Oilers Gameday @ Kings – Only The Lucky Ones

The Oilers limp into Cali tonight to battle the Kings in the first half of a back-to-back set for northern Alberta’s hockey team. For the lucky ones, this is one of the final three games left before the deadline. Something tells me Justin Schultz and Teddy Purcell will be humming the above song over the next few days.

Last Game:

The Oilers got smoked by the Ottawa Senators by a score of 4-1 to close out a 1-4-1 home-stand. Ugly? This six game segment wouldn’t even get a date to prom in high school. Nick Paul scored his fist NHL goal (shocker….) to kick off the scoring, while Zack Smith’s 15th goal in the second period was the game winning tally.

Edmonton showed brief life in the final four minutes of the second period, getting a goal from Jordan Eberle and nearly getting two other tallies. Alex Chiasson and Mark Stone each scored in the third period to put this nasty Oilers effort to bed.

The highlights of this game? After his team appeared to be auditioning for “The Walking Dead” for 56 minutes, Todd McLellan went off on his roster, saying some guys should be embarrassed and that it is going to get better or there will be massive, massive changes. The coach has challenged his men in a way we haven’t seen here in a long time.

Keys To The Game:

Play for 60 minutes and show you care tonight, seriously. The Oilers don’t even have to win this game, they just have to show up and battle hard. We know the Oilers are a bad team and the Kings are going to be one of the Stanley Cup favorites in a month and a half.

Showing some heart and battle tonight would be a huge step forward for this team, seriously. After walking through their embarrassing loss on Tuesday, the least they could tonight is battle like it’s their job. Have some pride boys, not just for yourself but for the guy next to you and for that logo on your chest.

Oh, and don’t lose 8-2 like you did in last year’s late season visit to LA.

Players To Watch:

There are two guys I’m going to be watching tonight on the Edmonton side. The first is defender Justin Schultz, who lived out a nightmare on Tuesday. Schultz has had a bad run in Edmonton, he’s been terrible this season, but things came to a climax against Ottawa. Schultz made a few lazy plays and was the culprit on the third goal against, the back breaking tally. The result? Schultz was booed, loudly, by the fans at home. Oh, and Todd McLellan ripped him post-game too. I’ll be interested in how he responds tonight.

Jujhar Khaira was recalled on Wednesday and I’d like to see how he responds to earning a second stint in the show. He impressed me the first time around with his physical play and surprisingly strong defensive play.

Projected Lineups:

Edmonton Oilers:

Benoit Pouliot – Connor McDavid – Jordan Eberle

Taylor Hall – Leon Draisaitl – Zack Kassian

Matt Hendricks – Mark Letestu – Jujhar Khaira

Nail Yakupov – Anton Lander – Teddy Purcell

Andrej Sekera – Mark Fayne

Jordan Oesterle – Brandon Davidson

Darnell Nurse – Justin Schultz

Cam Talbot

Los Angeles Kings Lines:

Milan Lucic – Anze Kopitar – Dustin Brown

Dwight King – Jeff Carter – Tyler Toffoli

Tanner Pearson – Vincent Lecavalier – Trevor Lewis

Kyle Clifford – Nick Shore – Andy Andreoff

Jake Muzzin – Drew Doughty

Alec Martinez – Luke Schenn

Brayden McNabb – Jamie McBain

Jonathan Quick

Final Thoughts:

This is a game that will tell us a lot about this hockey team. If these guys fold up shop and get blasted again tonight, then we know the core is rotten, there really won’t be much left to debate. I know Oiler fans are afraid to trade a core piece, but I’m not. This group isn’t winning, might as well take a chance and try to change things up with a different piece in a different spot. Hopefully Peter Chiarelli agrees.

Also, as you know, tomorrow night is the annual Oilers Rig Charity Event for MS. Tickets are $12.50 and you can buy them here. There will be some tickets available at the door, but don’t miss out on this great night! It is for a great cause and I know a majority of the crew will be there. The silent auction items are pretty kick ass too, just sayin…..