Oilers Gameday: February 8th vs Golden Knights

Vegas (27-16-3) at Edmonton (23-16-3)

Anticipation is in the air as the last moments of calm have passed with the All-Star break. The second half of the season will be hectic, as the condensed schedule sees the Oilers playing close to every other night. Of course, the tranquillity of this moment is in no small part thanks to a roster that is improving and a 5-0-1 stretch headed into the break.

Gone but not forgotten is the abysmal spiral of despair that lingered from December until the second half of January. No doubt the embers of positivity are stirring, if not rekindling. Whether it’s enough to set ablaze the fires of hope is yet to be seen, but the chance it might be is certainly within reach. More firewood, or reinforcements, are already in place with the addition of Kane, the return of Nugent-Hopkins and now Mike Smith from injury, not to mention Zach Hyman and the changing COVID protocols and circumstances seeming to suggest we might see less abscesses in the near future. Knock on wood, but the Oilers have a relatively healthy group.

What better way to kick off the second half than with the division leading Golden Knights in town? Especially given the divisional nature of the postseason this is THE measuring stick as it pertains to the Oilers. The bar is still to be raised as Jack Eichel continues to get closer to a return. A push for the division crown might be unlikely, but the aspirations of this Oilers group is to post results that keep pace with the perennial contenders like the Knights rather than the Wildcard race they slipped into.

Both teams should be highly motivated and well rested tonight, promising what might be a game with an intense level of play. We’ll see Lehner in net for the Knights while Mike Smith appears set to start for the Oil.

KEYS TO THE GAME

Edmonton:

1. Power play. Vegas is a strong 5 on 5 defensive team, so their most vulnerable point is on special teams. The Oilers will need some contributions here to pull off a victory.
2. Resilience. We’ve seen some rumblings that the Oilers have started to turn the corner in this respect, but with 3 strong lines and superb amounts of skill the Oilers should never feel out of a game. There’s been a lot of slow starts this season, but the Oilers should be able to fight their way back in more than they have so far.

Vegas:

1. Create turnovers. Vegas has always played a straightforward game that applies pressure on the forecheck, led by one of the league’s foremost takeaway artists in Mark Stone who has a talent for breaking up opponent’s transitions.
2. Commit to defence. The Oilers have most trouble with teams that are able to contest every inch of the ice. The best chance for Vegas to come out victorious is to focus on being tight and to let the offence happen from there.

EXPECTED LINEUPS

Edmonton: Koskinen and Turris are in COVID protocols.

Kane — McDavid — Yamamoto

McLeod — Draisaitl — Kassian

Hyman — Nugent-Hopkins — Puljujarvi

Foegele — Shore — Ryan

Nurse — Bouchard

Keith — Ceci

Lagesson — Barrie

Smith

Skinner

Vegas: Eichel, Martinez, and Whitecloud are out.

Pacioretty — Stephenson — Stone

Marchessault — Karlsson — Smith

Janmark — Roy — Dadonov

Carrier — Howden — Kolesar

Hague — Pietrangelo

McNabb — Theodore

Hutton — Coghlan

Lehner

Brossoit

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Edmonton:

The top line continues its run together and rightfully so. It’s been a short sample size, and it’s rarely our first ideas that work so well. If and when this line hits a slow spot, and depending on how the rest of the lineup looks, we could see some changes going forward. Kane does compliment McDavid well, and that duo allows for Yamamoto to fit in where he is best suited, as a support player. He’s not a dangling offensive wizard as much as he is able to do the little things, win battles, quick support outlets, and such. It is most definitely a big opportunity for Yams.

The second line (I’m sure coach Tippett would not appreciate numbering in this case) is a bit of a gamble, as Draisaitl is flanked by a pair of wingers one would not exactly describe as “top 6 wingers”. That being said, there is an interesting complement of skills. First and foremost this begins with Draisaitl’s surreal offensive talents. McLeod is here in part because he has likely surpassed a fourth line role, where he would be when RNH is at 3C. He brings some speed that Draisaitl appreciates, and perhaps his transition checking prowess fits well seeing as Draisaitl is also there to handle the heavy lifting on in-zone defence. Kassian certainly adds some snarl to the group, but we’ll see if the pair have enough to let Draisaitl work his magic.

In what is hardly a 3rd line, The strong combination of Hyman and Nugent-Hopkins is further bolstered by adding Puljujarvi to the right flank. Between the 3 players there is more than enough skill and talent to hold their own against some of the best lines in the league on a night-to-night basis. One of these 3 lines is likely to have the chance to exploit weaker competition. At this point the biggest question mark is how Draisaitl’s line fares, as the McDavid and RNH lines seem very strong on paper.

Foegele and Ryan now find themselves lower in the lineup. Personally I’m sure they are disappointed, and there’s a good chance Foegele will move back up at some point, but for the team as a whole it’s a great sign. There have been many games this year where the Oilers would have tried to deploy the pair as a 3rd line. With so much depth ahead of them the minutes should be hard to come by.

This might be the best case scenario on defence right now, meaning it can’t be taken for granted that the blueline is in good health. The Oilers have been pretty settled in this look and it makes sense that they would be. Despite some less-than-ideal cap hits the best case vision of the future looks promising as well, as both Broberg and Samorukov might be pushing Keith and Lagesson for minutes next season.

Hopefully Smith can stay healthy. It’s been a frustrating and injury riddled start to his season. Ideally he can stay in the lineup and can split starts pretty evenly with Koskinen with the breakneck pace of the upcoming schedule. Best case this will keep both goalies healthy and fresh enough to deliver their best and are not being overtaxed. Even with Koskinen currently sidelined Skinner should get a start or two to keep the strain of Smith to a reasonable level.

Vegas:

With Eichel starting full practices much of the intrigue surrounding the Knights lineup is about what it might be rather than what it is. In a lot of ways this is very close to the tried and true configuration we’ve come to expect from the club. Stephenson is likely keeping Eichel’s spot warm, while the misfits line (Karlsson’s) looks to remain intact, although Stephenson is their icetime leader at forward, so he’s likely to continue to play a major part of the team.

Not dissimilar to McLeod’s role on the Oilers, Stephenson sliding down will push Roy somewhere else in the lineup. He’s been with Janmark for a while as the pair earns more and more icetime. Currently, Dadonov joins them bringing some offensive flair to the workmanlike duo.

Speaking of workmanship, the 4th line has both Carrier and Kolesar on it, both of whom have been up and down this lineup through the years. Both are telling of the Knights player personnel philosophies.

Other than key pieces in Whitecloud and Martinez the Knights blueline is fairly intact. Coghlan and Hutton fill in and at least compliment each other well. Hague is still working his way towards being a top defender but is being groomed for such, and is well supported by Pietrangelo. After a horrendous start to the season Pietrangelo has rounded into form and leads the back end alongside Theodore.