Oilers Gameday – @ Flames

The Oilers hit the road tonight and visit their rivals, the Calgary Flames, in the fourth meeting between the sides this season, and final meeting at the Saddledome. The Flames still hold the final playoff spot in the west, while Edmonton h
as started moving up the standings.

The Oilers will be without F Taylor Hall, who is close to returning, and D Nikita Nikitin, who suffered a shoulder injury on Thursday. The Flames will be without F Curtis Glencross and D Ladislav Smid tonight, both are on the IR.

Ben Scrivens is likely to start for Edmonton, while Jonas Hiller gets the nod for Calgary.

Last Games:

Edmonton: The Oilers last played on Thursday, when they hosted the Buffalo Sabres. Buffalo opened the scoring 2:22 in with a Tyler Myers goal, but it was all Edmonton after that point. The Oilers tied the game with a Matt Fraser goal ten minutes later, then took the lead with an Oscar Klefbom blast at the 15:02 mark.

The second period would go by scoreless, but would see Edmonton get the majority of the chances. Jonas Enroth was up to the task, stopping twelve shots.

Edmonton would get an insurance marker from Anton Lander 7:52 into the third period that basically put things away. Rasmus Ristolainen would add a marker in the final two minutes, but it was only a stat padder, as Edmonton would hang on to win 3-2.

Calgary: The Flames also played on Thursday night, as they hosted the Minnesota Wild at the Saddledome. The Wild took it to the Flames early, out-shooting Calgary 14-8 in the first period and getting the lone goal, a Zach Parise marker 8:59 in.

The Flames would respond with a much better second period, but Devan Dubnyk stopped all 14 shots to keep the Wild up 1-0 heading into the third and final period. In that period, Dubnyk would stand tall, stopping all eight Calgary shots and giving the Wild a massive 1-0 victory to stay in the playoff hunt.

Last Meeting:

The Oilers and Flames last met on New Year’s Eve in Calgary in a back and forth tilt. Edmonton got the lone marker of the first period, a Matt Fraser power-play goal, and overall carried the play.

Calgary closed the gap play wise in the second, but Jordan Eberle put Edmonton up 2-0 with a goal 10:28 in. Joe Colborne would make it 2-1 at the 18:01 mark, setting us up for a classic third period.

Lance Bouma would tie things 4:28 in, but Edmonton would regain the lead thanks to an Andrew Ference blast 9:29 into the third period. The Flames just wouldn’t die however, and Colborne would tie things up and send us to OT with a late marker. In the extra frame, Josh Jooris would score just 1:08 in, giving the Flames the 4-3 win.

Keys To The Game:

Edmonton: The Oilers key tonight is rather simple, play a full sixty minutes. In the previous three meetings, Edmonton has carried the play except for a stretch which has cost them the game. If they play a full sixty tonight, they are more than capable of beating this Calgary team.

Calgary: Attacking the middle is huge for the Flames tonight. They’ve killed the Oilers so far with chances in close, and have been able to convert on an alarming rate of in close chances. If the Flames start moving the puck around and get those kinds of chances tonight, they should win this game no problem.

Players To Watch:

Edmonton: The Oilers need some of their depth forwards to step up with Hall out of the line-up tonight, and F Teddy Purcell is a great candidate to do so. Purcell has been playing well lately, but just hasn’t been scoring consistently. I say he breaks out tonight with another solid game and a goal.

Calgary: Flames D Mark Giordano is a strong candidate for league MVP if this Flames team does sneak into the playoffs. Giordano is one of the NHL’s best defenders, playing a physical style of hockey and doing all of the little things. He’ll be tasked with shutting down Edmonton’s top-line tonight.

Quick Hits:

Tonight marks the start of a brief two-game road trip for Edmonton, who will play on Monday night in San Jose. This is the final meeting in Calgary between the sides, who will conclude their season series in Edmonton later this season. Flames G Jonas Hiller stopped 32 shots in Thursday’s 1-0 loss to the Wild.

The Lines:

Edmonton Oilers Lines:

Benoit Pouliot – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle

Teddy Purcell – Derek Roy – Nail Yakupov

Matt Fraser – Anton Lander – Luke Gazdic

Matt Hendricks – Boyd Gordon – Rob Klinkhammer

Keith Aulie – Mark Fayne

Andrew Ference – Jeff Petry

Oscar Klefbom – Justin Schultz

Ben Scrivens

Calgary Flames Lines:

Johnny Gaudreau – Sean Monahan – Jiri Hudler

Mason Raymond – Josh Jooris – Joe Colborne

Lance Bouma – Mikael Backlund – David Jones

Brandon Bollig – Matt Stajan – Paul Byron

Mark Giordano – TJ Brodie

Kris Russell – Dennis Wideman

Raphael Diaz – Deryk Engelland

Jonas Hiller