The Oilers return home tonight after claiming two points on their recent two game road trip, both coming compliments of losses in extra time. The Oilers tonight get back to facing the east, as the Islanders come to town for the first of two meetings this season.
The Oiler lineup saw some change as Leon Draisaitl was sent back to the WHL on Sunday morning, while F Rob Klinkhammer, acquired on Friday, will make his Oiler debut tonight.
Ben Scrivens, who has started the last three games and posted a .926 Sv%, will start of Edmonton, while Jaroslav Halak starts for the Islanders.
Last Games:
Edmonton: The Oil last took to the ice on Friday in Denver, taking on a Colorado team that they have traded blows with over the years. The first period was rather boring, as each side registered a decent amount of shots, but couldn’t solve the goalies.
In the second, the Avalanche took the game over and dominated Edmonton, getting rewarded with the game’s first goal 7:55 into the frame thanks to a Danny Briere one-timer.
The third period saw a total reversal of fortunes, as Edmonton took over the game and applied tons of pressure, getting rewarded with a goal of their own. Benoit Pouliot snapped a shot home at the 4:47 mark in his first game back on the power-play to tie the game, and eventually force overtime.
OT solved nothing, sending the sides to a shootout. In the skills competition, both Matt Duchene and Alex Tanguay scored, while Edmonton was held scoreless, falling 2-1 to Colorado.
New York: The Isles opened their Alberta two-step in Calgary on Friday, playing a hard fought game against the Flames. The Islanders opened the scoring early, eight minutes in, with a John Tavares goal on the power-play.
The second period would go scoreless, but in the third period the Islanders top-line would once again strike, as Tavares would score his second of the night from Kyle Okposo to basically put the game away.
Johnny Gaudreau would score a little over 16 minutes into the frame, but it mattered not as Jaroslav Halak and the Islanders held strong to win 2-1, starting their western swing with a 2-0 record.
Last Meeting:
The Oilers and Islanders last met in March at Rexall Place in a game where comeback was the theme of the night. New York started off strong, dominating the first period and scoring twice, compliments of Frans Nielsen and Anders Lee. Edmonton closed the gap play wise in the second, but couldn’t solve Evgeni Nabokov.
Edmonton finally broke through in the third period, getting goals from Ryan Smyth and Phillip Larsen to send things to overtime, where Edmonton would finish the comeback with a Taylor Hall marker 2:29 in. The goal would give Edmonton a 3-2 victory.
Keys To The Game:
Edmonton: Stick to the plan tonight. Edmonton has played well their last three games, and a big reason for that has been because they are playing within their game plan. If they can do that tonight and not have any major errors, then they have a good chance to win this game.
New York: Speed kills the Oilers, and New York has it in spades. The Islanders are a quick and skilled team like Edmonton wants to be, and they can create some real havoc for teams by playing that style. If they can play their fast and skilled game against a weak Edmonton defense, then the Islanders will easily get two points.
Players To Watch:
Edmonton: Rob Klinkhammer enters the Oilers lineup for the first time tonight, and will no doubt be looking to make an impact. Klinkhammer is a tough and physical player who doesn’t post a ton of offense. That said, I do believe he will make some sort of an impact tonight, and I’ll be watching him.
New York: John Tavares is a top ten player in today’s NHL, and is easily the best player on this Islander roster. Tavares is insanely skilled, and is a true franchise player. He’s a guy that Oiler fans barely get to see, and is a player everyone should be watching tonight.
Quick Hits:
Both Mark Arcobello and David Perron scored in their first games with their new teams on Saturday, adding another kick to Oiler fans in this tough season. D Keith Aulie is serving the second and final game of his two game suspension for the Oilers tonight. Ben Scrivens is starting his fourth game in a row.
The Lines:
Edmonton Oilers Lines:
Taylor Hall – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle
Teddy Purcell – Derek Roy – Benoit Pouliot
Matt Fraser – Anton Lander – Nail Yakupov
Matt Hendricks – Boyd Gordon – Rob Klinkhammer
Nikita Nikitin – Mark Fayne
Oscar Klefbom – Jeff Petry
Andrew Ference – Justin Schultz
Ben Scrivens
New York Islanders Lines:
Josh Bailey – John Tavares – Kyle Okposo
Mikhail Grabovski – Brock Nelson – Nikolay Kulemin
Anders Lee – Frans Nielsen – Ryan Strome
Matt Martin – Casey Cizikas – Cal Clutterbuck
Calvin de Hann – Travis Hamonic
Nick Leddy – Johnny Boychuk
Thomas Hickey – Lubomir Visnovsky
Jaroslav Halak
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