Oilers Gameday – Vs. Chicago

After a three game road trip that featured a lot of frustration in California and some jubilation in Texas, the Oilers return home tonight for a date with the Chicago Blackhawks. It’ll be the first of three meetings between Edmonton and the top team in the west, who swept the season series one year ago.

Tonight will be the first time that Connor McDavid faces the Blackhawks, meaning it’s the first ever McDavid Vs. Patrick Kane battle. I’m not sure there are two more exciting players in the sport right now, so this could be a very entertaining hockey game if these two get going.

The Oilers will turn to Cam Talbot, who won on Saturday in Dallas, while Chicago will start Corey Crawford in the team’s third game in four nights.

Keys To The Game:

Edmonton: A quick start is key tonight for Edmonton. The Oilers got ahead early on Saturday night and were able to play a totally different game than they were able to in Anaheim and LA. It’s imperative that the Oilers attack early and get the game’s first goal, because playing from behind against Chicago is a death sentence.

Chicago: The Blackhawks have a strong defensive group, but they’ll need their forwards to step up on Connor McDavid tonight. The key for Chicago here is to play a full 200-foot game. The Hawks have yet to see McDavid live before and he usually thrives in games like this. They’ll need to be tough on him from the get-go.

Players To Watch:

Edmonton: Jesse Puljujarvi looks right at home on the wing with Connor McDavid. He’ll get another look there tonight after what was a highly successful night for the trio in Dallas on Saturday. I’ll be interested in seeing if JP can keep the strong play up and string together some points here. It’s imperative that he does.

Chicago: Vince Hinostroza broke out for his first big game on Saturday night in Vancouver. He’s one of those young players creeping up for the Hawks who could make a difference during the course of this season. I’ll be interested in watching the young scorer tonight and seeing if he can build on his breakthrough game.

The Lines:

A little surprising, but Benoit Pouliot and Mark Letestu will both be healthy scratches for the second consecutive game tonight up front. Eric Gryba will join them as the extra defender in the pressbox as Edmonton keeps the same lineup from Saturday in Dallas.

Edmonton Oilers Lines:

Milan Lucic – Connor McDavid – Jesse Puljujarvi

Patrick Maroon – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle

Zack Kassian – Leon Draisaitl – Anton Slepyshev

Matt Hendricks – Drake Caggiula – Tyler Pitlick

Oscar Klefbom – Adam Larsson

Andrej Sekera – Kris Russell

Darnell Nurse – Matthew Benning

Cam Talbot

Chicago Blackhawks Lines:

Nick Schmaltz – Jonathan Toews – Patrick Kane

Artemi Panarin – Artem Anisimov – Marian Hossa

Dennis Rasmussen – Marcus Kruger – Tyler Motte

Ryan Hartman – Vince Hinostroza – Richard Panik

Duncan Keith – Brian Campbell

Michal Kempny – Brent Seabrook

Gustav Forsling – Niklas Hjalmarsson

Corey Crawford

Game Notes:

This is a brief one game home stand for Edmonton, who will be in Denver on Wednesday and Arizona on Friday before returning home to face the Coyotes again on Sunday afternoon. Connor McDavid’s hat trick on Saturday night snapped a ten game goalless streak and has him at 22 points in 19 contests this season.

McDavid’s eight goals lead the team, while Patrick Maroon and Tyler Pitlick are tied for second with six goals each. Milan Lucic and Jordan Eberle are tied for fourth on the club with five tallies to their credit.

This is the first of two meetings between the teams at Rogers Place on the season. They’ll play one game in Chicago later this year as well to complete the season series.

Prediction:

Chicago squeaked out wins in both Calgary and Vancouver on Friday and Saturday night, and will come to Edmonton for their third game in four nights with two tough battles behind them. While Chicago is still a damn good team, they aren’t quite as deep as previous editions of this squad.

That said, Chicago has completely owned Edmonton as of late and dominated the series between these two teams. The Oilers will put up a good fight tonight, but it won’t be enough as they fall 4-3 in overtime. McDavid, Caggiula and Eberle score for Edmonton, while Hossa, Kane and Hartman get regulation tallies for the Hawks. Toews wins it in overtime.