Oilers Gameday – Vs. Sabres

The Oilers play game two of a lengthy six game homestand tonight at Rexall Place as they get a rare visit from the Buffalo Sabres, the lone team below them in the standings. This will be the second and final meeting between the sides this season, Edmonton won the first meeting 3-2 in Buffalo last month.

The Oilers lineup will look a tad different than the won that beat Nashville 5-1 on Tuesday. Forward Nail Yakupov is out with an ankle injury that he suffered last Sunday in Carolina, while Jordan Eberle is out with a knee injury he suffered Tuesday. Forwards Tyler Pitlick and Steve MacIntyre were called up on an emergency basis to fill the spots for Edmonton, and both are likely to draw in. Matt Hendricks will be a game time decision.

This Sabres team was dismantled at the deadline, as the team sent away goalie Ryan Miller and forward Steve Ott to St. Louis, and forward Matt Moulson to Minnesota among other moves. The Sabres currently have four goalies on the NHL roster, as Michal Neuvirth and Jhonas Enroth are both battling injury. The Sabres recently claimed forward Cory Conacher off waivers from Ottawa and acquired Torrey Mitchell from Minnesota on deadline day. The team fell 3-1 to Calgary on Tuesday.

The Oilers will turn back to Ben Scrivens tonight, while the Sabres will go with Matt Hackett.

Keys To The Game:

Edmonton: The Oilers a playing a team they are better than standings wise for the first time in over a month. For Edmonton tonight’s key to the game is a full sixty minute effort. This has been hard to come by for this team all season long, but needs to happen tonight. If Edmonton can play a full game, they should be able to win this one.

Buffalo: Use your defense! The Sabres can’t score to save their lives, but they can play decent defense. Goaltending clearly isn’t the same since the trade of Miller, but the team still features good NHL defenders like Tyler Myers (out tonight), Christian Ehrhoff and others. If the Sabres can get these guys to play to their potential, they’ll slow down the Oilers guns and win this game.

Players To Watch:

Edmonton: Oilers forward Tyler Pitlick was brought up on an emergency basis yesterday, and will be in the lineup tonight. Pitlick looked good earlier this year when he got a short call-up that ended with an injury. Pitlick is one of those players Edmonton could use on the roster next year, and I suspect he takes a step in impressing Dallas Eakins tonight.

Buffalo: Sabres defender Rasmus Ristolainen has burst onto the scene for the Sabres organization, providing a glimpse into what could be a great future. The rookie blue-liner has had a good start to his NHL career, and might be Buffalo’s version of Martin Marincin. I’d keep a close eye on this young defender who looks like he could be a star in the making.

Gameday Prediction:

The Oilers are due for a bit of a disappointing game, and I’ll say tonight is that night. The Oilers have played good in their last two games, outplaying both Carolina and Nashville. Tonight however, the Sabres will be looking to break a lengthy losing streak and see this as a great chance to do so. The Oilers will sleep through 55 minutes and lose 3-2 in OT.

The Lines:

Edmonton Oilers Lines:

Taylor Hall – Sam Gagner – David Perron

Anton Lander – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Tyler Pitlick

Matt Hendricks – Boyd Gordon – Ryan Smyth

Luke Gazdic – Steve MacIntyre – Ryan Jones

Andrew Ference – Justin Schultz

Martin Marincin – Jeff Petry

Mark Fraser – Oscar Klefbom

Ben Scrivens

Buffalo Sabres Lines:

Cory Conacher – Tyler Ennis – Drew Stafford

Cody Hodgson – Brian Flynn – Marcus Foligno

Torrey Mitchell – Ville Leino – Matt D’Agostini

Nicolas Deslauries – Matt Ellis – John Scott

Rasmus Ristolainen – Christian Ehrhoff

Chad Ruhwedel – Henrik Tallinder

Jamie McBain – Mike Weber

Matt Hackett