Oilers Gameday – Vs. Canadiens

The Oilers season long seven game home-stand keeps on chugging tonight with a rare visit from the Montreal Canadiens, who make their first visit to Rexall in just about one year. Both these teams have changed quite a bit since they last met in Montreal last fall, and both teams will be looking to keep up solid stretches of play and extend winning streaks.

Montreal comes to town in game one of a western road trip and relatively healthy, while Edmonton keeps their home-stand going and enters with forward Luke Gazdic and goalie Viktor Fasth listed as week to week with injuries.

Ben Scrivens, who has won three in a row, will start for Edmonton tonight, while arguably Dustin Tokarski gets the go for the Habs.

The Last Game:

Edmonton: The Oilers last took the ice on Friday night against the Hurricanes in a tilt that was extremely offensive. The first period was relatively even, with both teams firing double digit shots on net and both goalies stopping all the rubber they saw. Edmonton got things going in the second, as Jordan Eberle scored his first on the season off a beauty feed from Taylor Hall. Carolina tied it up just six minutes later however, as Riley Nash scored his second of the year.

Jesse Joensuu and Jeff Skinner would trade goals late in the frame, and send us to the third tied up, where things got really interesting. Jordan Eberle snipped home his second of the game 4:26 in, but Carolina pushed right back and tied things on a Jay Harrison slap shot from the point at the 7:50 mark.

Edmonton pushed through on a tired team as the period wore on, and broke through for good at the 12:55 mark, when Leon Draisaitl back handed his own rebound into the net for his first NHL goal. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Matt Hendricks would each score insurance markers to give Edmonton a 6-3 lead, which Ben Scrivens would protect for the team’s third win in a row.

Montreal: The Habs closed out a home-stand on Saturday night when they hosted the New York Rangers in an Eastern Conference finals rematch. The Habs and Rangers played an even first twenty in terms of shots and chances, and that translated to an even twenty on the scoreboard. Tomas Plekanec scored a short-handed goal to open the scoring at the 12:06 mark, but New York tied it right up as Carl Haglin scored just five minutes later.

Montreal took the lead in the second period when Lars Eller scored his first of the year at the 11:46 mark, as Dale Weise found the big center with the set-up pass. Carey Price stood tall, stopping all 13 shots from the Rangers, who would pepper Carey the rest of the night. Montreal found the net again in the third, as Max Pacioretty beat King Henrik at the 6:35 mark to give the Habs insurance.

Price was sensational in the third, stopping all 13 Ranger shots, which included some unreal offensive chances, to preserve a massive two points for hockey’s hottest team, with the final being 3-1.

The Last Meeting:

The Oilers and Habs met late last October in Montreal in the second and final meeting between the teams. There was added fuel to this, as Lars Eller had previously called the Oilers a “junior” hockey team, which fired up the visitors. Regardless of the comments, Montreal scored the first two goals in rapid succession late in the first, as Tomas Plekanec opened things up with a power-play goal at the 16:36 mark, and then Brendan Gallagher added the insurance at 18:03.

Edmonton battled back however, and got within one as Ales Hemsky fired home his third of the year at the 12:50 mark, which was followed up moments later by Ladislav Smid’s first of the season off of a Nugent-Hopkins feed. The teams would head to the third period tied, with Edmonton pushing hard to complete the rally.

Jeff Petry scored his second of the season at the 7:59 mark, while Ryan Jones added the needed insurance goal at 9:57 that would end up being the game winner. Brian Gionta scored with three seconds left, but Devan Dubnyk stopped six Habs shots in the final frame to hold the 4-3 Oiler win.

Keys To The Game:

Edmonton: The Oilers are playing a great goalie and an all around unreal hockey club. Montreal will be coming off of a long flight, and will be a little tired at the start of this hockey game. Edmonton’s key is simple, come out flying in this game. Pressure the Habs early and build a lead before they get their legs under them. Get going early, and these two points will be there for the taking.

Montreal: The Habs will get their chances against a weak Edmonton defense, but they need to be aware about Edmonton’s offensive skill. Yes, they have good goaltending, but if Edmonton gets a number of grade A chances, the goals will come. The Habs’ key to this game is to keep Edmonton’s chances to the outside as best as possible.

Players To Watch:

Edmonton: Oilers forward David Perron is from Quebec, and has struggled early on this season. Perron was fired up for the two games against the Habs last year, and will no doubt be fired up for this game as well. I’m also willing to wager he’s itching for a goal, and will be bringing forth his best effort tonight. Perron has improved every game this year, and I’m thinking he breaks through tonight.

Montreal: Montreal is an exciting team, and their most exciting player is PK Subban. Subban is the best defender to watch in hockey, and is the best puck-moving blue-liner in the game today. Oiler fans rarely get to see him up close like this, so he’ll be worth keeping an eye on tonight. Him against Hall and those guys will be an absolute treat to watch. Just another eastern superstar coming through.

The Lines:

Edmonton Oilers Lines:

Taylor Hall – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle

Teddy Purcell – Leon Draisaitl – David Perron

Benoit Pouliot – Mark Arcobello – Nail Yakupov

Matt Hendricks – Boyd Gordon – Jesse Joensuu

Nikita Nikitin – Justin Schultz

Andrew Ference – Jeff Petry

Martin Marincin – Mark Fayne

Ben Scrivens

Montreal Canadiens Lines:

Max Pacioretty – David Desharnais – Brendan Gallagher

Alex Galchenyuk – Tomas Plekanec – P.A. Parenteau

Rene Bourque – Lars Eller – Dale Weise

Travis Moen – Manny Malhotra – Brandon Prust

Alexei Emelin – P.K. Subban

Andrei Markov – Tom Gilbert

Jarred Tinordi – Mike Weaver

Dustin Tokarski