Oilers Gameday – @ Coyotes

The Oilers, following an embarrassing blow-out loss to the LA Kings on Tuesday night, limp into the desert to battle the Arizona Coyotes to conclude their three game road trip. Edmonton made a number of roster moves on Wednesday, placing G Viktor Fasth on the IR and sending C Bogdan Yakimov to the AHL’s OKC Barons. The team also recalled G Richard Bachman and F Steve Pinizzotto.

For Edmonton, tonight is about showing a little bit of pride. This team was smacked around and embarrassed by the Kings. Tonight’s response could indicate just how tough this unit really is.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will miss the game, while Jordan Eberle will be a game time decision. Ben Scrivens starts opposite Mike Smith.

The Last Games:

Edmonton: The Oilers lasted all of three minutes and six seconds last night, it was that bad. Jeff Carter snapped home the goal that ended the game early in the first, while Justin Williams and Tyler Toffoli both added insurance markers before the frame hit the mid-way point.

The second period was simply more of the same, as Dustin Brown and Tanner Pearson each beat Ben Scrivens to give the Kings a five goal lead. Taylor Hall came close to scoring for Edmonton, but was robbed by a beautiful Jonathan Quick save. Through forty minutes, Edmonton had been out-shot by a 20-19 margin.

The third period saw Pearson score his second goal, while Matt Hendricks added a marker for Edmonton in the final minute that broke the shut-out. Edmonton fell 6-1, and was thoroughly out-played for sixty minutes. It was one of the worst efforts the team has put out in years, and has put the city in panic mode. Edmonton has lost it’s first three games for the first time since 1995.

Arizona: The Yotes last played on Saturday night at home when they hosted the defending champion Kings. Unlike Edmonton last night, the Yotes actually put up a fight in this hockey game. LA opened the scoring 1:32 in with a Tanner Pearson goal, setting the tone right out of the gate. Jeff Carter would extend the lead to two goals at the 12:57 mark, but after that old friend Devan Dubnyk would slam the door shut.

Antoine Vermette got the Yotes on the board with a power-play goal late in the frame, while Mikkel Boedker tied things up mid-way through the second frame. Dubnyk and Quick would battle all the way until overtime, as both remained perfect following the mid-way point of the second period.

In OT, the Kings would take a costly penalty that set up Arizona on the power-play, which would lead to the game winning goal. Defender Oliver Ekman-Larsson fired home a shot at the 4:46 mark that gave the Yotes their first win of the season.

Keys To The Game:

Edmonton: Clean it up defensively. Edmonton has allowed 15 goals through three games, which is way too many. Tonight, the Oilers need to get back to basics, forget the swarm, just play sound defensive hockey. What they did last year and what they are doing now simply is not working. Against an offensively challenged team like Arizona, the Oilers need to focus on tightening up defensively.

Arizona: The Yotes’ struggling offense needs a cure, and the Oiler defense might be exactly what the doctor ordered. Edmonton has looked confused defensively, and if the Coyotes can use their speed tonight they’ll be able to find the same lanes that Calgary, Vancouver and LA have found so far this season. Arizona has speed, they have to use it tonight to create things.

Players To Watch:

Edmonton: Jeff Petry was a healthy scratch last night, and is rumored to be on the trading block. Petry can’t be happy about the way he is being treated right now, and likely wants that trade to happen. Personally, I think Edmonton’s best defender is going to have a standout night tonight and have a major impact on this game. I’d sit back and enjoy Edmonton’s best blue-liner in what likely could be one of his last games in orange and blue.

Arizona: Ex-Oilers always kill Edmonton, it’s a curse. Tonight, Sam Gagner will get his chance to burn his old team. Gagner has tons of offensive ability, and against a terrible defense like this I can see him having a monster night. I’ll go as far as to predict that Gagner finds the back of the net not once, but twice. The Oilers did the right thing dealing him, but tonight Gagner will get the laugh by piling it on to a struggling team.

The Lineup:

Edmonton Oilers Lines:

Taylor Hall – Mark Arcobello – Teddy Purcell

Benoit Pouliot – Leon Draisaitl – Nail Yakupov

Matt Hendricks – Boyd Gordon – David Perron

Jesse Joensuu – Will Acton – Steve Pinizzotto

Darnell Nurse – Justin Schultz

Nikita Nikitin – Mark Fayne

Andrew Ference – Jeff Petry

Ben Scrivens

Arizona Coyotes Lines:

Mikkel Boedker – Antoine Vermette – Shane Doan

Rob Klinkhammer – Martin Hanzel – Martin Erat

Lauri Korpikoski – Sam Gagner – David Moss

Brandon McMillan – Joe Vitale – Kyle Chipchura

Keith Yandle – Michael Stone

Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Zbynek Michalek

David Schlemko – Connor Murphy

Mike Smith