After finally scoring more than 3 goals in a game, and winning a game in regulation against a conference opponent, the Oilers are back in action tonight against the Washington Capitals.
The Caps are struggling a bit in the early part of the season (4-5-1), but they’ve got a good team and should be a pretty good challenge for the Oilers (who are sitting at 3-5-1 thus far).
Keys to the Game
Edmonton
- Score first.
- For real, keep pushing. Against Dallas, they didn’t get down on themselves and were able to get the 2 points. It was nice to see.
Washington
- Score first and don’t let the Oilers back into it.
- Force the Oilers to take penalties; their PK is pretty weak (and allowed 3 goals on Thursday).
Players to Watch
Edmonton
- Connor does fun hockey things and is fun to watch.
- Keep an eye on RNH, as he’s looking for his 100th NHL goal.
Washington
- Alex Ovechkin is obviously fun to watch. He’s scored a million goals already, and he’s dangerous pretty much whenever he touches the puck.
- Braden Holtby is a good goaltender. He also has a real nice hair flip before he puts his mask on.
Projected Lineups
Edmonton
Patrick Maroon – Connor McDavid – Leon Draisaitl
Milan Lucic – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Mark Letestu
Drake Caggiula – Ryan Strome – Zack Kassian
Jussi Jokinen – Jujhar Khaira – Anton Slepyshev
Oscar Klefbom – Adam Larsson
Kris Russell – Matt Benning
Darnell Nurse – Eric Gryba
Cam Talbot
Washington
Jakub Vrana – Nicklas Backstrom – TJ Oshie
Alex Ovechkin – Evgeny Kuznetsov – Devante Smith-Pelley
Chandler Stephenson – Lars Eller – Tom Wilson
Anthony Peluso – Jay Beagle – Alex Chiasson
Christian Djoos – John Carlson
Dmitri Orlov – Taylor Chorney
Brooks Orpik – Madison Bowey
Braden Holtby
Notes
If someone had suggested that the Oilers, after 9 games, would be 7th in the Pacific, no one would have believed them.
They’re not a bad team by any stretch, but it’s become pretty apparent that last season’s team fell into some wicked puck (and injury) luck. It’s not yet clear if this roster is built to win in both the short and long term, but the next 10 games have the potential to make or break the season.
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