Where would the Oilers be if Shawn Horcoff and Ales Hemsky were in the line-up?
I'm not suggesting that I thought the Edmonton Oilers could survive (or thrive) without Ales Hemsky and Shawn Horcoff but sometimes your mind can wonder. Wonder to the point where you believe that the kids can do enough to get by without a little help from their friends, Horcoff and Hemsky. Since captain Horcoff went out with a knee injury and the assistant captain, Hemsky, was lost dut to a torn groin, the Oilers have been doing their best.
It's becoming increasingly clear that Edmonton needs the two-most tenured Oilers to keep this cycle of growth continuing on the upswing.
If you take out the one game where Edmonton scored six against Columbus, goals have been a hard commodity to uncover. With only two goals against Vancouver and Los Angeles, just a single against San Jose, Toronto and in another match-up with the Canucks, you see the void Hemsky would fill. I don't think it's at all a stretch to say in those games they would have more goals and consequently, more wins.
The loss of Horcoff isn't so much tied to one thing but a few things. It struck me watching Sunday night's final minute against the Canucks that it was the perfect time to have the captain in the line-up. Maybe it would have been a won face-off to get the puck out, a blocked shot or just having someone out there with more experience to help direct the Oilers into the right spots for the kind of coverage necessary to hold off the opponent.
Hemsky will be back right away. Horcoff is still weeks away but I think it's been proven the Oilers will be a better team with both of them back in the line-up as it's always nice to be needed.
