Chicago (16-23-7) at Edmonton (23-17-3)

After a lacklustre effort against Vegas last night the Oilers will be back at it again tonight, hosting the Chicago Blackhawks. With so much riding on the second half of the season the Oilers would do well to make a better impression than the effort that saw them shut out against Vegas. The good news is that this new opportunity will be against a much lesser opponent, and despite being a back-to-back the Oilers should be the favourites tonight.

The Blackhawks had a bit of a turnaround after firing their Coach and have slowly been creeping closer to .500, although they are riding a 3 game losing streak coming off the All-Star break. Of course the Blackhawks have been the source of much off ice drama this season, including some of the darkest chapters of the league in recent history. From Akim Aliu to Kyle Beach to the questionable logo it’s been a never ending stream of disappointment, the reason for which became quite obvious when owner Rocky Wirtz got very emotional and defensive at a “town hall” press conference earlier this year. Not that the Hawks are the only offenders but they have truly continued to be a stain on the league and the sport.

Of course, none of that will affect the game tonight once the puck is dropped, but it would make a win that much more special. We’ll see if Stuart Skinner can get the job done as the starter while Marc-Andre Fleury will get the nod for the Hawks.

KEYS TO THE GAME

Edmonton:

1. Get inside. The Oilers were lacking any sort of sustained or frequent chances from the high danger areas in the slot last night. They are much better than they showed in that respect.
2. Clean transition game. Against a weaker defensive opponent the Oilers should be able to generate lots of chances off the rush.

Chicago:

1. Special teams. The Hawks are not a good 5 on 5 team, and a path to victory is much more likely if they can outscore the Oilers on special teams. Both units have been subpar on the season, but there is enough skill in the lineup to score on the power play.

EXPECTED LINEUPS

Edmonton: Koskinen and Turris are in COVID protocols.

Draisaitl — McDavid — Yamamoto

Hyman — RNH — Puljujarvi

Kane — McLeod — Kassian

Foegele — Shore — Ryan

Nurse — Bouchard

Keith — Ceci

Lagesson — Barrie

Skinner

Smith

Chicago: Toews, Khaira, and Stillman are day-to-day with injury.

Kubalik — Strome — Kane

DeBrincat — Dach — Hagel

Kurashev — Slavin — Lafferty

Borgstrom — Carpenter — Entwistle

de Haan — S. Jones

McCabe — Murphy

C. Jones — Galvas

Fleury

Delia

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Edmonton:

This is the lineup that Tippett switched to in the 3rd period of last night’s game, and it’s likely we’ll see more switching around in the near future. The addition of Kane has given this lineup more flexibility, including making it more feasible than ever to load up with Draisaitl and McDavid on the same line.

Evander Kane is still finding his way, joining a new team as well as joining a season half way through are both speed bumps for many, meaning it’s not unreasonable to think it might take a while for him to get going. Unfortunately Kassian has been pretty ineffective, and given McLeod is not exactly an offensive driver Kane looks to be on his own in this configuration. In my eyes Kassian has been at his best with RNH, which might be the only spot I’d have him in the top 9. Other than that it’s easy to say Foegele might offer a bit more in this spot.

Now is a great time for Oilers fans to be theorizing their own lines. There’s certain to be changes moving forward and there should be enough firepower to make a strong looking configuration.

Skinner has a good chance to have a strong game and get a win tonight. Given Mike Smith is increasingly inconsistent and injury prone, confidence in Skinner will be huge for keeping Smith and Koskinen as fresh as can be.

Chicago:

Obviously there is a reason things have not gone well for the Hawks, but there is still some talent on the roster. Over the past 4 or 5 seasons things have been tough, so it is a bit strange that a large number of former Blackhawks have gone on to be very successful with other organizations. In particular European players in their mid 20s.

Whether it’s Forsling on Florida, Kampf on Toronto, Suter on Detroit, or others it’s clear that the Hawks have had good, affordable players in their system. Despite this the group hasn’t performed well and those players have been moved on from with little to nothing in return.

Strome and Dach have been more pedigree than performance, although I reckon there’s still hope that they can be strong NHLers and will continue to progress.

DeBrincat and Kubalik are legitimate top 6 scoring wingers with really good shots. Hagel and Kurashev are more evidence of the Hawks strong European scouting, and both should be NHL level contributors for the next few seasons. Perhaps either would be a nice, low cost addition for a contending team at the trade deadline. 

Borgstrom was fantastic at NCAA Denver but hasn’t yet been able to translate his skills to the NHL level. He has however posted some strong underlying numbers considering his small role on a bad team.

de Hann, McCabe, and Murphy are all quieter, defensive oriented veterans. Perhaps they could play a role on a contending team but the trio is not necessarily well slotted or utilized currently.

The elephant in the room is of course Seth Jones. Many underlying numbers suggested that his abilities were being overestimated by the general public, if not his own coaches who gave him a ton of minutes in Columbus. This year hasn’t gone well for anyone in Chicago, Jones included, and his large extension that kicks in next season is looking quite troubling.