The Oilers return to the ice tonight to host the Chicago Blackhawks in the second of three meetings between the teams on the season. This is also the first game of a brief two game homestand for the Oilers, who head to the east coast on Monday.
The Oilers will be without F’s Connor McDavid, Luke Gazdic and Rob Klinkhammer tonight along with D Justin Schultz. All three of these players are currently on the IR. D’s Andrew Ference and Griffin Reinhart are expected to be healthy scratches along with F Andrew Miller. Chicago enters tonight with a healthy roster.
Anders Nilsson gets the start for the Oilers while Corey Crawford starts for Chicago.
Last Games:
Edmonton: The Oilers last took the ice on Saturday night when they visited the Kings in Los Angeles. LA dominated the opening frame, getting a goal early from Marian Gaborik and a goal late from Tanner Pearson.
Edmonton got within a goal 5:17 into the second period thanks to Leon Draisaitl, but Milan Lucic put LA back up by a pair just three minutes later. Teddy Purcell struck 13:53 in for Edmonton to make it 3-2, signaling a change in the game.
Edmonton came out flying in the third period, finally tying the game 15:10 in thanks to Taylor Hall’s tip-in goal. Edmonton appeared poised for overtime, but Nick Shore snapped home a shot with under two minutes left to give the Kings a 4-3 win.
Chicago: The Hawks hosted Calgary on Sunday night. The Hawks dominated the opening frame, out-shooting Calgary 10-4, but they couldn’t solve Karri Ramo. David Jones opened the scoring 3:41 into the middle frame, giving the Flames a lead.
That lead did not last however, three minutes later, Chicago scored their first of three goals in less than two minutes. Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa and Artemi Panarin were the men who beat Ramo to give the Hawks a dominating 3-1 lead.
Jonathan Toews would seal the deal with an empty netter with just 48 seconds left to give the Hawks a 4-1 victory.
Last Meeting:
The Oilers and Hawks met a week and a half ago in Chicago. Edmonton slept through the first twenty minutes, and the Hawks made them pay. Artemi Panarin scored just 58 seconds in, then added insurance at the 17:35 mark.
The Oil fired over 20 shots in the second, dominating Chicago, but couldn’t solve Crawford. Jordan Eberle, Patrick Kane, Andrej Sekera and Artem Anisimov traded goals in the third period to give the Blackhawks a 4-2 victory.
Keys To The Game:
Edmonton: A quick start is a must tonight. The Oilers dominated for over half of the game in the last meeting between these sides, but their slow start cost them in a big way. The Oilers can’t afford to take twenty minutes off against this team, start strong and they’ll have a chance.
Chicago: Winning the puck battles will be Chicago’s key to this game. They’re an elite team in the battle while Edmonton is far from that. In their last meeting, they dominated these battles and it showed on the scoreboard. Do it again tonight, and they’ll beat these Oilers.
Players To Watch:
Edmonton: Teddy Purcell will get quite the chance tonight. He played his best game on Saturday and is being rewarded with a stint on Edmonton’s top line. Can Purcell build off of his strong game Saturday? I’ll be interested to see how he plays tonight with some great skill riding along with him.
Chicago: Patrick Kane, for all of his off-ice issues, is playing arguably the best hockey of his career. Kane is looking like an MVP candidate right now and is playing with a chip on his shoulder. He dominated Edmonton in the first meeting and will be well worth watching tonight.
Quick Hits:
The Oilers and Hawks will conclude their season series on December 17th in Chicago. Corey Crawford is sporting a 2-5-0 record on the road this season for the Blackhawks. Edmonton is 3-5-0 at home this season, not the mark they were hoping for. Patrick Kane registered four points (one goal, three assists) in the first meeting between the sides this season. Artemi Panarin had three points (two goals, one assists) in the contest.
The Lines:
Edmonton Oilers Lines:
Taylor Hall – Leon Draisaitl – Teddy Purcell
Benoit Pouliot – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle
Matt Hendricks – Mark Letestu – Nail Yakupov
Lauri Korpikoski – Anton Lander- Iiro Pakarinen
Darnell Nurse – Andrej Sekera
Oscar Klefbom – Mark Fayne
Brandon Davidson – Eric Gryba
Anders Nilsson
Chicago Blackhawks Lines:
Mark Dano – Jonathan Toews – Marian Hossa
Artemi Panarin – Artem Anisimov – Patrick Kane
Andrew Shaw – Marcus Kruger – Teuvo Teravainen
Brandon Mashinter – Tanner Kero – Ryan Garbutt
Duncan Keith – Niklas Hjalmarsson
Trevor Van Riemsdyk – Brent Seabrook
Trevor Daley – Michal Rozsival
Corey Crawford
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