Oilers Gameday – Vs. Coyotes

After two extra time wins at home, the Oilers begin the back half of their six game home stand tonight against the rival Arizona Coyotes at Rogers Place. The Oilers topped Arizona 3-2 in late December to end the dreadful streak without a regulation win against the desert dogs, which takes the pressure off them.

Edmonton recalled Jordan Oesterle from Bakersfield on Sunday, sparking concern about Adam Larsson, but it looks like the Swede is good to go. Todd McLellan said this morning that Larsson is close and will be a game time decision along with Jujhar Khaira. I expect that both will play tonight.

Cam Talbot starts for the Oilers while Mike Smith goes for Arizona.

Keys To The Game:

Edmonton: The Oilers need to play a structured game tonight and bring the intensity from the opening faceoff. If Arizona does one thing well, it’s playing hard and playing within their system. The Oilers need to do the same tonight, and can’t afford to make mistakes against this Coyote team. Play a smart game tonight and the Oil should get the two points.

Arizona: The Coyotes simply have to take advantage of any and all Edmonton mistakes in this game. The Coyotes don’t have the pure talent to just generate offense, meaning that scoring off defensive breakdowns and turnovers is the way to go for them. The Oilers, while committing less errors, still make mistakes in this area.

Players To Watch:

Edmonton: Jordan Eberle hasn’t been scoring as of late, but his play has been noticeably better in the offensive zone. Unlike most of December, Eberle is actually getting chances now and is coming awfully close to breaking his slump. Ebs always seems to play well against Arizona and will be worth watching. Eventually the dam is going to open.

Arizona: Alexander Burmistrov will make his Coyotes debut tonight. The former top ten pick was claimed off waivers two weeks again and, after visa issues, is finally good to go. Burmistrov is a talented player but never seemed to put it together with the Jets. I’ll be interested to see if things change with Arizona.

The Lines:

It appears that both Adam Larsson and Jujhar Khaira will be back in the lineup for Edmonton tonight, and that Kris Russell will also stay in the lineup after getting hurt Saturday. Based off that, it looks like Eric Gryba and Matt Hendricks will come out and join Jordan Oesterle in the pressbox.

Edmonton Oilers Lines:

Patrick Maroon – Connor McDavid – Leon Draisaitl

Benoit Pouliot – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle

Milan Lucic – Drake Caggiula – Anton Slepyshev

Jujhar Khaira – Mark Letestu – Zack Kassian

Oscar Klefbom – Adam Larsson

Andrej Sekera – Kris Russell

Brandon Davidson – Matt Benning

Cam Talbot

Arizona Coyotes Lines:

Tobias Rieder – Martin Hanzal – Anthony Duclair

Jamie McGinn – Peter Holland – Radim Vrbata

Brendan Perlini – Christian Dvorak – Shane Doan

Lawson Crouse – Laurent Dauphin – Alexander Burmistrov

Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Luke Schenn

Alex Goligoski – Michael Stone

Jakob Chychurn – Connor Murphy

Mike Smith

Game Notes:

This is the fourth of five meetings between the Oilers and the Coyotes on the season. The two sides will conclude their season series back in Edmonton on February 14th. That will be Edmonton’s second game after their CBA mandated bye week, which takes place from February 6th – 11th.

After scoring again on Saturday night, Patrick Maroon now has some cushion as Edmonton’s leading goal scorer. His 18 goals are two more than Leon Draisaitl, who has 16 on the season. Connor McDavid (14) and Milan Lucic (10) are the only other Oilers with double digit goals.

With the win Saturday night, Cam Talbot set a new career high for wins in a season with 22. The netminder won 21 games in each of the last two seasons, one with the Rangers and one with Edmonton.

Prediction:

The Oilers should win this game, but as we know their is no given in the NHL, especially with these Oilers. Edmonton has routinely played down to its competition and the Coyotes have given them fits for years. Can Edmonton break through tonight and win their third in a row?

I think they can, but it’ll be a nail-biting victory, 3-2 in overtime. Klefbom and Khaira score the regulation goals for Edmonton, while Burmistrov and McGinn get the tallies for Arizona. Naturally, the Coyotes forget about Drai in overtime and he wins it for Edmonton.