A leak in the tank?

Happy "Movember" everyone. As this is the month to grow the ever so awesome "stache". The Oilers are doing it, boys at my store are doin it, everyone is doin it. Here are a couple good pic's of the Oilers awesome "staches".


So, enough of all the fun and happy stuff, lets get down to business. So the Oilers ended their 5 game road trip with just 4 out of a possible 10 points...that's not all that fantastic. They were however 2 goals away from ending with 7 out of 10 points. However, that's clearly the past.... Looking to the future (the Oilers next 10 games), here is what the schedule looks like:

Nov 18: Colorado
Nov 21: Chicago
Nov 23: Phoenix
Nov 25: LA
Nov 27: San Jose
Nov 28: @Vancouver
Dec 3: @ Detroit
Dec 5: @ Dallas
Dec 7: @ Florida
Dec 9: @ Tampa Bay

So a 5 game homestand and then a 7 game road-trip (2 games un shown). So seeing as how their home record sits at 6-3-1, and their road record at 2-7-2, lets say they go 3-1-1 at home, then 1-3-1 on the road. That's 10 points out of a possible 20... based on their current record. Not good. So here is hoping that they can put their record behind them, and put some wins on the board... Winning 4 out of 5 at home would be a good start. Now, lets consider this seasons meeting with these teams. Colorado: Shut out the Oilers in game #1, 3-0, Oilers win 5-3 in Denver in game #2. That leaves this game right up in the air, however Colorado's recent performances point to an Oilers home win. Chicago: The hawks beat the Oilers in Edmonton in the only meeting of the year 4-3, and Chicago is playing pretty good right now.... Phoenix: The Oilers haven't played the "Yotes" yet this season, but considering they usually own the desert dogs, put down a win for the OIL. The next two teams the Oilers haven't played yet either (San Jose, LA) and Ryan Smyth coming back to town playing so well lately isn't good, and Dany Heatley's arrival for the first time since the summers bull-shit, will spell another exciting night....

Now to the road, Vancouver: the last time the Oil entered GM place, they got shutout 2-0. So going back will hopefully be a better outcome. Dallas: Oilers beat the Stars, end of story. Florida/Tampa Bay: doing the Florida trip is hard on teams, but the Oilers are one that usually do well, so here is hoping that they can keep that up.

So all in all, there is a lot hanging on these next 10 games. The Oilers sit in 12th, only 3 points out of a playoff spot, even though they have been brutal lately. So putting together a string on wins now, would be huge. They could easily put this horrible road-trip, and last 10 games behind them and never look back. There are shining lights in the Oilers lineup: Hemsky has 19 points, Penner has 23, Visnovsky has 13... Then the "not -so shining" lights: Horcoff 7 points and -6, Souray 5GP 2 points. Souray has been hurt, which in turn, hurts the Oilers.

A little more on Horcoff: his faceoff % sits at 50%. That number doesn't even give him the argument that he brings that intangible to the team. His stats suck, and he has been in and out of the lineup lately. He is the Oilers leading forward for time on ice per game. Yet, just 7 points. He is normally on the #1 powerplay, yet, just one powerplay goal. This guy has to pick things up, and soon. He is being paid out $7 million this season, his contract works out to be a $5.5 million cap hit, for the next 6 seasons! He will be 36 by the end of that contract! Yikes! Lowe left his mark on the team with that one.... Now trading Horcoff would be one of the best routes for the Oilers to take. Especially this year. With Gagner, Cogliano, Brule, Stone, Grebeshkov, and Deslauiers all becoming RFA's at seasons end, the Oilers will need some money to play with. Pisani's, Strudwicks, and Comrie's contracts will all come off the board as well. Trading Horcoff would free up that $5.5 million to tie down the Oilers young talent.

Here are a few more interesting stats on the Oilers right now:

Oilers are 18th in NHL in GF/G with 2.76, ahead of teams such as: BUF, NJD, TOR, MON, BOS
however, they are 23rd in GA/G with 3

The Oilers have the 11th best Powerplay in the league at 22.1%
Their PK is 24th, at 77.6% (something to improve on)

The Oilers are the 3rd worst team in the league for SF/G, with 26.7, ahead of Colorado and Calgary!
However their SA/G, is only the 5th worst at 33.2, with NYI, ANA, FLA, and ATL below them.

And the most hurtful fact: The Oilers are 29th in the league on Faceoffs with a team 46.1%, only better then the Avalanche.... not good....Horcoff.....

Now here is why the first goal is so ever important: When the Oilers score first, they are 7-2-2, when they don't score first they are 1-8-1. WOW! Pretty much know how the game is gonna go by the first goal....

Anyways, that's all for this Monday night, enjoy the rest of the week, and Go Oilers Go

-Sporer

p.s. Hemsky is on pace for 21 goals and 83 points, Penner for 46 goals and 89 points....