Oilers Gameday – Vs. Predators

The Oilers open up a six game homestand tonight with a visit from the Nashville Predators for what will be the third and final meeting of the season between the sides. Edmonton has won both games, including a 5-1 victory in the last meeting in late January at Rexall Place. The Oil will go for the season sweep tonight.

The Oilers are coming off of a decent road trip, in which they went 2-1-1 and got five of a possible eight points. The team won 2-1 in Carolina on Sunday thanks to Justin Schultz’s late PP goal. The Oilers will go with the same lineup that won on Sunday, which includes recent emergency call-up Anton Lander. The team will be without forward Jesse Joensuu for at least four weeks, as he suffered an ankle sprain on the trip.

The Predators come into Edmonton trying to keep their very slim playoff hopes alive. The Preds have struggled this season, and that is mainly due to a lack of goal scoring and injuries to key players. Goalie Pekka Rinne missed a large chunk of the season, but recently returned to the lineup. Rookie Seth Jones has also played a large role for the Preds, and has lived up to the hype according to those covering the team. Nashville is coming off of a 4-1 loss to St. Louis on Saturday.

The Oilers will send Viktor Fasth out to play goal tonight in his home debut, while Pekka Rinne gets the go for the Predators.

Keys To The Game:

Edmonton: The Oilers key tonight is a quick start against the Preds. Edmonton is riding a decent stretch of hockey here and has some momentum for the first time in a long time. The team usually struggles when returning home from road trips, but that can be avoided tonight with a good start against a weak offensive Nashville squad.

Nashville: For the Preds, playing the body is their key to the game. Nashville is a team known for it’s defense and their defenders can play a physical style. Seth Jones and Shea Weber are both smart positional players and are guys that know how to play physical hockey. Edmonton struggles against teams that play a physical brand.

Players To Watch:

Edmonton: Oilers forward Matt Hendricks has been a welcomed addition since coming over from Nashville in January. He brings a physical style to the rink, works hard every night, plays good defensive hockey and handles tough zone starts while providing leadership and some offense. I’ll suggest he has a strong night against his former team.

Nashville: Predators defender Shea Weber is the best defenseman in the NHL today, there is really no doubting that in my mind. Guys like Chara are in the conversation, but to me it is Shea Weber then everyone else. I enjoying getting the chance to just watch Weber play, and will be keeping a close eye on the guy trying to shut-down Edmonton’s young guns tonight.

Gameday Prediction:

The Oilers had a decent road trip, against all odds, but usually struggle in their first game back from road trips. Tonight will be more of the same against a defensive team with strong goaltending. The Oilers will get some chances, and will see their third straight shoot-out with Viktor Fasth, but fall 3-2 in the shoot-out.

The Lines:

Edmonton Oilers Lines:

Taylor Hall – Sam Gagner – David Perron

Nail Yakupov – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle

Matt Hendricks – Boyd Gordon – Anton Lander

Luke Gazdic – Ryan Smyth – Ryan Jones

Andrew Ference – Justin Schultz

Martin Marincin – Jeff Petry

Oscar Klefbom – Mark Fraser

Viktor Fasth

Nashville Predators Lines:

Matt Cullen – Mike Fisher – Nick Spaling

Eric Nystrom – Colin Wilson – Craig Smith

Patric Hornqvist – Colton Scissons – Gabriel Bourque

Rich Clune – Paul Gaustad – Viktor Stalberg

Roman Josi – Shea Weber

Seth Jones – Mattias Ekholm

Michael Del Zotto – Ryan Ellis

Pekka Rinne