Game 13 preview – The Kid Line returns

I’m starting to think that the hockey gods have a sick sense of humour. I guarantee they’re sitting somewhere just chuckling to themselves. You see they gave the Oilers a schedule that sees them play 13 times in 27 nights but to lighten the load though they only put four of those games on the road. It seemed like a decent deal. What you didn’t see coming was the flu bug that has pretty much demolished the team.

The count is staggering:

• Smid has been diagnosed with H1N1 and although he hasn’t missed a game I’ve got to think it’s affected his play
• Comrie missed two games with the flu
• Brule missed three games
• Hemsky missed one
• Visnovsky hasn’t missed a game yet but he left the game early on Tuesday, hasn’t practiced since, and is now being treated as if he also has H1N1

That list is just the players that I know have been affected, I guarantee that there have been plenty more who felt like taking the night off but just couldn’t because there weren’t enough bodies. On second thought did you see the games of late? Maybe they did take the night off.

And unfortunately for the Oilers it doesn’t get much easier tonight against the Red Wings. As it stands today the Wings don’t look as formidable as they have in the past but they still have enough weapons that they can hurt you with. Last season the Wings wiped the floor with the Oilers going undefeated. The silver lining is that the games here in Edmonton were just one goal losses.

The problem for the Oilers might be that they apparently don’t score goals anymore. No even strength goals in over nine periods and no goals of any sort in over seven. The goals were flowing nicely early on but the flow has slowed to a trickle of late. The lack of scoring has resulted in three straight losses that bring their record to 6-5-1.

I don’t think they’re as good as the 6-2-1 record they started with but I’m hoping that the flu is to blame and that the real Oilers are somewhere between this team and the team that started the season and the team I’m seeing on the ice now. I have to believe that because it’s still October and I’m an optimistic person in October.

In an effort to jump start the offense Quinn is going to move Horcoff back onto the top unit with Penner and Hemsky. Gagner will move down and play with Cogliano and Nilsson, reuniting the Kid Line. I think Horcoff has played terrible this season, if not for Moreau he’d be the Oilers worst forward. Breaking up a line that’s been playing really well to insert dead weight seems a little sketchy to me but when you haven’t scored in seven periods you’ll try anything I guess.

For more pregame I suggest you check out Low on Oil, Putting on the Foil, Oilers Nation, The Copper & Blue, and the Oilers website.