Oilers Gameday – Vs. Panthers

The Oilers, riding their best stretch of the season, return to the ice tonight to host the Florida Panthers in the first of two meetings this season. Edmonton continues a home-stand that has seen them split the first two games, while Florida continues a Western Canada swing.

The Oilers enter tonight healthy, while the Panthers come in with only Shawn Thornton on the IR and unavailable for this hockey game.

Ben Scrivens will return to the net tonight for Edmonton, while Roberto Luongo will get the go for the Panthers.

Last Games:

Edmonton: The Oilers hosted Chicago on Friday night in one of their most complete efforts of the season. The Hawks started the game with a Brandon Saad goal at the 7:34 mark, but that was the only time Chicago would have the lead. Benoit Pouliot would tie the game just over a minute later, while Derek Roy would score on the power-play 13:35 into the first frame to put Edmonton up 2-1.

The Hawks would tie the game 5:47 into the middle frame with another Saad goal, but Edmonton would quickly regain the lead with a Jeff Petry marker under a minute later.

Ben Scrivens would shut the door the rest of the way, while Nail Yakupov and Taylor Hall each added goals in the third period to seal a 5-2 victory for Edmonton over Chicago.

Florida: The Panthers were in Calgary on Friday in a good old-fashion shoot-out of a game. Matt Stajan opened the scoring for the Flames 2:42 in, but the Panthers bounced back with goals from Jonathan Huberdeau and Brad Boyes to take a lead. TJ Brodie would tie things late, sending us to the middle frame at 2-2.

Mikael Backlund opened the scoring in the middle frame, but a flurry of traded goals, coming from Sean Bergenheim, TJ Brodie and Jimmy Hayes, sent the game to the third period tied up at four goals apiece.

The third period would see Florida finally snag the lead, as Brian Campbell and Tomas Fleischmann scored to off-set a Matt Stajan goal and give the Panthers a wild 6-5 win.

Last Meeting:

Edmonton and Florida last met in November of last year at Rexall Place. Edmonton struck first just 57 seconds in, as Jordan Eberle scored on the power-play on Tim Thomas. The Oilers scored 6:10 into the middle frame as Sam Gagner gave Edmonton insurance, while David Perron added a power-play marker to put the Oil up by three.

Scottie Upshall would make it 3-1, but a Jordan Eberle empty-net goal would put Edmonton up 4-1 and put the game away, completing the regular season sweep of the Panthers for Edmonton.

Keys To The Game:

Edmonton: A net front presence on Roberto Luongo is key in this hockey game. Luongo is a very good goalie, but like anyone else, he struggles when there is traffic in front of him. If Edmonton can crash the net and create some traffic tonight, the chances will be there, and two points could be in the forecast for Edmonton.

Florida: The Panthers have tons of skill and scoring ability, and will need to play a flashy game tonight. Their key to the game is to use their skill to try and get into a track meet with Edmonton. The Oilers don’t have the guns to go head to head with Florida, so forcing Edmonton to score more than three goals will likely result in two points.

Players To Watch:

Edmonton: Since coming to Edmonton, Teddy Purcell has yet to have the impact that many believed he could have. That said, he’s been playing better as of late, and is due for a break-out game on the scoresheet. He’s had success against the Panthers before, and I’ll suggest he gets a goal tonight.

Florida: Panthers F Aleksander Barkov is emerging as a true star in Florida, and potentially the face of this franchise. He’s got tons of potential, a lot of talent, and an ability to play some two-way hockey. Barkov has been having a very good year for the Panthers, and I’d suggest keeping an eye on him tonight.

Quick Hits:

Edmonton swept the season series between these two teams last year. The Oilers and Panthers will complete the season series later this month in Florida. Oilers F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was selected to his first NHL All-Star game on Sunday. Ben Scrivens will start his second game in a row for Edmonton tonight.

The Lines:

Edmonton Oilers Lines:

Taylor Hall – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle

Teddy Purcell – Derek Roy – Nail Yakupov

Matt Fraser – Anton Lander – Benoit Pouliot

Matt Hendricks – Boyd Gordon – Rob Klinkhammer

Nikita Nikitin – Mark Fayne

Oscar Klefbom – Jeff Petry

Andrew Ference – Justin Schultz

Ben Scrivens

Florida Panthers Lines:

Jussi Jokinen – Nick Bjugstad – Jimmy Hayes

Jonathan Huberdeau – Aleksander Barkov – Brad Boyes

Sean Bergenheim – Dave Bolland – Tomas Fleischmann

Tomas Kopecky – Derek MacKenzie – Scott Upshall

Brian Campbell – Aaron Ekblad

Willie Mitchell – Dmitry Kulikov

Shane O’Brien – Dylan Olsen

Roberto Luongo