-Phillip Cornet, the 133rd overall selection at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, played in his first ever NHL game. His linemates for most of the night were Sam Gagner and Jordan Eberle, and he ended with an assist.

-Taylor Hall scored the game winning goal

-Devan Dubnyk continued his strong play, stopping 31 out of 33 shots.

-Peter Mueller of the Avalanche, who’s missed 122 games in the past two years due to a concussion, scored his fourth goal of the season

-Avalanche rookie Gabriel Landeskog played over 20 minutes, and garnered an assist

-Kyle Quincey and Erik Johnson have emerged as the Avs shutdown pairing, both playing significant minutes and in crucial situations

-Semyon Varlamov continues to struggle, and looked shaky last night. His 0.898 save percentage is not what Colorado anticipated when they dealt for him.

-Will Tom Renney and Steve Tambellini be retained beyond this season? With reports out of Edmonton that Tambellini will be offered a contract extension to see the rebuild through. No such vote of confidence has been given yet to to Tom Renney.

-What will the Oilers do about their goaltending? Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun wrote recently that Nikolai Khabibulin was likely to get dealt. If that’s the case, what is the Oilers plan for the rest of the season and beyond? Is Devan Dubnyk the future #1?

-Ales Hemsky. The question doesn’t seem to be if he is dealt, but where does he go and how much does he command on the trade market?

-Sam Gagner. He may be the most marketable trading chip for the Oilers. Do they move him?

Hemsky isn’t the only name out there though. Ryan Smyth is also a UFA and could be dealt, though he would likely resign in Edmonton in the offseason anyway. With Ben Eager already on the roster, Darcy Hordichuk could be sold to the highest bidder. Averaging under 6 minutes/night and often a healthy scratch, his role with the team is very limited. He is also a free agent at the end of the year. With the Oilers already attempting to resign hulking defenceman Andy Sutton, the chances of him getting dealt are slim.

The name most Oilers fans are torn about is Sam Gagner. At just 22 years old he already has 332 NHL games under his belt. If the Oilers decide to put him on the market, he could fetch more than Ales Hemsky. Considering Kyle Turris, whose numbers across the board are inferior to Gagner’s, got a solid prospect (David Rundblad) and a 2nd round draft pick, Gagner’s value will surely be greater. The question is whether or not he fits with the Oilers long term plans. He is a restricted free agent at the end of the year, meaning the Edmonton Oilers have exclusive rights to resign him. How does Gagner fit in with the organization long term? That will be the question that determines his fate. He’s played both wing and center in his career. At center the Oilers have Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Shawn Horcoff and Eric Belanger as their top-3 for the next three years. Anton Lander will likely be the team’s full time #3 center once Belanger’s contract expires, leaving Horcoff and Nugent-Hopkins. Gagner’s talents aren’t worth using unless he is given 15 minutes/night at least.

On the wing, the Oilers are led by Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle and Magnus Paajarvi. Curtis Hamilton, Tyler Pitlick and Teemu Hartikainen will all battle for top-6 minutes as well. Where do those two scenarios leave Gagner? The Oilers would be best served exploring all their options with him.

The Battle of Alberta has been one sided in recent years.  Calgary has won all three meetings this year and outscored Edmonton 10-4 in the process.  Ever since the Oiler’s 4-0 season-opening victory where Jordan Eberle’s magnificent goal was sighted, the Flames have won eight straight games over the Oilers.

Tom Renney has come under fire in recent weeks for the team’s struggles.  Tonight’s game is the perfect opportunity for him to silence the critics and perhaps earn some consideration for a contract extension.  Last game he shuffled lines quite a bit, and with the likely return of forward Taylor Hall to the lineup, there should be even more changes.  Hall will likely play with Sam Gagner and Ales Hemsky, with Jordan Eberle going with Shawn Horcoff and Magnus Paajarvi.

Other interesting facts about the teams before they square off at 8pm MST tonight:

-Neither team wins over 50% of its faceoffs.  The Oilers are at 48.1% while the Flames are at 45%.  Something has to give tonight.

-The Oilers actually score more goals/game than the Flames (2.50 compared to 2.33)

-Eric Belanger and Ryan Whitney will be out for the Oilers.  Belanger has a leg injury while Whitney’s ankle has acted up.

-The Flames will be without Brendan Morrison, Curtis Glencross and Alex Tanguay.  That’s three top-6 forwards.

-The Oilers aren’t very good when scoring first, winning just 52% of the time they score the game’s opening goal.  Calgary is better, at 61.9%.  The league’s best is the New York Rangers, at 91.3%.

-The Oilers rank 2nd last in the league in winning percentage when outshot, at 28.6%.  The Flames are at 41.4%, good for 21st.

There is the preview for tonight’s game.  Predictions?  I’ll say that Tom Renney fires up the troops, and the return of Taylor Hall only increases the energy and tempo.  2-1 Edmonton Oilers victory.

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St. Louis’s lines:

Jaroslav Halak

Carlo Colaiacovo-Alex Pietrangelo

Barrett Jackman-Kevin Shattenkirk

Kris Russel-Roman Polak

David Backes-David Perron-Chris Stewart

Matt D’Agostini-Patrick Berglund-TJ Oshie

Vladimir Sobotka-Jason Arnott-Jamie Langenbrunner

BJ Crombeen-Scott Nichol-Ryan Reaves

Edmonton’s lines have yet to be released.  We should expect Shawn Horcoff and Ryan Smyth to play over 20 minutes, and Ales Hemsky to play close to that mark as well.

Statistically the Blues own this matchup.  They are 6-0-1 in January while the Oilers are 2-5-1, while the Blues are looking to extend a modest two game winning streak.  The Oilers are in perhaps the lowest point of their season, following up a great home effort versus Los Angeles with a disasterous game against Columbus.  Before LA they lost to Anaheim 5-0.  Could another poor effort tonight finally lead to some changes in the roster?  Steve Tambellini is the only one that can answer that question.  Bodog.ca has the Oilers paying out at 3.45-1 should they somehow eek out a victory.  The smart money tonight goes to the home warriors in St. Louis, who will defend the Scottrade Center again.

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As for the game itself, it’s a similar tune for the Oilers faithful. Early lead, lackluster play and allowing an inferior opponent to claw its way back into the game. Columbus’s tying goal with just 0.8 seconds left in the 2nd period sapped the momentum away from the visitors.

The game ended with a 4-2 Columbus victory. The Oilers have been outscored 9-2 by the 30th and 29th place teams in the NHL. Are there reasons for concern after the recent efforts? Absolutely. Perhaps the biggest concern is this: Does this team hate to lose? The compete level has been absent the past several games. A Columbus team without the likes of James Wisniewski, Jeff Carter and Kristian Huselius proved too great a match for the Edmonton Oilers.

Times may be changing in Edmonton with the entire coaching staff and General Manager Steve Tambellini having expiring contracts. That will be a topic addressed on a later day. Happy Tuesday.

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The NHL and WHL are quite different animals, but that school of thought is maybe what Edmonton Oilers management is applying to this years team.  It’s quite evident that there are holes on the roster.  The need for a quality defenceman has been there since Lubomir Visnovsky was dealt for Ryan Whitney, who has been a disappointment for the most part. The need for another veteran checking forward persists as well.  The number of times this team has gone into the third period with either a lead or manageable deficit and come out with a loss is remarkable.

Right now the organization is still surviving the wrath of owner Daryl Katz based on the footprint of the rebuild.  At one point though that will have to change.  2012-13 may be the most important year in the past decade for the franchise as a whole.  It represents the last year in which two cornerstones of the rebuild, Jordan Eberle and Taylor Hall, are under contract with the team.  Ditto for Magnus Paajarvi.  They of course are restricted free agents once their Entry Level Contracts end, and the team will still retain their rights.  Just as these young players once auditioned for the right to be selected by the Edmonton Oilers, next year the roles will be reversed so to speak:  the organization will audition to keep these players in the fold long-term.

Oilers fans let me ask you this:  would it scare the daylights out of you if either Eberle or Hall signed for a short, one or two year contract?  That scenario, which is purely an example, would indicate that they have no faith in the organization.  The players that the team worked to scout, develop, draft and hone need to have faith in the direction of the team.  Steve Tambellini, Kevin Lowe, Daryl Katz and the entire organization need to convince the player representatives of Hall and Eberle to sign in Edmonton long-term, and make a commitment to the team and city.

And if the “Big Three” aren’t willing to sign long-term, that doesn’t bode well for the future of center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins or any free agents the team would hope to attract.  A successful season next year, and hopefully a playoff appearance, would do wonders in that regard.  If the team made the playoffs this year, there would be a very good chance that there would be a dropoff next year.  Hence Steve Tambellini standing his ground.

It’s not just Eberle and Hall either.  Ryan Jones, Ryan Whitney, Ladislav Smid and Nikholai Khabibulin are unrestricted free agents after 2012-13.  7 players from the team’s current roster currently have contracts beyond next season.  Turnover could be high.

It’s not even limited to players.  Tambellini and Head Coach Tom Renney both have expiring contracts this summer.  Whomever is at the helm both on the bench and upstairs next season will very likely be in charge once the losing is supposed to end.

2012-13 may be the single most important season in this franchise’s post-Glory Days history.  Oilers management knows this, and need to make a run of some sort to convince the cornerstones of the rebuild that this is, in fact, turning around.  Not that any of it is justified.  Alas that is a discussion for another day.

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