Oilers Gameday – Vs. Flames

The Oilers return to the ice tonight with a shot at redemption, as they host the Calgary Flames in the fourth and final meeting between the sides this season. This will be the second meeting at Rexall Place, with the prior tilt coming on opening night.

The Oilers will be without D’s Nikita Nikitin, Mark Fayne and Andrew Ference, while F Boyd Gordon will be a game time decision. Meanwhile, the Flames will be without D’s Ladislav Smid and Mark Giordano.

Ben Scrivens starts for Edmonton, while Jonas Hiller starts for Calgary.

Last Game:

Edmonton: The Oilers last took the ice on Thursday night, getting absolutely embarrassed by the defending champion Los Angeles Kings. The Kings got going early, and never looked back, as Dustin Brown scored a weak goal just 2:23 into the game. Marian Gaborik and Drew Doughty would each add tallies as well before the ten minute mark.

Edmonton would get within a pair thanks to a Teddy Purcell power-play goal 7:55 into the second, but Ben Scrivens would then implode, allowing an incredibly weak goal to Jordan Nolan at the 12:14 mark, and then another cupcake to Jeff Carter six minutes later.

Tyler Bunz would enter in the third period, and face the wrath of LA as well. Robyn Regehr, Marian Gaborik and Jeff Carter would all score to put LA up 8-1 before the ten minute mark. Jordan Eberle would get Edmonton a tally 18:30 in, but it meant absolutely nothing, as the Kings won 8-2.

Calgary: The Flames also played on Thursday night, as they were in St. Louis to battle the Blues. St. Louis completely dominated this game, firing countless shots at the Flames all night. As a result, they opened the scoring just 1:16 in with a Jaden Schwartz goal.

The Blues would get another quick tally in the second, as Paul Stastny scored a power-play goal 23 seconds in off of a David Backes feed. The Flames would hunker down though, as Jonas Hiller would stop 17 shots the rest of the period while Sean Monahan would score to get Calgary within one.

Hiller just couldn’t hold the Blues off any longer in the third however, as Jori Lehtera and Patrik Berglund each scored to put the Flames away. Jake Allen would stop 17 shots to cement the 4-1 Blues victory.

Last Meeting:

The Flames and Oilers last met on New Year’s eve in Calgary in a pretty entertaining tilt. Edmonton came out strong, firing six shots on net and getting numerous chances in the opening frame. They got rewarded for it too, as Matt Fraser scored on the power-play 16:06 in.

Edmonton would take a two goals lead thanks to a Jordan Eberle marker 10:28 into the middle frame, but Calgary took over after that. Joe Colborne scored a power-play goal at the 18:01 mark that totally changed the momentum.

Lance Bouma would tie things 4:28 into the third, while Andrew Ference and Joe Colborne would trade markers late to send us to overtime. In the extra frame, Calgary made quick work of the Oilers, as Josh Jooris scored just 1:08 in to give the Flames a 4-3 victory.

Keys To The Game:

Edmonton: Clean the slate tonight boys. The Oilers were just thrashed in California, but need to move on. They need to refocus and remember that they have been in every meeting with the Flames this season. Focus in on this game and forget the mental mistakes of Wednesday and Thursday.

Calgary: Clog the front of the net and get dirty tonight. The Flames score a lot of goals, and part of that is because they are willing to score the dirty goals. The Oilers don’t guard the front of the net well either. If Calgary is willing to get greasy tonight, they’ll have success.

Players To Watch:

Edmonton: D David Musil will make his NHL debut tonight. He’s been a solid shut-down defender for the OKC Barons, and has emerged as a solid prospect in his second pro season. The best comparison? Our friend Lowetide says Ladislav Smid, so a physical shut-down guy who doesn’t make the sexy play.

Calgary: F Joe Colborne doesn’t produce a lot of points for the Flames, unless they play the Oilers. Colborne, for some reason, just loves playing against Edmonton. He’s been a thorn in the team’s side all season, and now faces an incredibly weak defense. Will his dominance over Edmonton continue? I say yes.

Quick Hits:

The Oilers are 4-1-1 in their last six home games. The last sweep in the Battle of Alberta was during the 2009-10 season, when Calgary swept Edmonton. The Flames have won five games in a row against the Oilers. The Oilers last win against the Flames was on December 27th, 2013. Jiri Hudler currently leads the Flames with 72 points in 75 games.

The Lines:

Edmonton Oilers Lines:

Benoit Pouliot – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle

Teddy Purcell – Derek Roy – Nail Yakupov

Taylor Hall – Anton Lander – Andrew Miller

Matt Hendricks – Boyd Gordon – Rob Klinkhammer

Oscar Klefbom – Justin Schultz

Martin Marincin – Brandon Davidson

Keith Aulie – David Musil

Ben Scrivens

Calgary Flames Lines:

Johnny Gaudreau – Sean Monahan – Jiri Hudler

Lance Bouma – Mikael Backlund – David Jones

Mason Raymond – Markus Granlund – Joe Colborne

Brandon Bollig – Matt Stajan – Drew Shore

Kris Russell – Dennis Wideman

T.J. Brodie – Deryk Engelland

David Schlemko – Corey Potter

Jonas Hiller