Since the '05-'06 season when the shootout was brought into the NHL, the Dallas Stars have clinched the best shootout record. However this year, the Young Edmonton Oilers are on a hot streak to snap that streak by a long shot.
This season the Oilers are 11-2 in the shootout. The only teams to defeat them have been the Colorado Avalanche and the Dallas Stars.
The key shooters of the Oilers have been rookie Sam Gagner, Ales Hemsky, and Shawn Horcoff. Both have five goals for the Oielrs. The eighteen-year-old has scored some amazing goals against the likes of J.S. Giguere, Jason LaBarbera, and Nikolai Khabibulin. He has had 12 shots of a possible 13.
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The second shooter for the Oilers in Ales Hemsky who has also had twelve shots racking up five goals. While Hemsky hasn't scored quite as nice goals as Gagner, he has still gotten the job done.
The last star of the Oilers shootout season is assistant captain Shawn Horcoff. He has put away four of his five shots. Most of these goals have been the game deciding goals. Unlike Gagner and Hemsky, Horcoff has chosen the "just shoot" technique, and it seems to work.
The Oilers could not have won with just these sharp shooters but also with amazing goaltending. Dwayne Roloson is 4-2 in the shootout but the real story is with Mathieu Garon. Is a remarkable 7-0 stopping 21 of the 23 shots faced. This is the best start a goaltender has gotten of to a shootout and I am sure Garon will hold the new shootout record for a goaltender
So the Oilers season success (while minimal) has mainly come from the shootout. While this is not such a bad thing, it it just hard to give up that one point night after night, especially when playing a division opponent.
It is likely we won't be seeing much change when the Oilers come into the shootout. Only Garon in net and Gagner, Hemsky, and Horcoff shooting.
Edmonton Oilers: Shootout Sensation
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