Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Game Day "Oilers VS Sabres"

"Will the Oilers apply the SWORD or take the SWORD?"

The Oilers tonight are in Buffalo taking on the Buffalo Sabres and are pretty banged up on the injury front once again. RNH has now gone done with a self inflicted shoulder injury from most reports and Tom Gilbert is out with a knee problem. No word officially on Gilbert but should be out some time I am thinking, based on how much of a ironman he is. Tom plays through pain often but to miss a game makes this pretty legit.

As has been reported already here at Oilersjambalaya and several other sites, Josh Green and Colten Teubert have been recalled from OKC. A great opportunity for these guys to prove their solid worth to the organization.

Colten has now been recalled 4x, so this is becoming a positive sign for him this season. I hear some people look at him as a 7th defencemen and while he may not quite be ready for the big show in the NHL on a regular basis yet, I would still have him as my 6th ahead of any other player on this team this year. The way he plays the body can really wear and tear down the opponent. If he could work more on his foot speed over the summer, Colten has a good chance to stick with this club full time next year for sure as the rotating 6th-7th defencemen. Colten is probably a career 4-5th defencemen at best, but remember how many real jobs in the NHL is there for that position? It's a hard job and since he is not flashy people don't give him enough credit for the small plays he contributes, plus I really like his shot from the point.

I was not impressed once again with Renney's icetime and how he handed it out for Hartikanen. He played 8 plus minutes only, yet played at a level he is expected to play and created havoc in the opponents end. I have to admit, he looked good with Eager out there. There is talk, Eager may get that 3rd line playing time rather then Hartikanen tonight. If it is true, if Eager does not follow up last games effort in the first period against the Sabres, I say move Hartikanen up there and let him bang bodies and create havoc in the offensive zone again.

I will give Renney props as some others have, for playing Dubynk and Eager after a poor showing in Long Island. They were pleasant surprises, even though I was real worried about Devan after that first goal. Gagner played a strong game with Hall and Hemsky and Sutton had a strong game I thought on the backend.

I have no idea how this game will play out tonight, but I will say, I am looking forward to how they will respond on yet another back to back game. If past is a indicator, it won't be good. Let's hope they bang out a win for the Edmonton Oiler faithful tonight!

Gametime 5:00pm, CHED630am/Sportsnet-Edm

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1 comment:

Keep it nice, keep it civil. GOILERS!


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