The Oilers are back in action tonight after they lost to Vancouver on Sunday. It was just as well that no one put effort into a pregame, because the Oilers didn’t deserve it that night.
It’s about that time in the season where Oiler fans start to wonder if their team will make it into the playoffs. This year, the outlook is…..not terrible? There’s no guarantee, but at least there’s less despair than in 11 of the last 12 years.
Keys to the Game
Edmonton
- Lots of pucks on net.
- Matchups will be key. There’s a pretty big drop off between St Louis’ first and 2nd defence pair, so the Oilers (with last change) should be able to capitalize.
St Louis
- If they can play hard against the top line, it’s likely that they’ll neutralize most of the Oilers offence. That’s maybe the only way.
Players to Watch
Edmonton
- Connor McDavid does ridiculous things, so watch him if you can find him.
- At some point, Lucic has to score a goal, right? Like the law of averages would suggest that he’s due for about 8 million, but I think most Oiler fans would settle for 1.
St Louis
- Colton Parayko because he’s a local boy who does good things in the community but also because Oiler fans have attached his name to the team and maybe it’ll be the last time he plays for St Louis because he’ll get traded after the game and stay here.
Projected Lineups
Edmonton
Alex Chiasson – Connor McDavid – Leon Draisaitl
Tobias Rieder – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Ty Rattie
Milan Lucic – Kyle Brodziak – Zack Kassian
Drake Caggiula – Jujhar Khaira – Jesse Puljujarvi
Darnell Nurse – Adam Larsson
Kevin Gravel – Caleb Jones
Jason Garrison – Matt Benning
Mikko Koskinen
St Louis
Jaden Schwartz – Brayden Schenn – Vladimir Tarasenko
Alex Steen – Ryan O’Reilly – David Perron
Patrick Maroon – Tyler Bozak – Robert Thomas
Jordan Nolan – Ivan Barbashev – Oskar Sundqvist
Joel Edmundson – Colton Parayko
Jay Bouwmeester – Robert Bortuzzo
Vince Dunn – Chris Butler
Jake Allen
Notes
It’s almost Christmas, which means that the pregame for Saturday will be a poem.
Get your eye holes ready.
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