Sam Gagner to return tonight! --- (GDT coming soon!)

[Everest]

There's only an optional skate today eh? With Eakins, figure we'll have to wait till warm up to know the lines.

Seems like a bad idea to run an optional on an important game day where the line-up is about to undergo a significant shuffle.

Maybe he will upgrade to a full game day skate...or...at least get the PP/PK together for a dry run.

 

[djdub]

Jones on the 1st, and Gordon on the 4th is terrible.

I hate to say it but, Arco has to play 4th line. Yeah he has a lot of assists and wins faceoffs, but he has no goals.

Arco needs to play with offensive players.

You need your fourth line to provide energy. Arco would be wasted on the 4th line. I would go:

Perron RNH Ebs
Arco Gags Yaks
Jones Gordon Hemmer
Gazdic Acton Eager

I don't like Hemmer playing on the 3rd line but I think Gordon and Jones can provide enough jam on that line to create space for him. This also puts a good faceoff man with Gagner if he can't pull his weight in that department.

 

[Soli]

Someone has to go down for Gagner to come off of IR.

Suspects are Lander, Eager, Potter, Lamebareassbear.

... Plan the riot if Bachman.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

Perron-RNH-Eberle
Yak-Arcobello-Hemsky
Lander-Gordon-Gagner
Gazdic-Acton-Jones

I'm actually liking RNH/Arco/Gordon/Acton down the middle

 

[djdub]

Someone has to go down for Gagner to come off of IR.

Suspects are Lander, Eager, Potter, Lamebareassbear.

... Plan the riot if Bachman.

I would be very dissapointed in management if it's Bachman.

 

[BoldNewLettuce]

 

[Oilfan2]

Perron-RNH-Eberle
Yak-Arcobello-Hemsky
Lander-Gordon-Gagner
Gazdic-Acton-Jones

I'm actually liking RNH/Arco/Gordon/Acton down the middle

A record of 3-8-2 says it isn't good enough....Not sure Gagner is going to be the answer but the Oil need to change it up.

 

[czar99]

Wow I can't believe how hard it is to come up with the line combos. Arcobello sure created a nice problem for once.

 

[Expatriate]

Good news.
How much ice time does he get, > 20 mins

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

A record of 3-8-2 says it isn't good enough....Not sure Gagner is going to be the answer but the Oil need to change it up.

you can say that about many aspects of this team...but that record has a lot more to do with goaltending and special teams than the play of our centermen IMO

the fact is, Arcobello is a + player with 10 points that can win draws...Gagner coming in and replacing him isn't a game changer

although I think Gagner can come in a help our awful PP

 

[CupofOil]

I forgot that there was a game tonight, that shows where my interest level is at sadly.
It's good to see Gagner back, he's an important part of the team whether we like to believe it or not. It should give an emotional boost to the team if nothing else.
I wonder what the lineup looks like now because i highly doubt that Gordon gets bumped down to the 4th line and Acton to the press box so i'm guessing that Sam starts on the wing.

 

[BoldNewLettuce]

Hall-Hoppy-Ebs
Perron-Gagner-Hemsky
Jones-Gordon-Yakupov
Acton-Arcobello-Eager

 

[PumpkinBombX]

Wow I can't believe how hard it is to come up with the line combos. Arcobello sure created a nice problem for once.

At zero goals, how much is Arco really contributing though?

A playoff team needs their top line (including top pairing) to be scoring about 1.5 GPG.

A 2nd line (with 3/4 D pairing) needs about .8 - 1 GPG

and 3rd/4th lines (combined) with last pairing need .5 to .7 GPG.

Total team GPG needs to be around 3.

Our top line is scoring at about 1.1 GPG right now. (a slumping PP is responsible there, as 4 more goals on the year would put them at 1.5, which would be the difference between their 13.3% PP and a 22% PP, which all the top 10 are around)


Our 2nd line only has a .5 GPG, with 6 goals on the year. Arco with zero.

With a healthy gagner, our 2nd line would be at least around .8 GPG.

Which, i think would make us a better team. (Not much better given the goalie problems, but still).

 

[GMofOilers]

Please play gags and Perron together. Looked like a pair of beasts in the preseason. Wanna see if that continues?

 

[McGoMcD]

In the counter to "breaking bad for Ekblad" and "falling apart for Reinhart" With Gagner back and Bachman in net we have "Saved by the Smurfs"

Gags

 

[Playa Hejda]

I think that's only five weeks recovery time. Sure hope he's not rushing it.

The Oilers would never rush a player back from injury, then destroy him for saying he felt rushed.

 

[Sloth Slothersons*]

Our whipping boy returns!

 

[s7ark]

Going to close this one because we have a GDT to discuss this in now.

 

[Soli]

GDT UP!

 

[Seedling]

Color me interested.

The actual team captain is returning tonight.

Hopefully he can help Yakupov keep clawing his way out of the s***er. It would be nice to have to three solid scoring lines.

rnh-eberle
gags-yak
perron-hemsky

Throw your support guys in as you please.

Well that took all of 15 posts. Nice job.

Gagner will be a welcome addition to this ailing team. Let's please not turn this into a "captain material" thread.