Oilers Gameday @ Columbus – What IS A Blue Jacket?

Coming off another win (this time in Philly), the Oilers are set to take the ice against the Columbus Blue Jackets in a rare (early) Friday night game.

With wins against the Islanders (at home), Buffalo and Philadelphia (on the road), the Oilers are starting to look like a real hockey team again. The addition of Patrick Maroon worked out last night (as he scored his first goal as an Oiler), and the boys just seemed to be firing on all cylinders, much to the dismay of the Flyers and their fans.

Last Game

The Oilers rolled into Philly last night and looked like they belonged, seven Flyers powerplays notwithstanding. The Oilers are markedly bigger than last week – with the additions of Adam Cracknell, Adam Pardy and Patrick Maroon – and they look like they’re a little bit grittier and a whole lot harder to push around.

#BigRig pic.twitter.com/lwbeQdsC9D

— OilersNation (@OilersNation) March 4, 2016

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Because they were in Philadelphia, there were a number of ‘extra-curriculars” after the whistles and the best was this exchange, after which Claude Giroux came across looking like like a whiny little baby (which is an insult to babies everywhere).

Just another night in Philly pic.twitter.com/V5LmkgzhUb

— hockeyfights (@hockeyfights) March 4, 2016

Anyway, it was a spirited affair, and the Oilers came out with the 4-0 win. Yak opened the scoring after a heck of a rush by McDavid; Hall scored an absolute beauty of a goal (while falling down, right before he slammed shoulder first into the boards); Patrick Maroon got his first as an Oiler; and Lauri Korpikoski shed the goal-scoring monkey from his back too. Cam Talbot was lights-out good, and man was it nice to watch a game that the Oilers were IN from beginning to end.

Keys to the Game

• Keep doing the things they’ve been doing. They’ve played five REALLY good games in a row, and it’s definitely showing.
• Todd McLellan talked about the team building an identity, and I think they’ve finally got a good start.
• (King of my heart) Taylor Hall talked last night about Chiarelli adding some good pieces to the mix, and I think he’s right. Don’t take my word for it, though:
  

  “If we’re going to keep playing gritty, there’s going to be stuff after a whistle.” @hallsy04 on rough play tonighthttps://t.co/WmaygWKPiT

  — Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) March 4, 2016

   

Players to Watch

I can’t believe I have to keep saying it.

Taylor Hall is good at hockey. (So’s Connor, but I like Taylor more.)

As for Columbus? I don’t even know.

Projected Lineups

Edmonton

Nail Yakupov – Connor McDavid – Jordan Eberle

Taylor Hall – Leon Draisaitl – Patrick Maroon

Lauri Korpikoski – Mark Letestu – Zack Kassian

Matt Hendricks – Anton Lander – Adam Cracknell

Andrej Sekera – Mark Fayne

Adam Pardy – Brandon Davidson

Darnell Nurse – Adam Clendening

Laurent Brossoit

Columbus

Boone Jenner – Brandon Dubinsky – Cam Atkinson

Nick Foligno – Alexander Wennberg – Scott Hartnell

Matt Clavert – William Karlsson – Brandon Saad

Rene Bourque – Gregory Campbell – David Clarkson

Ryan Murray – Seth Jones

Cody Goloubef – David Savard

Fedor Tyutin – Dalton Prout

Joonas Korpisalo

Final Thoughts

I know the Oilers won’t make the playoffs this year, but I was thinking about next year (and beyond) last night. I think it’s within the realm of possibility to expect that the oilers will make a serious push in the next couple seasons. Before McDavid, I had them pegged to win the Stanley Cup in 2027, with Taylor Hall entering the twilight of his career, hoisting the Cup as captain. Now? I still see Captain Hall hoisting the trophy, but I’m envisioning it in 2020 instead.

I know it’s a longshot, but a girl can dream, can’t she?

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