Former Oilers in the Playoffs: Opening Night

15 years ago

So the Edmonton Oilers are out of the playoffs. There are, however, Edmonton Oilers who are still in the playoffs – because really, who among us is ready to sever our emotional ties to players as renowned as Joffrey Lupul and Tom Poti?

In any case, here’s a quick look at every ex-Oiler in action last night, and my picks for best three performances.

Hurricanes vs. Devils

Former Oilers: Ray Whitney, Sergei Samsonov, Joni Pitkanen, Erik Cole

We start with the Carolina/New Jersey series because there are four former Oilers playing in it. All the ex-Oilers in this series come on the Carolina side of the equation, and if the series keeps going the way it did last night they aren’t likely to look very good at the end of it. By the numbers, Ray Whitney had easily the best night (although Joni Pitkanen led the team in total ice-time) – here’s the summary for all of them:

Ray Whitney: 1 goal, 2 PIM, 19:10 TOI, 4 shots and 1 missed shot
Sergei Samsonov: 1 hit, -1, 13:09 TOI, no shots and 1 shot attempt blocked
Joni Pitkanen: 1 hit, 2 blocks, 1 takeaway, -1, 23:21 TOI, 1 shot and 1 missed shot
Erik Cole: 3 hits, -1, 17:59 TOI, 1 shot and 1 missed shot

Flyers vs. Penguins

Former Oilers: Joffrey Lupul, Bill Guerin, Petr Sykora, Mathieu Garon

None of the Oilers in this series had a terribly noteworthy game last night; Garon didn’t play, and none of the forwards recorded a point. Bill Guerin didn’t hesitate to make his presence felt, though, fighting with Flyers defenseman Braydon Coburn (who had a rough night overall). Guerin scored the takedown on Coburn, but it was more of a wrestling match than an actual fight, so it wasn’t a clear win. By the numbers:

Joffrey Lupul: 2 PIM, 16:30 TOI, 1 hit, 2 hosts, 1 giveaway, 1 shot attempt blocked
Bill Guerin: 5 PIM, 14:54 TOI, +1, 1 hit, 3 shots, 1 missed shot, 2 shot attempts blocked
Petr Sykora: 14:02 TOI, 1 shot, +1

Blues vs. Canucks

Former Oilers: Brad Winchester, Jeff Woywitka

I watched this game and have my thoughts up at CanucksArmy, and there’s another good take on things over at Nucks Misconduct (for a Blues’ take, see St. Louis Gametime). In any case, Winchester was used sparingly (his most notable moment was earning a 10 minute misconduct in a scrum at the end of the first), although Woywitka had a very nice game with a couple of very good plays that don’t show up on the stats sheet. In any case, here are the numbers for both:

Brad Winchester: 10 PIM, 7:25 TOI, 3 hits, 1 shot
Jeff Woywitka: 18:59 TOI, 2 hits, 1 shot and 1 shot attempt blocked, 1 block

Rangers vs. Capitals

Former Oilers: Stephen Valiquette, Tom Poti

Oddly enough, the Rangers don’t have many ex-Oilers these days. Stephen Valiquette played a dozen minutes with the team half a decade ago, and he never left the bench (and probably won’t, barring injury). This leaves fan favourite Tom Poti as the only Oiler in the series. Poti played 18:29 on the night and led the Capitals in short-handed ice-time (4:50). He had one shot, and took a second one that missed, and finished the evening +1.

Three Stars

My take for best former Oilers on the night:

Ray Whitney
Bill Guerin
Tom Poti

Whitney gets the nod for his goal, Guerin for six shots attempted on net and a physical game, and Tom Poti edges out Cole and Pitkanen with his strong play on the penalty kill and at even strength.