#Oilers lines at skate in Leduc: Hall-Gagner-Hemsky, Hartikainen-RNH-Eberle, Eager-Smyth-Petrell, Yakupov-Belanger-Paajarvi

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) February 8, 2013

That’s strange.  Let’s spread that out.

Hartikainen / Nugent-Hopkins / Eberle

Hall / Gagner / Hemsky

Eager / Smyth / Petrell

Yakupov / Belanger / Paajarvi

The Oilers also called up Chris VandeVelde to play 4C in case Belanger isn’t ready to go tomorrow (he’s slated for Sunday which means he’ll probably play for Belanger tomorrow).  Remember Anton Lander‘s bone bruise?  It’s really a broken foot.  Good thing someone did their due diligence there.

MOVING RIGHT ALONG

So here you have the line combos that were run during today’s practice in Leduc.  While it’s certainly no guarantee that the Oilers are going to run with these lines tomorrow afternoon versus Detroit, it’s something to take note of.

• Putting Nail Yakpuov on the fourth line doesn’t rank high on my to-do list.  Matter of fact, it’s not even on the back of my to-do list.  Yakupov is currently third on this team in scoring, and although I’m happy that Teemu Hartikainen got an instant promotion onto the first line, I’m not at all pleased to see the 2012 first overall pick between Belanger (or Vandevelde) and Paajarvi.
• If Ben Eager is coming back this weekend (as he might), why not him on the fourth line?  Don’t think I’ll get much argument out of anyone about the difference between Eager and Yakupov’s upside with the puck.

BUT THE TEAM HAS LOST FOUR IN A ROW THINGS HAVE TO CHANGE NOW

That’s somewhat misleading.  In truth, the team has lost four in a row.  But they’ve also gone 0-1-3, which, in the twisted world of the NHL, is good for three points.  They’ve done this while missing one or more of their centremen.  So no, they don’t need to change things immediately.  The team put Mark Arcobello on the first line on Wednesday night due to an injury to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, so pleas for immediate change shouldn’t be too awfully loud.  If Nugent-Hopkins is healthy enough to go tomorrow and Eric Belanger is on Sunday, that’s a big improvement over where this team was on Wednesday.

“Once VandeVelde gets here, we’ll make the final decision. Those lines could change tomorrow.” – Krueger on today’s fwd configurations

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) February 8, 2013

Let’s hope getting Yakupov off the fourth line is step one.

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Well, I mean, I’m not.  I mean, I am, but I’m really not.  Does that clear things up?  Good.

If you missed the last couple of days, Nail Yakupov scored a pretty big goal against the Kings.  Then, he celebrated like a nineteen year old rookie who just tied the game up with less than five seconds after getting a goal pulled off the board a minute earlier would.

Apparently, some people have a problem with this.

I admit, I was waiting for the first person in Edmonton media to tut-tut the situation.  And if you want to raise your opinion about how Yakupov “skated through his teammates” after the goal, or “acted unprofessionally” after the goal, you can go right ahead.  I think you’re dead wrong, but you’ve got the bandwidth, so make it happen.

The Oilers are taking on Calgary tonight at the Saddledome, and in an effort to ramp up those old time feelings, Calgary released a nugget of pure happiness on their website called “goal celebrations”.  Everybody’s got to get their audio, I get it. And I get it, Calgary. You don’t like the Oilers, and vice-versa.

But come on, Flames. This is pathetic.  Even for you.

Let’s go ask Dennis Wideman and Cory Sarich what they think about the Edmonton rookie’s goal celebration.  You see what everyone in that dressing room is waiting for, and that’s for a player to trot out the “this is outrageous” line. Fortunately, common sense ruled the interview and it never came.  Applause to Cory Sarich who basically says that if you keep the puck out of your net, you won’t have to worry about what kind of celebration ensues.

Go blow it out your ear, Calgary.  I expect a little better from you.  Then again, maybe I shouldn’t.

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Jeff – @OilOnWhyte

Ian – @ibleedoil

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Troy – @heavyoilcountry

Dave – @rustyknuckler

Check out the Oilers Army!

Click Here to visit our NHL main page “Too Many Men” – Fansided’s Hockey Home on the Internets