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Game 44: Edmonton Oilers vs. Columbus Blue Jackets - January 7th, 2009 - 7:00 PM - SportsNet
The Edmonton Oilers (16-22-5) host the Columbus Blue Jackets (15-20-9) at Rexall Place tonight. Both teams have struggled tremendously this season and over the past ten games, in particular. The Blue Jackets have gone 1-6-3 over their past ten games while the Oilers have gone 1-8-1. It's almost crazy to that these teams combine for just 2 total wins out of 20 games. For the Blue Jackets, their record is sufficiently bad enough that there's already rumors that Ken Hitchcock might get the pink slip this season. I've always liked the Hitch as a coach and wouldn't have minded seeing him behind the bench of the Oilers. January's going to be a tough month for the Oilers with the Jackets being one of the weaker teams they face. Rexall Place
This season, the Oilers have played the Blue Jackets twice already with a respectable 1-0-1 record against the Jackets. In the first match up, game 9, the Oilers clawed back from a 4-1 deficit to a 6-4 win. It was an epic comeback for the Oilers and one of the few enjoyable games to watch this season. On that night, the line of Penner/Gagner/Hemsky destroyed Rick Nash leaving him a minus 3 for the game. Game 21 was the second match-up between these two teams. Columbus tied the game in the dying minutes of the third when Liam Reddox went to the box for a holding penalty. They scored on the ensuing power play then won the game with a shoot-out win. Lke the first game, it too was an exciting game to watch despite the ultimate outcome. Oilers Injury Updates: The Oilers website reports that defenseman, Steve Staios reportedly got "wacked" in the recent game vs. the Phoenix Coyotes. Further, JF Jacques reportedly also has a wrist injury that may keep him out of the game. Robert Nilsson suffered a potential injury to his eye during Wednesday's practice, so his status is also uncertain. Ryan Stone himself also incurred a potential knee injury during the Coyote game, so we'll be waiting to hear about his status too. Lubomir Visnovsky might play his first game back from a recent ankle injury. Mike Comrie is still listed as "day-to-day" by the Oilers website, but I wouldn't expect him to return quite yet. January 16th is the date set to make an official decision as to whether or not Nikolai Khabibulin will be headed for season-ending back surgery on his herniated disc. Fernando Pisani returned in the Oilers previous game vs the Coyotes from a bout of Colitis. For the Blue Jackets, they currently have three players on their injury reserve including Marc Methot (upper-body injury), Derek Dorsett (broken hand), and Rostislav Klesla (torn groin). Raffi Torres also has been out since Jan 5th due to the Flu. Pre-game Stats: One thing that surprised me with respect to the Blue Jackets, is that for a team struggling in the standings, their special teams have both been pretty good. Currently, their power play is ranked 8th in the league at 20.6% while their penalty kill is a respectable 14th at 81.2%. The Blue Jackets are also winning just over 50% of their faceoffs and have a positive shot differential (+.2 shots/game). However, they have obviously been outscored this season which accounts for their current ranking in the standings. The Jackets are only 22nd in the league in terms of goals/game while they're even worse in terms of goals against per game in 26th. By now, we all know that the Oilers have huge problems killing penalties, finding shooting lanes, and winning faceoffs. The Oilers penalty kill is 2nd last in the league at 76.3%. In contrast, their recently struggling power play is still a respectable 16th at 18.3%. The Oilers are the 2nd worse team in the league at winning faceoffs at 46.9%. They are 19th in goals/game and 27th in goals againt. 
Edmonton Oilers Projected Lineup: Penner - Horcoff - Nilsson ?Stone - Gagner- Pisani Brule - Potulny - O'Sullivan
Moreau - Cogliano - Stortini
Souray - Gilbert
Grebeshkov - Strudwick
Smid - ?Staios
Dubnyk
Deslauriers
Columbus Blue Jackets Projected Lineup: Huselius - Umberger - Nash
Torres - Vermette - Vorracek
Modin - Brassard - Clark
Picard- Pahlsson- Boll
Hejda - Roy
Tyutin -Stralman
Jurcina - Russel
Mathieu Garon Steve Mason
***Bloguin recently launched the Bloguin Olympic Hockey Blog to provide coverage for the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics. The site features a collaborative effort from many of the Bloguin NHL bloggers. Recently, I wrote an article on that site providing a player profile for Drew Doughty on Team Canada. Check out the new Olympic Blog from the Bloguin Network!
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