Oilers Gameday – @ Pittsburgh

After one week and tons of travel, tonight marks the end of Edmonton’s first lengthy road trip of the 2016-17 NHL season. The club has, even after a tough start, amassed five points through four games and will at worst go .500 in terms of points gained on this trip. Tonight, Edmonton finishes things off with a great test against the defending Stanley Cup Champions.

The Oilers have passed most of the test’s they have faced thus far, but the Penguins will be a very difficult one. The defending champs have been playing terrific hockey as of late and just breezed through California by destroying both San Jose and Anaheim while suffering an overtime setback in Los Angeles. The Oilers, however, just finished an impressive stretch of their own by winning in Brooklyn and Detroit over the weekend.

Cam Talbot is back in net for the Oilers, while Matt Murray gets the nod for the Penguins.

Keys To The Game:

Edmonton: The Oilers must get off to a solid start tonight. Edmonton is still in road trip mode and hasn’t had a chance to lay low after Sunday’s win. The Penguins, on the other hand, are coming off of a lengthy road trip and have been home waiting for two days. A good start, and an early goal, will set the Oilers up nicely for two points tonight.

Pittsburgh: The ability to spread the wealth won the Penguins a Stanley Cup last spring. If they can evenly disperse the offense tonight and test all three defensive groups for Edmonton, they should be able to generate a high number of offensive chances and, as a result, goals. The ability to come in waves makes this a unique team.

Players To Watch:

Edmonton: This game is going to be a fast game with lots of puck movement. That makes Matthew Benning, a veteran of four NHL games, an appealing player to watch. He played very strong hockey over the weekend and appears to be getting more comfortable. I’ll be intrigued to see how he handles a game that suits his strengths quite well.

Pittsburgh: Phil Kessel dominated the playoffs last spring, but he’s had just an average start to this season. That said, Kessel is an elite goal scorer and the kind of player that has crushed the Oilers over the years. I’ll be keeping a close eye on him tonight.

The Lines:

Kris Russell, who missed both games this weekend with a lower body injury, won’t play tonight. Zack Kassian didn’t skate this morning and is most likely out. Jesse Puljujarvi did skate and may take warm-up tonight, but he’s not expected to play at this time. Looks like the same lineup that took down Detroit on Sunday, with the obvious goalie change.

Edmonton Oilers Lines:

Patrick Maroon – Connor McDavid – Jordan Eberle

Milan Lucic – Leon Draisaitl – Tyler Pitlick

Benoit Pouliot – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Mark Letestu

Taylor Beck – Anton Lander – Anton Slepyshev

Oscar Klefbom – Adam Larsson

Andrej Sekera – Matthew Benning

Darnell Nurse – Eric Gryba

Cam Talbot

Pittsburgh Penguins Lines:

Carl Hagelin – Sidney Crosby – Patric Hornqvist

Chris Kunitz – Evgeni Malkin – Phil Kessel

Scott Wilson – Nick Bonino – Bryan Rust

Conor Sheary – Matt Cullen – Eric Fehr

Brian Dumoulin – Kris Letang

Olli Maatta – Trevor Daley

Ian Cole – Justin Schultz

Matt Murray

Game Notes:

My goal prior to this road trip was six points, which the Oilers can accomplish tonight with an overtime loss. A win, in my mind, would represent a major success for this hockey club. The Oilers, as of right now, hold the best road record in the NHL with a 5-1-1 mark on the season.

For all the concern about Edmonton’s powerplay, the club is clicking at a 33.3% success rate (6-for-18) on the road. That’s the best mark in the NHL. They also have the best road PK in hockey, clicking at 94.7 % (18-for-19) on the season. Thanks to Bob Stauffer of 630 CHED for those numbers.

The Penguins recalled Steve Oleksy and Chad Ruhwedel earlier today. Neither, however, are expected to be in the lineup tonight.

Prediction:

Full marks to Edmonton for winning a pair this past weekend when I didn’t expect it, but tonight is a totally different beast. The Penguins are an extremely strong hockey team and won’t be taking this Edmonton squad lightly. It’ll be a great test for the Oilers and it’ll be close.

That said, the Penguins have too much depth and, in my mind, are clearly the better team. I’ll take Pittsburgh 4-2 tonight. Edmonton gets goals from McDavid and Beck, while the Penguins get tallies from Crosby, Kessel, Schultz and Wilson.