Oilers Gameday – @ Buffalo

After a successful weekend, the Edmonton Oilers are back on the ice tonight in Buffalo to battle the Sabres for the second and final time this season. The Oilers got a huge win on Saturday night against Anaheim, then squeaked out a point on the second half of a back-to-back set against the Wild on Sunday. Three out of four points is pretty good to this observer’s eye.

Edmonton opens up an awkward week tonight that will see them play three on the road before returning home to face Winnipeg on Sunday night. After this contest, the Oilers head to Philadelphia on Thursday night and then finish the trip in Minnesota on Friday evening. It’s a busy and, quite frankly, important week for Edmonton.

Cam Talbot will start tonight for the Oilers, while Buffalo turns to Anders Nilsson as they play the second half of a back-to-back set.

Keys To The Game:

Edmonton: The Oilers are in a favorable spot tonight, playing a Buffalo team who traveled overnight and played 24 hours ago in Washington. The Oilers have to have another solid start, just like they did against Anaheim and Minnesota. If the Oilers can get to Nilsson early and test him, they’ll have a good chance to come away with two points tonight.

Buffalo: The Sabres have to play a disciplined game tonight. While Edmonton’s powerplay has struggled overall, it’s been quite good on the road as of late. If this tired Sabres team finds themselves taking penalties with regularity, they could get blown out of this one. They’ll need to play a smart game tonight.

Players To Watch:

Edmonton: After a stint in the bottom six, Patrick Maroon returns to a line with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle tonight. Maroon has played well as of late, creating chances and scoring twice in his last three outings. Can he take advantage of getting moved up in the lineup? I’ll be watching that closely tonight.

Buffalo: Jack Eichel has been simply sensational since returning to the Buffalo lineup. The Sabres had one of the NHL’s worst offenses during his absence, but the last week has been nothing but exceptional on that front. Eichel has three goals in four games this season and is a player to watch closely in this one.

The Lines:

Changes tonight up front for Edmonton, as Benoit Pouliot and Anton Slepyshev come out of the lineup. In their place, Matt Hendricks and Jesse Puljujarvi will dress. Dillon Simpson is the healthy scratch on defense while Darnell Nurse and Eric Gryba remain on the IR.

Edmonton Oilers Lines:

Milan Lucic – Connor McDavid – Leon Draisaitl

Patrick Maroon – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle

Zack Kassian – Drake Caggiula – Jesse Puljujarvi

Matt Hendricks – Mark Letestu – Tyler Pitlick

Kris Russell – Adam Larsson

Andrej Sekera – Matt Benning

Oscar Klefbom – Mark Fayne

Cam Talbot

Buffalo Sabres Lines:

Will Carrier – Ryan O’Reilly – Kyle Okposo

Evander Kane – Jack Eichel – Sam Reinhart

Marcus Foligno – Johan Larsson – Brian Gionta

Matt Moulson – Derek Grant – Zemgus Girgensons

Jake McCabe – Rasmus Ristolainen

Brendan Guhle – Cody Franson

Justin Falk – Erik Burgdoerfer

Anders Nilsson

Game Notes:

The Oilers have recorded points in three consecutive games (2-0-1) and currently sit in second place in the Pacific Division. The club has a two point lead on the Anaheim Ducks, who currently hold one game in hand over Edmonton.

This is the second and final meeting between Edmonton and Buffalo on the season. The Sabres crushed the Oilers 6-2 at Rogers Place back on October 16th. That game saw Cam Talbot surrender a goal from center ice and saw Kyle Okposo score his first as a Sabre. Milan Lucic also scored his first goal as an Oiler on that night, tying the game at two late in the opening period.

The Oilers, behind two Connor McDavid goals, won 2-1 in overtime in their last visit to Buffalo back in March of 2016.

Prediction:

Buffalo absolutely destroyed Edmonton last time out, but the Oilers actually generated a number of quality chances and the McDavid line actually looked quite solid in the four goal loss. The difference that night was goaltending. Robin Lehner was simply better.

Tonight, the Sabres should be a tired team and we all know that Anders Nilsson can be a very inconsistent goalie. This is the kind of game that Edmonton has to take advantage of and win if they want to be a playoff team.

I think they do so, topping the Sabres 3-1 tonight. McDavid, Maroon and Caggiula get the goals for the Oilers, while Kane gets Buffalo’s lone tally.