10/31 Pregame Notes and Rosters – Oilers at Bruins

Here are the rosters for this afternoon’s game between the Boston Bruins and Edmonton Oilers. Face-off is scheduled for 1:00 at the TD Garden in Boston.

BOSTON BRUINS (5-5-1, 11 pts.):
#6 D Dennis Wideman 1-1-2-2
#16 F Marco Sturm 2-5-7-4
#17 F Milan Lucic 0-3-3-9 (IR – finger)
#20 F Daniel Paille 0-3-3-2 (totals w/ BOS & BUF)
#21 D Andrew Ference 0-1-1-6
#22 F Shawn Thornton 1-0-1-19
#26 F Blake Wheeler 3-2-5-6
#27 F Steve Begin 2-4-6-9
#28 F Mark Recchi 2-2-4-6
#30 G Tim Thomas 4-4-0, 2.86, .906
#33 D Zdeno Chara 0-6-6-22
#37 F Patrice Bergeron 4-4-8-4
#40 G Tuukka Rask 1-1-1, 3.17 .899
#42 F Trent Whitfield 0-0-0-5
#45 D Mark Stuart 1-2-3-8
#46 F David Krejci 1-4-5-0
#48 D Matt Hunwick 3-1-4-8
#53 D Derek Morris 1-6-7-10
#55 D Johnny Boychuk 0-0-0-5
#60 F Vladimir Sobotka 0-1-1-0
#61 F Byron Bitz 1-1-2-7
#63 F Brad Marchand 0-1-1-0
#73 F Michael Ryder 3-3-6-0
#91 F Marc Savard 4-3-7-4 (IR – foot)

EDMONTON OILERS (7-5-1, 15 pts.):
#5 D Ladislav Smid 0-4-4-17
#10 F Shawn Horcoff 2-3-5-8
#12 F Robert Nilsson 1-2-3-0
#13 F Andrew Cogliano 2-3-5-0
#18 F Ethan Moreau 1-1-2-13
#19 F Patrick O’Sullivan 2-6-8-6
#22 F Jean-Francois Jacques 2-3-5-16
#24 D Steve Staios 0-0-0-6 (IR - head)
#27 F Dustin Penner 9-10-19-2
#32 F Ryan Stone 0-3-3-9 (IR - leg)
#33 F Steve MacIntyre 0-0-0-5
#34 F Fernando Pisani 0-0-0-0 (IR - back)
#35 G Nikolai Khabibulin 6-4-1, 3.22, .904
#37 D Denis Grebeshkov 3-5-8-12
#38 G Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers 1-1-0, 1.51, .957
#41 D Taylor Chorney 0-1-1-2
#43 D Jason Strudwick 0-3-3-2
#44 D Sheldon Souray 0-0-0-5 (IR - head)
#46 F Zack Stortini 2-0-2-30
#49 D Theo Peckham 0-0-0-2
#67 F Gilbert Brule 4-4-8-9
#71 D Lubomir Visnovsky 3-5-8-2
#77 D Tom Gilbert 0-2-2-4
#78 F Marc Pouliot 0-0-0-0 (IR - groin)
#83 F Ales Hemsky 4-11-15-8
#89 F Sam Gagner 4-6-10-9
#91 F Mike Comrie 3-3-6-8

- Neither club is holding a pregame skate, so the starting goaltenders won’t be officially known until the teams hit the ice for warmups. Early predictions are favoring a match-up between Tim Thomas and Nikolai Khabibulin. Thomas is 4-4-0 on the season, with a 2.86 goals against average, and a .902 save percentage, while Khabibulin is 6-4-1, with a 3.22 goals against average, and a .904 save percentage. Boston’s netminder has had success against the Oilers in his career, posting a 3-0 record, a 0.98 goals against average, and two shutouts. Khabibulin is 6-5-2-4-1 (W-L-T-OT-SO) in 19 career appearances against the Bruins.

- The Bruins are carrying the exact same roster that they did on Thursday, as they have 22 players healthy and ready for action. If the lineup stays the same, Trent Whitfield and Johnny Boychuk would be the healthy scratches for the second consecutive game.

- The Oilers have a total of 27 players on their roster, but five of those are on Injured Reserve, bringing the active total down to a more respectable (and legal) 22. Fernando Pisani, Marc Pouliot, Steve Staios, Sheldon Souray, and Ryan Stone are the five players on Injured Reserve. Ladislav Smid will be one of Edmonton’s two scratches, as he has unfortunately come down with the H1N1 virus. Seven other members of the Oilers have all been under the weather lately, so the other scratch could come down to who is feeling the worst. Luckily for the Oilers, their AHL affiliate is in nearby Springfield, MA.

- The Bruins played one of their better games on Thursday, but were unable to extend their points streak to four, falling 2-1 against the New Jersey Devils. Boston enters today’s game with an overall record of 5-5-1, as well as a 3-4 mark on home ice. Thanks to his goal on Thursday, Patrice Bergeron now leads the club with eight points.

- The Oilers are coming off of quite the game, as they picked up a dramatic 6-5 shootout victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday. However, the game shouldn’t have been as hectic for Edmonton, who jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the contest. Patrick O’Sullivan netted the shootout winner for the Oilers. Edmonton comes in with an overall record of 7-5-1, but has gone just 1-3 on enemy ice. Dustin Penner leads the team with nine goals and 19 points, while Ales Hemsky is in second place with 11 assists and 15 points.

- Last season, Boston and Edmonton played once, in a game that was almost exactly one year ago today. The visiting Bruins defeated the Oilers 1-0 in overtime on October 27th at Rexall Place. Dennis Wideman scored the lone goal, finding the net with a power play tally at 3:18 of overtime. Tim Thomas stopped all 27 shots he faced for the shutout, beating Dwayne Roloson, who made 36 saves on 37 shots.

- Three straight years without a playoff appearance led to a big move for the Edmonton Oilers, as Craig MacTavish was fired after eight seasons behind the bench as the team’s head coach. Pat Quinn was hired as MacTavish’s replacement. Other than that, the Oilers were practically silent during the offseason, only being involved in four transactions. Nikolai Khabibulin replaced Dwayne Roloson in goal, Mike Comrie was brought in from Ottawa, and Ales Kotalik departed for the Big Apple.

- The Oilers might not have any dazzling rookies on their roster, but they have certainly cornered the market on players that were selected during the first round of the NHL Entry Draft. Nine of Edmonton’s current players were picked in that round. They are: Gilbert Brule (6th overall to Columbus in 2005), Andrew Cogliano (25th overall in 2005), Sam Gagner (6th overall in 2007), Denis Grebeshkov (18th overall to Los Angeles in 2002), Ales Hemsky (13th overall in 2001), Ethan Moreau (14th overall to Chicago in 1994), Robert Nilsson (15th overall to New York I. in 2003), Marc Pouliot (22nd overall in 2003), and Ladislav Smid (9th overall to Anaheim in 2004).

- One member of the Bruins has spent time in the Edmonton organization, and that player may come as a surprise to some. Tim Thomas signed with the Oilers prior to the 1998-99 season, as he went on to play in 15 games with the Hamilton Bulldogs. Boston’s current backstop went 6-8-0 with a 3.23 goals against average for the Bulldogs. On the other side of the ice, Steve Staios played in 66 games for the Bruins from 1995-97, registering three goals, eight assists, eleven points, and 75 penalty minutes. Steve MacIntyre was also a member of Boston’s organization, picking up two goals, three assists, five points, and 213 penalty minutes with the Providence Bruins during the 2007-08 campaign.

- Today is the 63rd lifetime meeting between Boston and Edmonton. The Bruins lead the all-time series, entering the game with a record of 39-17-6-0. Boston has enjoyed seeing the Oilers in recent seasons, as the Bruins have won each of the last seven tilts between the clubs. Edmonton’s last win against the Bruins came back on October 17, 2000, while one would have to travel all the way back to the 1996-97 season to find the Oilers’ last victory in Boston.