonton Oil Kings take on the Kootenay Ice at Rexall Place for the second game of their best-of-seven series. The Oil Kings went into the game with a 1-0 series lead and were looking to double it. They did, thanks to goals from Micheal St. Croix, Tyler Maxwell, Curtis Lazar and Keegan Lowe. Lazar and St. Croix were named the second and third stars, respectively, and the team was confident going into Wednesday night’s game in Kootenay. The Oil Kings fell 2-1 during the first period, before the Ice extended their lead in the third. Edmonton went into the final period down by two, and managed five unanswered goals to power their team to a 6-3 win. Five different scorers (Griffin Reinhart, Keegan Lowe, Kristians Pelss, Micheal St. Croix and Henrik Samuelsson) showed up in the third, along with a goal from third star Curtis Lazar in the first. Defenseman Kristians Pelss was given the honour of first star, and the Edmonton Oil Kings moved one step closer to sweeping the first round.

» Continue reading “Oil Kings: Rapid Recaps”

Taylor Hall talking to the press about his upcoming shoulder surgery. (Photo: screenshot/NHL.com)

It’s common knowledge among Oilers fans that Taylor Hall is currently out with a concussion. It was an injury that could have ended his season, but it’s not why he isn’t coming back. The 20-year-old winger is scheduled to undergo labral shoulder surgery to repair a joint injury that’s apparently nothing new.

“Four years now…  I injured it in junior and it’s been wearing away.” – Taylor Hall when asked when the shoulder injury was first sustained.

» Continue reading “Injury Report: Hall Out for the Season”

Head-banger/left-winger Taylor Hall is looking to return to the Oilers lineup A.S.A.P. (photo: Bridget Samuels/flickr)

Rollin’ on the Road

Sunday marks the end of a six-day, four game road trip for the Edmonton Oilers when they visit the Columbus Blue Jackets for an early-afternoon game. Before facing the Jackets, though, they had to take on three other Southeast/Central teams, two of whom are currently in that final push for a spot in the playoffs. After their first three games, the Oilers have collected five of a possible six points and are aiming to pick up the last two in a win over Columbus before heading home to take on the Dallas Stars.

» Continue reading “Roadtrips, Shootouts, and Playoffs, Oh My!”

Hot Like Hemsky - no. 83 tallied his first career hat trick tonight, getting him named the second star. (photo: Bridget Samuels/flickr)

Edmonton Oilers at Nashville Predators – March 20, 2012

This was the first of a four-game road trip the Oilers took on as they visited the Nashville Predators in tonight’s 6-3 win.

Pekka Rinne and his team of Preds haven’t been a difficult puzzle for the Oilers, who are coming off a 3-2 shootout loss to the Phoenix Coyotes. Edmonton had a 4-2-1 record against Nashville going into tonight’s game, and were looking to end the season series on a high note.

Ben Eager dressed tonight, meaning Linus Omark would sit out; Devan Dubnyk got the start in goal.

Taylor Hall, who suffered a concussion during Friday’s game against Calgary thanks to Cory Sarich, skated today for the first time since the incident. Head Coach Tom Renney is unsure as far as whether or not he’ll be playing on the rest of this road trip. He didn’t play tonight, but Renney spoke on where Taylor’s at.

“I won’t be surprised to see him play on this trip, but at the same time but at the same time I wouldn’t if he didn’t. We’ll follow the protocol and make sure we do the right thing with him,” he said. “As mentioned, even the night he hurt himself he was doing pretty good. That being said, there’s a procedure that we’ll follow here.”

Hall passed all concussion tests and has been healthy and exercising, too.

“He had a good bike ride yesterday, his baseline test also went well,” Renney added. “He skated a little bit this morning, that went well. We’ll take it a day at a time.”

» Continue reading “Preying on the Predators”

Mr. First Star, Ales Hemsky. (photo: Bridget Samuels/flickr)

Phoenix Coyotes at Edmonton Oilers – March 18, 2012

It was Fan Appreciation Night at Rexall Place tonight as the Phoenix Coyotes visited the Edmonton Oilers for the fourth and final time this season. The Coyotes have already won the series – something they’ve done three years in a row now – and were looking for a sweep tonight.

Phoenix had been 3-5-2 in their last ten; Edmonton went 4-5-1. The Oilers were looking to be spoilers tonight as they had the opportunity to prevent the Coyotes from getting back into playoff position by coming away with the win.

The Oilers were without Taylor Hall, who’s suffering from a concussion after a hit from Calgary’s Cory Sarich, but the rest of the Kid Line managed to be a big part of their 3-1 win that night.

» Continue reading “Oilers, Not Spoilers”

Corey Potter for President - oops, I mean, Masterton. (Photo: Dinur Blum/flickr)

Calgary Flames at Edmonton Oilers – March 16, 2012

This is the sixth and final meeting in this season’s Battle of Alberta. Currently, the Flames have a 4-1 series lead, though the last game between these two teams resulted in a 6-1 Oilers win. For Calgary, a win tonight would take them from tenth to seventh place in the Western Conference, while Edmonton is still looking to salvage what they can of the rest of the regular season.

» Continue reading “All About the Oilers”

Teemu Hartikainen was recalled from the OKC Barons today, says GM Steve Tambellini. (Photo: 5of7/flickr)

Hartikainen Called Up

Today, it was said that LW Teemu Hartikainen has been recalled from the OKC Barons – the Oilers AHL team. The 21-year-old has 30 points – 14 goals and 16 assists – in 48 games with the Barons this season. He’s played for the Oilers five times this season, recording no points, but in seventeen career NHL contests, he has five points.

Since Hartikainen’s only just been recalled, he wasn’t a part of the Oilers 3-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Monday, a game after which Head Coach Tom Renney had some… choice words for his team. The loss made for the fifth in a row at home, and Renney was, well, pissed.

» Continue reading “Renney’s Rant”

Devan Dubnyk has been a star in three career starts against the Sharks, with a record of 3-0-0 and a 1.58 GAA. (Photo: Bridget Samuels/flickr)

San Jose Sharks at Edmonton Oilers – March 12, 2012

This is the last meeting between these two teams this season.San Joseis 2-6-2 in their last ten, while Edmonton is 4-5-1, but the Sharks have a 10-2-0 record against the Oilers in their past twelve games. The Oilers lead the season series 2-1; both wins have been ones that took shootouts to decide. Six days ago, Edmonton beat San Jose 3-2 thanks to Sam Gagner’s shootout goal.

» Continue reading “Sharks at Oilers: Preview”

Linus Omark scored his first goal since being called up in tonight's 5-3 loss to the Canadiens. (Photo: Bridget Samuels/flickr)

Montréal Canadiens at Edmonton Oilers – March 8, 2012

They’re the last two Canadian teams to have won the Stanley Cup, and tonight, they faced off at Rexall Place for their second – and last – meeting of this season.

Montréal was 2-7-1 in their last ten, while Edmonton’s record as of late was 4-6-0. Their only other game this season was on November 8 in Montréal, where the Oilers came away with the 3-1 win, thanks to goals from Ryan Jones, Tom Gilbert and Ryan Smyth. The real star, however, was goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin, who made 28 saves and was the first star of the night; he got the start tonight, as well.

Both teams are ranked in fifth – of five, remember – in their respective divisions, and Edmonton is coming off a 3-2 shootout win over the San Jose Sharks. Jordan Eberle has recorded goals in 5 of his last 8 – I knew to be looking for him to be tallying more points to add to his total of 63 tonight.

» Continue reading “Canadiens vs. Edmontonians”