Oilers Gameday – @ Stars

The Oilers continue a four game road trip tonight with stop number two, a trip to the house of horrors in Dallas. The Oilers and Stars will conclude their three game series, which has seen the sides split and the road team win each battle. The teams last met in Dallas on December 1st, a game Edmonton squeezed out.

The Oilers have yet to win two games in Dallas in the same year since 1997, when the team upset the Stars in round one of the playoffs. It’s been 13 years, and Edmonton will look to buck that trend tonight. The Oilers are an even 2-2 in their last four, falling to St. Louis and Chicago and beating Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay.

Dallas is struggling, having lost six in a row, most recently to the New York Islanders on Sunday night on home ice. The Stars top guns, forwards Tyler Seguin and Jaime Benn, have gone cold recently, and the Stars have seen their banged up defense come under fire and get exposed.

The Oilers will turn back to Ilya Bryzgalov tonight, while keeping the same lineup as the one that lost in Chicago on Sunday. Dallas is expected go with Kari Lehtonen, who has enjoyed lots of success against Edmonton.

Last Games:

Edmonton: The Oilers rolled into the windy city on Sunday night looking to take advantage of a tired Chicago team, but quickly found themselves in a tough spot. Edmonton controlled most of the first, and even got on the board first as Ales Hemsky blew past Duncan Keith and slid one back-hand to beat Antti Raanta about six minutes in.

After a physical shift, Ben Smith would tip home a Niklas Hjalmarsson shot to tie things at two, and the Hawks would take command. In the second, Andrew Shaw would snap one past Dubnyk just about two and a half minutes in to give the Hawks a lead.

Chicago would get a PP, but an errant Pat Kane pass would miss the point man and slide into an empty Chicago net. The own goal would be credited to Boyd Gordon, and would tie things at two. The Hawks would respond seconds later however, as Marian Hossa would make it 3-2. Jonathan Toews would add a goal with under three minutes left, all but sealing things.

Taylor Hall would score a beauty off a Justin Schultz feed in the third, but a Brent Seabrook shot would be the insurance and the Hawks would hang on for the 5-3 victory and season sweep.

Dallas: The Stars hosted the suddenly hot Islanders on Sunday night in Dallas, in a game that looked good until the end. The Stars dominated the first period, and took an early lead thanks to a Ray Whitney goal 11:45 into the period. Sergei Gonchar would blast home his first as a Star seven minutes later, and Dallas would take a two goal lead into the second.

The Islanders would fight back in the second, getting a Kyle Okposo goal mid-way through the frame to make it a one goal game. Kevin Poulin would stop all six Stars shots and keep the Isles in striking distance.

The third period would be mainly New York, who desperately pushed to tie things. They finally did, with 4:16 to go, as Kyle Okposo would score his second on the night. They wouldn’t let up there however, and a continued push was rewarded at the 18:36 mark as John Tavares would score the eventual game-winner. Brock Nelson would add an empty netter, sealing the 4-2 comeback win for NY.

Last Meeting:

The sides last met back on December 1st in Dallas in the second meeting of the season, a game which the score would not indicate the better team. Dallas dominated the first, out-shooting Edmonton 18-9, but sensational goaltending from Ilya Bryzgalov would keep things scoreless after one.

In the second, Ilya Bryzgalov would leave the game following a nasty collision with Ryan Garbutt, who opened the scoring with a goal 11:37 into the period. Edmonton would close the gap however, and play a sound final ten minutes of the period, and even tie things up with an Ales Hemsky goal off a nice Ryan Jones pass.

Dallas, thanks to an Oilers breakdown, regained the lead thanks to Garbutt’s second of the night just under four minutes into the frame, but an Andrew Ference one-timer late would tie things at two. OT would solve nothing, leading to the shootout.

Jordan Eberle would score in round one, while Rich Peverley would briefly tie things in round two before David Perron would give Edmonton the 2-1 edge. Devan Dubnyk would stop two Stars’ shooters, and help seal the 3-2 win for the Oil.

Players To Watch:

Edmonton: Rookie defender Martin Marincin has had a good start to his NHL career, and will get another chance tonight to build on that. I suspect that there will be a number of moves coming in the next few months in Edmonton, and that Marincin will play a role in the NHL next year. I’d certainly keep an eye on the rookie defender and see how he holds up tonight.

Dallas: Stars forward Ryan Garbutt has been a thorn in the Oilers’ side this season. He’s a bigger guy, brings a physical style to the table, and chips in on offense from time to time. He’s exactly the kind of forward that this team needs right now. He’s had a good season so far, and has, as mentioned, been an issue for the Oil. I suspect he’s a factor tonight.

The Lines:

Edmonton Oilers Lines:

Taylor Hall – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Sam Gagner

Nail Yakupov – Mark Arcobello – Jordan Eberle

David Perron – Boyd Gordon – Ales Hemsky

Ryan Jones – Ryan Smyth – Luke Gazdic

Andrew Ference – Justin Schultz

Martin Marincin – Jeff Petry

Nick Schultz – Anton Belov

Ilya Bryzgalov

Dallas Stars Lines:

Jamie Benn – Tyler Seguin – Erik Cole

Antoine Roussel – Cody Eakin – Ryan Garbutt

Ray Whitney – Vernon Fiddler – Alex Chiasson

Shawn Horcoff – Rich Peverley – Valeri Nichushkin

Alex Goligoski – Trevor Daley

Brenden Dillon – Jordie Benn

Kevin Connauton – Sergei Gonchar

Kari Lehtonen