The Oilers are back in action today in a rare afternoon home game, as Brent Burns, Joe Thornton and the rest of the San Jose Sharks are in town.
After a pretty impr.essive start under new head coach Ken Hitchcock, the Oilers have fallen back a bit in the standings, due in large part to their current 4-game skid.
Today’s game is big as it’s a divisional matchup; a regulation win would mean that the Oilers make up ground on the Sharks. Anything else muddies that wild card position up even more.
Keys to the Game
Edmonton
- The Oilers need to employ every hockey cliche in the book – get pucks in deep, crash the net, give 110% – in order to get a win today. They’re coming off a 4 game stretch in which they’ve been outscored 18-8 and haven’t really put forth a great effort in any of those losses.
San Jose
- Get lots of pucks on net. Looks like Cam Talbot will be making his second straight start for the Oilers, and he’s going to be a little rattled after getting pulled after 20 on Thursday.
Players to Watch
Edmonton
- Connor, always.
- Jujhar Khaira is back in the lineup today after serving his 2 game suspension. I imagine he’ll have a bit of something to prove.
San Jose
- Joe Thornton once made a promise if he ever scored 4 goals, and that’s all I’ll be waiting for.
Projected Lineups
Edmonton
Draisaitl – McDavid – Rattie
Caggiula – Nuge – Puljujarvi
Lucic – Khaira – Spooner
Rieder – Brodziak – Kassian
Nurse – Larsson
Gravel – Benning
Jones – Wideman
Talbot
San Jose
Kane – Pavelski – Donskoi
Hertl – Couture – Meier
Sorensen – Thornton – LaBanc
Radil – Goodrow – Karlsson
Karlsson – Burns
Dillon – Heed
Vlasic – Braun
Jones
Notes
The Oilers are starting a pretty tough stretch and are without Klefbom, Sekera and Chiasson. The Jets roll into town on Sunday, and then the Oilers play 11 games in 21 games before the all-star break and their bye week. What happens in the next 12 games could very well determine the post-season fate of this team.
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