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Game 28: Edmonton Oilers vs. Detroit Red Wings - December 3, 2009 - 5pm MT City TV
The Edmonton Oilers (10-13-4) will meet the Detroit Red Wings (13-9-4) at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. The struggling Oilers have gone 2-5-3 over their last ten games which has them currently in last place in the Western Conference and 28th overall in the league. To cope with this misery, Oilers fans have already started joking about the dive for five in regards to entering the draft pick lottery. Yeah, it stings looking at the Oilers at the floor of the Western Conference. The Detroit Red Wings have gone 5-4-1 over their past ten. For the first time in recent memory, the Winged Wheel is on the outside looking in at a playoff spot. Earlier this season, Oilers fans were mocked for thinking that the sky is falling... It's either that or the floor is rising and if so, it's already kicked the Edmonton Oilers in the ass on the way up. Every time I see that Wirelesswave commercial, it constantly reminds me of the experience of being an Oilers fan. I'll attempt to paraphrase the salient parts from memory. What was once shiny and new has turned dull and grey... what was once a sense of pride has now turned to a sense of embarrassment... When the love is gone, move on. For me, the fan love isn't gone, but I am nearly ready to capitulate on this season--my thoughts are tending to focus on next year's entry draft. Maybe the dive for five is for the best? Though anticipated, actually seeing the Oilers hit the floor of the WC has felt like a kick in the junk.
Pregame Rant The Detroit Red Wings are known for their enviable roster depth. This season, that depth has been tested with the recent injuries to key players including Johan Franzen (knee ligament), Valtteri Fippula (fractured wrist), Jason Williams (broken fibula), and Niklas Kronwall (sprained knee). One area that the Red Wings clearly suffer from a lack of depth is net. Chris Osgood hasn't been so good with a recent .897 save percentage and a 2.75 goals against average. Surprisingly, Jimmy Howard who looked more like a Major Junior goalie in the Oilers first match-up vs. Detroit, has posted a respectable .907 SV%/2.56 GAA with a 7-4-1 record. Speaking of goaltending, Nikolai Khabibulin did not make the trip to Detroit and will continue to convalesce in Edmonton with his back injury. What that leaves for the Oilers is the "proven" goaltending tandem of Jeff Deslauriers and Devyn Dubnyk. With Jeff Deslauriers, if he can managed to survive the first ten minutes of the first period, we might see some decent goaltending for the rest of the game. Sadly, teams have learned the two tricks to beat Deslauriers. First, much like LL Cool J' song: If I hit 'em high, hit 'em high, hit 'em high.' Yup, the book is out on our net-minder, you either have to wire high corner shots from the blueline or find a way to get ten shots on net in the first half of the opening stanza. The Oilers managed to barely hang on for extra minutes in the previous tilt between these two teams. After that, the Oilers won in the ensuing shoot-out (Oilers 6/Wings 5). 
Pregame Stats Again, the stats comparison is pretty cut-and-dry with the numbers favoring the Red Wings in the goal differentials, shot differentials, faceoffs, and in the win/loss column. However, the special teams are a mirror image of each other which speaks volumes for what Wayne Flemming has presumably done with our middling power play crew. The money line heavily favors the Detroit Red Wings at -240/+200. That suggests that the Detroit Red Wings are 68% favorites to win this one. Edmonton Oilers Projected Lineup Pretty funny stuff, but Dan Tencer reports that Ryan Stone and Robert Nilsson will play on the 4rth line centered by Zack Stortini. Here's my best guess for tonight's lineup: [will update] Penner - Gagner - Brule
Jacques - Horcoff - O’Sullivan
Moreau - Potulny - Cogliano
Stone - Stortini - Nilsson Smid-Visnovsky
Souray-Staios
Strudwick-Gilbert Deslauriers
Dubnyk 
Detroit Red Wings Projected Lineup Leino -Datsyuk--Holmstrom Cleary-Zetterberg-Bertuzzi Draper- Helm - Miller May-Abdelkader-Maltby
Lidstrom- Ericsson
Stuart- Meech
Lebda - Kindl
Howard Osgood
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