More changes in Edmonton, Bobby Ryan rolling, a strong game from Vermette, lineup news, Fantasy tips and more in Scott Cullen’s Statistically Speaking. OIL CHANGE Derek Roy – The 31-year-old centre’s production has tailed off dramatically since he suffered a quad injury in the 2010-2011 season. Over the past couple seasons, in St. Louis last year and Nashville so far this season, Roy has been more of a depth player, averaging 13:35 of ice time per game after years playing 18-19 minutes per game in previous seasons. Further, Roy has been playing in a much more sheltered role, with a career-high 70% offensive zone starts this season, but he has fared okay with more defensive zone starts in previous years. Good thing, because in Edmonton the Oilers need Roy to provide some legitimate two-way play. It’s too late for the Oilers to be relevant this season, but they could at least be competitive over the second half and Roy ought to be an upgrade as the second-line centre for as long as he sticks around. Mark Arcobello – The 26-year-old centre has produced 30 points (11 G, 19 A) in 78 career NHL games, and while he’s been an adequate possession player (49.1% Corsi) for his career, he’s been doing that with more starts in the offensive zone starts (54.6% career, 61.6% this season). Arcobello gives the Predators depth, but may have to spend his time in the AHL because Nashville is already plenty deep down the middle, with Mike Ribeiro, Mike Fisher, Calle Jarnkrok and Paul Gaustad already in place. Arcobello’s inclusion in the deal, as opposed to the Oilers simply claiming Roy on waivers the day before, was more about getting Nashville to take on some salary, and a contract, since Arcobello is on a one-way deal, for $600,000 this season and the Oilers are sitting at 49 players under contract (50 is the limit). Matt Fraser – The Oilers scooped up Fraser off waivers from Boston. He’s a Red Deer, Alberta native and is a winger with good size (6-foot-1, 204 pounds), some finish around the net and questionable speed. While the 24-year-old has all of eight points (6 G, 2 A) in 51 career NHL games, he’s also scored 90 goals in 181 career AHL games. He’s worth a look and, if the Oilers are prepared to give him more than fourth-line ice time, they might find out if he can keep the pace enough to score in the NHL. Leon Draisaitl – With word that Draisaitl’s Western Hockey League rights have been traded, from Prince Albert to Kelowna, rumours abound that the Oilers will send him back to junior. By doing so before the 40-game mark, the Oilers will push back the free agency timetable by a year and Draisaitl would play a more significant offensive role in junior. He has seven points (2 G, 5 A) in 35 games with the Oilers, with positive possession (52.1% Corsi) that is severely inflated by his (78.6%) offensive zone starts. Anton Lander – If the Oilers do send Draisaitl to junior, there will be an opening for this perennial prospect, who has done little in the NHL, scoring eight points (2 G, 6 A) in 95 career games, but has been tearing up the AHL the past couple seasons, scoring 81 points (26 G, 55 A) in 74 games since the start of last season. He’s still only 23-years-old, so Lander could have a chance to establish that he’s a bona fide NHL player. HEROES Bobby Ryan – The Senators winger tallied a hat trick, with eight shots on goal (his most in a game since January 23, 2010) and dominant possession (31 shot attempts for, 8 against, 79.5%) in Ottawa’s 5-2 win over Buffalo. He has 12 points (5 G, 7 A) in his past 11 games, thriving with linemates Mika Zibanejad and Mike Hoffman. Antoine Vermette – Arizona’s centre accrued two goals and an assist in a 4-2 win over Philadelphia. One of the top potential trade targets – a top-six forward on a team on the outside looking in at the playoffs – Vermette has 11 points (5 G, 6 A) in the past 14 games. Vermette is getting more offensive zone starts (56.4%) this year, but he continues to play high quality of competition. David Rundblad – Battling for playing time on Chicago’s third pair, Rundblad had Chicago’s best possession stats (20 shot attempts for, 4 against, 83.3%) in the Blackhawks’ 5-4 shootout win over Nashville. Rundblad has also put up three points (1 G, 2 A) in the past four games. ZEROES Darren Helm – The Red Wings centre managed one shot attempt (missed) against Boston and was crushed (5 shot attempts for, 20 against, 20.0%) in possession, despite starting 57.1% of his shifts in the offensive zone. Brian Flynn – It’s not unusual to end up on the wrong end of the possession battle with the Sabres, but the Buffalo centre didn’t register a shot attempt and had 11.1% of even-strength shot attempts (3 for, 24 against) at Ottawa. Brad Stuart – This might be the first time that I’ve hammered a single player for back-to-back games, but Stuart is getting destroyed. After managing 10.7% of the shot attempts against Chicago Saturday, he was even worse (2 for, 24 against, 7.7%) against St. Louis Monday. Two games: on the ice for five shot attempts for and 49 against (9.3%). LINEUP NEED TO KNOW Jordan Staal – Made his season debut for the Hurricanes, picking up an assist while skating on a line with brother Eric and either Nathan Gerbe or Elias Lindholm. Marian Gaborik – The Kings winger missed Monday’s game in Calgary due to illness. Dwight King joined Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter on the top line in Gaborik’s absence. Patrice Bergeron & Milan Lucic – The Bruins were missing two of their top forwards in Tuesday’s 5-2 win over Detroit. Seth Griffith and Matt Lindblad were inserted into the Boston lineup. Erik Haula – Minnesota scratched their second-year forward, who has four points (3 G, 1 A) in 30 games this season, disappointing production after he had seven points (4 G, 3 A) in 13 playoff games last season. Evander Kane – The Winnipeg winger is out until February with a lower-body injury, leaving the Jets short up front. Kane is one of four Jets forwards averaging more than 19 minutes per game this season. SHORT SHIFTS Bruins RW Loui Eriksson picked up a pair of assists in a 5-2 win over Detroit; he has eight points (4 G, 4 A) in the past six games…Bruins C Carl Soderberg had a goal and two assists and has seven points (2 G, 5 A) in the past six games…Along with Chris Kelly, Soderberg and Eriksson had better than 74% possession against Detroit…Devils C Travis Zajac had a goal and an assist in a 3-1 win over Pittsburgh; he gets more ice time than any New Jersey forward yet had one point in the previous 13 games…Capitals C Nicklas Backstrom had a goal and an assist in Washington’s 4-3 overtime loss at the Islanders and has 11 points (7 G, 4 A) in the past eight games…Lightning RW Ryan Callahan had a goal and an assist in a 3-2 win over Toronto, giving him seven points (1 G, 6 A) in his past six games…Predators RW James Neal scored a pair of goals in a 5-4 shootout loss at Chicago; he has eight points (4 G, 4 A) in the past eight games…Predators LW Colin Wilson had a couple of assists at Chicago, giving him seven points (4 G, 3 A) in the past four games…Flyers C Sean Couturier assisted on both of Philadelphia’s goals (both scored by R.J. Umberger) in a 4-2 loss at Arizona; he has 12 points (5 G, 7 A) in the past 13 games…Flames RW Jiri Hudler assisted on both Flames goals in a 2-1 win over Los Angeles. Hudler has 21 points (7 G, 14 A) in the past 17 games…Blues C Paul Stastny had a pair of assists and an impressive possession game (16 shot attempts for, 3 against, 84.2%) facing his old team in Colorado...Four Senators – Patrick Wiercioch, Colin Greening, Eric Gryba and Erik Condra – had better than 80% possession against the Sabres…Flyers C Vincent Lecavalier had 11 shot attempts (6 SOG) in 14:56 of ice time at Arizona. Canadiens G Carey Price stopped 28 of 29 shots in a 3-1 win over Carolina. In his past seven games, he’s allowed nine goals, stopping 194 of 203 shots against (.956 SV%)…Devils G Cory Schneider had 27 saves on 28 shots in a 3-1 win over Pittsburgh…Blues G Martin Brodeur had a 16-save shutout at Colorado, the 125th of his career…Flames G Jonas Hiller stopped 26 of 27 shots in a 2-1 win over Los Angeles, giving him a .917 save percentage this season, his best since 2010-2011. FIRSTS Tyler Graovac – A seventh-round pick of the Wild in 2011, Graovac, a 6-foot-4 centre, made his NHL debut in Winnipeg Monday, playing 9:02 against the Jets, primarily with Matt Cooke and Justin Fontaine. He had 24 points (12 G, 12 A) in 31 AHL games before getting promoted. Tyler Gaudet – An undrafted free agent signed out of Sault Ste. Marie in the OHL, Gaudet is a 6-foot-3 centre who played 9:20 in his NHL debut, skating on a line with Brandon McMillan and Lauri Korpikoski. Colin Greening – The Senators winger scored his first goal of the season – his first point of the season – in his 16th game. Jeff Schultz – The 28-year-old veteran blueliner made his season debut for the Kings, playing 13:28 at Calgary. It was his first regular season game for the Kings (after seven playoff games last season). FANTASY TIPS Only four games on the schedule tonight, so here are a few players to pop into your lineup: Jimmy Hayes – The Panthers’ winger has four goals in his past five games and has averaged 15:45 time on ice in December, up from 13:35 in November. Colin Wilson – Though he started the year with only four points in 15 games, Wilson has since put up 16 points (9 G, 7 A) in the past 18 games and is a possession beast for the Predators. Justin Schultz – He’s much-maligned – like most Oilers these days – but still has four points in the past five games and has played more than 20 minutes in eight of the past nine games. Much of the data included comes from www.war-on-ice.com, www.puckalytics.com, www.hockeystats.ca and www.naturalstattrick.com Scott Cullen can be reached at scott.cullen@bellmedia.ca Vapormax 3 Clearance . This week, topics cover the World Series champion Red Sox, John Farrell and what to look forward to this off-season. Cheap Off White Vapormax China . Cabrera is hitting .218 with three homers and 16 RBI in 80 games this season. The Padres recalled second baseman Brooks Conrad from Triple-A El Paso to replace Cabrera on the roster. http://www.clearancevapormax.com/ . General Manager Sam Presti said the three-time All-Star had knee swelling that would not subside, and the procedure was intended to solve the problem. He said doctors determined that a loose stitch was to blame for the swelling, that Westbrooks lateral meniscus has healed properly and the procedure was successful. Off White Vapormax Clearance . 5 Trade Deadline is drawing closer and teams will be deciding on whether to buy or sell. Fake Vapormax 2019 . - Tom Brady and the Patriots routed the Bengals and quieted the doubters. ABBOTSFORD, B.C. -- Turner Elson put up a lot of points in junior, but it was his first professional goal that ignited the Abbotsford Heat Friday night. Elson scored with 4.6 seconds to go in the second period to even the score against the Milwaukee Admirals, contributing to the Heats 3-2 overtime victory in American Hockey League action. "It was obviously the turning point of the game," said Abbotsford head coach Troy Ward. "If we go down after two, its a different game. It certainly gave us some momentum and gave our young kids some energy in the locker room. We went into the third with a different mindset after that." Brett Olson flipped the puck ahead and Elson jumped around Admirals defender Anthony Bitetto to one-hand the puck past goalie Magnus Hellberg. "I tried to get past the defenceman and I saw the goalie wasnt going out for it, and I got my stick on it and chipped it over his foot there," said Elson, who played three games over two seasons for the Heat on a tryout basis. "The first goal as a pro, its been a long time waiting," said the former Red Deer Rebel. "You dream of getting your first goal as a pro -- maybe not as greasy as mine, but they all count in the end." Greg Nemisz scored the winner at 1:58 of overtime. Corban Knight, who had two assists, rushed down the wing and found Nemisz standing in front. He redirected it past Hellberg for his first of the season. "It wasnt pretty but we got a big goal at the end there," said Heat alternate captain Carter Bancks. "Thats how you win hockey games." Ben Hanowski also scored for Abbotsford (2-1-0) in the clubs home opener. Reto Berra stopped 24 shots in the victory. "Both goalies, I thought, stole the show," said Ward. "They both made outstanding saves and took some pucks away from guys that maybe they thoughtt they could squeeze by.dddddddddddd Reto battled very hard to find pucks, which was key." Patrick Cehlin had a goal and an assist for the Admirals in their season opener, while Taylor Beck also scored for Milwaukee. Magnus Hellberg made 28 saves. After a scoreless first period, the visitors drew first blood while shorthanded. Austin Watson stole the puck from Abbotsfords Chad Billins behind the net and centred for Cehlin, who slid a backhand around Berras poke check attempt at 6:45. The Heat took their first lead of the game at 13:11 of the third when Hanowski went top shelf from in close. He began the play by hounding a Milwaukee defenceman into giving the puck away to Knight, who found Josh Jooris down low. Jooris quickly tapped it across to Hanowski for his third of the season. "One of the things Ben has been able to do his whole career -- high school and St. Cloud State -- is score goals," said Ward. "He seems to be fitting into that same role here. Hes off to a good start. Hes had key goals for us. It was a good pass by Jooris, but still, its a goal scorers goal when you tuck it under the bar short side there." The Admirals tied the game a little more than two minutes later. After a point shot bounced off a few bodies in front, the puck squirted right to Beck, who lifted it over the sprawling netminder for his first goal of the season. However, Beck got called for a tripping penalty in overtime and the Heat took advantage. "It was definitely big for our team," said Knight. "We had a good push in the third and got that goal, and then they scored to get us back on our heels. It was important to push back, especially in overtime, to get that goal. It would have been disappointing if we didnt get that win tonight." Abbotsford finished 1-for-7 with the man advantage, while Milwaukee was 0-for-4. ' ' '