FanHouse ShawnHorcoff

There are certainly at least two really good teams in the NHL's Western Conference. Defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit and fast-starting San Jose appear in the clear to duke it out for the right to play for the Stanley Cup later this year.

Of course, we know that anything can happen in a best-of-seven series. In addition, we still have half a season left to play. What we don't know is which team in this conference is set up to challenge either the Red Wings or Sharks. They've beaten - at least once - pretty much everyone who has stood in their way, including each other.

While the top of the conference appears to virtually locked in place at this point, there are still serious battles to be fought, especially for the last four positions in the West. Currently, eight teams are separated by just six points. St. Louis, the last-place team in the West, is just nine points out of eighth.

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.

It's great to see quality NHL action return to Chicago after years of disappointing hockey, and man, what a team the windy city has. With their 4-1 win in Minnesota on Sunday, the Blackhawks picked up their ninth straight victory, improving their record to 20-6-7, good enough for the fifth best record in the league.

Chicago received a four-point performance from Dustin Byfuglien, who scored a pair of goals in the first period and also added a pair of assists later in the game, as the Blackhawks dominated Minnesota. Cristobal Huet faced only 19 shots, turning away 18 of them to pick up his fifth consecutive win in goal. During his personal winning streak, Huet has allowed only four goals, posting a .967 save percentage.

Cal Clutterbuck scored Minnesota's only goal, while Martin Havlat and Kris Versteeg added tallies for the Blackhawks.

While Chicago has been reeling off win after win, the Wild have been going the opposite direction winning just two of their past 10 games.

Tuesday night's game against Edmonton is probably one that Columbus goalie Pascal Leclaire would like to permanently erase from his memory, seeing as how it's probably the worst game he's ever played in the NHL. Leclaire gave up seven goals on just 19 shots, as the Oilers rolled to a 7-2 victory, snapping a three-game losing streak.

Columbus finished with a commanding edge in the shots department, firing 39 shots at Dwayne Roloson -- he stopped 37 of them -- and still managed to skate away losing by five goals.

Seven different players scored for Edmonton, including Dustin Penner, who returned to the ice after being banished to the press box for the past two games for, well, not being fit enough to help the club. Penner was also a factor on Edmonton's first goal, as he parked his massive frame in front of Leclaire, providing a screen on Sheldon Souray's blast from the point. Andrew Cogliano, Tom Gilbert, Marc-Antoine Pouliot, Shawn Horcoff and Lubomir Visnovsky also scored for the Oilers.

Kristian Huselius and Rick Nash scored the only goals for the Blue Jackets.

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.

Tonight is yet another edition of that heralded smackdown of provincial neighbors, The Battle of Alberta, and it's not without its usual pregame drama: Curtis Joseph is scheduled to get his first start tonight for Calgary, in place of the eating resting Miikka Kiprusoff. The 40-year-old goalie last played in the Egon Spengler Cup in December, and his last NHL start came last April. Making this situation all the more delicious: CuJo is, like so many others, a former Oiler.

As for Edmonton ... well, let's just say Oilers fans are treating this game and the balance of the team's schedule like a 30-game visit to the proctologist's office. Today's sunshine and rainbows came in the announcement that Shawn Horcoff will have season-ending shoulder surgery on Wednesday, sucking the team's leading scorer (50 points) off the roster. Pleasure Motors at Covered in Oil reacts, and reminds fellow Oilers fans of their ultimate insult to injury, which is that there isn't even a potential No. 1 overall draft pick in the silver lining:

Yep: Horcoff is done for the season. Here's hoping Cogliano or Gagner mounts a late-season bid for the Calder, because failing that, we're going to need the draft lottery to keep Steve Stamkos out of the hands of the Ducks. You people like curling? Because there's no way I'm paying attention to the Oilers for 30 more games.

Ouch. Hope Dustin Penner's 32 points are worth it. So basically, it's Edmonton Oilers: over and out. Or as MetroGnome writes at Five Hole Fanatics: "As a Flames fan, I'll be pretty damn annoyed if the boys can't beat what appears to be a very good AHL team (or a rather terrible NHL team)."

After an impressive lockout season over in Sweden, Shawn Horcoff came back to the NHL in 2006 and put up an impressive 73 points in 79 regular season games and 19 points in 24 playoff games.

Last season, he slipped back to his levels of past production, putting up only 51 points in 80 games.

Coming into this season, fantasy players and fans alike wondered just what level of production they could expect from the versatile forward. Was he a one-year fluke, or are there better things to come?

Well, it appears that his ice time may be chopped with some skilled prospects waiting to take away his ice time. As you can imagine, the poor bugger isn't too happy about the prospect.

"I view myself as a player who can give more than third-line centre minutes but I understand the situation," said Horcoff. "At this point I'm just getting myself ready to start the season."

When Penner became an Oiler after signing a free-agent offer sheet during the summer, it was assumed that Horcoff would centre that top line, just as he did in recent seasons.

"What we're talking about is five-on-five ice for [Horcoff]," Oilers coach Craig MacTavish said. "Maybe his role will be more important, more impactful for us, if he is playing on a second or third line."

The article goes on to say that Horcoff will likely see first unit Power Play time, which could help Horcoff earn a regular spot with the team's best players.

At 29 years of age, Horcoff has definitely reached his peak. Any improvement to his point totals will likely be a result of his environment, rather than his development.

SEASON  GP G A PTS
03-04  80 15 25 40
05-06  79 22 51 73
06-07  80 16 35 51

If you face the decision whether to buy or trade Horcoff in your fantasy league, expect about the same production (50 points) as last season. Even with his 'demotion' to playing with the checkers, the lack of talent on the Oilers will ensure Horcoff will see his fair share of offensive ice time, but will also hold him back from achieving the heights of his 2006 season.