Edmonton (28-20-3) at Florida (35-12-5)

The hot topic in Oil country has been surrounding the goaltending. Smith and Koskinen are healthy for the first time while Skinner gets game action in the AHL. To this point it’s a situation that has hardly worked out to a satisfactory or amicable manner. Between Smith’s injury woes and subsequent poor play, Koskinen’s being overworked, criticized, and recently neglected, and Skinner’s promising results in limited and sheltered usage, the results have Oilers faithful concerned about the sport’s most vital position.

Of course, it does not help that the Oilers are tight against the salary cap, and there does not appear to be any obvious solutions given the circumstances. No doubt, adding an elite goaltender would help the Oilers chances at making the jump to contender status, but until and unless such a transaction occurs the Oilers best chance at success lies in splitting the starts between whichever two goalies are on the roster fairly evenly. With back to back matinees against two of the league’s top teams we’re all but guaranteed to see Smith and Koskinen achieve that balance in the short term.

Today the Panthers are hosting. After a breakout season last year the Panthers are showing their strong results are no fluke. In GM Zito’s time with the Cats many shrewd maneuvers have vastly improved the roster. Ripe with value off other team’s castoffs, the reigning Jim Gregory GM of the year finalist has a strong case to be among those nominated once more.

In all, the Panthers have transformed into a team that is high octane in terms of both skill and physicality, truly one of the most entertaining teams to watch. They are also quite motivated to continue stacking points as they look to avoid a first round matchup against either Toronto, or worse yet Tampa Bay, who knocked them out in the first ever battle of Florida playoff series last season.

It’s a stiff test for the Oilers as a whole, and there’s still enough time left in the season that showing a high level of play and compete against the league’s best is somewhat meaningful.

Perhaps inexplicably, it seems as though Smith will start again instead of Koskinen, who will likely start tomorrow. The Panthers will likely have Bobrovsky in net.

KEYS TO THE GAME

Edmonton:

1. Handle physicality. The Panthers are ferocious and intense. The Oilers need to be alert in protecting themselves as well as intense in rising to the challenge.

Florida:

1. Strong start. The Oilers have had a terrible track record when it comes to falling behind early. If the Panthers can exploit that Edmonton will be hard pressed for answers given the game tomorrow and the recent play of Mike Smith.

EXPECTED LINEUPS

Edmonton:

McLeod — McDavid — Hyman

Kane — Draisaitl — Yamamoto

Foegele — Nugent-Hopkins — Ryan

Shore — Sceviour — Benson

Nurse — Barrie

Lagesson — Ceci

Niemelainen — Bouchard

Smith

Koskinen

Florida:

Verhaeghe — Barkov — Mamim

Huberdeau — Bennett — Duclair

Marchment — Lundell — Reinhart

Lomberg — Luostarinen — Hornqvist

Weegar — Ekblad

Forsling — Gudas

Carlsson — Montour

Bobrovsky

Johansson

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Edmonton:

It’s essentially the same staring lineup as last game in Tampa Bay. McLeod, Lagesson, and Niemelainen have been very pleasant surprises this season and should be regulars in the Oilers full strength configurations.

Personally, I’m still a bit shocked it’s Smith once again. Tampa was a few days ago, and clearly there is a concerted effort to get Smith into a rhythm of stronger play, but Koskinen has more than earned the fate of being relegated to the most distant of backups. Both have had struggles giving up early goals, enough to consider that those results are as much about the team as a whole as they are the goaltenders.

Florida:

Mamim gets a shot on the top line, perhaps his most notable showcase yet. Huberdeau is one of the league’s top wingers, at least for now a lock for any best on best team Canada. Bennett and Duclair have blossomed into the high end players many foresaw when they were drafted, a clear testament to the Panthers talent evaluation and development systems.

Speaking of which, Mason Marchment has been incredible in his first long stint in the NHL, forming a 3rd line that pushes the Barkov and Huberdeau lines. He’s always shown a physical edge and a sharp hockey sense, but his skills have seemingly progressed to the point where he’s become a very impactful player. Lundell has some playmaking ability, but he’s a big body who gets to the net front and has the strength and skill to be effective in tight.

Ekblad and Weegar are, at this point, established as an elite pairing. Forsling, like Bennett and Duclair, is a player that GM Zito identified from a proverbial scrap heap. He plays a quiet game, strong enough for net front battles and enough quality to make good outlet passes. It is fantastic to see Montour rebound from a tough stretch in Buffalo.