Battle of Alberta 2.0 Gamethread

I don’t often make predictions about game results, but if prodded about tonight I’d go with a Flames loss: there’s been way too much go the Flames way in absence of actual performance for me to expect Calgary to win 4 in a row. If some certain highly paid players don’t suddenly and inexplicably reverse what we’ve seen out of them so far, the club is bound to start seeing the bad side of scores. The 4th line and PP can only sustain things for so long.

Asked about the Oilers today, Derek replied:

Thus far, the Edmonton Oilers have a Jekyll & Hyde look, depending on the personnel on the ice. The J.F. Jacques experiment has not been a success, though Ryan Stone looks like he may be a bottom four-type forward for awhile. Steve Staios has looked very unsteady and as long as Renney continues to use he and Souray as the top pairing, Khabibulin is going to see some work. Dustin Penner has been the best Oiler thus far and Sam Gagner is beginning to look like a real NHL player. Ales Hemsky and Shawn Horcoff continue to slump and one wonders how long Jacques will remain in Pat Quinn’s good graces. The mood in Edmonton is improving, if only because Quinn’s firewagon hockey brings excitement to the building every night.

I fully expect another Flames line to step forward tonight. I don't think it'll Jarome et al – they're too far away from effectiveness to start kicking ass – but it's probably about time for Langkow, Bourque and Dawes to have a good evening. Especially because, as pointed out in the pre-game, the match-ups should favor them over their counter-parts.

Let the comments flow…

by Kent Wilson