David Staples has a little scoring project going on, I thought I'd add in my two cents tonight as sort of a practise run.
Overall a good game for the good guys, although that first period was an execrable effort by everybody in blue. When Shawn Horcoff is coughing up the puck at his own blueline, you know they weren't really into things. They all sucked, so pretty much everybody gets a -1 for that.
Fernando Pisani, 8: a goal and an assist, the goal was a bit of a gimmie but you have to be good to be in the right spot. He also absorbed a pretty nice hit from Moreau after the captain scored. He was everywhere tonight. First star in my books.
Mathieu Garon, 7: no real softies, he made some great saves and kept the team in it. Wasn't really a game-stealer though.
Andrew Cogliano, 7: chalk up another game-winner for Cherry's fav. He was buzzing around all night.
Ethan Moreau, 7: goal and an assist, he was physical and tough - he did everything he's supposed to, and then some.
Marc Pouliot, 7: 2 assists is what he needs to keep putting up to stick around. He got juggled around a bit, but was at his best playing with Moreau. He protected the puck well, and used his size too.
Denis Grebeshkov, 7: pointless but +2, 22 minutes of icetime. This is not at all the Grebs from this time last year. Even in the first period when the Oilers couldn't give the puck away fast enough, he wasn't bad.
Steve MacIntyre, 6: 2:31 of icetime and he still got in 2 hits, including a crusher on Dustin Boyd. His subsequent fight with Prust was ok, I'd give the decision to Big Mac but he didn't dominate as he should be able to with his size and practise. Still, a yeoman's effort, and his hit helped to turn the game around.
Shawn Horcoff, 6: his whopping 23 minutes of icetime led all Oilers forwards (and most defencemen on either side). Go-to man for everything, he had 5 shots but couldn't convert. Should have been a 7 despite no points, but the first period pulled him down.
Robert Nilsson, 6: he deserved better with at least three or four golden chances. Wasn't really noticeable on the backcheck, which isn't necessarily bad. Would have been a 7 if he'd scored on one of those chances.
Steve Staios, 6: he played 21 minutes and I didn't notice him a lot. When you're a defensive dman, that's good news. He was brutal in the first but settled down. Overall a competent game.
Erik Cole, 6: didn't get on the scoresheet, but he was very physical with as many credited hits as the entire Flames team. Bad penalty in the third after some missed chances pulled him down, I thought the diving call was marginal though. That and going pointless held him down. He had a couple of good chances, but totally flubbed a cross-crease pass - he obviously wasn't expecting it, but it would have been a golden opportunity.
Ales Hemsky, 6: very quiet game for him. No shots, and he made some good passes that unfortunately wound up nowhere near the back of the net. He also didn't get smoked by Regehr and was his usual dangly self on several occasions, and while he gave the puck away a couple of times, it didn't wind up behind Garon so all's well. Would have been a 7 with a point or with a better first period.
Jason Strudwick, 6: he did exactly what he needs to do to keep dressing, although Garon's GAA would probably be better without the own-goal. That wasn't really Strudwick's fault though. He played fairly well against Bertuzzi when they were on the ice together, and was one of the few Oilers big enough to handle Big Bert.
Dustin Penner, 6: he got some PP time with Gagner out. He was assertive in the second, but faded a bit in the third. He had a few chances down low, but he was shotless. He played fairly well defensively and I don't recall his first period being as bad as everybody else's. Kind of a weak 6.
Kyle Brodziak, 6: Honestly, I barely noticed him, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. He had some shot blocks and played as well as anybody on the penalty kill. Like Penner though, kind of a weak 6 - he had a couple of shots but neither were dangerous (I don't think). He had a decent night in the faceoff circle.
Lubomir Visnovsky, 6: high-risk led to no reward, but he wasn't bad either. Moved the puck well on the power plays, moved it not quite so well in his own end, especially in the first.
Tom Gilbert, 6: a few brutal giveaways, but an assist and tons of half-decent icetime helped his score.
Ladislav Smid, 6: kid does ok in his first game of the season with Souray out. 12:38 of icetime, had a couple of good hits and didn't handle the puck like a grenade after the first 20 minutes. He also didn't do much offensively.
Zack Stortini, 5: playing with Big Mac is hurting Stortini's ice time, he would up with an extra minute over MacIntyre but didn't do much with it. 0 credited hits, although he was fairly physical and was definitely jawing things up.
Dwayne Roloson: kudos to him for sitting down and shutting up. It can't be easy making 3.6 million dollars to open the bench door and to take notes, especially when you were Marc-Andre Bergeron + Andrew Ladd away from maybe winning a Stanley Cup and the Conn Smythe. Didn't play so no rating, but I wanted to mention him anyway.