Oilers Gameday vs Winnipeg: 2019 Can’t Start Soon Enough

For the final time in 2017 2018, the Oilers are taking the ice tonight against the Winnipeg Jets. It’s been a generation since they’ve won a New Year’s Eve game, but you never know what might happen tonight.

Last game against Chicago San Jose was….not great. If it hadn’t been for some late 3rd period heroics, the Oilers would have walked away from Thursday’s Saturday’s game with no points. Instead, they eked out a point which maybe isn’t going to be enough walked away with no points in a pretty important divisional match.

See, the Oilers have dug themselves a bit of a hole this season, and they might not be able to dig out. Based on their current pace, the Oilers are on track to hit 80 84 points this season, far off the mark for a playoff spot.

Assuming the cutoff for the playoffs is about 95 points, the Oilers have to earn 58 56 points in their remaining 44 games, starting tonight, in order to have a sniff. That means they have to play at a 108 103 point pace (without giving up Bettman points to conference rivals) to get there.

It’s a tall order and I’m not sure it can be filled.

https://twitter.com/dellowhockey/status/946959159953707009

(ed. Yep, that was from last NYE, because even though SO MANY THINGS have changed, nothing’s changed.)

Keys to the Game

Edmonton

• Just win, baby. There’s not a lot more to be said, because if they don’t win that gap gets a little bit bigger and by the All-Star break, the Oilers could absolutely be on the outside looking in.

Winnipeg

• Lots of traffic in front of the net and lots of pucks on Koskinen. The Oilers still have difficulty getting the puck out of their end, plus there are two new bodies on defence, so the Jets might as well exploit that weakness.
• Make the Oilers take penalties because they couldn’t kill one if it was caught in a trap at their feet.

Players to Watch

Edmonton

• Connor. He’s good.
• The two new additions to the lineup, Alex Petrovic (acquired from Florida for Chris Wideman and a pick) and Brandon Manning (from Chicago for Drake Caggiula plus) will both make their debut in Oiler sweaters tonight. Despite Peter Chiarelli’s insistence that they are not top pair defencemen, Petrovic is probably playing on that top pair tonight.
• Joseph Gambardella is likely getting into his first NHL game tonight, and that’s a pretty big deal.

Winnipeg

• Patrik Laine is a treat to watch, especially when he gets open and unleashes that shot of his. The Oilers could sure use someone with a shot like that in their lineup.

Projected Lineups

Edmonton

Khaira-McDavid-Rattie
Rieder-Draisaitl-Spooner
Lucic-RNH-Puljujarvi
Gambardella-Brodziak-Kassian

Nurse-Petrovic
Manning-Larsson
Jones-Benning

Koskinen

Winnipeg

Ehlers-Schiefele-Wheeler
Connor-Little-Laine
Perrault-Lowry-Tanev
Copp-Roslovic-Lemieux

Morrissey-Trouba
Kulikov-Myers
Chiarot-Morrow

Hellebuyck

Notes

This team is better than its record, but maybe not much. Here’s hoping they get their stuff together and win a few games in regulation. They can’t give up Bettman points to anyone contending for a Western playoff spot and they NEED to start winning some games outright. They haven’t put together too many complete efforts yet this season, and it’s getting dangerously close to the point of no return (and to being the Cleveland Browns of the NHL).

It’s entirely possible that instead of a playoff appearance, the Oilers are headed to rebuild version 484937292, and we’ll never again see victory.