Pre-game: Panthers-Oct 10, 2010

                                     
                                                               VS: Florida Panthers
 Matchup(s) of the Night:
1.) Khabibulin VS FLA top 6Khabby proved last game his back is ready, with 42 shots and 0 goals against its going to be hard for any team to score on him. 42 shots is too much though, he's going to need more help from his D. Weiss potted 28 goals last year as a play making centre, Khabby is going to have to watch out for him. Not only can Weiss score he can make plays too. Wiess has two wingers to watch out for, Booth and Frolik. Frolik is more of a play maker with good hands and Booth is shooter with some size. Booth had 3 goals and 1 assist in pre-season.
2.) Stortini VS HordichukStort and Hordy were rivals when Hordy was on the Canucks, they aren't strangers to each other as they had a spirited tilt in pre-season and fought each other 6 times over the years. Since Stort was a healthy scratch last game we wouldn't be supprised if he decides to drop the mitts and play physical. Stort also wants some revenge as last time they fought, Hordi opened his eye up, forcing him to get a few stitches.

3.) Oilers skilled players VS Tomas VokounThe Oilers put on an offensive show against the Flames, completely dominating most of the game play, if it wasn't for Kyper the game would have been out of hand. Vokoun is going to be tested with some up and coming kids that have tremendous raw talent. He is going to need some help from his backcheckers. However it could be hard for the Oilers to score on him, as he is one of the most underate goalies in the league. Last season he had 23 wins 28 losses and 11o.t. losses. Any goalie that has a save % over .900 that is below .500 wins is amazing; Tomas had .925 save %, his career save % is .916 and he is just entering his prime. Vokoun might steal the show from the young kids today.

Keys to the Game:

   This is going to be a challenging game for the Oilers, there is a lot of pressure to see if they can repeat their last performance to show it wasn't a fluke. 
    The break out starts in the Oilers end, the defence are going to have to continue to make a solid first pass and minimize the turn overs. It seems the Oilers like to create a lot of scoring opportunities on the rush, so the first pass is going to be critical.

    If any of the Panthers decide to take liberties on the Oil's skilled players(Hordichuk and Allen), they better be ready to answer the bell. Last game the Oil answered the bell perfectly against the Flames, literally a knock out blow to Ivanans.  




Player Analysis:
    The Oilers are going to try to have a repeat performance, as they nearly played a perfect game.

Jordan Eberle: Ebs looks like he is so far the best out of the big three, he had a spectacular first NHL goal. Jordan has great poise when he gets the puck. He jus might be one of the smartest players on the team.

Ales Hemsky: Hemsky looks excited out there. He finally has talented and skilled forwards to play with. Look for Hemsky to have a hay day out there. This Panthers D on paper doesn't look to solid. When Penner and Hemsky go on the cycle they could be in the offensive end for an eternity.

Theo Peckham: He had his best game as an Oiler last game, look for him to build on his performance from last game and continue to bang bodies out there. Peckham is trying to solidify him self as an NHL regular shut down Defenseman.

Ryan Jones: Since Brule is a game time decision, Jones will temporally have to step in on the 3rd line. He can't change his game if he gets promoted, he's still going to have to agitate and be an energy player. His role is to get his opponents off their game, with out taking minor penalties.

 

Depth Chart

LW		C		RW
Penner		Gagner		Hemsky
Hall		Horcoff		Eberle
Paarjarvi		Cogliano		Brule
Jones		Fraser		Stortini
Macintryre		O'Marra		Jacques
Giroux		Vende Velde		O'Mark
	D		D
	Whitney		Foster
	Smid		Gilbert
	Vandermeer		Peckham
	Strudwick		Belle
	Chorney		Petoit
	Souray
		G
		Khabibulin
		Dubnyk
		Deslaurier

Scratches and Injuries:

• Jf Jacques out with back spasms 
• Strudwick will be a healthy scratch
• Brule; game time decision (ankle, Big Mac will draw in).