Oilers Gameday vs San Jose: For Whom The Bell Tolls

After an incredible come from behind win on Thursday at Rogers Place, the Oilers are poised to win their first playoff series in 11 years. Last time the teams met in San Jose, the Sharks reminded the Oilers that things weren’t quite settled, as they shellacked the Oil 7-0.

Game 5 looked to be much of the same, as the Sharks come on strong early and didn’t really let up until Oscar Klefbom tied it up in the dying minutes of the third period. David Desharnais’ OT winner blew the roof off Rogers Place, and I’m not sure the city has recovered.

Puck drop is at 8:30 MT, and hopefully by midnight, we’ll know if there’s a Game 7 here or if we need to get ready for *whispers* Round 2.

In case you’re wondering, I was thinking not of Metallica (or even Hemingway) with the title, but of John Donne and his Meditation XVII:

No man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thine own
Or of thine friend’s were.
Each man’s death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.

Keys to the Game

Edmonton

• Not play into San Jose’s plan. The last two games have shown that the Sharks are, in fact, a very talented and experienced team. With the exception of the last half of the third period (and, of course OT) on Thursday, San Jose outplayed and outperformed the Oilers and did so by getting ahead early and not really letting up.
• Get some offence from the big guns. So far, the Oilers goal leaders are Zack Kassian and Oscar Klefbom. There’s nothing wrong with spreading offence around, but at some point Eberle, RNH and Connor are going to have to make their mark on the score sheet. Tonight would be a good time to start that.

San Jose

• Step on the gas and don’t let up. It’s worked for 2 games, and it can work again. If they stay out of the box, it’ll be even easier to get the Oilers off their game. Having last change tonight will help, as well.
• Take advantage of the power play opportunities they’re inevitably going to get. As dumb as it is, the Oilers are maybe being forced into a rite of passage as it were, and the penalty calls aren’t even close to balanced between the teams. On Tuesday, Milan Lucic played only 10 minutes because of all the penalty trouble the Oilers got themselves into; the Sharks would do well to try to make that happen again.

Players to Watch

Edmonton

• Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has mabe been the best Oiler in the series so far. He hasn’t scored any goals, but his quiet work against the Sharks top line has been pretty good, game 4 notwithstanding.
• Connor’s fun to watch when he does Connor things, and he needs to do more.

San Jose

• Patrick Marleau, at age 37, is still a heck of a hockey player. He skates better than most players in the league and his wrist shot is unreal. He’s still dangerous anytime he’s on the ice, and the Oilers shouldn’t forget about him.
• Joe Pavelski is maybe the best in the league at tipping pucks into the net, and he absolutely one of the reasons that Brent Burns had such a good year offensively. His second goal on Tuesday night was a thing of beauty, and he’s dangerous down low.

Projected Lineups

Edmonton

Drake Caggiula – Connor McDavid – Leon Draisaitl

Milan Lucic – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle

Patrick Maroon – Mark Letestu – Zack Kassian

Benoit Pouliot – David Desharnais – Anton Slepyshev

Oscar Kelfbom – Adam Larsson

Andrej Sekera – Kris Russell

Darnell Nurse – Matt Benning

Cam TalBot

San Jose

Patrick Marleau – Joe Thornton – Joe Pavelski

Jannik Hansen – Logan Couture – Mikkel Boedker

Melker Karlsson – Tomas Hertl – Timo Meier

Marcus Sorensen – Chris Tierney – Joel Ward

Paul Martin – Brent Burns

Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Justin Braun

Brenden Dillon – David Schlemko

Martin Jones

Notes

So far, this postseason has been everything I dreamed it would be. Even if the Oilers lose in the first round, we can take comfort in the fact that they won more games than the Blackhawks and Flames combined.

Whatever happens tonight, this season has been a wild ride, and getting bonus hockey in April is the best thing in the world.

If all goes according to plan, the playoff bell tolls for the Sharks yet again.