Oilers Gameday – Vs. Ducks

The Oilers continue what has been an awful homestand tonight against the Anaheim Ducks in game five of the six game homestand. It will be the third meeting of five between the sides this season, and the first at Rexall Place. The Ducks won the previous two meetings in Southern California, with the last one being a 5-2 decision on January 3rd.

The Oilers enter tonight on a three game losing streak, dropping ugly, ugly games to Buffalo and Calgary, and a hard fought one to San Jose. The Oilers are without goalie Viktor Fasth, who was hit by Anton Lander in practice earlier this week, while forward Nail Yakupov is still recovering from his fractured ankle. Both Fasth and Yakupov are expected to resume skating in the near future. Edmonton has also officially been eliminated from the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Anaheim Ducks have clinched a spot in the dance for the second season in a row, led by star forwards Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf. The Ducks have been struggling lately, and in large part that is due to the loss of young defender Cam Fowler. The team has also been without veteran defender Sheldon Souray all season. Forward Teemu Selanne will be in the lineup tonight for what is expected to be his final game at Rexall Place in his decorated career. Selanne has 49 goals in 82 games against the Oil.

Ben Scrivens will go for the Oilers tonight, while Frederik Andersen is expected to take the net for Anaheim.

Keys To The Game:

Edmonton: Compete Compete Compete! The Oilers failed to compete last Thursday against Buffalo, and really failed to compete on Saturday against the Flames. Edmonton played a decent game five-on-five against San Jose on Tuesday, and one could argue deserved a better result. Regardless, for Edmonton to have a shot tonight they need to compete from the opening puck drop.

Anaheim: Play physical. The Ducks are a big, heavy, discipline hockey team that can absolutely wear you down physically and trade chances with you. I don’t think they are an elite hockey club, but they are a darn good one. If they play their physical game tonight, they should easily waltz out of Edmonton with two points.

Players To Watch:

Edmonton: Going with a gut feeling here, but I’d keep an eye out for Ryan Smyth. Smyth has been relatively quiet these last few games, and is sitting one goal away from break the franchise record for career PP goals. Smyth has very good career numbers against the Ducks, and I suspect tonight is the night he breaks the record. Again, gut feeling, but keep an eye out for Smyth.

Anaheim: Sticking with the older veteran theme, Ducks forward Teemu Selanne will be playing in what is more than likely his final game at Rexall Place. The decorated veteran forward has owned the Oilers, finding the back of the net 49 times in 82 games against this Oilers squad. It’s a pleasure to watch Teemu play, and I suspect he finds the back of the net for old times sake tonight.

Gameday Prediction:

The Ducks have already clinched a playoff spot, so they’ll take it easy tonight right? Wrong. Anaheim is in a heated battle for home ice advantage in the first round, and even looking to win the Pacific division. They’ll be looking at this game tonight as two must get points. As for the Oilers, the last three games have been really tough to watch. Considering Edmonton’s record against Anaheim recently, I think tonight gets ugly, 5-1 Ducks.

The Lines:

Edmonton Oilers Lines:

Taylor Hall – Sam Gagner – David Perron

Anton Lander – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle

Matt Hendricks – Boyd Gordon – Tyler Pitlick

Luke Gazdic – Ryan Smyth – Ryan Jones

Andrew Ference – Justin Schultz

Martin Marincin – Jeff Petry

Mark Fraser – Oscar Klefbom

Ben Scrivens

Anaheim Ducks Lines:

Teemu Selanne – Ryan Getzlaf – Corey Perry

Patrick Maroon – Mathieu Perreault – Kyle Palmieri

Andrew Cogliano – Saku Koivu – Jakob Silfverberg

Rickard Rakell – Nick Bonino – Tim Jackman

Hampus Lindholm – Ben Lovejoy

Luca Sbisa – Stephane Robidas

Bryan Allen – Sami Vatanen

Frederik Andersen