Dustin Penner a Point a Game Player?

I'm sure many of us expected Penner to break out this year -- or at least hoped that was the case. 25 goals-28 goals and 50 points would have been nice. While it's early, Penner is on pace for 32 goals and 82 points. He should continue that hot streak tonight against the Blackhawks.

As Jason Gregor points out, Penner loves playing the Hawks. He has eight goals in 14 games, the most goals against any NHL team. Dustin Penner has for me been the best forward on the ice for Edmonton in at least two of the five games the team has played thus far. He looks faster, stronger, more confident in making plays and has that sense about him that when he's decided to do something with himself and the puck, he's leaving it up to the defence to stop him, and he seems to think they can't. So far, he's been correct.

With 5 points in 5 games, his points haven't been just second assists where his name got on the scoreboard. He's been responsible for at least 4 of those 5 points and been rewarded for sheer effort in driving the net, gaining the zone, holding off opponents or crashing for dirty rebounds. That's exactly the type of player the Oilers were hoping to get from Anaheim.

Penner isn't the only one ready to shatter their offensive records if they keep up their paces. Comrie, and Grebeshkov are also sitting there with 5 points and Brule, O'Sullivan, Cogliano and Hemsky have 4 points. For Hemsky, that's not anything special and he'll need to break out in the next couple games with a multi-point effort, but perhaps tonight against a very strong Blackhawk team, he can do that.

Chicago comes off an impressive comeback win over Calgary, showing just how strong they are offensively. The good news for the Oilers, is that Chicago also showed they can be scored on. This season, if there is one thing the Oilers have done well, it's score.

Expect a high scoring affair tonight. 6-5? 6-4? I'm giving the edge to the Oilers, but only if they can contain Patrick Kane.