FanHouse MathieuGaron

So the rematch is set: Pittsburgh vs. Detroit. For the first time in 25 years, the same two teams will meet in back-to-back years for the right to fight for Lord Stanley's Cup, and while one of these teams is relatively similar to last year's version (with one big exception) the other is very, very different.

When the Penguins entered the third period of Sunday's game against Boston trailing, 3-2, they had the Bruins exactly where they wanted them.

Thanks to a four-goal rally, including two from Chris Kunitz, who registered his second career hat trick, the Penguins pulled out a 6-4 win over the top team in the Eastern Conference.

Have you ever heard an announcer make some cliche reference to the two-goal lead being the hardest to protect? Never made much sense to me, seeing as how a two-goal lead is always better than a one-goal lead.

The Penguins, however, seem determined to prove the two-goal lead is the hardest to protect, as they've developed a troubling habit of coughing them up late in games. On Saturday, Pittsburgh entered the third period of its game against Ottawa with a 3-1 lead, only to watch it slip away as the Senators stormed back for a 4-3 shootout win.

With his team mired in a two-month skid -- and crippled with injuries -- it's not a surprise that Penguins general manager Ray Shero would make a move to strengthen his squad. It's just kind of surprising that backup goalie is the position he would decide to upgrade.

That's exactly what he did on Saturday morning when the Penguins sent backup goaltender Dany Sabourin, along with prospect Ryan Stone and a fourth-round pick in 2011 to Edmonton in exchange for Mathieu Garon.

Garon, 31, has struggled this season, but is coming off a strong 2007-08 campaign where he posted a .913 save percentage for the Oilers. Both players have nearly identical numbers this season, while Garon has a stronger resume over the course of his entire career. For the Penguins, it should prove to be a solid upgrade behind Marc-Andre Fleury.

Columbus goalie Steve Mason was perfect for 59 minutes on Friday night in his quest for his seventh shutout of the season. It was that one minute that proved to be the difference, as Travis Zajac and John Madden scored two quick goals to help lead the Devils to a 2-1 win.

Madden's goal, which proved to be the game-winner, came with some controversy as it needed a review from the infamous war room in Toronto. Mason appeared to have the puck covered long enough for a whistle, only to have Madden continue to dig and push the puck in as the net was dislodged. The call on the ice from referee Don Koharski was that it was a goal, and officials in Toronto apparently agreed, much to the chagrin of the fans in Columbus. Naturally, both teams had their own perspective on the events.

Welcome to the NHL FanHouse 2008-09 season preview. While other sites are previewing "30 teams in 30 days," we decided to take advantage of the extra time off before the start of the season to bring you all 30 previews over the next three weeks. We're counting down in reverse order of finish from last season in each conference every weekday from now until October 3. Look for an Eastern Conference preview every morning and a Western Conference preview every afternoon. Click here to read them all.

Who's In: Erik Cole, F (Trade-CAR); Lubomir Visnovsky, D (Trade-LA); Ryan Potulny, F (Trade-PHI), Gilbert Brule, F (Trade-CBJ)

Who's Out: Jarret Stoll, F (Trade-LA); Marty Reasoner, F (FA-ATL); Joni Pitkanen, D (Trade-CAR); Matt Greene, D (Trade-LA); Curtis Glencross, F (FA-CGY); Raffi Torres, F (Trade-CBJ)

What's Changed: Edmonton finished last year on a 18-10-1 run, so the idea in the offseason was to improve this team. The Oilers made their run on the backs of an assortment of young players, and hopes are high in the Land of Oil for this team. Edmonton brought in Cole from Carolina, giving their top line the punch and experience it needed. Cole will likely work with "veteran" Shawn Horcoff (just turned 30) and the greatly-talented Ales Hemsky on the top line.

The other significant move the Oilers made involved replacing offensive-minded defenseman Pitkanen, who was dealt for Cole. Edmonton packaged Stoll and Greene in a deal for Visnovsky, who was minus-18 last year but on a painfully bad Los Angeles team. He'll make sure that the defensive corps doesn't miss Pitkanen too much.

Outside of those two moves, not much has changed in Edmonton, except that the kids are a year older. Andrew Cogliano (45 points in 2007), Hemsky (71), Sam Gagner (49), Robert Nilsson (41), Kyle Brodziak (31), Tom Gilbert (33), and Dustin Penner (47) all were a big part of the team's late-season resurgence, and Penner - at age 26 - is the oldest of this group. Saying that their best days are ahead of them is an understatement.

While the Edmonton Oilers have a butt-ugly looking roster, and are about defensively inept as Todd Bertuzzi on one of his lazy days, they are still within striking distance of a playoff spot. With 25 points in 27 games, the Oilers are just three points behind 8th place Nashville, San Jose, Columbus, and Anaheim, as the Western Conference has a huge logjam for that final, precious playoff spot. As much as I deride the Northern Albertan club, you can generally count on the Oilers to go down fighting. I'm quite shocked that they aren't lurking deep in the Western Conference basement.

The fact that the Oilers have even a sniff of the playoffs is thanks to two major factors.

1. The Oilers rock the shootout. The Oilers aren't simply loading up on cheapie OT-loss points, since the Edmonton boys are a league best 6-1 in the post-OT skills competition.

Ales Hemsky leads the league with four shootout goals (in seven attempts), while young Sam Gagner is three-for-six, himself. The Oilers are scoring at a 50% clip, well above the league average of 34.29%.

2. The goaltending of Mathieu Garon. Old man Dwayne Roloson, and his wonky knee, has struggled to maintain his #1 status this season. In comes Garon to save the day for the Oilers, and put up the kind of numbers that were expected of him many years ago, when Garon was a top prospect.

Garon: 12GP 6-4-0 2.37GAA 91.4SV%
Roloson: 18GP 6-10-1 2.97GAA 90.3SV%

We must also note that Garon has let in just one goal in 10 shootout attempts against, helping pump up that impressive shootout record.

Shootout mastery is a skill that can't be counted on, but perhaps Garon's fine goaltending can be. If the Oilers can hold the fort until some of their injured stars come back (Sheldon Souray, big time), they might still be in the thick of things come February and March. I don't expect the Oilers to be that good, but we know they are always capable of surprising us pundits.