The Oilers are back in action tonight in Los Angeles as they take on the not-so-good Kings. This is game 3 in the tenure of coach Ken Hitchcock, and there’s already a marked difference in the messaging coming from the coaching staff. Jesse Puljujarvi has been recalled from Bakersfield and it’ll be interesting to see how he gets used with a new bench boss making decisions.
Keys to the Game
Edmonton
- Lots of pucks on net, lots of traffic in front. The Kings aren’t great this year, and the Oilers SHOULD be able to skate circles around the home team.
- Double-shift Connor and make him a real problem for LA’s defence.
Los Angeles
- Keep the Oilers to the perimeter and keep the front of the net clear.
- Don’t let it get to overtime. Connor and Leon are unstoppable 3 on 3.
Players to Watch
Edmonton
- Connor McDavid, obviously. LA’s defence is slow and he should be in his glory walking Drew Doughty 18 times tonight.
Los Angeles
- You can’t ever count Anze Kopitar out. He’s struggled of late, but at some point he’ll return to his scoring ways. If that happens against the Oilers, we shouldn’t be surprised.
Projected Lineups
Edmonton
Spooner-McDavid-Draisaitl
Caggiula-RNH-Chiasson
Lucic-Brodziak-Kassian
Rattie -Khaira – Puljujarvi
Klefbom-Larsson
Nurse-Russell
Gravel-Wideman
Talbot
Los Angeles
Iafallo – Kopitar – Brown
Kovalchuk – Carter – Toffoli
Hagelin – Kempe – Luff
Clifford – Thompson – Wagner
Forbot – Doughty
Muzzin – Martinez
Phaneuf – Fantenberg
Budaj
Notes
It’s Grey Cup Sunday and I have no idea why there are Canadian teams playing. Especially the team from the host city.
That said, this writer is rooting for the Ottawa Redblacks because she knows someone on the team, and would really LOVE to see the Stamps lose the Grey Cup 3 years in a row.
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