Oilers Gameday – Vs. Calgary

It’s go time. After a summer of massive turnover and a changing of the guard, the Edmonton Oilers embark on the 2016-17 season looking to avoid making history. If this team misses the postseason in April, it will be an NHL record for futility, 11 straight seasons of hitting the golf course early.

Tonight, the Oilers open a home-and-home slate with their rivals, the Calgary Flames. While the Battle of Alberta has been down the last, oh, ten years, the young talent on both teams should result in a second coming for this once great rivalry. Does part two of the Battle start tonight? It would sure be nice if it did.

The Oilers will turn to Cam Talbot to start the season for them. Talbot was sensational from December through the end of the season last year, but he struggled mightily in October and November. That, simply put, cannot happen this year. Brian Elliot starts for Calgary, he was acquired from St. Louis back at June’s entry draft.

Keys To The Game:

Edmonton: Feeding off the emotion is something that Edmonton has failed to do for the better part of the last decade. Tonight, with some of the all-time greats in the building and a new season starting, the building will be electric. Edmonton needs to feed off of that and get off to a hot start tonight. Make Calgary chase this hockey game.

Calgary: For the Flames, their key to this game is quite simple. Test the new look Oilers by barking at them early and often. We’ve heard how the Oilers are a tougher team to play against, but they haven’t had a chance to prove that in the regular season. The Flames can get a little chippy and if they push Edmonton around early, it could set a tone on the road. Make Edmonton uncomfortable, just like they have done for years.

Players To Watch:

Edmonton: I’ll be keeping an eye on Leon Draisaitl tonight. After a quick look on Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ wing on Saturday night, Draisaitl will shift back to center and play pivot for the third line tonight. Can Leon take advantage of some of the easier matchups that he’ll face? He’ll be in a position to succeed in this hockey game.

Calgary: Johnny Gaudreau just joined his teammates for practice yesterday after a contract holdout. Can Gaudreau, who hasn’t had a chance to learn new coach Glen Gulutzan’s systems, have an impact in this hockey game? I’ll be watching to see if the missed time impacts Johnny in any way.

The Lines:

Anton Lander, who cleared waivers on Tuesday, is still with the club as Drake Caggiula battles injury. Lander, however, will be a healthy scratch tonight along with seventh defender Mark Fayne.

Edmonton Oilers Lines:

Milan Lucic – Connor McDavid – Jordan Eberle

Benoit Pouliot – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Anton Slepyshev

Patrick Maroon – Leon Draisaitl – Jesse Puljujarvi

Tyler Pitlick – Mark Letestu – Zack Kassian

Oscar Klefbom – Adam Larsson

Andrej Sekera – Kris Russell

Darnell Nurse – Brandon Davidson

Cam Talbot

Calgary Flames Lines:

Johnny Gaudreau – Sean Monahan – Kris Versteeg

Matthew Tkachuk – Sam Bennett – Troy Brouwer

Michael Ferland – Mikael Backlund – Michael Frolik

Lance Bouma – Matt Stajan – Alex Chiasson

Mark Giordano – Dennis Wideman

T.J. Brodie – Deryk Engelland

Nick Grossman – Dougie Hamilton

Brian Elliot

Game Notes:

The Oilers officially signed Eric Gryba to a one-year, two-way contract earlier on Wednesday. I touched on the subject here yesterday, when TSN’s Bob McKenzie broke the news. Jesse Puljujarvi, who wore number 39 during the preseason, will wear number 98 for the Oilers this season. He’s the only player in the NHL who will wear that number in 2016-17.

Andrew Ference, Matt Hendricks and Iiro Pakarinen were shifted from the active roster to the injured reserve on Tuesday night as Edmonton completed their 23 man roster. Interestingly, Matthew Benning made the team as an eighth defender. I assume we will see him in the lineup at some point soon, maybe even Friday night in Calgary.

Prediction:

Okay, so it’s a new season in a new building with, really, a completely new looking team. If the Oilers are ever going to take a step forward and challenge for a playoff spot, this is the year to do it. As much as I want to be overly optimistic, I need this team to prove to me they can do it. Tonight, I believe, they take the first step towards doing that.

I’ll say Edmonton edges Calgary by a 4-2 margin in this contest. I’ll say Lucic, Sekera, Draisaitl and McDavid score for the Oilers, while Bennett and Versteeg pot goals for Calgary. Seriously, everyone knows Versteeg is going to score tonight, right?

Enjoy the game!