So training camp has ended, the players are healthy and ready to go.  Guess what.  The fans are too, its been a long summer without hockey and I for one am getting very excited with the season about to start. So I think its only right that I should stick my neck out and risk my reputation and make a couple of predictions.  Firstly there has been a lot of speculation about the starting line up and with all the great forwards there is a number of possibilities for Mactavish to pick from.

Here is my prediction:

The first 3 lines are no secret.. Mactavish has already said that he’ll go with those, but the fourth line is really up in the air. Will Shremp really make the team? Will Macintyre not make the team? Big questions and I think its really up in the air right now.  I really think that Zack Stortini and Steve Macintyre will both make the team with Stortini getting the lions share of games and Macintyre being inserted for games against teams with super heavyweights like Montreal or Minnesotta. I put Schremp on the other wing because I really want to see what he can do but he has a lot of competition for that spot mostly from Pouliot. I also think that if Mactavish goes with a lineup like this he’ll put Penner on the Left wing with Brodziak and Schremp to give him extra minutes and give Scrhemp a chance to play with more skilled line mates.  I’ll go out on the limb right now and predict that by the end of the season the 3rd line will be Robbie Schremp, Kyle Brodziak, and Dustin Penner.

So I said I had a couple of predictions didn’t I, so what was the other one?  Oh ya, where in the standings will the Oilers finish? I hate to say it but the biggest competition in the division this season will be Calgary.  I don’t think the Avalanche, Canucks, or Wild are in the same league as the Alberta teams this season and it will be a 2 team race to the division title and 3rd place in the conference.

My Prediction:

Oilers will win the division by a slim margin over the Flames and finish 3rd in the Western Conference behind the Detroit Red Wings and San Jose Sharks. They will have home ice advantage against either the Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks, or Nashville Predators. If the Flames by some miracle finish ahead of the Oilers then we will drop from 3rd in the conference to 7th and will face San Jose in the playoffs.

Anyway if I’m right then I’ll remind you all at the end of the season, if I’m wrong then you’ll probably have forgotten by then anyway.

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