The Oilers open up a five game road trip tonight in Chicago as they battle the Blackhawks in the third and final meeting between the sides. This is the lone meeting in Chicago, as the sides split the first two meetings at Rexall Place.
The Oilers will be without F’s Taylor Hall and Anton Lander, while D Nikita Nikitin is also injured. D Keith Aulie will serve as a healthy scratch tonight for Edmonton, who has lost two in a row. The Blackhawks will be without F Patrick Kane, who is dealing with a broken collarbone, and D Johnny Oduya.
Ben Scrivens starts for Edmonton, while Corey Crawford goes for Chicago.
Last Games:
Edmonton: The Oilers hosted the LA Kings on Tuesday night in a game that was simply a nightmare for the home-side. Edmonton got dominated from the opening puck drop, and never really got into rhythm. The Kings did everything they wanted, and they did it with ease.
Matt Greene opened the scoring nine minutes in, while Trevor Lewis added an insurance marker at the 19:01 mark. Jeff Carter would make it a three goal game 2:18 into the second, effectively ending the game. Edmonton would get the score to 3-1 with a Luke Gazdic tip-in, but Kyle Clifford would restore the three goal spread with a goal less than three minutes later.
Anze Kopitar would score just 26 seconds into the final frame to put LA up 5-1, officially making it rout. Teddy Purcell would score a power-play marker at the 5:36 mark to get Edmonton within three, but it was simply a stat padder as the Kings would hang on to win 5-2.
Chicago: The Hawks last played on Monday when they hosted the Hurricanes at the United Center. Jonathan Toews would open the scoring 8:07 in, giving the Hawks a lead they would not lose.
Toews would add a second goal just 44 seconds into the middle frame, while Brandon Saad and Marcus Kruger would join in on the fun to put Chicago up 4-0 after 40 minutes.
John-Michael Liles and Alex Semin would both score for the Hurricanes in the third, but a Marian Hossa goal sandwiched in the middle set the score at 5-2, which would be the final.
The Last Meeting:
Edmonton and Chicago last met at Rexall Place back in January in a pretty entertaining bout. Chicago opened the scoring 7:34 in with a Brandon Saad goal, but Edmonton dug their heels in, and started plugging away. Benoit Pouliot would score just a minute later to tie the game, while Derek Roy would score a power-play marker late in the frame to give the Oil a lead.
Saad would score his second on the game 5:47 into the middle frame to tie things up, but again Edmonton would push back, getting a Jeff Petry goal just over a minute later to gain a 3-2 lead that they would take to the final period.
The Oilers would finally put Chicago away, getting a Nail Yakupov marker at 16:51 and then a Taylor Hall empty netter to sink Chicago 5-2.
Keys To The Game:
Edmonton: Honestly, after Tuesday, I’m out of ideas here. Just bring the effort tonight, keep pushing back and play your hardest. Chicago is so much better than Edmonton that they’ll need to hope the Hawks have an off night. It’s sad, but honestly at this point it is true.
Chicago: Just show up. The Hawks are arguably the best team in the NHL, while Edmonton is one of the worst three. Show up, play your skilled game, and you will win this hockey game tonight and get two huge points in the hunt for playoff seeding.
Players To Watch:
Edmonton: F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has been playing very well as of late, but hasn’t converted on the scoresheet in a little while. The man called “Nuge” is due for a goal, and it’s only a matter of time until his good play translates into a big stats night. I’ll say tonight is the night.
Chicago: F Antoine Vermette was acquired from Arizona last Saturday night. In one game with the Hawks, Vermette has already fit in quite well. How will he look in his second game? I’m really interested to get a good look. He’s a guy I’ll be watching.
Quick Hits:
The Oilers and Hawks have split the season series one game a piece to this point, the Hawks swept the series in three games last year. Chicago acquired F Antoine Vermette and D Kimmo Timonen at the NHL’s trading deadline. Edmonton expects both F Anton Lander and D Nikita Nikitin to potentially return to the line-up during this road trip.
The Lines:
Edmonton Oilers Lines:
Benoit Pouliot – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle
Teddy Purcell – Derek Roy – Nail Yakupov
Ryan Hamilton – Matt Hendricks – Iiro Pakarinen
Luke Gazdic – Boyd Gordon – Rob Klinkhammer
Oscar Klefbom – Justin Schultz
Martin Marincin – Mark Fayne
Andrew Ference – Jordan Oesterle
Ben Scrivens
Chicago Blackhawks Lines:
Kris Versteeg – Jonathan Toews – Marian Hossa
Patrick Sharp – Antoine Vermette – Brandon Saad
Bryan Bickell – Brad Richards – Andrew Desjardins
Joakim Nordstrom – Marcus Kruger – Andrew Shaw
Kimmo Timonen – Brent Seabrook
Duncan Keith – David Rundblad
Niklas Hjalmarsson – Michal Rozsival
Corey Crawford
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