The Oilers keep rolling through the eastern portion of the United States this afternoon with a trip into the big apple to take on the New York Rangers. Edmonton comes into this game following an off day yesterday, while the Rangers are in the second half of back-to-back games, coming off of a meeting with the Leafs in Toronto last night.
Edmonton will be without forward Taylor Hall, who is battling a knee injury, while the Rangers are coming into this game relatively healthy and with no major injuries on their roster.
Edmonton will turn to Ben Scrivens tonight, while the Rangers will likely go with Henrik Lundqvist, one of the NHL’s best goaltenders.
Another quick blog today, so here is the short version of the usual game day preview.
The Last Games:
The Oilers went to Buffalo on Friday night for the McDavid bowl. Edmonton controlled the pace for most of the game, and massively out-shot and out-chanced the Sabres all night long. After a scoreless first, Buffalo struck first as Matt Moulson scored his first of the season with a shot from in close. The Oilers struck back 58 seconds later however, as Iiro Pakarinen scored his first NHL goal off of a rebound.
Buffalo took another lead in the third as Drew Stafford sniped home a shot at the 6:34 mark. Edmonton would apply pressure and get rewarded at the 11:42 mark as Mark Arcobello would knock home his own rebound, and then Boyd Gordon would score at the 15:45 mark to give Edmonton a hard earned lead. Viktor Fasth would shut the door and seal the 3-2 Oiler win.
The Rangers were in Toronto last night, in a game that was simply a shoot-out. New York opened the scoring just 53 seconds in with a Chris Kreider goal, but Toronto would get goals from Phil Kessel, Peter Holland and Richard Panik to take a lead. Mats Zuccarello would score late to make it 3-2 after one.
Carl Hagelin would tie things in the second, while Rick Nash would give the Rangers a lead in the third, but it was short-lived. Roman Polak would tie things for the Leafs mid-way through the period, while Leo Komarov would score at the 14:26 mark to give the Leafs a lead, which they would hang on to for a 5-4 win.
The Last Meeting:
Edmonton and New York met last back in March at Rexall Place in a game that can only be described as a blow-out for the road team. The Rangers came out flying and dominated the pace of play right from the opening puck-drop. They would get rewarded with a Mats Zuccarello goal at the 16:30 mark.
New York would extend their lead early in the second with a power-play goal compliments of Derick Brassard, while Rick Nash would add two insurance goals to make it a 4-0 spread. Zuccarello would score his second of the game in the third period to add insult to injury, while Cam Talbot would stop all 26 shots for a shut-out and 5-0 win.
Keys To The Game:
Edmonton: The Oilers are playing a team that is coming off of a game last night in the Rangers. New York also had to travel, and likely won’t be the most energy filled team tonight. Edmonton needs to expose that, and bring the heat from the opening puck drop. If the Oilers do that, and apply pressure early, then they will be in good shape tonight.
New York: The Rangers are a team that has great goaltending and solid defense, so they usually don’t give up a ton of goals. Edmonton struggles against these types of teams, and if the Rangers can live up to their name, well they’ll have a great chance for a win. Keep Edmonton to the outside and make them beat you with long shots and screens. If you do that, you’ll win this game.
Players To Watch:
Edmonton: Oilers forward Jordan Eberle badly needs to find the back of the net to build his confidence up. He’s had a slow start to the season, but is starting to do a lot of the little things right. It’s only a matter of time before Eberle has an offensive break-out game, and I’ll suggest it will be tonight against the Rangers.
New York: Rangers forward Martin St. Louis has been terrific since his address change from Tampa to New York. He’s skilled and can make you pay when you give him time and space. In my mind, he is the best offensive player on the Rangers, and I would keep an eye on him tonight. He’s so good that he is a threat to score every time he touches that puck.
Quick Hits:
The Oilers and Rangers split the season series, with the road team winning each game. Edmonton scored a 2-1 victory in New York last February, in a game where Nail Yakupov scored the game winner. Oiler forward Benoit Pouliot played last season for the Rangers, and was a key cog in their offense in the playoffs. The Rangers have two rookies on their roster, forwards Kevin Hayes and Anthony Duclair.
The Lines:
Edmonton Oilers Lines:
Benoit Pouliot – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle
David Perron – Mark Arcobello – Nail Yakupov
Matt Hendricks – Boyd Gordon – Jesse Joensuu
Iiro Pakarinen – Leon Draisaitl – Teddy Purcell
Nikita Nikitin – Jeff Petry
Keith Aulie – Mark Fayne
Andrew Ference – Justin Schultz
Ben Scrivens
New York Rangers Lines:
Rick Nash – Derick Brassard – Martin St. Louis
Chris Kreider – Derek Stepan – Mats Zuccarello
Carl Hagelin – Dom Moore – Lee Stempniak
Tanner Glass – Kevin Hayes – Anthony Duclair
Marc Staal – Kevin Klein
Matt Hunwick – Dan Girardi
Connor Allen – Mike Kostka
Henrik Lundqvist
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