Quick post tonight as I am travelling home today for the holiday on Thursday here in the States. Edmonton concludes their five game home-stand tonight by hosting the Chicago Blackhawks in the first meeting between the sides this season. Edmonton has lost all four at home so far, and have lost five in a row overall. Meanwhile, Chicago is coming off of a win earlier this week against the Calgary Flames.
Edmonton lost their last game, a 2-0 decision against the New Jersey Devils.
Game Notes:
* Oiler forward Benoit Pouliot broke his foot blocking a shot last night and will miss five to six weeks with the injury. He’ll be placed on IR by the Oilers, likely on Sunday.
* Defender Nikita Nikitin sits tonight as a healthy scratch. He has been Edmonton’s worst defender this season by a wide margin.
* Keith Aulie draws back in tonight, replacing Nikitin, while Jesse Joensuu jumps back into the lineup, replacing the injured Pouliot.
* Ben Scrivens starts for Edmonton, while Antti Raanta starts for Chicago.
* The Hawks swept Edmonton in the season series last year, and have dominated the match-ups the last two seasons.
* An Edmonton loss tonight would mark their second six game losing streak of the year. They lost six in a row to start the season.
The Lines:
Edmonton Oilers Lines:
Taylor Hall – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle
David Perron – Leon Draisaitl – Teddy Purcell
Jesse Joensuu – Mark Arcobello – Nail Yakupov
Matt Hendricks – Boyd Gordon – Steve Pinizzotto
Keith Aulie – Mark Fayne
Andrew Ference – Justin Schultz
Martin Marincin – Jeff Petry
Ben Scrivens
Chicago Blackhawks Lines:
Brandon Saad – Jonathan Toews – Marian Hossa
Kris Versteeg – Brad Richards – Patrick Kane
Bryan Bickell – Phillip Danault – Dan Carcillo
Joakim Nordstrom – Marcus Kruger – Ben Smith
Duncan Keith – Brent Seabrook
Niklas Hjalmarsson – Johnny Oduya
Adam Clendening – Michal Rozsival
Antti Raanta
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