Ahhh the NHL All-Star break. The time to relax, have some fun and forget about the past few games of this Oilers season.
Tonight, the Oilers finish the unofficial first half of the season by welcoming the last place Detroit Red Wings to Rogers Place. The Oilers come into this one having dropped their past two games and are looking to end things on the right foot.
The Red Wings come into things struggling this year as the worst team in the NHL and losers of two straight games of their own. The fall of the Red Wings over the past five seasons has been something to watch as they currently have a mark of 18-25-7 for 43 points.
Keys To The Game
Detroit
-Hold on for dear life when Dylan Larkin, Gustav Nyquist or Andreas Athanasiou are not on the ice.
Edmonton
-When facing a team in as much of a freefall as the Wings, insert one Connor McDavid to the ice.
The Lineups
Detroit
Tyler Bertuzzi-Dylan Larkin-Gustav Nyquist
Thomas Vanek-Frans Nielsen-Anthony Mantha
Andreas Athanasiou-Luke Glendening-Darren Helm
Christopher Ehn-Jacob De La Rose-Justin Abdelkader
Niklas Kronwall-Mike Green
Dan Dekeyser-Nick Jensen
Jonathan Ericsson-Filip Hronek
Jimmy Howard
Edmonton
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins-Connor McDavid-Jesse Puljujarvi
Jujhar Khaira-Leon Draisaitl-Alex Chiasson
Milan Lucic-Kyle Broadziak-Zack Kassian
Ryan Spooner-Colby Cave-Kailer Yamamoto
Darnell Nurse-Adam Larsson
Kris Russell-Matt Benning
Brandon Manning-Alex Petrovic
Mikko Koskinen
Other Notes
If this game goes the way of the Wings quickly, these towels may be hitting the Rogers Place ice at the final buzzer.
Are you coming to tonight's game vs. Detroit? Make sure you snag an #Oilers 40th anniversary rally towel thanks to our friends at @CoventryHomes! pic.twitter.com/hJV4csVZl1
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) January 22, 2019
Prediction
A very up and down first half goes the way of the home side in a 2-1 overtime win with the Oiler goals coming from McDavid and Zack Kassian.
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