Away: Oklahoma City Barons (5-4-1); Last game: 4-1 Win vs. Chicago Home: Grand Rapids Griffins (4-2-1); Last game: 6-3 Win vs. Toronto
Quick News and Notes (Real quick, I mentioned on my Twitter after the last game that I thought Giroux had 14 points and led the league. I didn't realize that the AHL site updated points stats live, so I apologize for that) -This is the first of four meetings between the two teams. -This is the fourth game of a five game road trip for the Barons.-The Barons are 2-1 on the road trip so far.-Giroux had two goals last game, McDonald had a goal off of a rebound from an Omark shot, and Reddox had an empty netter at the end of the game. -Moran continues to be the only player on the positive side of +/- with a +3. Vande Velde has team low of -8. -Reddox is 1st in the league in shots with 51. Giroux is 5th with 40. -The Barons are 10 for 63 on the PP(15.9%), and lead the league on the PK with 47 for 50(94.0%) -The Griffins are tied for 1st in the league on the PP with 9 for 31(29.0%), and are 38 for 41 on the PK(92.7%).
Players to watch OKC: Giroux is starting to get into his scoring stride. He pulled out some great moves in the last game. Omark and Reddox are always a pair to watch. GRG: Jan Mursak(13) and Ilari Flippula(15) each lead the team with 7 points.
After what was probably the Barons best game so far this season on Wednesday, they look to continue that against the Griffins tonight. The league's best PP vs. the league's best PK. Should be a good game if the Barons decide to play like they did on Wednesday again. There never was any word on Petiot's condition after he left the ice during Wednesday's game. Hopefully we can find out something about that today. The puck drop is at 6 CDT/5 MDT. The game will be broadcast on 96.1 KXY. As always, you can follow myself(@AHLBarons) and Scott(@OilFieldHockey) as we tweet during the game.
The Cult of Hockey Grading System: 10perfect game, 9 extraordinary, 8 great, 7 good, 6 above average, 5 average, 4 below average, 3 poor, 2 terrible, 1 deserves to be in minors.
#2 JAMES VANDERMEER - (4) His penalty he took was a crap one, but his overall game wasn't so bad. It wasn't good either, but he was not stinking up the joint like we are used to. He played 22:18 and could have hit the Jackets a little more. Just like any other game this year, he was a step behind.
#4 TAYLOR HALL - (8)BEERSHall scores his first ever NHL goal. It wasn't the Eberle pretty goal, but a tip in is just as good. The monkey is off the back. He also picked up an assist on the Horcoff goal. Hall was moved up to the 1st line near the end of the 2nd period and excelled. I had hoped for him to be removed off the 3rd line and my wishes came to fruition. He only played 13:27 but managed the goal and assist, plus he had 8 shots in total with 4 hitting the net, and he had 2 hits and 2 takeaways. Hall played so well, Sportsnet picked him as 1st star.
#5 LADISLAV SMID - (6) Decent game for Smid. He did look slow in the toes. To much pregame meal? He didn't rack up any stats other than a penalty and a hit. He does need to bring the "Spaz" back into his bag of tricks. I miss the Smid Snap Show.
#6 RYAN WHITNEY - (4)JEERS He was -2 by the end of the 1st. Not sure what to think about Whitney anymore. Is there an injury that we don't know about? Is there some mental struggles going on? One shift he looks like the 28 minute a night guy. Solid and making smart plays. The next shift he's making basic errors and brutal plays. Is all the ice time catching up with him? Is this where it shows that he's a #2 guy and not the #1 guy the Oilers are making him be? This is a couple games in a row now where he doesn't look like the guy from last year, or even the beginning of this year. Whitney needs some 1 on 1 coaching right now to figure this out.
#10 SHAWN HORCOFF - (7)BEERS Cappy was pretty good tonight. Watching him you can see he's concentrating on his defensive responsibilities more than the offensive. Good for him. I seen him a few times behind the defence on plays coming back to the Oilers zone. But when it's PP time, he can be that guy too. He scored tonight on the power play. He played 24:33, had the PP goal, was +1, had 6 shots and 2 takeaways. On faceoffs he was 12/13 for 48%. If you look at the scoring chances, Horcoff was 7/3. That's damn good! I wonder... how didn't he get considered a star?
#13 ANDREW COGLIANO - (3)JEERS Another stinker from Cogliano. Lord knows he's trying. He was caught a few times flat footed and looked like a deer in a headlights. He is giving it his all, but when speed is your only weapon, your limited on how effective you can be in a game. And for the 180, 673th time, why is he still a center?
#14 JORDAN EBERLE - (7)BEERS Looks like the Oilers have themselves the future leader of penalty killers. He's awesome at it now, wait 5 years. He picked up an assist on the Horcoff PP goal and was +1 by nights end (he was on for the Hall goal too). He's a very gifted player. It looks like that extra year in juniors paid off. He's into game 8 of his career and he plays like a vet. Very impressive!
#16 COLIN FRASER - (4) I feel bad for Fraser. I think he's better than how he's being treated. Maybe he should get a crack at being the 3rd line center?
#22 JF JACQUES - (0) DNP (Injured)
#26 KURTIS FOSTER - (0) DNP (Injured)
#27 DUSTIN PENNER - (5) He was a 50/50 guy for me tonight. Half of me liked him when he was playing hard and crashing the net. My other half though he was lazy and a floater. He had 3 shots and was really good at the scoring chance percentage but, I feel like he needs to up his game. Big time. Tonight wasn't good enough.
#28 RYAN JONES - (4) Somewhere on a stinky bus in the US, Liam Reddox is wondering why Jones isn't on that stinky bus. He played 5:18 and had 3 hits.
#33 STEVE MACINTYRE - (4) His ice time improved this game. He even scored a non goal. The whistle blew and it shouldn't have and he scored. Too bad, that would have been great. On a side note: I don't know why Stortini didn't play instead. Did he piss off Renney at some point?
#35 NIKOLAI KHABIBULIN - (0)DNP (Healthy scratch)
#38 JEFF DESLAURIERS - (0) DNP (Healthy scratch)
#40 DEVAN DUBNYK - (8)BEERS For his first game action of the year, he was great. He made some big saves and the one goal was impossible to stop. So we can really only fault one goal to Dubnyk even though that's even questionable. It's too bad he sucked in the shootout because I thought he was going to pull off the win. He faced 41 shots, not including the 2 in the shootout. I couldn't decide if he was a 7 or an 8. So I went with 8. He deserves it. No?
#43 JASON STRUDWICK - (6) He was OK. He played a simple yet, somewhat effective game. He made a few errors but nothing that cost the team. He had 2 hits. What else can I say?
#46 ZACK STORTINI -(0) DNP (Healthy scratch)
#49 THEO PECKHAM - (6) He had some good crashes and bangs. Not sure how he only was credited with only 2 hits. He had more than that on one shift on a PK. He was almost crossing the line a few times. Peckham is growing into a good physical hockey player. He can actually pass the puck as well. That's not a bonus, but a requirement.
#67 GILBERT BRULE - (4)JEERS Brule had a few good chances and I was thinking he was going to score a goal tonight. He didn't (he did ring it off the post in the shootout). He had fire in his eyes for the first half of the game, but it seems like he can't do any good playing with Cogliano. He needs a partner change and I think he will pull out of this. He's a good player, just not with Cogs.
#77 TOM GILBERT - (6)Arguably the best Oilers defenceman tonight. That's not saying much for this crew either. He was even in chances for and against and never really produced any significant stat. But he played his normal game. Gilbert was Gilbert.
#83 ALES HEMSKY - (7) He was good. He made a real nice pass to Peckham for the Hall goal. I have been harsh on Hemsky lately. I just expect way more out of him. He did out chance the Blue Jackets often and he led the team in that department. He can create magic. I just wish we could see more of it. He did block 2 shots and the one hurt him. He sucked it up and stayed out till the shift was over. He even managed to break up a pass right after that shot block. Things are looking better for Ales.
#89 SAM GAGNER - (6) He was OK. He was killed on faceoffs again. He was 6/14 for 30%. Worst on the team. If he wants to stay as the #1 center, that needs some massive improvement. I did like the way he moved the puck. He didn't hold it long before passing to someone open. He created some good chances and I like him with Hemsky. Adding Hall helped.
#91 MAGNUS PAAJARVI - (6) A quiet game for Paajarvi. He did well, but could only do so much in the 12:50 of ice time. He took 4 shots with 3 making it to the goalie. Not much to say about him other than he's a good player. Give him more time and he will be one of the best Oilers.
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