Game 61 Preview: Anaheim Ducks vs. Edmonton Oilers

Written by Jay

Sunday, 14 February 2010 13:25

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Game 61 Preview: Anaheim 'Mighty' Ducks vs. Edmonton Oilers - February 14, 2010 - 5 PM - PPV - Rexall Place

The Edmonton Oilers (19-35-6) host the Anaheim Mighty Ducks (29-25-7) tonight at Rexall Place. The Oilers are just 5 points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs who've lost two consecutive games. The Anaheim Ducks are currently in 11th place in the Western Conference as they're four points out of a playoff spot. These two teams played recently in Anaheim where the Oilers lost by a score of 3-2.

The big question heading into this game is whether or not Ryan Getzlaf will play tonight. If Getzlaf does not lace up for tonight's game, he won't be playing for Team Canada at the Olympics. Instead, Jeff Carter will be his replacement. Ryan Getzlaf had a recent ankle injury which could prevent him from joining Team Canada at these Olympic games. He needs to be medically cleared to play tonight.

The Olympic roster freeze is in full effect until February 28th which doesn't leave much time for the Oilers to make any trades prior to the March 3rd NHL trade deadline. It's looking less likely that the Oilers will be able to shed some veteran contracts or make any much needed roster changes this season.

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Rexall Place - PPV game tonight

This is the last NHL game for both teams prior to the Olympics. If you're an Oilers fan, you deserve this much needed break from the doldrums of this season.

The daily line or money line favors the Anaeheim Mighty Ducks -155/+135. Neither Toronto or Carolina have games scheduled for today, so a loss tonight will help to position the Oilers for the upcoming draft.

Tyler Seguin still remains ahead of Taylor Hall in terms of OHL scoring. Seguin has played in three more games than Hall, but remains five points ahead in the OHL scoring race.

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Will Ryan Getzlaf or Jeff Carter Play for Team Canada?

Ryan Getzlaf: GP 55 - G 15 - A 42 - P 57 - (+/-) +3 - GVT 9.9

Jeff Carter: GP 60 - G 27 - A 25 P 52 - (+/-) +8 - GVT 11.5

By the numbers, Jeff Carter actually compares favorably to Ryan Getzlaf this season. Carter is below a point-per-game pace unlike Getzlaf, but he does have a higher proportion of points from goals.

andrew_cogliano_vs_todd_marchant

Andrew Cogliano vs. Todd Marchant?

Recently, Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal interviewed at compared Andrew Cogliano to Todd Marchant. He implied that Cogliano might do well to style his game like the fellow, small, speedy player, Todd Marchant. Given Cogliano's lack of production this season, it's probably sage advice. It's hard to tell which of these two players was more annoyed by their comparison.

Todd Marchant: GP 61 - G 8 - A 11 - P 19 - (+/-) -10 - GVT 1.3 - Faceoffs 50.4%

Andrew Cogliano: GP 60 - G 5 - A 8 - P13 - (+/-) -6 - GVT -0.6 - Faceoffs 41.6%

By the numbers, Cogliano's looking more like Marchant this season that he seems to have hoped. In fact, his offense is actually a step behind that of Marchant this season.

Lineups Jacked from Putting on The Foil

oilers

Edmonton Oilers Projected Lineup:

Penner-Potulny-Nilsson
O’Sullivan-Horcoff-Comrie
Pisani-Pouliot-Brule
Moreau-Cogliano-Stortini

Visnovsky-Smid
Grebehskov-Staios
Strudwick-Gilbert

Deslauriers
Dubnyk

Anaheim 'Mighty' Ducks Projected Lineup:

Beleskey-Koivu-Perry
Ryan-Blake-Selanne
Marchant-Chipchura-Bodie
Brown-Carter-Parros

Neidermayer-Wisniewski
Eminger-Whitney
Festerling-Brookbank

Hiller
Toskala

Comments (11) Add Comment

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written by MendozaLine, February 14, 2010

It's time to show our Canadian Spirit:

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written by Chadly, February 14, 2010

Cute website! I thought you Canadians were supposed to know all things hockey? The Anaheim team stopped being the "Mighty Ducks of Anaheim" at the start of the 2006-07 season. That was the year after the Samuelis bought the team from the Walt Disney Company, and subsequently won the Stanley Cup Championship. I do realize it is a bit embarrassing to have a team named after a Dizz Knee movie...almost as embarrassing as not winning a Stanley Cup since 1990...or trading Wayne Gretzky to the Kings.

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written by Jay-, February 14, 2010

Haha Chaddy, they'll always be the 'Mighty Ducks' to me, lol.

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written by Jay-, February 14, 2010

Oops, sorry, I typed your name wrong, Chadly. Either way, I get your point about having the team named after a Disney movie being embarrassing. Might as well have some fun with it, I guess.

As for the Oilers, you're right, there's plenty of things for our fans to be embarrassed about not the least of which is being last in the NHL.

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written by Chadly, February 14, 2010

4-2 Final! Go Getzy! Maybe the Oil will get some good luck at the end of the season & get the 1st round draft pick. ;-)

Oh, and it was sunny & 85 degrees Fahrenheit (30 C) in Anaheim today.

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written by Chadly, February 14, 2010

And it could be worse, you could be in Toronto or Montreal.

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written by Jay-, February 14, 2010

Well, I guess that things can always be worse like Toronto and their lack of draft picks, but yeah, hockey here is brutal. I hope that the Oilers get the 1st overall pick, but 2nd will work too.

It's probably going to be two or three years until the Lowe era contracts expire (except Shawn Horcoff) before the Oilers are competitive again. It sucks Chadly, but there's not much that can be done about it.

Haha, yeah it's a balmy -5 C in Edmonton today. Bad weather and bad hockey here...

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written by Chadly, February 14, 2010

Interesting, NHL.com had the game listed as final: 4-2 Ducks...now it shows 7-3. Ouch.

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written by DraftTylerSeguin, February 14, 2010

Nicely done!!! Thank god for the Olympic Hockey break.

7-3 for Anaheim. Glad that I didn't watch this game.

@Chadly, too bad Canada's going to job Team USA at the Olympics.