Calder Trophy Finalists – Nail Yakupov & Justin Schultz

One could make the argument that Schultz should be in the conversation for the NHL Calder Trophy after putting up 8 goals and 19 assists in 48 games.  After discussing how Yakupov was snubbed from the Calder finalists, both he and Schultz provided plenty of spark all season long and certainly lived up the hype that they brought during the summer.

But in the end there can only be one winner and when looking at the plus/minus, the winner is Yakupov after finishing with a minus-4 compared to Schultz’s minus-17.  Schultz actually had the lowest rating on the club, meaning he will need to brush up on his defense for next season.

Norris Trophy Finalists – Justin Schultz, Ladislav Smid & Jeff Petry

It’s easy to mention Schultz in this category given  he led the Oilers blue-liners in points but his minus-17 is cause for concern.  We’re talking about the top defenseman who should be held accountable in his own end and it’s hard to make that argument for Schultz.

Meanwhile Smid and Petry had solid seasons from their own respects.  Smid was his usual stubborn self, blocking shots and often pairing up against the opposing team’s top players.

Petry’s numbers were impressive, 3 goals and 9 assists in 48 games while posting a respectable plus-1 on the season.  He also finished second on the team with 112 hits to Smid’s 151 and had 86 blocked shots to Smid’s 119.

Winner – Ladislav Smid, for the reason’s just mentioned.  He’s as steady as they come and despite not putting up a lot of points, he was the best defender on this club.

Vezina Trophy 

Given there are only two netminders worth talking about, there’s no point in having them listed as nominees.  As a matter of fact, the race for the top goalie isn’t that close either with Devan Dubnyk taking it in a landslide.

He played more than three times as many minutes than Nikolai Khabibulin while putting up almost identical numbers in GAA 2.57 to 2.54 (Khaby) and a .920 save percentage to Khaby’s .923%.  Not to mention that Dubnyk started in 37 games to Khabibulin’s 11 while picking up a record of 14-16-6 with two shutouts.

Hart Trophy Finalists – Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle & Sam Gagner

Given it’s Gagner’s contract year it’s not surprising he turned a lot of heads this year with his 14 goals and 38 points in 48 games.  Eberle also had a solid season, scoring 16 times en route to 37 points, good enough for third on the team.

But this award belongs to Taylor Hall this year.  Not only did he lead the team in points with 50 in 45 games (good for 9th in league scoring) but his 34 assists alone would rank him third on the team in scoring.  He was a solid plus-5 and had 4 powerplay goals and 4 game winning goals, the most on the team.

He continues to play with reckless abandon which is cause for concern to some.  I say it’s what makes him so successful.  He plays hard and leads by example.  He wants to win and will go a long way in leading this club to the playoffs, which could be next year.  Depending on how the off-season goes of course.

Ales Hemsky beats Varlamov in the 1st. Photo Credit of Andy Delvin / Edmonton Oilers Hockey Club

It didn’t start out so great. Heavily out-shooting their opposition, but facing a 3-0 deficit late the in the 1st period, it was feeling like it’d be a game all too similar to the one against Dallas. Dominate in the shot clock, but get beat by goaltending and end up losing a frustrating affair. Enter Ales Hemsky, whose PP marker late in the 1st gave the Oilers a little bit of life heading into the intermission. The Avalanche would regain a three goal lead early in the second, and from there the Oilers took over the scoreboard, potting two in the second intermission from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Ales Hemsky’s second of the night (and what a goal it was, but more on that later). Forward to the third period, and a Paajarvi game-winner sandwiched between a couple of Jordan Eberle markers, and we have the makings of one hell of a comeback, and fun game to watch in general. Did I mention the Oilers broke a franchise record, with 56 shots on goal?

Let’s look back at the good and bad, shall we?

Devan Dubnyk pulled after one period. 

It was a rough start for the Oilers in this one, especially Dubnyk, who didn’t look quite as sharp as he has this year. Bobbling a puck early, which combined with questionable defensive play by Petry and Whitney led to the Oilers being down 1-0. After giving up three goals on twelve shots, the Oilers went with Khabibulin at the start of the second period. Khabby didn’t see a whole lot of action, only facing 17 shots for the rest of the game, his only blemish coming early in the second, screened when John Mitchell made it 4-1 with a powerplay goal. Most surprising however, with the game tied in the 3rd, he came up with an amazing series of saves to keep it that way:

I’m still not a big Khabibulin fan, but props to him for his solid play tonight.

Taylor Hall drives the bus.

Quickly becoming my favourite Oiler to watch out on the ice, Hall was everywhere tonight and notched himself three assists tonight to put him at 12 on the year. He also had 8 shots on goal tonight, giving him 17 in the past six periods of action. He’s at the point where he regularly makes NHL quality defenders look absolutely silly, and you can see the opposition soil themselves when he skates at them, full speed.

Ales Hemsky

The man is magic, what can I say? I shouldn’t be surprised by what he can do, but his second goal of the game was just ridiculous. Shane O’Brien’s  head is still spinning:

Not quite as late in the period as his first goal, but still a big one to cut the lead to one before the 3rd period, and with the way the Oilers were playing, I was feeling that we were going to at least tie this game and squeak out with at least a point, that was, until Eberle tied it, and then an unlikey hero notched the go-ahead goal…

Magnus Paajarvi was supposed to be a healthy scratch.

That’s right, Maggie was supposed to sit this one out, but when Petrell took a puck to the head in warmups, he drew back into the lineup again. While driving to the net on an Oilers rush, this happens:

Not bad for someone who was lounging on his couch an hour and a half before puck drop.

Ryan Smyth draws back into the lineup.

You may have noticed the last two highlight videos have something in common. Go back and watch them if you haven’t, both feature head-up plays by the veteran to set up both goals. He forces a turnover, then with a backhand pass, finds Hemsky for the Oilers 3rd tally, and then on the game-winner, he simply shovels Belanger’s pass to the open Paajarvi at the side of the net. The message should be clear, keep him in the lineup. He’s not the player he once was, but he’s still got a lot left to give.

Well, let’s hope this outshooting/outscoring thing sticks around, shall we?

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