Oilers show some teeth
If you want to identify the hockey players at an athletes? banquet, look at their teeth. If they look too perfect to be real, it?s because they aren?t.
Hockey players and missing teeth go together like rum and coke. So when Edmonton Oilers left winger Ryan Smyth took a puck to the face Wednesday night and lost three teeth in the process, leaving a trail of blood behind him as he left the ice, it wasn?t the end of Big Oil. Smyth was back in action in a matter of minutes, setting up Shawn Horcoff?s game-winning goal in triple overtime as Edmonton downed the San Jose Sharks 3-2. That crucial win prevented San Jose from taking a 3-0 series lead in this best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal.
The dental work Smyth had done Thursday was probably more of a threat to his status for Friday night?s Game 4 than the injury itself. But Smyth is expected to be all stitched up and ready to go. That gust of wind you feel from the north is a collective exhale of relief coming from Edmonton supporters. Smyth was the Oilers? leading scorer during each of the past three regular seasons; the assistant captain also has two goals and three assists after nine playoff games this year.
The Oilers need all hands on deck if they want to survive this series. The Sharks remain big ?280 favorites to advance to the next round. They were masterful in their 4-1 dismantling of the Nashville Predators in the West quarterfinals, and were riding a six-game winning streak before Wednesday?s triple-OT loss. Center Patrick Marleau leads all playoff scorers with nine goals. Vesa Toskala, meanwhile, has quietly been one of the best goalies in a postseason where goaltending is even more in the forefront than years past. His .936 save percentage ranks third behind Anaheim?s Ilya Bryzgalov and Carolina?s Cam Ward.
Dwayne Roloson isn?t exactly chopped liver himself. He?s just a shade behind Toskala with a .932 save percentage, far and away the main reason the 8-seed Oilers were able to upset the 1-seed Detroit Red Wings, who came into the playoffs with the best record in the NHL at 58-16-8. Roloson stood on his head in Wednesday?s marathon ? 32 saves on 34 shots to send the capacity crowd at Rexall Place home happy. But Toskala was even better in a losing effort, stopping 55 of 58 Edmonton shots. It?s difficult to see the Oilers getting that kind of offensive barrage in Game 4; Toskala faced just 41 shots in the first two games combined.
Still, home ice is clearly an advantage for the Oilers. They raised their level of play in front of the hometown faithful, and another passionate effort can be expected Friday night. That?s why Edmonton is the favorite in Game 4 with the puckline set at Oilers ? 1 ?, +200. All three games in this series have been decided by one goal (as were three of Edmonton?s four victories over the Red Wings), so if you?re anticipating another close finish, it?ll cost you some chalk: San Jose is + 1 ?, -240.
The total for Friday night is five goals, with the OVER priced at ?125. This is an interesting line, given that it took six periods for the Oilers and Sharks to cobble together five goals on Wednesday. Toskala and Roloson helped drive the UNDER to the pay window in the first two contests; will they be tired enough after Game 3 to let in a weak goal or two in Game 4?
It isn?t just the goaltenders keeping the puck out of the net. Team defense was a big part of Edmonton?s upset of the Wings in the first round. The Oilers put up a wall on the blue line and kept Detroit from establishing the kind of forechecking that smaller and speedier teams in Buffalo and Carolina are using to wreak havoc. Edmonton isn?t exactly blessed with scoring ability; Smyth?s 36 goals in the regular season were nine more than second-place Raffi Torres. The Sharks, on the other hand, have the league?s top scorer in Jonathan Cheechoo (56 goals) and top point-getter in Joe Thornton (125 points). It?ll be up to the Oilers to keep them out of the offensive zone as much as possible, while ratcheting up their own forechecking pressure on the Sharks? relatively young defense.
The opening face-off at Rexall Place is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. OLN has the television coverage in the States, while the CBC broadcasts to Canada.
---Perry
BetWWTS.com
If you want to identify the hockey players at an athletes? banquet, look at their teeth. If they look too perfect to be real, it?s because they aren?t.
Hockey players and missing teeth go together like rum and coke. So when Edmonton Oilers left winger Ryan Smyth took a puck to the face Wednesday night and lost three teeth in the process, leaving a trail of blood behind him as he left the ice, it wasn?t the end of Big Oil. Smyth was back in action in a matter of minutes, setting up Shawn Horcoff?s game-winning goal in triple overtime as Edmonton downed the San Jose Sharks 3-2. That crucial win prevented San Jose from taking a 3-0 series lead in this best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal.
The dental work Smyth had done Thursday was probably more of a threat to his status for Friday night?s Game 4 than the injury itself. But Smyth is expected to be all stitched up and ready to go. That gust of wind you feel from the north is a collective exhale of relief coming from Edmonton supporters. Smyth was the Oilers? leading scorer during each of the past three regular seasons; the assistant captain also has two goals and three assists after nine playoff games this year.
The Oilers need all hands on deck if they want to survive this series. The Sharks remain big ?280 favorites to advance to the next round. They were masterful in their 4-1 dismantling of the Nashville Predators in the West quarterfinals, and were riding a six-game winning streak before Wednesday?s triple-OT loss. Center Patrick Marleau leads all playoff scorers with nine goals. Vesa Toskala, meanwhile, has quietly been one of the best goalies in a postseason where goaltending is even more in the forefront than years past. His .936 save percentage ranks third behind Anaheim?s Ilya Bryzgalov and Carolina?s Cam Ward.
Dwayne Roloson isn?t exactly chopped liver himself. He?s just a shade behind Toskala with a .932 save percentage, far and away the main reason the 8-seed Oilers were able to upset the 1-seed Detroit Red Wings, who came into the playoffs with the best record in the NHL at 58-16-8. Roloson stood on his head in Wednesday?s marathon ? 32 saves on 34 shots to send the capacity crowd at Rexall Place home happy. But Toskala was even better in a losing effort, stopping 55 of 58 Edmonton shots. It?s difficult to see the Oilers getting that kind of offensive barrage in Game 4; Toskala faced just 41 shots in the first two games combined.
Still, home ice is clearly an advantage for the Oilers. They raised their level of play in front of the hometown faithful, and another passionate effort can be expected Friday night. That?s why Edmonton is the favorite in Game 4 with the puckline set at Oilers ? 1 ?, +200. All three games in this series have been decided by one goal (as were three of Edmonton?s four victories over the Red Wings), so if you?re anticipating another close finish, it?ll cost you some chalk: San Jose is + 1 ?, -240.
The total for Friday night is five goals, with the OVER priced at ?125. This is an interesting line, given that it took six periods for the Oilers and Sharks to cobble together five goals on Wednesday. Toskala and Roloson helped drive the UNDER to the pay window in the first two contests; will they be tired enough after Game 3 to let in a weak goal or two in Game 4?
It isn?t just the goaltenders keeping the puck out of the net. Team defense was a big part of Edmonton?s upset of the Wings in the first round. The Oilers put up a wall on the blue line and kept Detroit from establishing the kind of forechecking that smaller and speedier teams in Buffalo and Carolina are using to wreak havoc. Edmonton isn?t exactly blessed with scoring ability; Smyth?s 36 goals in the regular season were nine more than second-place Raffi Torres. The Sharks, on the other hand, have the league?s top scorer in Jonathan Cheechoo (56 goals) and top point-getter in Joe Thornton (125 points). It?ll be up to the Oilers to keep them out of the offensive zone as much as possible, while ratcheting up their own forechecking pressure on the Sharks? relatively young defense.
The opening face-off at Rexall Place is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. OLN has the television coverage in the States, while the CBC broadcasts to Canada.
---Perry
BetWWTS.com
