Considered one of the league's biggest disappointments from a season ago, the Calgary Flames will look to bounce back this season after finishing 2009-2010 as the league's worst offensive team, scoring fewer goals than anyone else in the NHL. A shakeup at the trade deadline which saw the Flames get rid of cornerstone defenceman Dion Phaneuf in exchange for a couple of middle of the pack forwards and a bucket of pucks was unable to propel the Flames into the postseason, and are hoping the long offseason gave their marquee players some time to think. Team captain Jarome Iginla was among those who struggled last season who went on a few multi game scoreless droughts, which as the main source of income doesn't bode well for the Flames win-loss record. Calgary made a push during free agency and reacquired both Alex Tanguay and Olli Jokinen who will look to give Iginla some socring help. Furthermore, the Flames are hoping Niklas Hagman can return to Leafs and Stars form and provide a balanced secondary attack with the likes of Daymond Langkow, Ales Kotalik, and Rene Bourque also chipping in. At the back end, Jay Bouwmeester, Mark Girodano, Robyn Regehr, and Ian White will lead the way as they try to keep opposing offense at bay and out of Miikka Kiprusoff's face. If the Flames offense can live up to its potential it will inevitably alleviate the pressure placed on the Flames defense and goaltending which should allow the entire team to play better as a unit. Calgary was a playoff calibre team last year that fell 5 points short of a plaoff berth because they simply couldn't score enough goals when it mattered.
From one trainwreck to another last season, Alberta's other hockey power was anything from that a season ago finishing with the worst record by a whopping 14 points. The Oil were 33 points out of a playoff spot, and were essentially doormats for the entire duration of the season. Edmonton was plagued with injuries as their starting goaltender in Nikolai Khabibulin, and best player in Ales Hemsky both succumbed to early, season ending injuries which left the Oilers and their fans incredibly deflated. By midseason, the Oilers were already looking ahead to next year and as the season rolled along the talks of the first overall selection in the 2010 entry draft became the focal point. Edmonton received that pick and selected decorated junior phenom Taylor Hall from the Windsor Spitfires who will look to make an immediate impact in this game. WIth a number of roster and personnel changes going on in Oil Country, the new look Oilers will still have a lot of work to do to get back to the postseason but they're definitely on the right track. Fellow rookie prospects Jordan Eberle and Magnus Paajarvi who had a stellar preseason have also cracked the roster to go along with a healthy Ales Hemsky and Dustin Penner who had a pretty solid campaign last year. Rounding out the Oilers attack includes veteran Shawn Horcoff, youngsters Sam Gagner, Andrew Cogliano, Gilbert Brule and Colin Fraser, and tough guys Zach Stortini and Steve MacIntyre. With the balance of speed and finesse up front Edmonton will be exciting to watch and should be able to stay competitive on most nights. Defensively, the Oilers are a bit thin beyond their top 4 consisting of Kurtis Foster, Ladislav Smid, Ryan Whitney, and Tom Gilbert but if those 4 can play up to par and Khabibulin can hold his own then this team will be much improved from a season ago.
This game will definitely be electric as a number of players are making their NHL debuts, and with the history these two teams have you can bet both teams will look to gain fortunes at the other team's expense Thursday night. Regardless of positioning these two teams always play each other tough and this one shouldn't be any different. A season ago these two teams opened up in Edmonton and the Flames came away with a 3-2 victory after Oilers goaltender literall threw the game away by coughing up the puck in his own end as he tried to stickhandle. Without that flub the Oilers would have won that game, and with that image surely to be fresh in his mind I am expecting Khabibulin to play a little smarter this time around. With the hype surrounding Hall, Eberle, Paajarvi and the rest of the Oilers I am expecting them to thrive in the season opener. If Calgary can withstand the mayhem that is surely to happen in the first 10 minutes then the Oilers could be in trouble. If not, I like the Oilers to come out flying and their rookie sensations to make an immediate difference in this game. Edmonton takes the opener. WATCH LIVE ONLINE Give it a try >>>
