Oilers Gameday – Vs. Jets

If there has ever been a must-win game for a hockey club who has no hope of a post-season berth, this is it. The Oilers were embarrassed on home ice Saturday night 6-0 by St. Louis, and fan frustration reached an all-time high in Oil Country. A fan, as the final buzzer sounded, tossed his Ales Hemsky jersey on the ice in disgust, an act which symbolizes the thoughts of many Oilers fans.

Oilers coach Dallas Eakins referred to the fan as “A quitter” and that they don’t want or need fans like that. After eight utterly pathetic seasons of “pro-level” hockey, the fans have a right to be angry. Eakins put gas on the fire today, and there is a toxic environment I’ve never before seen in sports brewing in Edmonton. Eakins knows what he’s doing, he’s taking the fire off his team and putting it on himself, I get that, and even respect it.

A lot of the fanbase however, does not get that, and a loss tonight could have ramifications. If the Oilers are down big late, you might want to set your recorders, it could get really ugly at Rexall.

This will be the second of three meetings between Edmonton and Winnipeg on the year, and the last game for both teams before the Christmas break. The league will halt play after tonight, and won’t resume until December 27th.

Last Games:

Edmonton: The Oilers were smacked on home ice Saturday night by the St. Louis Blues in what was arguably the lowest point of the season for Edmonton. The Oilers actually dominated the first period, out-shooting the Blues 14-5. The Blues would strike first however, as Ilya Bryzgalov would misread a play and put the puck right on Jaden Schwartz’s stick, who would feed Chris Stewart for the 1-0 lead.

In the second, the tide began to turn, and the Blues would make it 2-0 with a pretty passing play that ended with Brendan Morrow beating Bryzgalov just 5:50 in. The third period would prove ugliest. The Blues got a Chris Stewart goal under two minutes in to go up 3-0, and then poured it on with goals by Schwartz, Stewart and Patrik Berglund. Brian Elliot would stop 23 Oiler shots, and the Blues would hang on for a 6-0 win.

Winnipeg: The Jets last played last night in Vancouver against the Canucks. The Nucks got out to an early 1-0 lead thanks to a Brad Richardson PPG half-way through the period, while goalie Roberto Luongo would suffer a lower-body injury.

In the second, Ondrej Pavelec would stop eight shots and keep the Jets in it, while Evander Kane would rip home a PPG to tie things up at the 11:22 mark.

In the third, the veteran Canucks pulled away, and totally took over the contest. They peppered Pavelec and finally broke the tie at 10:23 with a shot from Chris Tanev. Tanev’s fourth of the year would prove to be the game winner, as Eddie Lack shut the door and sealed the 2-1 Nucks win.

Last Meeting:

The two sides met back on opening night at Rexall Place in a game that accurately displays the kind of season Edmonton has had. Edmonton’s fourth line struck early, as Luke Gazdic fired home a shot from a bad angle just over two minutes in to put the Oil on top 1-0. The Jets would tie it a minute later however, as Mark Scheifele would pot home his first of the year.

The Jets would take a lead at 16:12 with a Bryan Little shot, but Edmonton wold fight back and tie it thanks to a Boyd Gordon PPG with less than two minutes left.

In the second, Ales Hemsky scored a pretty goal to put Edmonton up 3-2, while Jesse Joensuu would add a PPG in the crease four minutes later to give Edmonton a two goal lead. The Jets answered right back with a Michael Frolik goal off a pretty passing play at the end of the second.

The Oilers were pushing the pace in the third, but Devan Dubnyk couldn’t make the big save. Jacob Trouba fired a beach-ball past DD at the 11:06 mark to tie things up, while Michael Frolik would score the eventual game winner three minutes later. The Oilers collapse resulted in a 5-4 Jets win.

Players To Watch:

Edmonton: There isn’t one player to key in on tonight. The Oilers got into this hole as a team, from the players, to the coaches, to the management team, and yes, to the owner. Everyone in that jersey will need to step up tonight and start digging this once proud franchise from this awful hole. We keep hearing how disrespectful it was to the logo to throw it on the ice, well let’s see some respect shown with on ice play tonight. All hands on deck are needed.

Winnipeg: Jets forward Evander Kane has been a lightning rod of controversy this season. Many beleive the Jets are looking to move the young scoring star, and some beleive he isn’t happy in Winnipeg. That said, Kane is easily the best and most skilled player on this Jets team. He’s got slick offensive ability, and a shot which few in the NHL can match. Keep an eye on this young star tonight.

Lines:

Edmonton Oilers Lines:

Taylor Hall – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – David Perron

Jesse Joensuu – Sam Gagner – Jordan Eberle

Ryan Smyth – Boyd Gordon – Ales Hemsky

Luke Gazdic – Anton Lander – Nail Yakupov

Andrew Ference – Justin Schultz

Anton Belov – Jeff Petry

Nick Schultz – Corey Potter

Ilya Bryzgalov

Winnipeg Jets Lines:

Andrew Ladd – Bryan Little – Blake Wheeler

Chris Thorburn – Olli Jokinen – Devin Setoguchi

Evander Kane – Mark Scheifele – Michael Frolik

Eric Tangradi – Eric O’Dell – John Albert

Dustin Byfuglien – Adam Pardy

Zach Bogosian – Tobias Enstrom

Mark Stuart – Jacob Trouba

Ondrej Pavelec