The Oilers travel to LA tonight to take on the defending Champion Kings in the first meeting of the season between the new division rivals. Edmonton will be without forwards Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle, who both are suffering from injuries suffered in Saturday’s game in Vancouver. Center Bogdan Yakimov, who was recalled on Monday, will play in his first NHL game tonight centering the second line. Viktor Fasth will start his second in a row.
The Kings will be without star sniper Marian Gaborik, who is suffering from an injury he suffered in the pre-season. Jon Quick is expected to get the go tonight for LA after sitting out Sunday’s game against the Jets.
The Last Game:
Edmonton: The Oilers visited Vancouver on Saturday in what was a very chippy game that ended up as a shoot-out, both on the scoreboard and in the final result. Edmonton struck early as Brad Hunt blasted a bomb past Ryan Miller at 5:41 mark for his first career NHL goal, while Mark Arcobello got on the board by banging home a rebound just under five minutes later.
The Nucks would get on the board late in the period, as Henrik Sedin tipped home a Daniel Sedin shot with only seconds to play in the period. The Oilers got into penalty trouble in the second period, and as a result the Canucks started to push the play a bit.
Edmonton restored their two goal lead moments into the second as Nail Yakupov drove the net and slid a shot five-hole past Miller, but Vancouver would get it back two minutes later on a Nick Bonino goal. Jesse Joensuu would score on a short-handed breakaway 8:36 into the frame, but it would be the last time Edmonton found the back of the net.
Radim Vrbata and Linden Vey scored power-play goals to tie things up and send it to overtime, where Viktor Fast had to stand on his head to force a shoot-out. Edmonton struggled, missing all three shots, while Chris Higgins scored in the third round to give the Canucks the massive win on home ice, 5-4. It was Edmonton’s first point of the year.
Los Angeles: The Kings hosted the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday night in a game that, quite frankly, was never in doubt for the home side. LA got a pair in the first period as Tyler Toffoli and Anze Kopitar each snapped shots past Michael Hutchinson. The Kings would snag a three goal lead early in the second with a Tanner Pearson goal, and essentially went into lock-down mode from there.
Jeff Carter and Bryan Little traded goals late in the second to make it 4-1 Kings, but that’s about as close as it would get, as Martin Jones would stop all eight Jet shots to put the game away, 4-1.
The result would be the Kings first win of 2014-15, putting them at 1-1-1 on the season.
Keys To The Game:
Edmonton: The Oilers have no center depth, I mean no center depth. Without RNH, Edmonton’s top three centers have 46 games of NHL experience combined between them. The key is to shelter these guys as much as possible, which I admit may be impossible. That said, Edmonton can’t be throwing these guys out against Anze Kopitar and his line tonight. The key, to even have a chance, is to match Boyd Gordon’s line with Kopitar’s.
Los Angeles: The key to this game is to show up. I’m not kidding, if they show up tonight, against this banged up Oiler team, then they have no excuse to lose this game. Show up and play, and you’ll be walking away with your second win in a row.
Players To Watch:
Edmonton: Oilers center Bogdan Yakimov had a great training camp this fall, and has earned this look with the big club. Tonight he will center the second line and go head-to-head with the best team in the NHL. That’s a tall task, but someone needs to step in for the injured Nugent-Hopkins. Yes, Darnell Nurse is also playing tonight, but this rookie is the one I’ll be paying the most attention too. The Oilers need another center to emerge.
Los Angeles: No Gaborik tonight, so who will score? Have no fear, Jeff Carter is here! Jeff Carter is the best pure goal scorer on this team, and always seems to own the Oilers. Will there be more of the same tonight? Against a weak Oiler blue-line, I’d have to think so, so I’ll be keeping my eyes on this guy. He’s a pleasure to watch, and one of the best snipers in the NHL.
The Lines:
Edmonton Oilers Lines:
Taylor Hall – Mark Arcobello – Teddy Purcell
David Perron – Bogdan Yakimov – Jesse Joensuu
Benoit Pouliot – Leon Draisaitl – Nail Yakupov
Matt Hendricks – Boyd Gordon – Will Acton
Nikita Nikitin – Mark Fayne
Darnell Nurse – Justin Schultz
Andrew Ference – Brad Hunt
Viktor Fasth
Los Angeles Kings Lines:
Mike Richards – Anze Kopitar – Justin Williams
Tanner Pearson – Jeff Cater – Tyler Toffoli
Dwight King – Jarrett Stoll – Dustin Brown
Kyle Clifford – Andy Andreoff – Jordan Nolan
Brayden McNabb – Drew Doughty
Robyn Regehr – Slava Voynov
Alec Martinez – Matt Greene
Jon Quick
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