Oilers Gameday – Vs. Coyotes

The Oilers return to the ice tonight in game number two of their home-stand, hosting the Arizona Coyotes in the second meeting of the season between the sides. The Yotes and Oilers are the bottom two teams in the west, with Arizona having the advantage thanks to their win on Friday night.

The Oilers and Yotes are both healthy right now, as Taylor Hall returns to action tonight for Edmonton. Ben Scrivens is expected to start tonight for Edmonton, while ex-Oiler Devan Dubnyk gets the go for the Coyotes.

Last Games:

The Oilers hosted the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night at Rexall, but Edmonton missed the starting gun by a full period. Mike Hoffman, Alex Chiasson and Milan Michalek all scored for the Senators in a dominating opening period.

The Oilers fought back however, and got a Leon Draisaitl goal late in the second, which was followed up by a Jordan Eberle goal and a Jeff Petry bomb to tie things up at three, forcing overtime. In OT, the Senators pushed after the Oilers hit a post, and Mike Hoffman found the back of the net at 2:39 to give Ottawa the win.

The Coyotes were in Vancouver on Friday night and awoke in a game that got them out of last place. The Coyotes dominated from the opening puck drop, scoring 14:56 in and never turning back. That goal by Martin Hanzal, coupled with two more goals for a hat-trick, gave Arizona a 3-0 lead that would be more than enough.

Shane Doan and Keith Yandle each scored a goal as well, giving Arizona a 5-0 victory.

Last Meeting:

These two teams met back in October in a game that turned out to be a blow-out in favor of the home team. Taylor Hall opened the scoring 1:25 in, but the Yotes got goals from Mikkel Boedker and Kyle Chipchura to take a lead, but Mark Fayne would tie things at two late.

The Yotes would take over from there however, as Connor Murphy and Rob Klinkhammer would each find the back of the net in the second to make it 4-2. Mark Arcobello would score early in the third to make it 4-3, but Mikkel Boedker and Martin Erat would each score to make it 6-3. Taylor Hall and Mikkel Boedker would trade goals, but they would only be stat padders in a 7-4 Arizona victory.

Keys To The Game:

Edmonton: SHOW UP ON TIME! The Oilers have provided two solid forty minute efforts these last two games, but it hasn’t mattered because they have given up six goals in the first period in each of the last two games. Edmonton has a chance to win this game tonight, but must show up at the opening puck drop. Give a full 60 boys.

Arizona: The Coyotes are a strong defensive team, but they can’t seem to put pucks in the net this season. The Oilers have some weak goaltending, and have been giving up some really soft goals as of late. The Yotes’ key tonight is to just put pucks on net. It’s been a problem for the Oilers this season to stop.

Players To Watch:

Edmonton: Oilers forward Taylor Hall returns from injury tonight, and will be looked at to supply a spark to his team. Hall is Edmonton’s best forward, and is easily the straw that stirs the drink for this hockey club. I’ll be keeping a close eye on Hall tonight, he’s the kind of guy to come in with a bang, not a whimper.

Arizona: Coyotes forward Sam Gagner returns to Rexall Place tonight for the first time since his trade back in June. There is a curse it seems, that former players just score against this Oilers team. Tonight, I get the feeling that Gagner keeps the tradition up and scores against these Oilers, so keep an eye on him.

Quick Hits:

The Coyotes and Oilers are in the basement of the west, separated by only one point, so the loser will be in last moving forward. Taylor Hall missed exactly 15 days with his injury, falling right into the original time frame. Hall scored two goals in the first meeting between these sides in Arizona. Devan Dubnyk will face the Oilers for the first time since he was traded to Nashville last January.

The Lines:

Edmonton Oilers Lines:

Benoit Pouliot – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle

Taylor Hall – Mark Arcobello – Nail Yakupov

David Perron – Leon Draisaitl – Teddy Purcell

Matt Hendricks – Boyd Gordon – Jesse Joensuu

Nikita Nikitin – Jeff Petry

Keith Aulie – Mark Fayne

Andrew Ference – Justin Schultz

Ben Scrivens

Arizona Coyotes Lines:

Lauri Korpikoski – Antoine Vermette – Mikkel Boedker

Tobias Rieder – Martin Hanzal – Martin Erat

Rob Klinkhammer – Sam Gagner – Shane Doan

Brandon McMillan – Joe Vitale – B.J. Crombeen

Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Zbynek Michalek

Keith Yandle – Connor Murphy

Brandon Gormley – Michael Stone

Devan Dubnyk