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About Mike Cook
Mike Cook spends much of his time writing about politicians and pucks. In addition to his full-time job covering the Minnesota House of Representatives, he does freelance sports writing – including pro and college hockey – for the Associated Press and other entities. A lifelong resident of the State of Hockey, he grew up a fan of the Minnesota North Stars and still misses Met Center. He looks forward to when his three young children are on skates at 6 a.m. practices.
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| Oilers taking their growing pains on the road |
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| Northwest | |
| Written by Mike Cook | |
| Wednesday, November 10, 2010 00:00 | |
Tom Renney is excited about his young team's potential, but that potential has failed to translate to wins at home. If Edmonton is serious about making the playoffs, now would be the time to show it.
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Maybe the best thing that could happen to a young Edmonton team is simply to get out of town.| AROUND THE NORTHWEST |
Edmonton lost 3-1 at home to Detroit Friday, a game that the Oilers got the better of for two periods, but had only a Taylor Hall power-play goal to show for their efforts. Although the result was not what they wanted, players said it was another stepping stone in a season that will likely be full of them.“We were doing a lot of things well,” said defenseman Tom Gilbert. “We were moving the puck well, we were skating fast and we were getting pucks in deep."
Despite the positives, the losing still stinks.
Oiler fans expected this young team to struggle, but the players want to prove they are not a group that will just roll over when faced with some adversity. They know growing pains are part of the long-term success and that moving forward is the best thing they can do.
"The big thing for us is to look at the season in increments, recognize that it'll be a body of work that will define us at the end of the hockey season," said coach Tom Renney. "We're building a season a game at a time, and we build games a period at a time and, believe it or not, we build periods a shift at a time. … I'm really excited about the potential look of our team. I think we've seen flashes of it."
The flashes need to be more frequent because Edmonton must play 14 games in 26 days. If the team comes out of this stretch deep in the division or conference standings, it'll be hard to make any sort of climb later.
"As a player you want to play and play and play. It's good to practice, but everybody in this room is excited for this. It's a good opportunity to get some wins," said Jordan Eberle, one of several young rookies who will learn on the fly during the trip.
Taking two points from the defending Stanley Cup champions was a nice way to begin the trip.
"It was definitely a good feeling, especially coming in a building like Chicago and playing Stanley Cup champions and we get two points," said goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin. "We were close a couple of games before that but lost a couple of one-goal games against very good teams as well. I guess we finally got a little bit of that reward."
However, the blowout loss in Carolina delayed the Oilers' hope of winning back to back games since the first two games of the season.
Want to get away? An airplane awaits.
Notes
Entering Tuesday's game in Colorado, Calgary had been outscored 17-9 in losing four straight, falling from atop the division to 14th place in the conference. The Flames led in each game. Said D Robyn Regehr: "We have to be a little more desperate in our situations. We're in a tough spot and not getting the results, so we need to do that little bit extra, the extra effort to get the puck down the ice and win those little battles. That's where it starts." … Eight of Calgary's next 10 games are on the road, including an Eastern Conference swing through Detroit, the New York Rangers, New Jersey, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh in a seven-day span the week of Thanksgiving. … Calgary RW Tim Jackman has fought in five of the last six games. … Entering Tuesday, Colorado RW Milan Hejduk has four goals and nine assists in his last eight games. … Avs D Adam Foote (head) and G Craig Anderson (knee) were both on the ice prior to Monday's practice. Foote, who last played on Oct. 21, skated by himself and also did a little shooting. Anderson wore his full gear for the first time since his Oct. 26 knee injury, but didn’t take any shots. … The Avs are the highest scoring team in the league, averaging 3.38 goals per game. Colorado has scored three or more goals on nine occasions, posting a 7-1-1 record when doing so. … Colorado is 4-0-1 in one-goal games. … Avs C Philippe Dupuis had a career-best three-point game Saturday, including his first NHL goal. … Wild C Matt Cullen became the ninth Minnesota native to reach 300 career assists with a helper Friday. Cullen has 473 points (172-301-473) in 893 NHL games. … Minnesota D Brent Burns scored twice Saturday, and now has two more goals (five) than he had all of last season. … Cal Clutterbuck's moustache, part of the Wild's Movember campaign, has its own Twitter page at @clutterstache. Even local mascots are taking part. … Entering Tuesday, Vancouver was 7-2-1 in its past 10 games, fifth in the league in goals per game (3.08) and sixth in goals-against average (2.31). … Vancouver C Rick Rypien played 3:06 on the fourth line in Saturday's win at Detroit. It was his first game after serving a six-game suspension for grabbing a fan in Minnesota Oct. 19. ... Canucks D Keith Ballard was a healthy scratch for the first time in his career Tuesday. D Dan Hamhuis, who missed eight games with a deep foot bruise, returned Tuesday.Photos by Getty Images
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