Game 49:  Edmonton Oilers vs. Vancouver Canucks at Rexall Place - January 20, 2010 - 8:00 PM MT - Sportsnet

The Edmonton Oilers (16-27-5)  host the Vancouver Canucks (28-18-2)  tonight at Rexall Place.  The Oilers have just a single win in their last 16 games.  With the Calgary Flames losing four consecutive games, the Vancouver Canucks have quietly slipped into 6th place in the Western Conference.  Henrik Sedin currently leads the league with 67 points and is second in assists behind Joe Thornton.  In contrast, Dustin Penner's scoring streak has gone as cold as an Edmonton winter lately.  He's fallen down to 38th in the league with 41 points.

Roberto Luongo is currently ranked 11th in the league by save percentage (.919).  What amazes me is Detroit Red Wings goalie, Jimmy Howard.  In his first game against the Oilers, Howard was lit up like a Dubnyk.  Now, he's 3rd in the league with a .928 save percentage over 32 games played.

Well, visit the Benched Whale for the opposing team's blog.

Rexall Place - Time for a new arena?

I didn't have much time to write my pre-game rant today, so I'm just updating it now.  I noticed that Dan Tencer recently reported via twitter:

Bettman on Oilers: "In order for this team to have long term success, there needs to be a new arena."

The funding of the proposed arena is certainly a contentious issue.  I don't imagine that the Oilers sitting in  the basement of the standings is particularly conducive to Pat Laforge's pleas for public funding.

Devan Dubnyk will get the start tonight.  He heads into this game with an .863 save percentage along with a 4.10 goals-against average.

Mike Comrie skated with the team today.  It sounds like he might return to play after 4 or 5 more practices with the team.  Given his cap friendly expiring contract, Comrie could have some value at the trade deadline.  It would be interesting to see what type of return he could bring.  Ryan Stone is still out with a knee injury of which the details are still unclear.  He's listed as day-to-day which sounds optimistic to me.  Steve Staios is one of the Oilers vets often named in rumors, but he's out with another mild concussion injury.

Stats Comparison:

	STATS
48	GP	48
28	W	16
18	L	27
2	OT	5
58	P	37
0.604	P%	0.385
3.19	G/G	2.58
2.44	GA/G	3.35
21.7	PP%	18.9
82.0	PK%	75.3
29.9	S/G	28.5
28.7	SA/G	31.8
51.2	FO%	47.1

The daily line: The Money line favors the Canucks, surprise...surprise!  (-175/+155)

Vancouver Canucks Projected Lineup:

Edmonton Oilers Projected Lineup:

Comments (3)

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written by MendozaLine, January 20, 2010

I still hate the Canucks and the Flames even if the Oilers suck this year.

However, I predict that this will be ugly with Dubnyk starting in net. I say something like 6-1 for Vancouver.

It's convenient how Ethan Moreau missed the infamous bag skate, but he's well enough to play in tonight's game. Thata boy! Great leadership rears its ugly head yet again!

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written by Jay-, January 20, 2010

When did Pat Quinn say that the Oilers were "sucking hind banana?" I must have missed that presser.

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written by Jay-, January 20, 2010

2-1 Oilers after two periods. Luongo's made a few crazy saves to keep the Nucks in this one.

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