On The Road Again – Oilers Hit East Coast

Tonight, the Oilers will start their second to last Eastern Conference road trip of the season in Ottawa. The Oilers currently sit eight points out of the final playoff spot and will actually have a chance to make up some ground here. This could be the last meaningful stretch of games this season if the Oilers can’t take advantage.

The Oilers are coming off of a dominating 5-1 victory over Columbus on Tuesday night, a refreshing game that included Connor McDavid returning and being the best player on the ice. It was a solid start to the second half, one that gives fans and the team alike a little hope moving forward.

This road trip could inspire even more hope if Edmonton takes advantage of a less than spectacular group of opponents.

The Road:

The Oilers open the trip tonight in Ottawa against a very weak Senators’ defense. Outside of Erik Karlsson, Ottawa doesn’t have a big time blue liner. The Senators give up the second most goals-per-game in the NHL, ahead of only the Columbus Blue Jackets. This is a team that has two weak defensive pairings, so either the McDavid or Hall line should have an easy match-up tonight.

The Oilers will then be in Montreal on Saturday afternoon against a very weak Montreal team. The Habs are playing historically bad hockey right now, in fact since the start of December they have been on a 36 point pace. Montreal is giving up a ton of chances and is struggling to score. This is another winnable game for the Oilers if they bring their A game.

The trip ends with a visit to the Metropolitan area starting on Sunday against the Islanders in Brooklyn and then on Tuesday in New Jersey. The Islanders are a good hockey team, but Edmonton matches up well against them. As for the Devils, they are a decent at best team with a strong goaltender. The Oilers also match them quite well, evident by the Oilers dominating victory over them back in November.

The Goal:

This four game road trip presents four winnable games for the Oilers. Both Ottawa and the Islanders play a similar game to the Oilers, run and gun. Montreal is a struggling team right now while New Jersey, like Edmonton, is a mediocre team with a fair amount of weaknesses. The Oilers can, if things go right, win all four of these hockey games.

Ideal situation? It’s going to be tough for a team that struggles on the road to sweep a road trip, so we should anticipate a down night and at least one loss. If the Oilers can go 3-1-0 on this trip, then we can start talking about playing some more meaningful games later in the season. That said, bare minimum needs to be 2-2-0, Edmonton can’t go below .500 and expect to stay relevant.

I’ll hedge my bets on the team going 3-1-0, getting wins over Ottawa, Montreal and New Jersey.

Quick Hits:

• Oscar Klefbom still isn’t staking and will not be available during the road trip. He is the team’s best defender and it is so apparent how much they miss him. This is a bad luck injury by definition, an infection in his leg that has nothing to do with the broken finger he suffered against the Rangers back on Glen Sather Night. It’s a tough blow for the Oilers, who desperately need him back in the lineup. He makes the blue line a stronger unit.
• Cam Talbot will start again for the Oilers tonight in Ottawa. After a tough October and November, Talbot has bounced back and been far and away the top option for Edmonton since early December. If he can stay on pace here, the Oilers will be set in net for the immediate future.
• Pierre LeBrun mentioned that the Oilers aren’t sure what they are going to do with Teddy Purcell, a pending UFA. Purcell has got some chemistry with Taylor Hall and Leon Draisaitl, and he’s been a solid top six forward all season long for Edmonton. I know three scoring lines isn’t the ideal situation for Todd McLellan, but Edmonton should really consider bringing Purcell back. He’s a good player and he fits with the young skill this team has.
• Luke Gazdic cleared waivers earlier today and was assigned to Bakersfield of the AHL. I wrote about the topic yesterday here. Gazdic will likely be back in Edmonton before the end of the season, and it’s for the best that he gets some playing time down in the AHL.