The Oilers are back in the familiar environs of Rogers Place tonight, after a 4-game losing skid that saw the team drop FOUR one-goal games in a row (against Minnesota, Buffalo, Philly and Minnesota again).
In that skid, the Oilers managed to pick up 3 points, but did give up two to Minnesota, something that will undoubtedly have playoff implications later.
Keys to the Game
Edmonton
- Keep the puck out of the net. Cam Talbot has been pretty good this season, and has most certainly stolen games for the Oil, but he can’t do it by himself. The onus is then on the defence to make sure that Talbot can see the puck, and that no one leaves their man open in the slot.
- While Connor McDavid is REALLY good, he can’t do it all. One of the things this team is sorely lacking is secondary scoring. It comes in fits and starts, but there needs to be some consistency so that if Connor experiences a bit of a slump the team doesn’t suffer.
Winnipeg
- Get the puck to Patrik Laine. The kid is UNREAL, and his shooting percentage (while totally unsustainable) is off the charts. He’s become the de facto Calder Trophy winner, and with 17 goals in his first 31 NHL games, he’s most certainly living up to the hype.
- Since the Oilers have difficulty with secondary scoring, it’d make a lot of sense for the Jets to key in on Connor and let the rest of the skaters try to figure out what to do.
Players To Watch
Edmonton
As always, watch Connor. The last game I watched I was, as always, blown away by his speed. Watching him accelerate through the neutral zone is a thing of beauty, but I’d really like to see him shoot the puck more. He’s good enough that can (and should) be more selfish.
Winnipeg
Patrik Laine. He’s so good, and he’s just what the Jets needed to make a serious push towards the playoffs. I know that he’s probably not going to be able to sustain this pace, but it’s great to watch the young Finn absolutely light it up.
Lineups
Edmonton
Milan Lucic – Connor McDavid – Drake Caggiula
Patrick Maroon – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle
Benoit Pouliot – Leon Draisaitl – Tyler Pitlick
Anton Slepyshev – Mark Letestu – Zack Kassian
Oscar Klefbom – Adam Larsson
Andrej Sekera – Kris Russell
Dillon Simpson – Matt Benning
Cam TalBot
Winnipeg
Marko Dano – Mark Schiefele – Blake Wheeler
Nikolaj Ehlers – Bryan Little – Patrik Laine
Andrew Copp – Adam Lowry – Brandon Tanev
Chris Thorburn – Mathieu Perreault – Drew Stafford
Josh Morrissey – Dustin Byfuglien
Tobias Enstrom – Jacob Trouba
Ben Chiarot – Paul Postma
Connor Hellebuyck
Notes
This is the tail-end of a pretty important 7-game stretch which has thus far been uninspiring. Before the December 1 matchup with Winnipeg, the Oilers were first in the Pacific and firmly holding on to a playoff spot. Today, however, the story is quite different. Since November 30, the Oilers have only earned 7 points, and are now 4th in the Pacific Division; the Kings are 3 points behind, but with 3 games in hand, that difference is negligible.
Here’s hoping that the Oilers can pick things up before the Christmas break. If memory serves, last December the team was in the middle of a 6 game win streak. Save for the first 9 games, there hasn’t been that kind of success just yet.
OILERS RIG LIVE4MS
Our 4th annual fundraiser for the MS Society of Alberta is set for January 21, 2017 at The Pint Downtown, at 6:30pm
It’s a Battle of Alberta on HNIC, with the Oilers in Calgary. Puck drop is 8:00pm.
We’ll have a great lineup of silent auction items, as well as raffles throughout the night. We might even have tshirts for sale (but we’ll let you know as we get closer to the date).
All proceeds from the fundraiser go to the MS Society of Alberta.
See you there!
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