Oilers Gameday – Vs. Bruins

The Oilers return home from their six game road trip with a 2-3-1 record, and will tonight open up a three game home-stand with a visit from the Boston Bruins in the second and final meeting between the sides this season. This is the third game of a five game road trip for Boston.

The Oilers will be without F Taylor Hall and D Nikita Nikitin, while F’s Luke Gazdic and Rob Klinkhammer are also expected to miss the game. Both G’s for Edmonton, Viktor Fasth and Ben Scrivens, are hurt too. The Bruins will be without D Kevan Miller, who was sent home after suffering a shoulder injury on Monday night.

Ben Scrivens returns tonight for the Oilers, while Malcolm Subban is expected to get his first ever NHL start for the Bruins.

Last Games:

Edmonton: The Oilers were in Winnipeg on Monday night in a thriller of a game. The Jets dominated the pace all night long, and got the better of the chances and shots, but Edmonton hung tight. Bryan Little opened the scoring on the power-play 7:46 in, but Nail Yakupov and Anton Lander would each score to give Edmonton a lead after twenty.

The Jets would press hard in the second, and totally dominate the middle frame, out-shooting Edmonton by a 13-6 margin. Viktor Fasth would play a great period, but Bryan Little would snap home his second of the game 8:16 in to tie the game and send it to the third all even.

The Oilers and Jets went back and forth in this period, as each team scored twice. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Nail Yakupov each scored for Edmonton, while Tyler Myers and Andrew Ladd potted goals for the Jets. OT solved nothing, and the sides headed to a shoot-out.

In the shoot-out, Blake Wheeler would score on the first shot, while Michael Hutchinson would stop all three Edmonton shooters to give the Jets a massive 5-4 victory.

Boston: The Bruins were in Calgary on Monday in a game which summed up the season for both of those teams quite nicely. Boston dominated the first period, getting the better of the shot clock and chance clock. The B’s got rewarded too, as Brand Marchand and Zdeno Chara would each score goals.

The Flames would cut the gap in the second period play wise, but Boston would go up 3-0 on a Torey Krug goal just fifty seconds into the period. David Jones would score 6:52 in, getting Calgary within two and setting up a classic third.

The Flames, the NHL’s best third period, dominated the final twenty minutes, totally shutting down the Bruins’ offensive attack. The Flames would put all the pressure on, and get two huge goals to tie the game and force overtime, compliments of Jiri Hudler.

In OT, the Flames would control the pace, and get rewarded with a lucky bouncer of a goal with just two seconds left, as TJ Brodie’s shot from a weird angle hit a skate and bounced in to give the Flames a 4-3 victory in OT.

Last Meeting:

The Oilers and Bruins last met at the TD Garden in Boston back in November. The first period was actually very even, as shots were 8-7 in favor of Edmonton. Boyd Gordon would open the scoring on the power-play, but Riley Smith would tie it a few minutes later.

The second period opened up a little more, with shots going in Edmonton’s favor 13-12, but nothing gave in terms of goals, as both Ben Scrivens and Tuukka Rask played strong frames. The third period, that period was all Boston however.

Edmonton got a good look early, and converted 1:44 in as Mark Arcobello went top-shelf on Rask, but that was all she wrote. The Bruins controlled the pace the rest of the way, and took over the middle to expose Edmonton for four goals. Loui Eriksson, Carl Soderberg, Dougie Hamilton and Milan Lucic would all score to give Boston a big 5-2 victory on home ice.

Keys To The Game:

Edmonton: Keep the chances to the outside in this hockey game. The Bruins struggle to score goals, and if you keep them outside on their chances, they will struggle even more. This will also allow Ben Scrivens to get comfortable and settle in to this hockey game. Make the Bruins beat you from the point, and you’ll have a chance.

Boston: Play a power game tonight. The Oilers struggle against big and physical teams, and can’t seem to stop them. If the Bruins get their bodies going in this game and start throwing hits, it could get ugly very early in this hockey game. Boston has a size and skill combination that is not matched by this Edmonton team.

Players To Watch:

Edmonton: F Jordan Eberle usually dominates against the east, and is a potential trade target for the Boston Bruins. He’s been playing great hockey under Todd Nelson, and has been a driving force offensively. Can he keep it up against a very good defensive team? I’ll be watching that tonight.

Boston: G Malcolm Subban is a top-prospect in Boston, and is a rumored target for Edmonton via trade. Tonight, he makes his first NHL start, which further adds fuel to the trade fire. I’ll be watching Subban closely tonight to see how he handles his first NHL game.

Quick Hits:

F Nail Yakupov has six points in his last five games, and is riding a five game point streak, his best stretch in two seasons. The Bruins have lost four games in a row, their worst stretch since the 2011-12 season. F Patrice Bergeron leads the team with 38 points this season, while F Milan Lucic has 31. Oilers F Rob Klinkhammer’s wife gave birth to a baby boy on Monday, congrats Rob!

The Lines:

Edmonton Oilers Lines:

Teddy Purcell – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle

Ryan Hamilton – Derek Roy – Nail Yakupov

Matt Hendricks – Boyd Gordon – Matt Fraser

Benoit Pouliot – Anton Lander – Iiro Pakarinen

Oscar Klefbom – Justin Schultz

Andrew Ference – Jeff Petry

Martin Marincin – Mark Fayne

Ben Scrivens

Boston Bruins Lines:

Milan Lucic – David Krejci – Rielly Smi
th

Brad Marchand – Patrice Bergeron – Loui Eriksson

Chris Kelly – Carl Soderberg – David Pastrnak

Daniel Paille – Greg Campbell – Craig Cunningham

Zdeno Chara – Dougie Hamilton

Dennis Seidenberg – Adam McQuaid

Torey Krug – Matt Bartkowski

Malcolm Subban