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OIL SPILLS VIDEO INTERVIEWS Tom Renney: Words of Wisdom Friday's Comments: Sam Gagner, Jeff Petry - Jim Vandermeer AUDIO INTERVIEWS Sam Gagner Jeff Petry Jim Vandermeer Head Coach Tom Renney RELATED ITEMS Tencer's Blog: Year in Review HEADLINES , who has now recorded 13 points in his last 15 games after tallying another assist against the Avalanche, says that the football west different approach was good for the collective mentality of the players. -We want to keep a loose atmosphere in here,- Gagner said. -We felt like we battled pretty hard last night and could have come out with the win. At the end of the day, it's about winning and we want to stay focused and stay on the job. But I think part of turning this around is about being positive and making sure we're focus football west ing on the right things.- -Today was a good day for that and hopefully we can build off it.- Although today-s practice provided both a mental and physical break, Gagner was keen to explain the workmanlike attitude being shown by the team in the midst of the current five-game losing streak. -I think [Head Coach Tom Renney] understands that we're not losing because we're not trying. It's not a football west case of that. I think everyone is pushing themselves in here and focusing on doing the right things, and Tom's doing a great job of giving us the resources to try and help us get better.- -We feel like we've played some good hockey and we haven't been fortunate to come out with wins, but we're going to continue to push forward here and continue to try and get better and things are going to tur football west n around.- -Guys want to win for him,- Gagner said of his coach. REARGUARD REVOLUTION -s injury expected to be long-term, Tom Gilbert Head Coach Tom Renney -Today is basically a maintenance day for him,- explained Renney. -He was just out of gas and he has a couple of things that are nagging and that we thought we'd take care of as we could. We got ourselves back in the hockey game. We football west felt that we had a good enough roll going where we could do that at Tom's expense, quite honestly.- While Gilbert took the afternoon off to recover, defenceman Jim Vandermeer looks poised to take on a greater role with absence of Whitney and the uncertainly of Gilbert-s status for tomorrow night. -It's never good when somebody goes down, especially a player like Whitney, but it's a great oppo football west rtunity for me to step in and get some games in and hopefully succeed,- said Petry. -The learning process is quick. It's kind of similar to the systems that we're running down in Oklahoma; but definitely the speed and the depth of each team is a difference. It's been great just learning from the coaches and picking guys like Strudwick and Whitney's brains.- Like any young player making his NHL football west debut, Petry admits that there were some early nerves associated with his first game. Since then, however, they seem to have subsided. -They've definitely settled from the game-to-game. I felt a lot more comfortable on the ice yesterday and I think each game is going to continue to go away.- THE BELLE TOLLS 's status for tomorrow night. Later in the day, it was announced that defenceman Shawn B football west elle OMARK TO OKC was sent down to the Oklahoma City Barons this morning. With the provincial rival Calgary Flames set to visit Rexall Place tomorrow night, the Oilers hope the infusion of energy in the first game of 2011 will help to set a new bar and leave the losing streak in the old calendar. -You just keep working. We can't feel sorry for ourselves. We have to accept our circumstances as they football west are. You can overcome a lot of things when you work hard. I think the big thing for us is that we've done that.- -What we've got to do is string three periods of hockey together to get wins.- ONE-ON-ONE. -How have you found the travel schedule this year compared to what your travel was like playing in junior in the OHL last season?- TAYLOR: THURSDAY, DECEMBER 30 AT THE MORNING S football west KATE IN FOCUS: Oilers vs. Avs previewOilers vs. Avalanche The Oilers started their final game-day of 2010 with morning skate at Rexall Place. After skipping Wednesday's practice, defenceman Jim Vandermeer , Jean-Francois Jacques will also watch from the press box as healthy scratches. To fill the forward gaps, Zack Stortini and Colin Fraser has also recovered from the flu and will be pai football west red with Ryan O'Marra. -I had a couple of days of sickness the first two days and after that I was just wiped out basically, dehydrated, so I had to get some fluids back in me,- Brule explained. WHITNEY WOES , who injured his ankle Tuesday night vs. Buffalo. -It was a pivot,- he recalled. -I just felt something kind of almost pop a little bit. It was an innocent play. I think I migh football west t have maybe caught a rut.- Unfortunately, it will take two weeks before a proper assessment can be done on the injury, Whitney explained. -I had obviously an MRI yesterday and there's some damage obviously in my ankle,- he said. -Talking to the ankle specialist last night, I've got to wait about two weeks just to see swelling to go down. There's so much inflammation, he really can't say football west for sure yet what's going on.- Head coach Tom Renney said -only time will tell- how the team adapts to the absence of its leading scorer, but that adaptation must begin immediately. -We can't sit back feeling sorry for ourselves under these circumstances,- he said. -We just have to understand it as game-on and go play hard for a teammate.- BIG SKATES TO FILL ) up from Oklahoma C football west ity that I think will give us a chance to have a look at him on the power-play as well, so we'll see what we've got.- Although Petry has only one NHL game on his resume, Renney said he wouldn't hesitate to test him in key situations. -Bring him in, play him -- that's what he's here for. We're not going to protect guys from playing hockey. That's what they've been doing all their lives. football west -It's a tough situation, we all get that, but it's an opportunity now to look at our defencemen, for example, in the organization. And Pete, it's a good opportunity for him to have a look at it, and we'll just see if he can contribute on our power-play and how he does on our penalty-kill and what type of a hockey player he is and how close he is to being a regular NHLer,- Renney said. Tay football west lor Hall and Ales Hemsky The fight starts tonight as the Oilers host the Avalanche. Renney is ready for an exciting match. -They're an energetic team, they certainly believe in their game plan, they play the game on their toes, they're relentless, they don't quit by any stretch, and they're a team that really believes in who and what they're all about,- the coach said. -We have to be v football west ery, very good defensively, we need all hands on deck. We have a back end that's gotten a little bit younger again and our forwards need to step up and help them with that. That said, transition is paramount in this league for the teams that are very successful, and we hope to be able to capitalize on that.- After Nikolai Khabibulin gets the start tonight. He comes off a 27-save performance football west in Los Angeles a week ago that resulted in a 3-2 shootout loss. AVALANCHE 4 - OILERS 3 (SO) , Ales Hemsky crafted the Oilers comeback attempt with goals, while Devan Dubnyk UNDER THE SCOPE Author: Jen Sharpe | edmontonoilers.com, with files from Tom Gazzola - Bob Stauffer WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 29 COUNTERMEASURES Oilers This Week The Oilers got back to business Wednesday mornin football west g with practice at Rexall Place. Three players were absent from the on-ice activity: (injured knee), defenceman Jim Vandermeer. Whitney is the most-recent addition to the team's injured list, having suffered a right ankle injury early in Tuesday's game vs. Buffalo. -He should have had his MRI by now, I think, but we won't know until mid-afternoon, I'm sure, as to the results of that,- head coa football west ch Tom Renney later stated. Whitney is Edmonton's leading scorer with 27 points and is second among NHL defencemen in assists with 25. Players and coaches agreed his contributions will be missed. -We're going to miss a lot of things out of him,- Tom Gilbert Whitney's absence isn't the only change Oilers fans will see in Thursday's game vs. Colorado: forward Gilbert Brule is expected to be football west a healthy scratch. As such, the lines at practice were as follows: Taylor Hall - Jordan Eberle Dustin Penner - Ales Hemsky Magnus Paajarvi - Gilbert Brule Ryan Jones - Zack Stortini This is not purgatory -- it's the development of a young player,- Renney explained. - -(He's) a player who loves the puck and doesn't want to relinquish that, who wants to manufacture more than wh football west at the circumstance will allow, and that's noble but it's also wrong,- he continued. -Skilled guys don't like giving the puck up, and I get that.- With Hemsky's return Tuesday and Brule's return Thursday, the Oilers are overflowing with forwards. Judging by practice, first-year center O'Marra will stay in, while Jean-Francois Jacques will join Omark in the press box. Renney isn't yet sure how h football west e'll balance the roster as the homestand continues. -We'll take this a game at a time,- he said. -If we win tomorrow night and everybody's extraordinary, then [Omark] might have a little more difficulty getting in, but that's speculation and I'm not going to go there.- AGAINST THE AVS football west
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