Oilers Gameday – vs San Jose: Do You Know The Way?

Tonight sees the Oilers back in action against Joe Thornton’s beard (along with the rest of the San Jose Sharks). The Oilers are 4-1 in their last 5, and are playing considerably better now that the trade deadline has passed. It might not look like they’re any better but the Oilers have already won 26 games this season, which beats last year’s total by two, AND they still have 14 games to play. This is what progress looks like, y’all.

Last Game

The Oilers were in Winnipeg on Sunday, and came away with a 2-1 regulation victory. It wasn’t the best game they’ve played all year, but they showed some promise. Pat “I can grow a beard like nobody else” Maroon (on a feed from Taylor “King of my Heart” Hall) and Lauri “What are you doing playing on a line with McDavid” Korpikoski scored, and Cam Talbot was absolutely lights out again to steal the win for the Oilers.

Unfortunately, Brandon Davidson went down with what is being called a “lower body injury”, though if you take a look at the replay, it looks pretty clear that it’s a knee injury and it looks like he’ll be out for a while.

Keys to the Game

• More pucks to the net. The Oilers don’t get garbage goals anymore, partly because they don’t have Ryan Smyth taking a beating in the crease and partly because they’re really good at cycling the puck down low and getting a weak shot toward the side of the net.
• Friday night notwithstanding, the Oilers have been playing pretty decent hockey of late. If they keep doing that, stay out of the penalty box, and get some actual quality chances on net, they’ll probably come away with a win.
• The Oilers need to take advantage of the Sharks having played last night in Calgary and come out flying. I think that the Sharks are beatable, and I think that if Talbot plays well and the Oilers keep the puck away from their own net (because as well as Talbot’s been playing, he can’t be asked to stop the puck 35+ times a game)

Players to Watch

I’m liking how Patrick Maroon looks out there. He’s not quite as skilled as Hall and Draisaitl, but that seems like a good fit on that line right now.

It’s a joy to watch Connor McDavid play hockey. When he gets his wheels under him, he’s sublime.

Taylor Hall is my obvious choice for players to watch. So do that.

Projected Lineups

Edmonton

Taylor Hall – Leon Draisaitl – Patrick Maroon

Lauri Korpikoski – Connor McDavid – Jordan Eberle

Nail Yakupov – Mark Letestu – Zack Kassian

Matt Hendricks – Anton Lander – Adam Cracknell

Andrej Sekera – Mark Fayne

Darnell Nurse – Adam Clendening

Griffin Reinhart – Adam Pardy

San Jose

Tomas Hertl – Joe Thornton – Joe Pavelski

Matt Nieto – Logan Couture – Joel Ward

Nick Spaling – Patrick Marleau – Joonas Doonsko

Dainus Zubrus – Christ Tiernery – Melker Karlsson

Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Justin Braun

Paul Martin – Brent Burns

Brendon Dillon – Roman Polak

Martin Jones

Final Thoughts

This isn’t hockey related, but I wrote a piece about Erin Andrews and her settlement, and I’d love it if more people read it.

It’s fitting, for International Women’s Day, because there’s still a lot of discussion surrounding women in sports (particularly in sports media). There’s much to be said, but I think it’s best done outside of a gameday post.