Daily Update: Oilers visit Flames tonight
by edmontonoilers.com staff / Edmonton Oilers| TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2009 GAGNER, HEMSKY, NILSSON FORM WEDNESDAY'S TOP LINE
The second fleet of players began their practice shortly after the first group. After twenty minutes of practice the first group rejoined them for a hard hour of scrimmage. The first line was formed by Gagner, Hemsky and Nilsson followed by Penner, Cogliano and Eberle. These top two lines were explosive and appeared very confident with each other. The third line saw Pisani, Reddox and Cornet playing together while Pouliot, Brule and MacIntyre formed the fourth line. OILERS PLAY FLAMES TONIGHT IN CALGARY The Oilers play their first pre-season game tonight at the Pengrowth Saddledome against the Calgary Flames. The game will be streamed live on edmontonoilers.com beginning at 7:00 p.m. MDT. Tonight’s game is the first of five games in six nights for the Oilers, who will also play host to the New York Islanders on Wednesday, September 16; entertain the Florida Panthers on Friday, September 18; visit Vancouver for a game against the Canucks on Saturday, September 19 and travel to Saskatoon for a neutral site game with the Islanders on Sunday, September 20. Edmonton will play five different opponents during the 2009-10 pre-season. Four of the Oilers eight pre-season games feature Western Conference opponents with all four games against Northwest Division rivals Calgary and Vancouver. The remaining four games are against Eastern Conference teams. Edmonton opens its 31st NHL season on Saturday, October 3rd when they host the Calgary Flames at Rexall Place. EDMONTON VS CALGARY Tonight’s game is the 52nd pre-season game between the Oilers and Flames, with the Flames leading the series 22-23-5-1 (.510) and outscoring Edmonton 179-171. Edmonton is 11-10-3 at home, 11-12-2-1 on the road, 0-1-0 on neutral ice and 3-2-5 in overtime. The Oilers and Flames met six times during the 2008-09 regular season, with Edmonton compiling a 3-2-0-1 record and outscored Calgary 19-18. Edmonton was 2-0-0-1 in three games at Rexall Place and 1-2-0-0 at Calgary. The teams will meet six times (3 home, 3 road) in 2009-10 as the Oilers host the Flames on Oct. 3/09, Oct. 8/09 and Dec. 28/09. Edmonton visits Calgary on Oct. 24/09, Dec. 31/09 and Jan. 30/09. ALL-TIME PRE-SEASON RECORD The Oilers have an all-time pre-season record of 132-103-29-4 (.554) in 268 games, outscoring their opposition 1027-934. Versus NHL opponents the Oilers are 124-102-27-4 (.543) in 257 games, outscoring opponents 962-900. Edmonton was 2-2-0-3 (.500) in seven pre-season games in 2008-09, and were outscored by opponents 21-15. The Oilers were 1-1-0-2 at home, 1-1-0-1 on the road, and 1-3-0 in overtime.   The Oilers roster will be as follows. Defence 8 Dean Arsene 41 Taylor Chorney 77 Tom Gilbert 48 Alex Plante 24 Steve Staios 43 Jason Strudwick Forwards 26 Kip Brennan 91 Mike Comrie 10 Shawn Horcoff 22 J-F Jacques 18 Ethan Moreau 19 Patrick O'Sullivan 39 Chris Minard 84 Geoff Paukovich 16 Ryan Potulny 88 Rob Schremp 32 Ryan Stone 46 Zack Stortini Goaltenders 38 Jeff Deslauriers 40 Devan Dubnyk Devan Dubnyk gets the start. Here are the line combinations: Jacques - Horcoff - Schremp O'Sullivan - Comrie - Stone Moreau - Potulny - Minard Brennan - Paukovich - Stortini Gilbert - Chorney Plante - Strudwick Staios - Arsene Dubnyk Delsauriers OILERS PLAYERS TO WATCH: Rob Schremp is off to a great start in camp. He scored three shootout goals in a row following yesterday's scrimmage. He also had a nice setup and a nice goal on Sunday as well. He gets a chance on the top line with Shawn Horcoff... Mike Comrie makes his much-anticipated return to the Oilers this evening. He will be skating with Patrick O'Sullivan and Ryan Stone... Tough guy Kip Brennan could be looking to prove himself in the Battle of Alberta. The bruiser had 88 penalty minutes in 22 games last year with Hershey of the AHL. Calgary will be dressing the following roster: Defence 8 Staffan Kronwall 50 Brett Palin 7 Adam Pardy 56 Matt Pelech 61 John Negrin Forwards 16 Dustin Boyd 62 Kris Chucko 53 Cam Cunning 15 Nigel Dawes 47 Kyle Greentree 38 Jason Jaffray 45 Jamie Lundmark 25 David Moss 41 Garth Murray 23 Eric Nystrom 33 Brandon Prust 32 Colin Stuart Goaltenders 35 Leland Irving 36 Matt Keetley FLAMES PLAYERS TO WATCH: Tonight will be the first opportunity for Nigel Dawes in a Flames uniform. He had 10 goals in 52 games with the New York Rangers then added a pair of assists in 12 games with the Phoenix Coyotes... Jamie Lundmark suits up tonight. He will go head-to-head with his former junior linemate Mike Comrie. The pair played together in 1997-98 when the St. Albert Saints won the Alberta Junior Hockey Championship. |
| MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2009 THE SCRIMMAGE STORY
GROUP A Following the first group practice session, Team Blue and Team White competed in an hour-long scrimmage. Starting in net for White was Devan Dubnyk, who turned away all shots, before being replaced by Curtis Mucha. At the opposite end of the ice, Nikolai Khabibulin let in an early penalty shot from Ryan MacMurchy to give Team White the first lead of the game. At the midway point of the game, Olivier Roy replaced Khabibulin and allowed goals from Shawn Horcoff and Sheldon Souray before participating in the scrimmage-ending shootout. Rob Schremp was the star of the shootout, burying three goals in a row. However Charles Linglet tallied the game-winner to give Team White the win. Miroslav Lazo and Ryan Potulny added two shootout goals each. GROUP B Next up was the second fleet of players. Andrew Perugini got the start in net for Team White while Bryan Pitton took net for Team Blue. Ryan O’Marra opened the scoring early in the scrimmage giving Team White the lead. Colin McDonald answered back for the Blue Team beating Perugini on a penalty shot. Taylor Chorney then gave the White Team another marker with a hard slap- shot from the top of the circle. University of Alberta goaltender Aaron Sorochan stepped in at the halfway mark to replace Andrew Perugini for White, while Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers took over for Bryan Pitton for team Blue. Alex Plante was first to score on Aaron Sorochan on a nice feed from Gilbert Brule to knot the score at two. The game winner went to Team Blue after Aaron Sorochan spit out a nice rebound right onto the stick of Dustin Penner. The Blue team however were the winners in the shootout challenge with goals from Milan Kytnar, Marc Pouliot , Philippe Cornet and Kelly Czuy. OILERS TO STREAM 7 PRE-SEASON GAMES The Oilers first pre-season challenge comes tomorrow, September 15th at Pengrowth Saddledome where they will face division rivals, the Calgary Flames. You can watch that game LIVE right here at edmontonoilers.com. The pre-season online streaming schedule is as follows: Tuesday, September 15 at Calgary Wednesday, September 16 vs. NY Islanders Friday, September 18 vs. Florida Saturday, September 19 at Vancouver Sunday, September 20 vs. NY Islanders (at Saskatoon) Wednesday,September 23 vs. Calgary Sunday, September 27 vs. Vancouver - Jen Sharpe & Kristi Hennessy |
| SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2009 KHABIBULIN'S MASK
"I've always tried to keep the design kind of the same. This is the retro, so I wanted to reflect a little bit on the history," he remarked.  On the subject of Khabibulin, Quinn remarked that he likely won't see much action early on. He said he'd like to see the netminder get some work in practice while he gets a better look at the young goaltenders competing for the number two spot. "We're just going to take our time with him. I'm not going to play him early on," said Quinn. "We'll play the young guys and give them a good look." LUBO STILL RECOVERING Lubomir Visnovky skated with Sheldon Souray as a defence partner in his first Oilers-related activity since a shoulder injury on February 3 sidelined him for the season. His recovery is coming along nicely but he's still likely a week or two away from game action. "The doctor said I need one more week for rehab to play in the exhibition games," said Visnovsky following practice. NILSSON IMPRESSES HEAD MAN Oilers head coach Pat Quinn liked what he saw from Robert Nilsson today - a player who is among a number a forwards fighting for a spot in the team's opening-night roster. "From what I see, he has tremendous talent. What happened to him last year might be less than what the expectation might be for that skill level," Quinn noted. "He's in tight. We have more contracts than can play on our team right now. He's going to be challenged for position." Nilsson is relishing the opportunity for competition in this year's camp. "We've got 14 forwards on one-way contracts right now and they're all good forwards. We're all going to have to battle hard to make an impression on the coaches that you want to be here and play," Nilsson stated. "I hope everyone does well and we have a good year." "I never watched him play and we're trying to pick the right guys now," Quinn continued. "He's a player of terrific skill who's going to have to find a way to play better. QUINN SHAKES IT UP TOMORROW The Oilers had three teams out there skating today, with specific line combinations (listed in yesterday's Daily Update). However, tomorrow things will change once again as he tries to get a feel for the lineup. The players will be split into two completely different teams. Team A will be on the ice from 8:15 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. with a scrimmage beginning at 9:30 a.m. Team B will be on the ice from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. with a scrimmage to start at 11:45 a.m. The rosters for each team will be announced in the morning. "What we were trying to do was get a little balance in the three groups. Tomorrow will be a different setup, we're going to do two groups then pull them together and do a bit of a scrimmage," said Quinn. "We have established our lineup for Calgary and the Islanders. We're still refining that." There were no scrimmages today, only a number of technical drills and system work which was a departure from past Oilers camps. "We have over 60 guys here. You need to set up the team to be efficient out there," said Quinn. "This particular year is set up in a tough way for our players. We have two days of practice then five games in six nights. It's not enough time to get their antennae working." - Marc Ciampa |
| SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2009 KHABIBULIN COMES TO TOWN
Khabibulin comes from a team much like the Oilers in the Chicago Blackhawks. The 'Hawks are led by a number of young stars while the Oilers have a talented young core as well hoping for a breakthrough season. "There's a lot of similarities here, I think," said the netminder. "This team has a little bit more of the veteran guys." Khabibulin replaces Dwayne Roloson in goal this year. Roloson played outstanding last season and the goaltender was asked if he feels pressure as a result. "I think there's always pressure on the goalies no matter where you go. When you play up in Canada it's a little bit more," he said. "At the same time, when you play up in Canada it's a lot of fun, too." SOUR PATCH PENNER When asked today about his off-ice training, Dustin Penner remarked what he missed the most with his strict off-season diet. "Sour Patch Kids, that's a favourite of mine. If they're watching hopefully (I can get) a sponsorship deal," he joked. The 6'4" winger noted that his program worked - he's coming to camp in the best shape of his NHL career. COMRIE TAKES A NUMBER When Mike Comrie arrived at Oilers training camp this morning, he found that his familiar number - 89 - was taken by new teammate Sam Gagner. In its place, Comrie is wearing number 91. The number was assigned by the Oilers and Comrie could potentially change it at some point before the regular season begins. He has no interest in Gagner's 89 but did wear 39 in junior and college. That number is currently being worn by Chris Minard. QUINN SPEAKS In his first official day as the team's head coach, Pat Quinn spoke to the Edmonton media. "Without the masks and helmets they all look a little bit different. Almost like hockey school I'm going to ask them to put tape on their helmet (with their names on it)," Quinn chuckled when asked about his familiarity with the squad. "We're going to practice with three groups here," he said. "With five games in six nights after only two days in practice we're going to keep a lot of bodies around because I really don't want to put those guys at serious risk." "Maybe after the first Islanders game (September 16 at Rexall Place) we'll think about paring it down" LINE COMBINATIONS AND SUNDAY, MONDAY ICE TIMES All practices tomorrow and Monday will be open to the public so pay attention to this next section if you want to see your favourite Oiler on the ice tomorrow: Team A will be skating on Sunday from 8:15 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. The line combos will be as follows: 19 O'Sullivan - 10 Horcoff - 83 Hemsky 85 Reddox - 16 Potulny - 68 Fretter 32 Stone - 88 Schremp - 36 Linglet 26 Brennan - 91 Comrie - 75 Bates 44 Souray - 71 Visnovsky 8 Arsene - 81 Taylor 45 Wild - 55 Bendfeld 35 Khabiublin 50 Pitton 60 Perugini Team B will be skating from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The line combos will be as follows: 27 Penner - 89 Gagner - 14 Eberle 22 Jacques - 78 Pouliot - 46 Stortini 58 Trukhno - 42 O'Marra - 57 McDonald 25 Emmerson - 61 Lerg - 54 MacMurchy 37 Grebeshkov - 77 Gilbert 41 Chorney - 48 Plante 47 Nickerson - 28 Young 38 Deslauriers 30 Roy Team C will be skating from 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. The line combos will be as follows: 18 Moreau - 13 Cogliano - 34 Pisani 12 Nilsson - 67 Brule - 39 Minard 23 Cornet - 84 Paukovich - 33 MacIntyre 56 Czuy - 64 Kytnar - 90 Lazo 5 Smid - 24 Staios 29 Motin - 43 Strudwick 66 Prout - 82 Dudas 49 Peckham (IR) 40 Dubnyk 80 Sorochan 52 Mucha On Monday, Team A is on-ice from 8:15 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. with a scrimmage starting at 9:30 a.m. Team B is on-ice at 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. with a scrimmage starting at 11:45 a.m. - Marc Ciampa |
Author: edmontonoilers.com staff