Oilers Gameday – Vs. Chicago

The Edmonton Oilers will try and do something very rare tonight, sweep a season series from a conference opponent. The Oil took each of the first two games from the Chicago Blackhawks earlier this season, and tonight play host to the Hawks in a key game. If Edmonton wins, they could be just a single point from a playoff spot by the time they go to bed tonight.

The Oilers have lost five straight games, but have picked up points in each of their last two outings, falling in overtime in both Philadelphia and Montreal. Thanks to a zombie march out west, Edmonton is still just three points back of Vancouver with a game in hand. This is a huge game at home tonight.

Cam Talbot is expected to get the start for the Oilers while Collin Delia is the projected starter for Chicago. (Update: Delia was expected, but word now comes down that Cam Ward will start against the Oil for the third time this season)

Keys To The Game:

Edmonton: 60 minutes. It’s cliche and it can be seen as stupid, but the Oilers have to play a full 60 tonight. They played well for most of the game on Saturday and Sunday, but they let up late and it cost them on both occasions. Play from start to finish tonight and they can get these two points.

Chicago: The transition game is key for the Blackhawks tonight. The Oil’s defense struggles mightily to transition the puck and to break up the cycle of their opponents. If Chicago can move the puck and set things up, they should be able to generate offensive chances against a suspect Edmonton back-end.

Players To Watch:

Edmonton: Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl were everything over the weekend for the Oilers on offense. That said, tonight is the kind of night when Edmonton will need someone else to step up. I liked Jesse Puljujarvi’s game over the weekend and I feel like he is getting closer to breaking out. Against a weaker Chicago defense, I’ll be watching Puljujarvi closely in this one.

Chicago: Death, taxes, ex-Oilers coming to Edmonton and burning their former team. Drake Caggiula plays his former squad tonight for the first time and you just know he’s going to score. Seriously, I don’t normally believe in curses but something is in the water when it comes to this trend.

The Lines:

Andrej Sekera is close to a return. The veteran defender was assigned to Bakersfield yesterday on a conditioning stint, and likely will be back in about a week. The Oilers will need to make a move in order to bring Sekera back, so keep an idea on the trade winds. Oscar Klefbom could return to the lineup tonight depending on how the morning skate goes, lord knows the Oil need him.

Edmonton Oilers Lines:

Milan Lucic – Connor McDavid – Ty Rattie
Tobias Rieder – Leon Draisaitl – Alex Chiasson
Jujhar Khaira – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Zack Kassian
Brad Malone – Kyle Brodziak – Jesse Puljujarvi

Oscar Klefbom – Adam Larsson
Darnell Nurse – Kris Russell
Kevin Gravel – Matt Benning

Cam Talbot

If Klefbom is unable to go tonight, I suspect Kevin Gravel fills in for him. That’s what Ken Hitchcock rolled with on the road over the weekend and quite frankly I thought it was a solid pairing.

Chicago Blackhawks Lines:

Drake Caggiula – Jonathan Toews – Patrick Kane
Alex DeBrincat – Dylan Strome – Dominik Kahun
Brandon Saad – David Kampf – Marcus Kruger
Brendan Perlini – Artem Anisimov – John Hayden

Duncan Keith – Brent Seabrook
Carl Dahlstrom – Connor Murphy
Gustav Forsling – Erik Gustafsson

Cam Ward

This will be the first time the Oilers get a look at coach Jeremy Colliton, who took over for Joel Quenneville earlier this season. In addition to Caggiula, the Oil will get their first look at Strome and Perlini as members of the Hawks.

Game Notes:

This is the third and final meeting between the sides, who met in late October in Chicago and then in November in Edmonton. The Oilers, who won 2-1 in overtime in Chicago before taking a 4-0 decision at Rogers Place, will go for the season sweep tonight.

The Oilers haven’t won since January 16th, when they defeated the Vancouver Canucks in a shootout. The 20 day drought is the longest between victories this season. The Oilers are 0-3-2 during the streak. This will also be Edmonton’s first home game since firing Peter Chiarelli during their last loss on home ice against Detroit heading into the All-Star break.

Chicago has won four straight and clawed their way back into the playoff conversation. The Hawks knocked off Minnesota in overtime Saturday night, moving within two points of the Oilers and five points of a playoff spot.