What more can you call tonights game between the Chicago Blackhawks and Edmonton Oilers. Both teams are showcasing I would say the majority of players that will part take in the young stars game taking place in Atlanta this year…thats to say if Kane and Toews dont make the actual all star teams. On the Edmonton side of things you have Kane’s former linemate in Sam Gagner who is playing with fellow rookie linemate Andrew Cogliano, both of whom played with Toews for Team Canada at the World Junior Championships. Throw in Tom Gilbert and Robert Nilsson and you have a mini young stars game.

What a difference a year makes.  A role reversal you may say.  Last season the Hawks were tinkering with last place in the league for the majority of the season while the Oilers managed to stay amongst the pack and battle for a playoff spot until the later part of the year.  Now its the complete opposite with Edmonton battling to stay out of the basement and the Blackhawks poised to make there first playoff appearance in four years.  So while the past few season of watching Chicago have been miserable at best I can finally say Im excited to watch tonights game because of the likes of Kane, Toews, Gagner, Cogliano…hey, I got to have something to look forward to going to the Oiler games these days.

Roli gets the start, the lines stay together for the third game in a row (a new record), and I predict a 4 to 3 Oilers win.

Walks