New-look Oilers

Oilers roster

In less than two weeks the Oilers aqcuired defensemen Roman Hamrlik and Bobby Dollas and forwards Bill Guerin, Valeri Zelepukin and Tony Hrkac. The biggest name the team had to give up was promising young Jason Arnott who had struggled lately in Edmonton.

And it seems the trades are paying off. Bill Guerin fits Oilers' offensive minded style perfectly and is clearly enjoying himself being freed from New Jersey's more restrictive system. Edmonton has now won four in a row going in Wednesday's game against Calgary.

"Four in a row for us ? Yeah, I'd call that a roll," said Oilers' center Doug Weight. "When we were 11 games under .500, I looked at it and thought, 'gawd, what a deep, deep hole we've dug for ourselves. Now, I'm not saying we're going to win 10 in a row, but geez, maybe we can win 10 of the next 13."

Besides Guerin the other ex-Devil who might enjoy his time in Edmonton is Zelepukin. The Oilers' general manager Glen Sather offers praise for his latest aquisition.

"He makes plays in traffic," Sather says. "When he forechecks, he doesn't hesitate. He goes right at it."

Slapshots
Kings' Mattias Norstrom was reinstated after serving a one-game suspension for boarding Edmonton's Tony Hrkac...Chicago's top '97 draft pick Daniel Cleary was arrested early Sunday morning in Belleville, Ontario on charges of impaired driving...Washington activates goalie Bill Ranford...