Oilers juggle forward lines for Red Wings' visit
Defenceman Smid at left wing, while MacTavish reunites Horcoff, Hemsky
Last Updated: Thursday, November 20, 2008 | 3:25 PM ET
CBC Sports
Oilers defenceman Ladislav Smid, right, will play left wing against Tomas Kopecky and the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday. (Dave Sandford/Getty Images)There may be a few reports of strained necks on Friday in Edmonton stemming from thousands of Oilers fans doing a double take at Rexall Place the previous night.
Head coach Craig MacTavish will be the one to blame after inserting one-time Anaheim Ducks defence prospect Ladislav Smid at left wing on the team's fourth line.
Smid, a solid plus-1 on the blue-line prior to being sidelined two weeks ago with a concussion, will have to learn a new position upon his return against the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings (7 p.m. MT).
With six healthy defencemen in Tom Gilbert, Sheldon Souray, Steve Staios, Jason Strudwick, Lubomir Visnovsky and Denis Grebeshkov, MacTavish has elected to bench tough guys Zack Stortini and Jesse Boulerice against the skilled Red Wings.
The 22-year-old, who hasn't played since taking a forearm shiver on the back of the head from former Oilers forward Raffi Torres in a 5-4 loss at Columbus, skated with Kyle Brodziak and Marc Pouliot at Thursday's morning workout.
But the line juggling doesn't stop there, Edmonton fans.
Centre Shawn Horcoff, who was recently demoted to a third-line checking role, has been reunited with former linemate and Oilers leading scorer Ales Hemsky on the top unit with captain Ethan Moreau against Detroit.
They clicked immediately in Wednesday's 7-2 rout of the hometown Blue Jacket with three points each.
They set up Gilbert early in the third period to give Edmonton a short-lived 4-1 lead. The trio was also in on Horcoff's fifth goal of the season later in the frame.
With 11 points in 19 starts, Horcoff is certain he's back on track after missing the last half of the 2007-08 season with a shoulder injury.
"Mac has always said, and he has been true to his word, that if you're struggling, as long as you're doing everything you can to get out of it, he'll be your ally," Horcoff told reporters Wednesday.
"I was struggling with the puck in the early part of the season and it seemed like everything was moving so fast. It was probably from not playing but, the last four or five games, I've felt like I'm back. I've felt a lot more comfortable with the puck."
The victory was the seventh in 14 road starts this season for the Oilers and enabled them to jump past idle Nashville and Columbus into eighth spot in the NHL's Western Conference with a 9-8-2 record.
It also snapped a three-game losing streak for Edmonton, which is 3-4-1 over its last eight outings.
MacTavish's crew will attempt to avenge a 4-0 setback at Detroit's Joe Louis Arena on Monday.
Roloson 'was really on top of his game': MacTavish
Red Wings goalie Ty Conklin, who spent parts of three seasons with Edmonton, helped beat his old team after making 21 saves to earn his fifth career shutout.
But surprisingly, Chris Osgood is expected to get the call Thursday after sitting on the bench the past two games. He has gone 16-8-3 with four ties and a 2.26 goals-against average versus the Oilers.
Bet on MacTavish sticking with veteran Dwayne Roloson, who made 37 saves against the Blue Jackets after facing 41 shots in Detroit.
"He was really on top of his game," said MacTavish of Roloson, who evened his record at 3-3-2 in eight appearances this season and raised his save percentage to .920. "When your goalie outplays the other guy [Columbus' Pascal Leclaire], it is normally a good indication of the result."
But the challenge promises to be bigger against the 12-2-3 Red Wings, who begin a three-game road trip riding a three-game win streak.
Their power play, which went 1-for-5 on Monday, remains atop the 30-team NHL with a 32.4 per cent success rate. The Oilers have surrendered six power-play goals in their past four games.
