The Oilers are honouring Slats tonight, AND looking to extend their 5-game win streak against the New York Rangers. When they announced the schedule, I’d never have imagined that the Oilers would have won 4 in a row at any point this season, so this is big.
Meaningful hockey in December? What year is this? 2003?
Last Games
Edmonton
We won. 4 in a row. Beauty goals by Ebs and Nuge and Drai. And Taylor Hall. (More on that later). All in all it was a solid effort, except for the time they let San Jose score two real quick goals in the third. (Side note: If Patrick Marleau doesn’t win a Cup before he retires, I will cry a river of tears.)
New York
They lost. To the Canucks. I’m not sure who that says more about, but there you go.
Keys to the Game
Edmonton
I’m going to go out on a limb and say this: score on the PP, but mostly keep doing what they’ve been doing. It’d be good if they didn’t let the Rangers get more than 30 shots on net, but Nilsson’s been playing really well so maybe it’ll all work out?
I’ve really enjoyed the last few games. It’s been fun to watch, Oilers twitter is far less of a garbage fire (though there are still idiots around who want Taylor Hall gone and I just….can’t), and it’s been nice to see the team playing as a team. (And also Taylor Hall)
New York
Um. I don’t know. I’ve watched exactly one Rangers game this year, and they lost, so my opinion of them is skewed. But they should probably play better than they did against the Canucks if they want to beat the Oilers.
Players to Watch
Edmonton
Taylor Hall.
(And everyone’s favourite goat, Nikita Nikitin is back in Edmonton. Mark Fayne was waived the other day and sent down to Bakersfield to make room for a Nikitin call-up. He’s been playing pretty well down in the AHL, so maybe that’s what he needed? Or perhaps I’m going to rage watch tonight instead.)
New York
Um. Lundqvist? Is Marc Staal playing? Watch him. He’s a D-man I wish we had on our team.
Lineups
Edmonton
Taylor Hall – Leon Draisaitl – Teddy Purcell
Jujhar Khaira – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle
Matt Hendricks – Mark letestu – Lauri Korpikoski
Luke Gazdic – Anton Lander – Iiro Pakarinen
Darnell Nurse – Andrej Sekera
Oscar Klefbom – Justin Schultz
Brandon Davidson – Eric Gryba/Nikita Nikitin
Anders Nilsson
New York
Chris Kreider – Oscar Lindberg – Rick Nash
Kevin Hayes – Derick Brassard – Mats Zuccarello
JT Miller – Dominic Moore – Jesper Fast
Tanner Glass – Jarrett Stoll – Viktor Stalberg
Ryan McDonagh – Dan Girardi
Marc Staal – Dan Boyle
Keith Yandle – Dylan McIlrath
Henrik Lundqvist
Final Thoughts
Ok, so…. If you follow me on Twitter, you’ll know that I like Taylor Hall. Like an awful lot. Some might say it borders on an obsession. It is rare that a game goes by where I don’t tweet something about Hall, usually adding a hearteyes emoji or nine.
Of all the things I’ve said about him, this one makes me laugh the most.
@BrockCrosson @WanyeGretz I missed this yesterday, but Taylor Hall is as pure as the driven snow and nothing you say will change my mind.
— Megan (@mig14) April 14, 2013
My personal opinion of Hall notwithstanding, there’s a lot to be said for what he brings to the team. Sure there’s been criticism of his off-ice behaviour (I think I might have even ragged on him once or twice for going to the bars) but I’ve come to the conclusion that he can’t be a bad guy. We never hear about his character issues in the media, beyond people saying that he has character problems (the hashtag is one of my favourites). I get that people think that he is kind of lazy or doesn’t play with passion or whatever, but I don’t think they’re watching the same guy I am.
And here’s the thing. Taylor Hall is REALLY good at hockey. He’s currently tied for 7th in league scoring (while playing on a team that is 24th in the standings).
If you look closely at this chart, you’ll notice that his shot % is only 9.8. That’s because he’s 3rd league-wide in SOG, and this doesn’t even take into account stuff like shot attempts and other fancy stats things I don’t really understand. He puts the puck on net a lot, and doesn’t score all the time (obviously), but he’s been our best player all season.
Hall is the only Oiler since Doug Weight to score 80 points in a season; he did that in 75 games in 2013-14, when the Oilers went 29-44-9. That season, Hall had a point on 40% of the Oilers goals. And people wanted him gone then because he had no heart.
With age comes experience, and I think playing alongside Crosby last spring at the World Championships (and finally winning something) has done wonders for his game. He is slowly taking over a significant leadership role on the team. His interviews are considerably better than the sounds bites he gave over the last few years, and it’s been fun to see him play this well on a team that’s mostly been decimated by injury thus far. He’s growing into an elite player, and I am so glad he’s on my team.
I think my favourite thing about Hall playing so well is seeing people change their minds about him. Shout out to my good buddy Matt for being the most recent to see the light.
It’s nice to have you on board, Matt. The view’s pretty good from here!
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
