Sometimes, I'm downright ashamed of some of my regular readers. I can't believe any of you ever doubted the Oilers for selecting Ryan Nugent-Hopkins first overall in June. For shame!
Anyway, the Oilers lost tonight against the Vancouver Canucks, which wasn't a surprising outcome. What was a surprise is 18 year-old Oilers rookie center scoring his first NHL hat-trick in only his third NHL regular season game. He's now got four goals in three games, and finds himself in fourth place in league scoring.
Here's my standard Good, Bad and Ugly analysis of the game:
The Good
- The success of Nuge tonight had as much to do with is linemates as it had to do with him. Jordan Eberle and Taylor Hall played, collectively, a spectacular game. I look forward to the Oilers keeping this line together for the next 15 seasons or so.
- Corey Potter played his first regular season game as an Oiler, and did really well. For the first time this season, the Oilers looked to have someone who could fire the puck from the blue line, most importantly during power plays.
- Tom Gilbert played a good game. He moved the puck well, and I think I even saw him throw a hit. Good job, Gibby!
- Once again, Magnus Paajarvi skated circles around the opposition every time he was on the ice. Imagine what this guy could do if he played with a center who had some offensive skill?
- I'm loving Eric Belanger in the face-off circle. Where did we find this guy? I'm not sure I want him directing the offense, but he's everything the Oilers were missing last season at center.
The Bad
- Unfortunately, there was lots of bad on a night when the Oilers kids played great. We'll start with Shawn Horcoff. I swear, the man is an absolute curse with the puck. How did this guy ever get 73pts in a season? He fights the puck constantly, and screws up decent work from other forwards.
- While Potter and Gilbert played decent games, Cam Barker, Theo Peckham and Andy Sutton played embarrassingly poor hockey. Barker might be the Horcoff of the defense, as he seems to have the ability to screw up every time he touches the puck. Peckham and Sutton are incredibly slow and they can't seem to pass the puck accurately to distances more than two feet away. Really, really bad game for half of the Oilers defense.
- Ryan Jones is doing nothing for me so far this season. Me thinks the Oilers have overpaid him. He certainly didn't look right on the second line.
- The Oil could have had a shot to win if Devan Dubnyk didn't let in a soft goal (the 4th one). If the Oilers have a chance this season, the goaltending will have to be heroic every game. Dubnyk looked pretty ordinary tonight.
The Ugly
- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins might be tearing up the score sheet, but his face-off skills are dreadful. I think Luongo schooled him on one draw, that's how bad he was doing. The good news is, it's not uncommon for a rookie center, especially one so young, to struggle at the dot. In time, he'll improve.
- Darcy Hordichuk played what, 10 seconds? Stepped on the ice, crashed into a Canuck, and fell awkwardly on the ice. Hmmm, so much for that. Will Ben Eager be ready to play on Monday?
- I was thrilled the CBC had Daryl Reaugh doing color commentary for the broadcast (I can't stand Kevin Weekes and his random, stupid comments), but memo to Mark Lee: It's Petrell, pronounced "Pa-Trel". Not "Petrol". Petrol was what I would fill my car up with when I lived in the UK.
Overall, I wasn't thrilled with the game. The top line, obviously, had a great night and I love them for it. The rest of the team stood around watching instead of helping. I can't believe I find myself saying this, but I think part of what needs to happen is that Sam Gagner needs to be centering the second line. Horcoff and Belanger are not strong enough offensively, and solid play from forwards like Ryan Smyth and Paajarvi are going to waste because of it.
Word is, Gagner is out roughly one more week. Ales Hemsky could be back against Nashville on Monday, as could be Ben Eager. Ryan Whitney, whom the Oilers desperately need for puck-moving reasons, could be back at the same time Gagner returns. Considering the play of Potter tonight, I won't be surprised if Jeff Petry is sent to the AHL for more seasoning when Whitney returns.
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
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