The Edmonton Oilers will have a new face up front when they host the Detroit Red Wings tonight - Ladislav Smid. It will be his first foray among the forward ranks since the third grade, but Oilers coach Craig MacTavish said he was looking for some toughness up front and Smid fits the bill.
"He's a tough guy, he can skate and he can handle the puck and you can't see much of that from the pressbox," MacTavish said. "We need a spot for him and maybe this is an opportunity for him to get in here and contribute something. It's as simple as that."
Smid was having a hard time finding a spot in the lineup because the rest of the defencemen have played so well. On the other hand, MacTavish also admitted that the move to put Smid up front was a bit of an indictment of the rest of the team's available forwards.
Whatever the reasoning, Smid is glad for the chance. He's only played in eight games this season.
"I'm just happy to be back in the lineup," he said. "I'll try to do my best."
Smid has not scored an NHL goal in about a year-and-a-half, but he says he's got some offensive game. At least, he did in the third grade.
"I was top scorer," he said with a grin. "I don't know for what reason they put me on D."
Smid said the coach gave him no indication how long this experiment would last.
"Maybe the next contract I sign will be as a forward," Smid said. "You never know."
Detroit is aiming for its fourth straight win tonight as they begin a three-game tour of western Canada.
The Red Wings were last in action on Monday, when they blanked the Oilers, 4-0, at home. Ty Conklin stopped all 21 shots faced for his first shutout this year and fifth of his career. Conklin, a former Oiler in his first season with the Red Wings after going 18-8-5 with Pittsburgh a year ago, is 5-1-0 with a 2.47 goals against average in six starts this season.
Niklas Kronwall's first-period power-play goal was all the Red Wings needed to win their third straight, while Mikael Samuelsson, Jiri Hudler and Johan Franzen also scored. Henrik Zetterberg added two assists, as the Red Wings record at least a point for the sixth straight game (5-0-1).
Franzen lit the lamp for a fourth straight game since returning from a left knee injury, while Mikael Samuelsson (2 goals, 4 assists) and Kronwall (1g, 5a) each have six points over their last four games.
Detroit has outscored opponents 11-5 over its winning streak and 17-8 over its last five wins. The Red Wings, 8-1-1 on the road thanks to a three-game winning streak as the visiting club, have also netted 34 goals in 10 road games this year, second-most in the league. Only the Oilers, who have skated in 14 road games this year, have more with 39.
Dwayne Roloson allowed all four goals on 41 shots in that loss on Monday, a contest that saw Fernando Pisani leave with a broken left ankle. The setback was also the Oilers' third in a row.
However, the club's offense responded in a big way the following night, netting a season-high in goals with a 7-2 victory over Columbus. The seven goals were the most scored by the Oilers since March 22, 2008 and came on just 19 shots, good for a 36.8 shooting percentage.
Roloson also came back with a solid game, making 37 saves.
Shawn Horcoff, who will become the 18th player in club history to skate in 500 games with the club tonight, had a goal and two assists, while Andrew Cogliano, Sheldon Souray, Lubomir Visnovsky and Tom Gilbert each scored and added a helper for Edmonton, which had netted only four goals total over its three-game skid.
Ales Hemsky had three assists, giving him a team-high 15 helpers and 20 points this year.
Edmonton is 2-1-2 as the home team this year and will be off until next Wednesday, when it will host the Los Angeles Kings.
Detroit has won three of its last five versus the Oilers, but has dropped three of four in Edmonton.