Welp, here we go. The Oilers have lost eleven games in a row, and now enter a stretch where they will play the Sharks and Ducks each two times. A single win here would be a massive victory. Odds are, the Oilers lose all four games, break the franchise losing streak record, and break the internet harder than Kim K did.
Anyhow, the Oilers are likely without Matt Hendricks tonight, and possibly without Nikita Nikitin and Boyd Gordon, who have been battling injuries during this last stretch. The Sharks are relatively healthy right now, and are starting to click on all cylinders.
Viktor Fasth is expected to start for Edmonton, while Alex Stalock goes for the Sharks.
Last Games:
Edmonton: The Oilers last played on Wednesday night in Winnipeg, and choked away what looked like a certain win. The Jets came out flying, taking the body and dominating the Oilers. Winnipeg got on the board early too, as Jacob Trouba broke in and beat Scrivens. Edmonton bounced right back however, as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins fired home a wrist shot with just over two minutes left.
The second period was scoreless and even, but Edmonton started to really put on a push, and had some solid scoring chances. The Oilers took the lead early in the third, as David Perron banked a shot off of Teddy Purcell and in to give the Oilers a lead at the 1:31 mark. Edmonton would hang tight until just over three minutes were left, as Dustin Byfuglien tipped home a Mark Stuart shot to tie things up.
In OT, Justin Schultz was beaten badly on a battle, resulting in a Trouba shot that was tipped home by Mathieu Perreault to give the Jets a 3-2 win.
San Jose: The Sharks played last night in Calgary, in a game where the Flames carried the pace early on. Mark Giordano beat Antti Niemi in the final three minutes with a long shot from the point. Justin Braun tied things just 33 seconds into the middle frame, while Logan Couture gave the Sharks a lead 2:34 into the frame.
Johnny Gaudreau tied things late in the frame with a quick shot off of a Jiri Hudler feed, but that would be as close as the Flames got to taking this game over. Niemi stepped up large, while Patrick Marleau scored the game-winner halfway through the frame to give the Sharks a 3-2 victory.
Last Meeting:
The Oilers and Sharks met in April in San Jose to conclude their season series in what was a tight and high-scoring game. The Sharks opened the scoring 3:11 in as Andrew Desjardins beat Ben Scrivens with a quick shot. Taylor Hall scored a power-play goal at the 12:34 mark to tie things, but moments later Dan Boyle blasted a shot past Scrivens to give the Sharks the lead back.
Tommy Wingles scored a quick goal to open up a two goal lead early in the second period, but Edmonton would dig in and respond with two quick goals late in the frame to tie it, one from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and another from Jordan Eberle.
The Oilers took a lead early in the third, as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored his second of the night, but it was short lived as Brent Burns would tie things up just over four minutes later. Patrick Marleau gave the Sharks a lead, which would hold in a 5-4 victory for the home side.
Keys To The Game:
Edmonton: A quick start is 100% needed tonight by the Oilers. The Sharks are in the second half of back to back games, and could be overlooking a poor Oiler team. Edmonton needs to be ready from the start, and apply the pressure early and often on San Jose tonight, make the Sharks realize this will be a long night for them…..hopefully.
San Jose: The Sharks key to this game is to play the cycle. San Jose has some real offensive weapons, and Edmonton has no defender that can stop them outside of Jeff Petry and Mark Fayne. If the Sharks cycle the puck around and apply pressure in the offensive zone, they should win this hockey game.
Players To Watch:
Edmonton: Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had some success against the Sharks last season, and will be tasked with trying to post offense tonight. RNH has taken a huge step forward, and has posted some very good offense and underlying numbers this season. Tonight he gets the test of the big and tough Sharks. I’ll be watching him.
San Jose: Oilers V. Sharks means a Logan Couture goal, that is just how it goes now. Couture is one of the best goal scorers in the NHL, and has a history of just dominating these Oilers. Tonight, I am expecting a little more of the same as this lowly defensive unit tries to stop a hungry young scorer who is hot right now.
Quick Hits:
This is the first meeting of the season between Edmonton and San Jose, who will meet again on Tuesday to complete a home and home set. The Oilers franchise worst losing streak is 14 games, the team is currently at 11 and can tie the streak on Friday night. Edmonton has the NHL’s worst record in league history against a team’s own conference to start a season.
The Lines:
Edmonton Oilers Lines:
Taylor Hall – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Tyler Pitlick
Nail Yakupov – Leon Draisaitl – Jordan Eberle
David Perron – Boyd Gordon – Teddy Purcell
Luke Gazdic – Mark Arcobello – Steve Pinizzotto
Keith Aulie – Mark Fayne
Andrew Ference – Justin Schultz
Oscar Klefbom – Jeff Petry
Viktor Fasth
San Jose Sharks Lines:
Tomas Hertl – Joe Thornton – Joe Pavelski
Patrick Marleau – Logan Couture – Tommy Wingles
Barclay Goodrow – James Sheppard – Tyler Kennedy
John Scott – Andrew Desjardins – Mike Brown
Justin Braun – Marc-Edouard Vlasic
Brent Burns – Brenden Dillon
Scott Hannan – Matt Irwin
Alex Stalock
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