Gordon had one of the better seasons of his career with 21 points, and tied his career-high in goals with eight.

Gordon left Friday's game early and did not return, so the injury sustained that evening will keep him out tonight. Will Acton will draw into the lineup with Gordon out. Consider him day-to-day for now.

After years of ending up in the bottom part of the standings in the NHL, the Oilers, over the past few years, have stockpiled a lot of young talent, especially on offense. Youngsters like Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Nail Yakupov and Sam Gagner have Oiler fans salivating at how good this team can be in the future.  But right now is a different story.   Edmonton missed the playoffs by ten points last season.  They were 18th in the league in goals scored with 123 and 19th in the league with 134 points allowed. But they were 7th in the league in power play percentage, and 9th in penalty kill, which shows that they have a lot of skilled offensive players. It also shows that they are bad at 5 on 5 plays.  This is because they lack depth on forward and defense.  General Manager Craig MacTavish made some subtle moves to try and improve this situation.  He brought in 29 years old Boyd Gordon as a free agent from Phoenix with a three-year deal to be the third line center.  Gordon is exactly one piece that the Oilers have been missing, a tenacious checker who is very good defensively and is great on face-offs.  In addition, he brought in defenseman Andrew Ference from Boston as a free agent with another three-year deal.  Ference is the quintessential stay at home defenseman who will bring experience, leadership and stability to the Oilers defense, and he has also played in three Stanley Cup Finals.  These were solid moves that should take some pressure off the young players as they continue to develop.  Edmonton should contend for a playoff spot this season.  They make not make it, but they should be exciting to watch. Goalies While there was a lot of talk during the offseason that the Oilers were trying to get Ryan Miller from Buffalo at this point it seems like they are going to go with Devan Dubnyk as their starting goalie. Dubnyk had a solid 2013 season with a 14-16-6 record in 38 games, with a 2.57 goals against average, a .920 save percentage and 2 shutouts.  At 27 years old, he is still learning, so he can still get better.  At almost 6'6" and 210 pounds he has the one thing you can't teach which is good size.  He has really improved his positioning over the past few years, and he has good rebound control.  He has a tendency to give up soft goals occasionally and then brood about it which can get him off his game.  He was in control a lot better this past season.  Maybe coaching is helping him in this respect.  The Oilers have two ...

Gordon is good in the faceoff circle which will help an Edmonton team who struggled on the dot last season. He is a cheaper but similar option to Shawn Horcoff who the Oilers moved to Dallas.

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It appears that negotiations have taken a step back as the Players Association rejected the NHL's offer and then made three counter proposals that is not sitting well with the owners. PrimePucks™ would like to extend Happy Birthday wishes to Phoenix Coyote C Boyd Gordon!

No word on whether Gordon is injured or if he took a maintenance day. He has seven goals and 21 points through 70 games.

The Coyotes are currently on a three-game road trip so expect Gordon to play two of the tilts. He scored three goals and 12 points in 35 games before getting hurt.

The Coyotes are currently on a three-game road trip so expect Gordon to play two of the tilts. He scored three goals and 12 points in 35 games before getting hurt.

Gordon won't play tonight. He has three goals and 12 points through 35 games centering the third line.