Oilers Tonight

Well, well, well. Guess who's back in town? Mike Comrie.

Oh, and Bill Guerin. And Marc Andre Bergeron.

All except the Islander captain were pretty much run out of town. Comrie is to Edmonton what Yashin was to Ottawa. In Edmonton, Comrie is seen as a local kid who got too big for his britches and forced a trade out of town. He's probably the anti-Hannah Montana of Western Canada, if I may speak in Disney-isms. Expect some boos tonight, Mike.

Marc Andre was blamed for everything under the sun until he was traded to the Isles last season. Sure, we've seen his giveaways and all of that too but his shot and power play prowess makes up for the defensive lapses and gaffes...most of the time.

Bill Guerin played four seasons in Edmonton and was, for all intents and purposes, a popular player who liked the Edmonton atmosphere and whatnot but he ultimately fell victim to the 'bottom line of the balance sheet'-hockey that was played in board rooms in the 1990s.

Funny how rivalries from over twenty years ago can stick with you like a bad song in your head. I still am not a huge fan of the Oilers. They're pretty much out of the hair and all, but if push comes to shove, I am still hoping the Oilers lose. All of that because some 23 years ago, Gretzky and Company beat the Isles in The Drive for Five.

Don't know if you caught this or not but yesterday, Post writer and Larry "Mr. Bigglesworth" Brooks broke the news that Kyle Okposo would be heading to major juniors in the OHL rather than reporting to Bridgeport or Long Island for a little extra seasoning. Then, late yesterday, the Isles released the news that Okposo would be joining the Sound Tigers in Bridgeport for practice on Thursday and likely make his American League debut Friday in Binghamton against the Senators.

Yep, Ol' Larry has got his finger on the pulse yet again. Maybe he should go back to writing treacle puff pieces about the inherent greatness of Henrik Lundqvist. Of course, I keed, Larry Boy. Okposo could end up in the OHL after a little look-see by the Islanders training staff and coaches. That move actually makes perfect sense so that the staff can assess where Okposo is in his development, since the fact that the organization did not think Okposo was improving was the reason the kid left the University of Minnesota.

If you watched the WJC, one thing was for sure. Okposo was not the best Islander draftee in the tournament. That would have to be Robin Figren of Sweden. I also thought Rhett Rakshani played a good pressure game for the Americans on a line with Okposo; who had a fine tournament with a goal and five assists in seven games for the United States.

Speaking of the WJC, how great is that tournament? I am already looking forward to next year when Canada is defending their crown on home soil. Team Canada fans always seem to travel really well and it is going to be an amazing atmosphere in the nation's capital.

One question though, as posed by James Duthie of TSN after the Canadians scored in OT: did goal scorer Matt Halischuk interfere with the Swedish goaltender? Also, could Halischuk have been in the crease a little early? After watching the game, I don't think he was. TSN analyst Bob McKenzie was correct when he surmised that some Swedish were probably wondering the same thing.