Oilers Gameday: @ Anaheim

The Edmonton Oilers (39-24-9) will be in action tonight in sunny California as they prepare for a pivotal Pacific division match-up against the Anaheim Ducks (38-23-11).

The team is coming off a season long 8-game homestand in which they went 5-2-1 and are currently on a 4-game winning streak. The team will be in tough against a tough Anaheim team that has seemingly been playing with renewed energy. The Ducks are 5-3-0 in their past 8 games, having beaten teams like San Jose and Washington along the way.

Both teams find themselves tied for the 2nd spot in the Pacific Division with 87pts apiece. The winner of tonight’s match-up will move into sole possession of 2nd place and only be two measly points back of the division leading San Jose Sharks.

To say that this is an important match-up for both clubs would be an understatement. Considering the recent struggles of the Sharks, and the Capitals defeating the Flames last night, the Oilers have a legitimate chance to pull away from their competition in the days that follow. As mentioned, a win tonight would allow them to be 2pts in reach of the division lead with two games against the lowly Colorado Avalanche and seven games against Pacific rivals left on the schedule. Opportunity is knocking on Edmonton’s door and it all starts tonight!

Stacking Them Up:

Record: Power Play %: Penalty Kill %: Goal Differential:

EDM: 39-24-9 (87pts) EDM: 22.5% (4th) EDM: 79.6% (22nd) EDM: +24 (8th)

ANA: 38-23-11 (87pts) ANA: 18.4% (19th) ANA: 85.0% (4th) ANA: +8 (13th)

The Oilers Key To The Game:

Ramp it up. The team has to start playing with some playoff intensity. Monday’s 2-0 win against LA was all fine and dandy in the end but the team lacked a sense of urgency in the final 40 of that game. If the Oilers want to beat the teams that they fighting tooth and nail against they will have to start playing with some fire in their eyes. This would imply that the team’s leaders will have to step up and show their teammates what it takes to be a division leader. Milan Lucic should be throwing the body, Connor McDavid will be flying, and Cam Talbot is guarding the crease.

The playoffs may start officially in April but, as far as I am concerned, playoff season is already underway. Time to play like it.

Players To Watch:

Edmonton: All eyes will be on Cam Talbot tonight as he prepares to start his league leading 66th game of the season. The man they call the “GoalBuster” is coming off back-to-back shutout performances against the Vancouver Canucks and LA Kings and is only 3 wins away from setting the Oilers single-season wins record of 40. He’s on the cusp of history and you gotta believe he’ll turn in another stellar performance for the boys in blue and orange.

Anaheim: The player to watch for the Anaheim Ducks will be none other than the great Andrew Cogliano! The former Oilers speedster will be accomplishing quite the impressive feat in tonight’s game, as he is set to participate in his 777th consecutive game. This will put him 4th on the all-time list of consecutive games played and you can bet that he will be motivated to make a statement against his former team.

Projected Lineups:

Edmonton:

Patrick Maroon – Connor McDavid – Leon Draisaitl

Milan Lucic – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle

Benoit Pouliot – David Desharnais – Zack Kassian

Drake Caggiula – Mark Letestu – Anton Slepyshev

Oscar Klefbom – Adam Larsson

Andrej Sekera – Kris Russell

Darnell Nurse – Eric Gryba

Cam Talbot

Anaheim:

Rickard Rakell – Ryan Getzlaf – Patrick Eaves

Andrew Cogliano – Ryan Kesler – Jakob Silfverberg

Nick Ritchie – Antoine Vermette – Corey Perry

Chris Wagner – Nate Thompson – Jared Boll

Cam Fowler – Sami Vatanen

Hampus Lindholm – Josh Manson

Korbinian Holzer – Kevin Bieksa

Jonathan Bernier

Gameday Notes:

• Patrick Maroon will be playing against his old team once again. In 4 games against the Ducks he has tallied only 2 assists. He will look to improve upon this stat on a line with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl
• Jonathan Bernier will be in net for the Anaheim Ducks, as John Gibson continues to recover from injury. Bernier holds a 15-7-2 record on the season so far and has yet to face the Oilers this season. Lifetime against Edmonton he is 3-2-0 with a Sv% of .890
• After tonight’s game the Oilers will have 9 more games left on the schedule. These games include a total of 4 games against the struggling Avalanche and Canucks, while the rest consist of match-ups with Kings, Ducks, and Sharks.
• Lastly, a win tonight would give the Oilers 3 wins over the Ducks in the regular season for the first time since the 2007/2008 season, where they went 3-1-0 against Anaheim.

Prediction:

The Oilers have been firing on all cylinders lately and I see no reason for them to cool off. Led by their generational captain and their red-hot goaltender, I believe that Edmonton will walk out of tonight’s game unscathed with a 3-1 victory. The Ducks goal will come in the 2nd period and cut the lead to 2-1.

Buckle up! Tonight will be a massive game for both clubs and we should be expecting a playoff-like atmosphere!

Give em hell boys!

Go Oilers Go!

Thanks For Reading!

You can find me on Twitter @PrestonKixFM