The Oilers conclude a four game road trip tonight and play their last game before the Olympic break in New Jersey against the Devils. It will be the second and final meeting of the season between the two sides, who met in October back at Rexall Place.
The Oilers are in the second half of back-to-back games, following last night’s win over the Rangers. Edmonton’s lineup is expected to stay the same barring any trades before today’s 3:00 P.M. est roster freeze. The top line of Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Nail Yakupov will get another spin together tonight, while Sam Gagner is expected to remain in the lineup and play on the second line.
The Devils will bring a healthy lineup to the table tonight, featuring players like Jaromir Jagr, Michael Ryder, Travis Zajac and Adam Henrique. The Devils, who have lost four out of their last five, will be playing their final home game before the break. The team is in the first half of back-to-backs, as they will be in Washington tomorrow night to battle the Capitals.
The Oilers are expected to roll with Ilya Bryzgalov tonight, while the Devils will likely go with youngster Corey Schneider.
Last Games:
Edmonton: The Oilers took the ice last night at MSG, and put forth a pretty good road effort against one of the NHL’s hottest teams. The Oilers opened the scoring 2:56 in, as Ryan Smyth banged home a rebound off a David Perron shot. Ben Scrivens would stop 11 shots in the frame.
The Rangers tied things just 22 seconds into the middle frame, as Mats Zuccarello fed a pass to Derick Brassard, who rifled the shot past a sprawling Scrivens. The score would remain even through 40, setting up an intense third period.
The Rangers, mainly Ryan Callahan, had a few golden chances in the third, but simply couldn’t beat Ben Scrivens, who stopped all 12 third period shots by the Rangers. Edmonton would start applying pressure late, and get rewarded. Taylor Hall won a battle behind the net, leading to Sam Gagner finding an open Nail Yakupov in the slot with 1:44 left in the game, giving Edmonton a 2-1 win.
New Jersey: The Devils last played at home earlier this week as they hosted the Colorado Avalanche. The Devils played a strong first period, and got rewarded with a Ryan Carter goal late in the frame to open the scoring.
The Av’s and Devils would play and even second period, each firing nine shots on net. Both goalies stood strong, as J.S. Giguere and Corey Schneider would stop everything directed their way.
The Av’s would turn up the heat in the third, and dominate the Devils for most of the frame. The Av’s finally broke through on Schneider with 1:47 left, as PA Parenteau found the back of the net. New Jersey’s heart break would be complete when Ryan O’Reilly would score just 28 seconds into OT to give Colorado the 2-1 victory.
Last Meeting:
The Devils and Oilers met back in October at Rexall Place in one of the craziest games of the season. The sides played a mainly even first period, but spotty Oilers goaltending led to a two goal Devils lead. Jaromir Jagr and Damien Brunner would each score in the frame.
In the second, Jersey extended their lead as Michael Ryder rifled home a shot just over four and a half minutes in. The tide would begin to turn from here however, and Edmonton would start to get a few good chances, but simply couldn’t find the back of the net.
The Oilers rally took off in the third, and started 5:43 in as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins banged home a rebound on the PP. Andrew Ference would blast home his first as an Oiler just under four minutes later, and David Perron would add one just over two minutes after that to tie the game up.
Taylor Hall seemingly capped the comeback at the 13:30 mark, putting Edmonton up 4-3, but Patrick Elias would tie things with just 54 seconds left with the extra attacker.
OT solved nothing, and the sides headed to a shoot-out. David Perron and Jordan Eberle would both score, while Jason Labarbera was perfect, sealing Edmonton’s 5-4 comeback victory.
Players To Watch:
Edmonton: Oilers forward Nail Yakupov looked pretty good last night in his first game on the top-line this year. Yak played with an edge and played a more defensively responsible game than we are used to. He also scored the game winner on a great shot. I suspect Nail keeps this momentum up tonight, and suggest watching him.
New Jersey: Barring an unexpected trade, this could be the final time Oilers fans get to see Devils forward Jaromir Jagr. Jagr has had an awesome season this year, looking like himself again. Jagr has always seemingly had success against the Oilers, and I expect that to continue tonight. I wouldn’t be shocked if the legend found the net one last time against the Oil.
The Lines:
Edmonton Oilers Lines:
Taylor Hall – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle
David Perron – Sam Gagner – Nail Yakupov
Matt Hendricks – Boyd Gordon – Ales Hemsky
Luke Gazdic – Ryan Smyth – Ryan Jones
Andrew Ference – Justin Schultz
Martin Marincin – Jeff Petry
Nick Schultz – Mark Fraser
Ilya Bryzgalov
New Jersey Devils Lines:
Dainius Zubrus – Andrei Loktionov – Jaromir Jagr
Patrik Elias – Travis Zajac – Damien Brunner
Ryane Clowe – Adam Henrique – Michael Ryder
Ryan Carter – Stephan Gionta – Steve Bernier
Mark Fayne – Andy Greene
Bryce Salvador – Marek Zidlicky
Jon Merrill – Peter Harold
Cory Schneider
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