Tonight is the second of four games between these two teams this season. The Wings won the first meeting, 4-2 on October 8 in Detroit. The remaining games are December 13 and February 26th.
Since the 8th, the Oilers have gone 3-6-0, with their wins coming over Phoenix, Minnesota, and Anaheim. They beat the Coyotes to end a four-game skid, of which the loss to the Wings was the first. After that, they dropped two more before beating the Wild. Then, they traveled to LA and lost to the Kings before heading over to Anaheim the next night, where they beat the Ducks in their most recent game. Tonight is the first of a two-game homestand for the Oilers, who will face the Nashville Predators Friday before heading back on the road.
Shawn Horcoff leads the Oilers in goals, assists, and points with 4, 7, and 11 respectively. Ales Hemsky is just behind him with 9 points.
The Oilers will be without Sheldon Souray (shoulder) tonight.
Mathieu Garon started against the Ducks, but it was the second night of a back-to-back, so it’s no surprise that the backup would get the nod. Tonight, though, Dwayne Roloson should be in net for Edmonton.
The Wings have posted a 7-2-0 record since the 8th, with the losses coming to Chicago and Anaheim. They’ve won their last five since dropping a penalty-filled game to the Ducks on the 15th. Their most recent win came in Vancouver Sunday night, a hard-fought 3-2 decision. Tonight’s game is the second of a three-game road trip to Western Canada. They’ll be in Calgary Thursday night.
Henrik Zetterberg, who is starting to get the recognition he deserves, leads the Wings in goals, assists, and points with 9, 12, and 21. Tomas Holmstrom is second in points with 14 and Pavel Datsyuk is right behind him with 13.
Dallas Drake (cheekbone) and Johan Franzen (knee) are slated to make their returns to the lineup tonight after missing 4 and 10 games respectively. They practiced on a line together with Tomas Kopecky yesterday. Matt Ellis and Aaron Downey get the shaft and will sit out.
Dominik Hasek was placed on the IR to make room for Franzen and keep the Wings at the 23-man limit. Obviously, he won’t play until Thursday at the earliest. Chris Osgood should get the start again tonight.
The Wings need to play better tonight than they did on Sunday, where they let the Canucks control play a little too often. The Oilers aren’t having the best season, but they remain a talented team and, as their win over the Wild demonstrates, can surprise another team. Hopefully the Wings will play their game and not become complacent.
Detroit’s in trouble if the game goes to a shootout. The Oilers just beat both the Wild and the Ducks via shootout, and the Minnesota players are no slouches at the penalty shot either. And the way Hasek’s been playing so far this year, he seems very beatable one on one right now.
Here’s hoping for an early Detroit lead and for the Wings to not let up and get sloppy.
Wait a minute…what am I saying. Hasek’s not playing. I need sleep.
I’ll be at the game tonight. Go Wings! Should it go to a shootout, Osgood best study the tapes from the previous 2. Gagner makes the same move every time.
Off Topic – but does anyone know where I could get a Red Wings Schedule Background? Been looking for a while and after tonight – my October one is useless…
Justin,
I’m with you on Hasek as far as shootouts go, but not because of how he’s been playing this year. He was very hit-or-miss in shootouts last year and I imagine he will be again this time around. It seems like he either stones the shooters or is made to look foolish.
To be honest, I think I’d rather have Osgood in net in a shootout. He seems to be more consistent. My confidence in his ability to makes saves in shootouts may come from my memories of watching him stone Fedorov in the Wings’ first ever shootout in 05-06. Probably should check the stats on that sometime…
Jeff,
Glad to hear it! Hope you don’t get too much flak from the Oiler faithful. If it does go to a shootout, let’s hope Hank tries something other than the Famous Forsberg Deke. I’m sure Osgood would appreciate it if Gagner tried his usual move.
Tim,
Your best bet would be to check out LetsGoWings.com. They don’t have a November background up yet, but I’m sure one is on the way.
I agree about Osgood. He’s been very steady in net for shootouts, and one thing I’ve noticed is that he’s much better with the glove in the shootout than Hasek. Hasek tends to just cover the lower part of the net or go for the poke check. Any high shot seems to beat him. All of last year, I was always nervous with Hasek in net for the shootout but didn’t mind Ozzie being there.
It’s strange…Hasek used to be unbeatable and was regarded as one of the best breakaway goalies. That’s how he won the gold medal in the Olympics – stoning all five Canadian shooters in the shootout.
Here are the numbers:
2007-2008:
Hasek: 1-1 W-L, 1 GA, .800 SAV%
Osgood: none
2006-2007:
Hasek: 1-5 W-L, 8 GA, .500 SAV%
Osgood: 1-2 W-L, 6 GA, .571 SAV%
2005-2006
Hasek: none
Osgood: 2-1 W-L, 2 GA, .750 SAV% (with Detroit
Total record:
Hasek: 2-6
Osgood: 3-3
Except for the records, there isn’t much of a difference between the two. Osgood has to do it less often and I guess he’s come out on top enough to stick out as the better of the two. That may be unfair to Dom, who’s had to do 8, but as you say, he used to be big in that kind of situation.
His reflexes are probably a bit slower than they were in 1998, which explains some of his problems, both because a fast shot is that much more likely to beat him. It’s because of that, I think, that he so often tries to preempt the shot by pokechecking. As for his tendency to take away the bottom of the net and leave the top open, that’s been true as long as he’s been in Detroit. That’s his style, though, and I guess there’s no hope for change there. He’s challenging the shooter more by either denying him a shot altogether or forcing him to make a tough one (high). Osgood strategy is more of a wait-and-react variety. Like you say, his glove hand is better than Dom’s and that give him an advantage, I think.
Still, I wonder how Ozzie would if he was involved in more shootouts. Maybe he wouldn’t do as well.
33 shots, 1 goal…
Now that’s better. As if on cue. Comment delightfully withdrawn.
Whew
24 seconds from …gulp….
Whooo! Avoided the shootout!