Oilers Gameday – V. Sabres

The Oilers are back on the ice tonight at Rexall Place as they host the Buffalo Sabres in the second and final meeting between the sides on the season. Edmonton will conclude a brief two game home-stand with this game, while Buffalo is in game two of a Western swing and the first half of back-to-back games.

Taylor Hall is questionable for Edmonton after missing Tuesday’s game, but could play, while Buffalo will be without D Nikita Zadorov, F Marcus Foligno and F Cody McCormick.

Ben Scrivens likely returns to the net for Edmonton, while Matt Hackett is slated to start for Buffalo.

Last Games:

Edmonton: The Oilers hosted the Wild in a snooze fest on Tuesday night. The sides were rather even in the first period, but a brutal turnover by Nail Yakupov ended up on the stick of Nino Niederreiter and in the back of the net at the 9:09 mark.

Edmonton was better in the second period, especially in the final ten minutes, and got rewarded with a Boyd Gordon goal at the 17:16 mark, sending things to the final frame all tied up.

Edmonton came out flying in the third, getting four real good chances to take the lead in the game, but failing to convert on every single one. As per the usual, following their misses, Edmonton had a defensive lapse that Charlie Coyle put in the net at the 15:37 mark.

Devan Dubnyk would stand his ground from that point on, giving Minnesota a big 2-1 victory.

Buffalo: The Sabres were in Calgary battling the Flames on Tuesday night. Buffalo came out with some pep in their step, and got a PP marker 10:33 in as Chris Stewart tipped home a Tyler Ennis shot. The Flames answered right back however, as Johnny Gaudreau scored a power-play marker of his own.

Calgary dominated the middle frame, but big Jonas Enroth made eight saves to keep the score even at one. The Flames kept the pressure on in the third, and finally broke through a little over nine minutes in with a Josh Jooris goal.

Joe Colborne and Gaudreau would each score in the final ten minutes, while Jonas Hiller would hold the fort to give Calgary a pretty big 4-1 victory.

Last Meeting:

The Oilers visited Buffalo back in November in what was a strong showing by the road team. Edmonton dominated the first period, firing 19 shots on net, but couldn’t solve Michal Neuvirth, who stopped everything.

Buffalo struck first in the second thanks to a Matt Moulson goal 26 seconds in, but Edmonton responded quickly with Iiro Pakarinen’s first NHL goal one minute later.

Drew Stafford, as usual, would find the back of the net against Edmonton in the third, but markers from Boyd Gordon and Mark Arcobello would give Edmonton the lead, while Viktor Fasth would hold for the 3-2 road win.

Keys To The Game:

Edmonton: Attacking with speed is huge tonight for Edmonton. Buffalo is weak defensively, and is starting a goalie that, quite frankly, isn’t that great. Edmonton has some talent on their team, and can score some goals. If the Oilers can attack Buffalo’s zone, they should get some chances in this one.

Buffalo: Use your size. The Sabres have some big players that like to play physical, and Edmonton doesn’t handle that very well. If the Sabres use their size and disrupt Edmonton’s attack and flow tonight, then Buffalo might be able to control the play and go into position to snag two points.

Players To Watch:

Edmonton: Outside of a bad giveaway, I thought F Nail Yakupov played a great game on Tuesday night. He set up so many chances and was physical all night long. He’s playing some good hockey right now, and is just due for a breakout game. I’ll suggest he does so tonight and finds the back of the net.

Buffalo: F Drew Stafford has owned the Oilers throughout his career. It has gotten to the point where I expect him to score every time the team’s meet up. I don’t think tonight will be any different, and I expect Stafford to have an impact. If he does anything, it’s score, he’s a decent offensive player in my mind.

Quick Hits:

Edmonton is 5-5-2 since Todd Nelson took over the bench solo earlier this season. The Sabres have lost 12 games in a row without getting a point, the worst such stretch in the NHL this season. That said, Edmonton lost 11 in a row earlier this season themselves, leading to the firing of head coach Dallas Eakins.

The Lines:

Edmonton Oilers Lines:

Taylor Hall – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle

Benoit Pouliot – Derek Roy – Nail Yakupov

Matt Fraser – Anton Lander – Teddy Purcell

Matt Hendricks – Boyd Gordon – Rob Klinkhammer

Nikita Nikitin – Mark Fayne

Andrew Ference – Justin Schultz

Oscar Klefbom – Jeff Petry

Ben Scrivens

Buffalo Sabres Lines:

Matt Moulson – Zemgus Girgensons – Tyler Ennis

Brian Flynn – Torrey Mitchell – Brian Gionta

Chris Stewart – Cody Hodgson – Drew Stafford

Nicolas Deslauriers – Matt Ellis – Patrick Kaleta

Josh Gorges – Tyler Myers

Andrej Meszaros – Rasmus Ristolainen

Mike Weber – Tyson Strachan

Matt Hackett