Things are getting really ugly in Edmonton right now. It’s time to step back, time to go back to the start, and time to get that look back. Eye of the Tiger boys, Eye of the Tiger!
The Edmonton Oilers return in shambles and in frustration after dropping all four games on their road trip. The Oilers were shut-out twice, and scored only four goals. Things were far from pretty, and any momentum from that solid 12 game stretch at the start of the month was killed. The Oilers have lost five in a row, and now battle the St. Louis Blues. MERCY MERCY MERCY!
Oilers forward Mark Arcobello is out again tonight. He missed Thursday night’s game in Colorado as well, and is dealing with an injury following the big hit he took in LA on Tuesday night. Ryan Jones was injured during morning skate today, and is not expected to play for the Oilers tonight either, Jesse Joensuu will draw back in.
Ilya Bryzgalov, who played well in Anaheim and LA, will be back in between the pipes tonight for the Oilers. He’s looked good in the early going of his Oilers’ career.
For St. Louis, captain David Backes will attempt to play tonight. He’s battling an injury and missed Thursday’s game against Montreal. Forward Vlad Sobotka will miss the game tonight, while backup goalie Brian Elliot gets the start for the Blues against the lowly Oilers.
Last Games:
Edmonton: The Oilers were last in action Thursday night in Denver in a game where the score flattered the visitors. The Oilers were dominated in the first period, but Devan Dubnyk bailed them out with 17 saves, while Taylor Hall would snipe home the opening goal at 14:50.
In the second, the Av’s would score on a controversial 5-on-3 with a shot from Tyson Barrie just 1:07 into the frame. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins would put the Oil back on top thanks to an awesome feed from Taylor Hall at 12:10, but it would be the last time Edmonton found the back of the net.
Ryan O’Reilly would be left wide-open and deposit the tying goal just 2:50 after the RNH goal. The Oilers would get a PP to try and take the lead, but poor execution would lead to a Max Talbot breakaway goal, which would be the game winner.
Semyon Varlamov would make 14 saves in the third, while Matt Duchene would score an empty netter to seal the 4-2 win for Colorado.
St. Louis: The Blues hosted the Habs on Thursday night in a lopsided affair, where St. Louis once again flexed their muscles. The Blues opened the scoring with a SHG thanks to Alex Steen just 4:20 in. Steen would strike again three minutes later to put the Blues up two. Chris Stewart would make it 3-0 at the 13:33 mark.
Montreal would get a Brendan Gallagher goal just over 12 minutes into the second, but it wouldn’t be nearly enough. Jaden Schwartz and Max Lapierre would each score in the third to put away the game. Former Hab Jaroslav Halak would get the win.
Last Meeting:
The Oilers and Blues last hooked up in St. Louis on March 26th in a bit of an odd game. The first period was even, but Edmonton struck first as Jordan Eberle fired home a shot to put the Oil up one, while Nikolai Khabibulin stopped all eight Blues shots.
In the second, Eberle would make it 2-0 just 3:26 in, while Taylor Hall would put the Oil up three with a goal just about two minutes later. Khabibulin would stand tall, robbing the Blues and stopping 21 shots in the period, while Edmonton would score twice on five shots.
Khabi kept up his sensational play, stopping 14 more shots in the third, completing a 43 save shut-out and stealing the game for Edmonton, a 3-0 final.
Players To Watch:
Edmonton: Former Blue David Perron has been unreal for the Oilers this season, and has arguably been the team’s best forward. Perron, who started his career in St. Louis, is looking to prove his former team wrong tonight. He steps up when it matters, and I have the feeling DP is going to have one of his best games of the season tonight against the team that dumped him for futures this summer.
St. Louis: It’s one of the three certainties of life. Death, taxes, and former Oilers killing the current team. In steps Magnus Paajarvi, the former 10th overall pick who faces his former team for the first time tonight. MPS has had a bit of a tough adjustment in St. Louis, but I expect him, like every former Oiler before him, to burn his old cub tonight.
The Lines:
Edmonton Oilers Lines:
Taylor Hall – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle
Ryan Smyth – Boyd Gordon – David Perron
Jesse Joensuu – Anton Lander – Ales Hemsky
Luke Gazdic – Sam Gagner – Nail Yakupov
Andrew Ference – Justin Schultz
Anton Belov – Jeff Petry
Nick Schultz – Corey Potter
Ilya Bryzgalov
St. Louis Blues Lines:
Alex Steen – TJ Oshie – Chris Stewart
Brendan Morrow – Derek Roy – David Backes
Jaden Schwartz – Patrik Berglund – Vlad Tarasenko
Magnus Paajarvi – Max Lapierre – Ryan Reeves
Alex Pietrangelo – Jay Bouwmeester
Kevin Shattenkirk – Barret Jackman
Ian Cole – Carlo Colaiacovo
Brian Elliot
[adsanity id=1808 align=alignnone /]
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
