The Edmonton Oilers have a chance to erase the bad taste left in their mouth a week ago tonight when they dropped their third straight game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Tonight, the Oilers have a chance to win their third straight game as they play host to the Ottawa Senators at Rogers Place. A win would push the Oilers to .500 (3-3-0) on their current seven-game homestand.
This is the sixth of nine meetings this season between the Oilers and the Senators, who will conclude their three-game series on Friday night at Rogers Place. The sides will meet again on April 7th and 9th in the Canadian capital to end the season series.
Matt Murray gets the go for the Senators, while Mike Smith gets the start for the Oilers.
Keys To The Game:
Edmonton: Start on time. Yes, the Oilers have won each of their last two games, but they’ve started slow in each game and given up the first goal. That’s not a recipe for success. In fact, the Oilers have given up the first goal in five straight games now. Against a pesky Senators team dying to beat the Oilers, a good start and an early goal will be vital. Get Ottawa into that “here we go again” mindset.
Ottawa: Grind things down. Let’s be honest here, the Senators don’t have the weapons to fight fire with fire against the Oilers. There are some terrific young players on the Senators roster, but their high-end players don’t match Edmonton’s and the depth isn’t good enough. The Senators need to muck it up and grind down the Oilers. Slow down their offensive weapons and the Senators will have a chance at two points.
Players To Watch:
Edmonton: William Lagesson was providing the Oilers with some strong defensive play prior to an injury roughly one month ago. Tonight, Lagesson returns and will be paired with Ethan Bear. It’s a chance for the young defenseman to return to the lineup and continue to build on the momentum he had earlier this season. I’ll be interested to see if Lagesson can provide that calming, physical presence in his first game back.
Ottawa: Evgenii Dadonov has been inconsistent this season, but he has enjoyed playing against the Oilers. Dadonov opened the scoring on Monday night for his third goal in five games against Edmonton. In all, the free agent signing from Florida has four points (3 g, 1 a) in five games this season against the Oilers. He’s been Ottawa’s top weapon in this series.
The Lines:
Kyle Turris, after his best game with the Oilers, will be out of the lineup tonight due to “an abundance of caution”. Caleb Jones, meanwhile, be scratched as Lagesson returns to the lineup. Zack Kassian, who practiced yesterday, is close but remains on IR. Dominik Kahun is a healthy scratch, while Josh Archibald remains out injured.
Edmonton Oilers Lines:
Leon Draisaitl – Connor McDavid – Kailer Yamamoto
Tyler Ennis – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jesse Puljujarvi
Patrick Russell – Jujhar Khaira – Devin Shore
James Neal – Gaetan Haas – Alex Chiasson
Darnell Nurse – Tyson Barrie
Kris Russell – Adam Larsson
William Lagesson – Ethan Bear
Mike Smith
Veteran F Derek Stepan, acquired shortly before the season, is on IR with a shoulder injury and will not return this season. Goalie Marcus Hogberg, who the Oilers have lit up this season, is also on IR with a lower body issue.
Ottawa Senators Lines:
Brady Tkachuk – Josh Norris – Drake Batherson
Tim Stutzle – Colin White – Evgenii Dadonov
Ryan Dzingel – Chris Tierney – Connor Brown
Nick Paul – Artem Anisimov – Austin Watson
Thomas Chabot – Nikita Zaitsev
Mike Reilly – Artem Zub
Erik Brannstrom – Erik Gudbranson
Matt Murray
Game Notes:
“I don’t look at the other five, I look at the one that’s right in front of us,” Oilers Head Coach Dave Tippett said about the team’s 5-0-0 record against Ottawa. “You understand that you’ve had some success against them and take some of that to try to put into a formula to win but you also understand what the other team is doing. They played a lot better than when we played them earlier in the year. We’ve been fortunate to get points out of Ottawa this year but every game is a difficult, difficult game.”
To the surprise of no one, the dynamic duo of McDavid and Draisaitl leads the way in scoring during the season series between these teams. Both players have ten points, with Draisaitl scoring three goals and seven assists, while McDavid has a single goal and nine helpers thus far.
It’s been a weird year at Rogers Place this season. The Oilers are 8-8-0 in 16 home games, and a perfect 6-0-0 when scoring the game’s first goal. After starting 0-8-0 when surrendering the first goal, the Oilers are now 2-8-0 after winning their last two games. A fast start at home has been a key to success this season.
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