Oilers Gameday @ Carolina: Dagger In My Heart

After last night’s stinker in Nashville, the Oilers take the ice again tonight in Carolina, where they’ll face off against the team Oilers fans have come to loathe since 2006. Playing the second half of a back to back isn’t something Oilers have had to do a lot of this season, but they way they got run over last should make for a pretty tired team today.

The Oilers are on the verge of a three-game losing skid, one which could spell the beginning of a long month for them, given their tough schedule. This is a good time to see what this team is made of, and the midpoint of a 3-game road trip is the perfect opportunity to make a turnaround.

KEYS TO THE GAME

Edmonton

• Last night wasn’t as bad as the game against Minnesota, but the Oilers were outclassed and outworked by the Preds in virtaully every way.
• Cam Talbot was merely average last night, and he’s getting the start again. He needs to be way sharper in net in order to get the Oilers the 2 points tonight.
• Figure out a way to force the Canes to take penalties. The Hurricanes are the least-penalized team in the league, and the Oilers need to somehow get in their way.

Carolina

• Get a quick start. If the Oilers get behind, or are seriously outplayed, they do still struggle at getting back into it.
• Keep their PK strong. The Canes have the best PK in the league, and have allowed a low of 15 PP goals against.
• If it sounds like I’m repeating myself, I am. There’s a reason they lost last night, and a poor start was definitely a factory

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Edmonton

• It feels repetitive to keep saying Connor, but he’s so great to watch all the time.
• Leon Draisaitl has been on FIRE of late, and it’s been really great to see him really find his game this year. I’d wager that he’s been the Oilers best player over the last 10 games, and I hope that continues.

Carolina

• Elias Lindholm might be the Canes whisperer. They’re 11-0-2 when he gets an assist this season.
• Jeff Skinner leads the Hurricanes in goals and points, and has been playing pretty well of late.

PROJECTED LINEUPS

Edmonton

Patrick Maroon – Connor McDavid – Leon Draisaitl

Benoit Pouliot – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle

Milan Lucic – Drake Caggiula – Anton Slepyshev

Matt Hendricks – Mark Letestu – Zack Kassian

Oscar Klefbom – Adam Larsson

Andrej Sekera – Kris Russell

Brandon Davidson – Matt Benning

Cam TalBot

Carolina

Jeff Skinner – Derek Ryan – Lee Stempniak

Sebastian Aho – Jordan Staal – Elias Lindholm

Brock McGinn – Victor Rask – Teuvo Teravainen

Joakim Nordstrom – Jay McClement – Viktor Stalberg

Ron Hainsey – Justin Faulk

Jaccob Slavin – Brett Pesce

Noah Hanifin – Klas Dahlbeck

Cam Ward

Notes

Elliotte Friedman talked about Jordan Eberle this morning, suggesting that the Oilers might be looking to trade him. I don’t think there’s much truth the the rumour, despite a drop-off in Ebs’ production. But if they want to garner interest in him, it’d be real great if he stepped up and scored a goal or two.

Another player who needs to step up his production is Milan Lucic. As much as he talked about bringing grit and intensity to the team, we’ve seen very little of it. If this team is going to make a playoff push, they’re going to need one of their few skaters with actual playoff experience to help out in that respect.