Mike Comrie returns to the Oilers lineup with Gilbert Brule
Written by Jay   
Wednesday, 27 January 2010 18:53
Edmonton Oilers v Nashville Predators

Mike Comrie and Gilbert Brule return to Oilers lineup.

Edmonton Oiler, Mike Comrie has returned to the the lineup and is expected to play in tomorrow's game against the St. Louis Blues.  Mike Comrie has been out of the lineup since November 18, 2009 due to a recent bout of mononucleosis while missing 30 games.  He was seen in the team's practice today playing on a line with Gilbert Brule and Ryan Potulny.

Gilbert Brule himself has missed 6 games since January 12, 2009 due to a recent stomach flu.  The line that Comrie and Brule are expected to play on will be centered by Ryan Potulny on the Oilers' 3rd line.

Edmonton Oilers v Florida Panthers

Gilbert Brule is expected to play tomorrow

Mike Comrie was signed in the recent off season by the Edmonton Oilers on a 1-year contract with a salary cap hit of $1.25 million.  This season, he's played in just 16 games with 5 goals and 3 assists.  He currently has a +/- rating of -3. At the time, many Oilers fans liked the potential value in his contract though many continue to regret that Steve Tambellini didn't sign a 3rd line shutdown center/face off player such as Manny Malhotra or Blair Betts.  Though Comrie's illness could not have been predicted, with the Oilers 29th in the league at 47.1% on faceoffs and 29th in the league at a 73.9% penalty kill efficiency, there's no question that this need should have been addressed instead.

Gilbert Brule will be a restricted free agent at the end of this season.  He has 11 goals and 13 assists in 41 games played this season for the Oilers.  His minus 1 rating is currently one of the better numbers on this struggling Oilers team.

For tomorrow's game against the St. Louis Blues, it's expected that there will be some line changes to accommodate Brule and Comrie.  The Oilers top line will again include Dustin Penner, Sam Ganger, and Robert Nilsson while the 2nd line or checking line of Ethan Moreau, Shawn Horcoff, and Fernando Pisani sounds like it will remain the same.  Based on the Oilers practice today, Burle and Comrie will play on a line centered by Ryan Potulny.  It's unclear if O'Sullivan or Marc Pouliot will be play tomorrow.  Andrew Cogliano reportedly practiced on the Oilers' 4rth line.

I find the shift with Robert Nilsson to the first line and Andrew Cogliano down to the 4rth somewhat perplexing since Cogliano seemed to be one of the better Oilers skaters in their recent game.  We'll see tomorrow if there are any subsequent changes.

fasd



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Comments (7)Add Comment
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written by Smokin' Ray, January 27, 2010
YAY! I'm glad those two are back... But not really... I don't know... I'm so confused.

Seriously, I'm wondering who goes down? And, what the hell is Quinn and/or Renney thinking? Brule goes with Penner and O'Sullivan goes with Comrie. Those pairs click. Go with what you have that's good.
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written by Jay-, January 27, 2010
Hey Smokin Ray, yeah it really doesn't matter too much for this season at least.

Earlier this season, O'Sullivan did seem to click with Comrie particularly in the preseason. Penner seemed to score at a better clip playing with Brule than with Nilsson.

However, if I were the Oilers GM, I would probably want Penner separated from anyone who's an RFA at the end of the season like Brule. It kills two birds with one Stone, lol. Hopefully it helps the draft situation and with re-signing Brule for a lower contract next year.
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written by Jay-, January 27, 2010
Hm, Marcel Goc is another player the Oilers should have looked at last season prior to signing Comrie. On TSN he just signed another 1 year contract with the Nashville Predators for just $750k.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/teams/players/bio/?id=2420
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written by Steve Tambellini, January 27, 2010
Hey, the Canes won again tonight. 5-1 vs. the New York Rangers, so the Oilers are now 3 points ahead in the Fall 4 Hall!!!
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written by Racki, January 27, 2010
It looks like O'Sully is out in favor of one of the two, the other odd-man out looks to be Pouliot.
FlyingFridge
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written by FlyingFridge, January 27, 2010
There was some discussion on 6:30 ched, caught maybe two minutes of it... There was some debate if the Oilers might rotate the 2 healthy scratches from game to game with the likely guys in the rotation including JF Jacques, Pouliot, Nilsson, and O'Sullivan.
HockeyNoob
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written by Jay, January 28, 2010
Hm, today the news is O'Sullivan and Stortini from what I've heard last. It will be interesting to see how this is handled going forward. I would have rather seen Moreau and Jacques sit.

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