Oilers Gameday @ New Jersey

This was going to be as unbiased as possible, but you know how things go. 

The Oilers are back in action tonight as they take on Taylor Hall and the New Jersey Devils. It is, of course, the first meeting between Hall and his former team (as well as Adam Larsson and his former team). If you’ve been reading this site for any length of time, you know that there have been some strong feelings about Hall and Larsson and The Trade.

This will likely be the best look at the trade for what it was, as Hall’s Devils are fighting to get into a playoff spot and the Oilers are firmly holding onto a spot for right now.

Keys to the Game

Edmonton

• Get lots of pucks on net. The Devils played the Leafs last night, losing 4-2 despite outshooting Toronto 32-14. Corey Schneider was pulled in the first, and the Devils defence is being held together with duct tape because of the absence of their stalwart Andy Greene.
• Carry the puck into the Devils zone (instead of dumping it in). With the holes on defence, the Devils will struggle trying to keep up to the Oilers speed.

New Jersey

• Try not to key too hard on Connor, as that leaves his linemates wide open. The Bruins found this out the hard way on Thursday, as Pat Maroon scored 3 with Connor playing a secondary role.
• Get lots of pucks to the net, and on target. Expect Cam Talbot to play well, but the more pucks that get to the net, the more likely it is they’ll go in.

Players to Watch

Edmonton

• Pat Maroon scored his first NHL hat trick on Thursday night in Boston, propelling the Oilers to a 4-3 victory. he’s benefitted from playing up with Connor McDavid, and should stay there for the foreseeable future.
• Connor McDavid is silky smooth and we should all be thankful that he’s an Oiler. Without him, I’m not sure where we’d be.

New Jersey

• Taylor Hall. Obviously. He’s very good at hockey (and before you come at me about how he only has 9 goals, he’s missed 11 games, has 25 points and is scoring 0.86ppg), and his speed is something I miss seeing on the left wing.
• When Corey Schneider is on, he is very good. Look for him to be in the zone after getting pulled last night against the Leafs.

Projected Lineups

Edmonton

Patrick Maroon – Connor McDavid – Leon Draisaitl

Milan Lucic – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Zack Kassian

Benoit Pouliot – Drake Caggiula – Jordan Eberle

Anton Lander – Mark Letestu – Jesse Puljujarvi

Oscar Klefbom – Adam Larsson

Andrej Sekera – Matt Benning

Kris Russell – Eric Gryba

Cam Talbot

New Jersey

Taylor Hall – Taylor Hall – Taylor Hall

Taylor Hall – Taylor Hall – Taylor Hall

Taylor Hall – Taylor Hall – Taylor Hall

Taylor Hall – Taylor Hall – Taylor Hall

Damon Severson – Kyle Quincey

Jon Merrill – Ben Lovejoy

Seth Hegelson – Steven Santini

Corey Schneider

Notes

The other day on Twitter, I asked this:

Poll:
Our own @mig14 is writing the pregame for the Oilers @ Devils game on Saturday. What’s the over/under on Taylor Hall mentions?

— The Oilers Rig (@TheOilersRig) January 5, 2017

It’s good to know so many people think I have no self control….because I don’t.

I’ve been simultaneously looking forward to and dreading this game (and next Thursday’s game) since the trade happened. I very firmly believed that Hall was going to be part of the success here in Edmonton, and it still sticks in my craw that he’s not. There’s a lot of conversation on twitter about whether or not he was to blame for the losing (he wasn’t), and whether Larsson alone can be responsible for the success (he can’t).

I had a bunch of stuff I wanted to say, but the words feel hollow somehow. I don’t know if I’m emotionally ready for this, but I’ve made all the preparations: I have booze, chocolate, ice cream and kleenex.

So if you need me during tonight’s game, I’ll be on my couch under a blanket trying not to cry.  It’ll be good preparation for Thursday when I see my favourite in person at Rogers Place.