Phoenix Coyotes Hockey on AZ Vibe

Coyotes vs. Oilers
Rexall Place – Edmonton Alberta
Puck Drops at 7:00 PM
TV: FSN AZ (HD) Radio: XTRA Sports 910AM

The Coyotes open the first of a two game road trip to Alberta, Canada starting with a trip to Rexall Place to visit the Edmonton Oilers.

The Oilers, who started off the season with a BANG have been bitten by a MAJOR injury bug this season that has sent the team into a free fall. In October, the Flu ran through the roster taking many key players out for short periods of time. Now in November, the Oilers seem to have bad breaks after bad breaks with injuries to key personnel including defensive players.

The Oilers have lost over 130 man games to injury at this point in the season. Last season the Oilers lost only 225 man games to injury.

Not too long ago, Oilers reporter Dan Tencer (who covers the Oilers for 630 CHED) had this to say about the insane amount of injuries on the Oilers roster this season.

http://twitter.com/dantencer

It took over 3 minutes for Pat Quinn to list off all the injuries that the Oilers continue to battle. It continues to be unreal.

One of the bright spots for the Oilers this season has been the emergence of Forward Dustin Penner who at one time was called the following by Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal:

He’s like a ’57 Chevy, with no engine. Looks good, but there’s nothing under the hood on too many nights. He looks like a big kid who likes everything about being in the NHL (the money, nice hotels, private plane), except playing the games

Penner showed up to camp leaner and in better shape than in his previous seasons with the Oilers. Penner now sits in the top 10 in scoring in the League and is clearly the most improved player in the NHL this season.

Now at press time, it’s unknown if Ed Jovanovski will be in the lineup or not. However, according the Coyotes website, he is on the road trip with the team.

Things to watch for:

Dustin Penner – Ever since his emergence this season as a major scoring threat he has been extremely fun to watch play.

Keith Yandle – Of all the players that have stepped up their games with the injuries to the Coyotes defensive corps, Yandle has accepted the challenge and has been solid on the blue line.

Oilers Goaltending – Yesterday the Oilers called up Devan Dubnyk from their AHL farm club in Springfield. Which means that starting goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin will be out for a second straight game and that Jeff Deslauriers will get the start in goal for the Oilers. The Oilers lost their last game to the Blackhawks with Jeff Deslauriers in net 5-2.

Keys for the Coyotes:

Discipline – They’ve got keep working on maintaining their mental discipline for 60 minutes. Whey the Coyotes do this, they will come out on the winning end of the battle. Rexall is a very tough place to play so the need for discipline can’t be stressed enough.

Don’t look past the Oilers – The Oilers are in a similar situation as the St. Louis Blues were the last time the Coyotes played them Thursday night. Like the Blues, the Oilers have lost a few games and are frustrated at their current state. The Oilers will more than likely come out hard and fast to start the game. They have great records when taking the lead into the second and third periods (see below in the notes section) so the Coyotes need to bring their ‘A’ games once again.

Penalties – The Coyotes need to stay out of the box as the Oilers have the #11 PP in the league. Keep the PK unit on the bench as much as possible!

Referees – Gord Dwyer, Eric Furlatt
Linesmen – Don Henderson, Lyle Seitz

Injuries:

Oilers: Mike Comrie (Mono), Denis Grebeshkov(Knee), Fernando Pisani (Colitis), Marc Pouliot (Groin), Ryan Stone (Leg), Robert Nillson (Head), Taylor Chorney (Ankle), Nikolai Khabibulin (back)

Coyotes: Ed Jovanovski, Zbynek Michalek, Kurt Sauer

Game Notes/Facts:

- According to the Coyotes website, Vernon Fiddler and David Schlemko are from Edmonton and Schlemko is hoping to play in his first NHL game at Rexall Place.
- The Oilers, when leading after the first period, have not lost in regulation (4-0-2) and are 5-0-1 when taking the lead into the third period.
- Director Kevin Smith (Clerks, Chasing Amy) will be in attendance tonight at the game. According to his Twitter page, he has been looking for a western team for some time and has chosen the Oilers.

You can find more info on his Twitter page (1000% NSFW):
http://twitter.com/ThatKevinSmith

More articles about the event:

Kevin Smith turns his camera on the love of hockey
http://oilers.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=506152
5 questions with Kevin Smith
http://oilers.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=506153
Oilers Q & A with Kevin Smith
http://oilers.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=506239

- Did you know that Nikolai Khabibulin has to drill holes in the bottom of his skates to be able to make it through a game? At the beginning of this season Khabibulin was suffering from dehydration as a result of playing. It was determined that during a game he loses so much water weight in sweat that he needed to drain the sweat through his shoes. In addition he requires a new jersey during each intermission as his jersey is weighted down with sweat just after one period.