(6-9-1) --vs-- (7-4-4)
[fieldset=GAME DAY INFORMATION]Game Day: November 13, 2014
Game Time: 7"30 PM MST
Location: Valhalla
Radio: 630 Ched.
TV: SNOL
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[fieldset=Game Day Music and Story (My strange version of a story anyways)]
"Please Hockey Gods, give us the strength to carry on as fans"
"Your wish shall be my command"
SHAZAM!
"I think I saw the light! Time to replace Eakins"
ZOT
"We will defend Valhalla forever."
THE END
[/fieldset]
[Fieldset=Valhalla's PROJECTED LINEUP]
Pouliot - Nuge - Ebs
Perron - Arco - Yaks
Pakarinen - Dr. Drai - Purcell
Hendricks - Gordon - Joensuu
Nikitin - Petry
Aulie - Fayne
Ference - Schultz
Marincin
Klefbom
[fieldset=Sens PROJECTED LINEUP]
MacArthur - Turris - Chaison
Mickeluk - Zimbadisjading - Ryan
Hoffman - Lazar - Stone
Smith - Legwand - Neil
Phillips - Karlson
Cowan - Ceci
Borrow Wiki - Cry Bah
[/fieldset][fieldset=NEWS AND NOTES]
HALL SKATES, BUT WON’T PLAY
The Oilers star left winger Taylor Hall remains out with a sprained right knee. However, Hall did skate with the team this morning.
“It’s feeling good,” Hall said. “It’s nice to be back on the ice with the guys and be a part of the team again. It was tough watching them on the road trip, but at the same time I thought they played some pretty good hockey so it’s good to be back with them.”
Hall doesn’t have an updated timeline for his return other than he will know more in the next couple of days.
“Not too sure yet. In a couple of days we will be able to tell a little more. But obviously, if I’m on the ice with the guys it means I’m close. There are some games coming up I hope to play in and we’ll see how it goes the next couple of days.”
POULIOT FINDING POINTS
Oilers winger Benoit Pouliot has moved up to the team’s top line with Hall’s absence. In the last two games, Pouliot has two goals and an assist. The numbers haven’t been there for Pouliot this season, but he appears to be finding a rhythm with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle.
“He’s worked extremely hard, right from the start of the season,” Eakins said. “A lot of people run to the stats page and think that he hasn’t had any goals so he must not be playing well. There are a million different ways you can contribute on a team. We signed Benoit because he can close on the puck and he has an excellent stick and we thought we needed more of that speed in the lineup. He’s brought that. Did he have the stats early on? No, but playing with those guys he has filled in greatly for a pair of shoes that are very, very big in Taylor Hall.”
Pouliot says he felt good even without the points to show for it.
“I was playing well, it was just a matter of putting the puck in the net,” Pouliot said. “There was no need to panic or anything. Lately it’s been good so I’ve just got to keep it going.”
Playing with two of the team’s more skilled forwards has been a big help as Pouliot tries to fill the big shoes of Hall.
“It’s awesome,” Pouliot said of his new line. “Those two guys are smart hockey players, fast hockey players and they know how to play the game. It makes everyone on our line, their jobs a little easier. You know where they guy is going to go, you know what he’s going to do with the puck so you know where to be for him to get it to you. We’re playing well right now but it’s too bad we’re missing a big part of our team with Hallsy out. But at the same time, I have to fill in the hole and step up my game and I think we’re doing a real good job of that right now.”
YAKUPOV’S EFFORT
Oilers winger Nail Yakupov has registered a point in three of his last four games. One of the bigger story lines with him is that he leads the team in shots with 40 through 16 games. Yakupov has shown an ability to pile up the shots, which his team wants more of.
Yakupov’s effort has lead to better play overall.
“I think his effort has been incredible,” Eakins said. “If effort equated to goals and assists, Nail should be leading the league in scoring right now. His effort level this year in practice and in the games has been outstanding. He’s playing with great passion, he’s growing into the game as he gets older here. He’s been sound defensively but he gets lots of looks offensively.”
Eakins continued, “He’s a guy that no matter how many minutes he plays per night, if it ends up being a night where he’s in that 12-13 range he is still a guy that could end up with five shots. He doesn’t need 19 minutes to get those five looks. We don’t want him to be nice. We don’t want him to be respectful of his linemates. We want him to be in the mindset of you’re going to think I’m shooting this puck first and if it’s not there then look for somebody. The biggest thing for me has been just his effort. When I say that, I don’t mean he wasn’t trying last year because he was. But his second, his third efforts and him being a dog on that puck has helped our team greatly.”
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