Horcoff with the kids at the office. Photo courtesy Sportsnet West

The Oilers went up four goals in the first period.  It’s a good thing they scored four goals, because they’d need every one of those goals plus two more by the time the clock hit zero in the third.  The Oilers made it out of Chicago with a 6-5 victory in regulation, giving Chicago their first regulation loss at the United Center this year.

• I love how polarizing a figure Shawn Horcoff is.  Tonight was his first game back after missing fifteen with a busted knuckle.  How’d he do?  He had a power play goal, couple of shots, 52% at the dot, and had over 18 minutes of ice time.  Team doesn’t win without Shawn Horcoff in the lineup today.
• Devan Dubnyk had an interesting day.  He allowed two goals, got ran into by Teemu Hartikainen while Marian Hossa was crashing the net, and had to leave the game.  It looked like it could’ve been a head/neck injury, but Gene Principe is currently reporting that it doesn’t appear to be a head injury, and they’ll know more tomorrow.  Even with Dubnyk allowing a bad one to Patrick Kane, it’d be in everyone’s best interest if Dubnyk didn’t miss any time.  While Yann Danis played well enough for the win, a tandem of him and Olivier Roy would likely test your faith.
• CONTACT- Did I mention six goals?  Good.  How about three of those on the power play?  Even better.  Along with Horcoff’s PP goal, Taylor Hall and Sam Gagner also had power play goals.  Gagner also had an even strength goal, goals were spewed into the Blackhawks net like an angry sprinkler erupts in a dry garden.
• AND YOU GET A GOAL, AND YOU GET A GOAL, AND YOU GET A GOAL- Mike Brown had a goal.  It was fat, ugly and lethargic, but it was great.  Brown’s shot was near the blue line and it caught Ray Emery off guard.  Not pretty, but that’s what happens sometimes when you throw it on net.  The Oilers chased Ray Emery after just nine minutes of ice time.
• ALSO STARRING- Ryan Whitney had a goal for the Oilers as well.  Your team is having a good day when both Mike Brown and Ryan Whitney are putting up numbers.
• SUSPENSE-  The Oilers finished the first period up 4-0, outshot the Blackhawks by a 12-6 margin, had scored goals on two different goaltenders, then reverted back to the Oilers.  The second two periods featured a significant tilt back to Chicago, as the Blackhawks controlled the shots by a margin of 31-13 over the final forty minutes.  Final shots were 37-25, and if the Oilers hadn’t run hot in the first, this would be another happy game review about how the Oilers got their lunch money stolen by the much taller students.
• A LITTLE MORE ON YANN – Danis finished with 21 saves in 24 shots after coming in on such short notice, getting credit for his first NHL win since December 19th, 2009 with the New Jersey Devils.
• THIS IS A RECAP, IT’S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE A NOVEL - Oilers played out of their minds in the first period, let the usual stuff that’s killed them all year creep back into the game during the 2nd and 3rd.  Special teams and brute goal force kept the Oilers ahead when time ran out, and they’re going to Colorado with two more points.
• Fire Tambellini.

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March 10, 2012; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Avalanche center Mark Olver (40) trips over defensman Ryan Wilson (44) in an attempt to reach the puck as Edmonton Oilers center Shawn Horcoff (10) looks on during the third period at the Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

Well this has been a tough week. The Oilers lost Saturday night 3-2 to the Colorado Avalance and also lost 4^th line veteran center Eric Belanger to injury. Belanger managed to get his feet in front of a few shots and suffered a broken toe(s?).

Then the team hosted the rival Vancouver Canucks last night and not only blew a 2-0 lead, they then lost captain Shawn Horcoff and defenseman Mark Fistric, broken knuckle and injured back respectively. So now they are down to just two NHL caliber centers, who can’t win faceoffs, to play for the next while. According to news today Belanger is still at least a week today and of course Horcoff is down and out for 4-6 weeks.

For stop gap purposes GM Steve Tambellini called up OKC Barons center Mark Arcobello who will see his first NHL game Wednesday against the Dallas Stars. There are 2 problems I see with this, 1 – it means that Chris Van de Velde is nowhere near as close as we had hoped, and 2 – Arcobello is not a checking center, the guy plays 1^st/2^nd line down on the farm. So essentially this isn’t going to plug the hole left by injuries.

Let’s have a look at what the Oilers may or may not decide to do here. Clearly, with the call up of Arcobello the team does not have the depth it needs at center.

The Free Agent Market

• Jason Arnott – The twitter verse and radio call-in shows today have been a buzz about the possibility of signing former Oilers 7^th overall pick (1993). Arnott recently signed with the New York Rangers but the contract was voided when he failed his medical due to a wonky knee. Do people really think that would be a good signing? Bob Stauffer mentioned today that if they were to sign him that maybe he would be trade bait at the deadline for some sort of asset (lower round pick).
• Brendan Morrison – Now here is an idea if the Oilers were to go the free agent route. Brendan is at the end of his career but, besides his lack of size, would be a good addition to the 3^rd/4^th line. Morrison has a career face off % of just over 50%. He can kill penalties and won’t be a defensive liability for the 7 to 10 minutes a game he’ll play.

The Trade Route *Note – I won’t put values to the players I list, just that I think they might be available and a good fit for the Oilers needs*

• Marty Reasoner – Again an ex-Oiler. He’s aging and slotted in as the 4^th center for the New York Islanders. He’s played anywhere from 6 to 15 minutes a night so far this season and has won 42 out of 80 face offs. The Islanders also have some depth at center with Josh Bailey in the minors and a Ryan Strome possibly ready to step in as soon as next season.
• Zenon Konopka – This guy has everything the Oilers need, he fights, he’s a faceoff specialist, he can hit and he can fight. The one problem, he plays for the Minnesota Wild who may be reluctant to trade with a conference rival, although the teams have traded with each other before (Tom Gilbert for Nick Schultz). Also the Oilers had a chance to sign this guy in the offseason if they wanted. Who knows maybe they tried.

• I’ve heard people like Vernon Fiddler, from Dallas, mentioned. I’ve always liked the guy, he plays bigger than he is (6’1”) and is good on the dot. We should get a look at him tomorrow night.

There are probably more players out there that are available, but I’m not an insider or an NHL general manager. We will just have to wait and see I suppose, but one thing is clear losing all these faceoff’s it is going to be tough winning games if the we don’t have the puck.

Don’t forget to follow the Oil on Whyte team on twitter

Jeff – @OilOnWhyte

Ian – @ibleedoil

Jonathan – @jonrmcleod

Troy – @heavyoilcountry

Dave – @rustyknuckler