San Jose Shark's Power Play - What makes it tick?

I suppose there is a lot to be fearful of heading into tonight’s game. San Jose putting up a touchdown against the Oil, Heatley rubbing our noses in it with a couple of goals, or Pat Quinn finally taking off his vest and letting whatever is under that vest flow out. With the exception of the Quinner possibility, the Sharks’ power play could be the key to Oiler fans misery this evening.

I’m working on a piece on what makes for a great power play, but thought I’d take a break from that and share a couple of tidbits related to San Jose. Basically I’m trying to find come commonalities amongst the great power plays in the league and some similarities among the power play inept.

Game 26 - Edmonton Oilers vs. San Jose Sharks - November 27, 2009 - Can the Oilers Avoid a Shark Bite?

The Edmonton Oilers (10-12-3) will host the San Jose Sharks (16-6-4) tonight at Rexall Place in Edmonton.  The puck drops at 7:30 pm MT and the game itself will be on Rogers Sportsnet West.  For the Oilers, they will have to try to weather a Shark attack without their starting goalie, Nikolai Khabibulin, or their star player, Ales Hemsky.

Ales Hemsky was injured in the Oilers recent game vs. the Los Angeles Kings when he was driven into the boards with a cross-check/hit from behind from Michal Handzus.  Jim Matheson's recently reported that he is scheduled to go for an MRI to find out how badly is shoulder is injured from the hit.  There's no question that despite Handzus having a clean reputation that it was a cheap shot in this instance.  The fact that the NHL didn't react to this hit with any additional punishment has given other teams a green light to continue taking liberties against the Edmonton Oilers.  To say that this non-response does not sit well with me would be a huge understatement.

For the Edmonton Oilers, they have exactly two forward players who have outshot their opposition this season.  One of them won't be playing tonight and we don't yet know when we'll see him on the ice again.  Already, there's rumblings that Ales Hemsky might be headed for season-ending surgery on his shoulder.

Dany Heatley Debuts in Edmonton as a San Jose Shark

On Friday night at Rexall Place, Oiler fans will jam-pack the building with fans who have one thing on their mind. Thousands of people who watched the summer roll by and couldn't help but hear about the Oilers and their inability to land one of the NHL's best snipers, are prepared to make it known that Dany Heatley's antics weren't greatly appreciated.

Alexei Ponikarovsky to the Edmonton Oilers?

For Oilers’ fans, many expected to see more activity in terms of roster changes during the off season.  The Dany Heatley deal blew up and given the steps forward taken by both Dustin Penner and Ladislav Smid, it was certainly for the best.  Though Mike Comrie did not seem to fit a particular roster need for this team, many felt that he had the potential to out-perform his contract.

When it comes to speculating, there’s no shortage of armchair GMs or NHL trade rumor sites.  For hockey fans, the idea of trades and roster changes inspire hope for their respective teams particularly if their teams themselves are struggling.  In the real world, actually making a trade is probably much more difficult than many of us can imagine.

Prior to the start of this season, Oilers bloggers seemed to think that this team needed one of a right-handed pivot (3rd line) who could actually win faceoff draws, a big winger with hands for the top six, an upgrade at 1LW, a veteran backup goalie, a shutdown defenseman, or more vets for the bottom of the roster.  However, none of these issues were addressed and instead the team’s management wanted to see where we’re at with the new coaching staff.

Oilers lose game and Ales Hemsky - Kings 3 / Oilers 1

Oilers' Ales Hemsky left the game during the second period following a cross-check from behind courtesy of one Michal Handzus.  From the replay, it seems probable that Ales Hemsky may have injured his shoulder or suffered a concussion.  At this point, the only information released is that Hemsky left the game due to an upper body injury.  For Michal Handzus, the disruption to his game was nothing more than a few minutes in the penalty box.  As for Ales Hemsky, the key question remains as to how many games he might miss due to injury.  Georges Laraque recently recieved a five-game suspension for his knee-on-knee hit with Niklas Kronwall.  My guess is that even Hemsky has a serious injury that Handzus has already served his time.  Enough to infuriate you?  Hell ya!

After this recent loss, the Edmonton Oilers are just 4 points ahead of the Minnesota Wild.  The Wild are currently the last placed team in the Western Conference.  Of note, the Wild also have two games in hand.  It's uncertain how long Ales Hemsky will be out, but if it's for a prolonged period of time, it could spell disaster for this already struggling hockey team. Ales Hemsky and Dustin Penner have been the Oilers two best forward players this season.