Oilers Gameday – Vs. Red Wings

The Oilers have points in four straight games, and tonight put that streak on the line against a team that they have been flat out dominated by, the Detroit Red Wings. The Oilers and Wings meet tonight for the first of two meetings this season, and the only one at Rexall for the former Western rivals.

The Oilers are back at full strength health wise tonight, and will be getting D Keith Aulie back from suspension. The Red Wings, meanwhile, enter tonight minus G Jonas Gustavson and D Jakub Kindl.

Ben Scrivens will get his fifth start in a row for the Oilers, will Jimmy Howard gets the go for the Red Wings.

Last Games:

Edmonton: The Oilers hosted the Islanders on Sunday night in a tilt between two young teams trying to build a reputation for themselves. The first period was rather dull, but Edmonton got the game’s first goal thanks to a miscue by Isles’ G Jaroslav Halak, who lost the puck and allowed Matt Hendricks to score into an empty net.

The Oilers extended the lead eight seconds into the second period with a Jordan Eberle marker, but the Isles would draw within one thanks to a Johnny Boychuk PPG at the 3:41 mark.

The third period would see Edmonton’s offense wake up, as Derek Roy would capitalize off of a turnover at the 2:33 mark to put Edmonton ahead by two. Matt Hendricks would add an empty net goal, while Matt Fraser and Brock Nelson traded garbage time goals to make the score 5-2, which would be the final in favor of Edmonton.

Detroit: The Wings took part in the Miller family reunion in Vancouver on Saturday as Ryan Miller battled brother Drew. This time, brother Ryan was on all night, and shut down the Detroit attack. The sides were relatively even in the first, and went to the room scoreless after twenty.

In the second, Alex Edler scored just 1:48 in on the power-play to give Vancouver a lead they would not lose. Radim Vrbata scored on the PP 10:49 into the third, which was quickly followed by a Tomas Tatar goal to make things 2-1.

It was too little too late however, as Miller would stand tall and Henrik Sedin would add a pair of empty net goals to give Vancouver a 4-1 victory.

Last Meeting:

The Oilers and Red Wings last met in March in Detroit in a game where the sides were actually relatively even throughout the night. The Oilers and Wings split the chances in the first period, but Riley Sheahan scored the lone goal of the frame 13:53 in.

The second period saw the shots split even at seven and no goals scored, but Edmonton finally pulled through in the third period, getting a Ryan Smyth goal 8:43 in to tie things up and force overtime. OT solved nothing, and the sides went to a shoot-out.

In the skills competition, Tomas Tatar scored the lone goal in the third round, while Jimmy Howard stopped all three Oilers to seal the 2-1 victory.

Keys To The Game:

Edmonton: A full sixty minute effort is absolutely key tonight for Edmonton. The Red Wings badly need two points, and will be desperate in this game. If Edmonton wants to have a chance, they’ll need to be ready from the start and they’ll need to keep the pressure on until the clock reaches triple zeroes.

Detroit: Speed is absolutely key tonight for the Wings. The Oilers defense struggles against speedy teams, and the Red Wings have an abundance of both speed and skill. If they can get things rolling against this Oiler defense, they’ll easily claim the two points.

Players To Watch:

Edmonton: Keep an eye on D Jeff Petry tonight. There have been trade rumors for months surrounding Petry and the Red Wings, and one suspects Petry has heard about them. You just know that Petry will be looking to make a solid impression on a potential suitor, and I think we’ll see a really solid game from him tonight.

Detroit: Red Wings F Gustav Nyquist is simply a stud. He led the Red Wings to the playoffs offensively last year, and has stepped up yet again this season, being a consistent threat for the Wings. Detroit always finds late round gems, and this might be another one. Keep an eye on this insanely talented youngster tonight.

Quick Hits:

The Oilers are riding a four game point streak, tied for their season long streak which was back in October. D Keith Aulie, who was suspended two games for a hit on Matt Stajan, can return to the lineup tonight. Ben Scrivens will start his fifth game in a row for the Oilers.

Lines:

Edmonton Oilers Lines:

Taylor Hall – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle

Teddy Purcell – Derek Roy – Benoit Pouliot

Matt Fraser – Anton Lander – Nail Yakupov

Matt Hendricks – Boyd Gordon – Rob Klinkhammer

Oscar Klefbom – Mark Fayne

Andrew Ference – Jeff Petry

Nikita Nikitin – Justin Schultz

Ben Scrivens

Detroit Red Wings Lines:

Henrik Zetterberg – Pavel Datsyuk – Justin Abdelkader

Tomas Tatar – Riley Sheahan – Tomas Jurco

Johan Franzen – Darren Helm – Gustav Nyquist

Drew Miller – Luke Glendening – Stephen Weiss

Jonathan Ericsson – Niklas Kronwall

Kyle Quincey – Dan DeKeyser

Brendan Smith – Xavier Ouellet

Jimmy Howard