Oilers Playoff Game Day: Game 1 – vs. San Jose

Woo! The day that seemed like it would forever remain on the horizon, has finally arrived. The streets of Edmonton flow with waving Oilers car flags, the sidewalks are dotted with jerseys, shirts, and hats, while the phones and computers of nearly every Edmontonian remain fixated on Oilers coverage.

Playoffs, baby. The North Saskatchewan River may as well have been dyed orange for this beautiful Wednesday, for it would have been symbolic of the orange life blood that has reintegrated itself into this city’s soul over the past few weeks. It is as undeniably vibrant as it is vigorous.

The Oilers crest flies with pride in the City of Champions, and the Sharks enter the batter’s box as the first piece of postseason opposition since 2006. Don’t forget to breathe.

Before we get into things, take a few minutes to watch this video. 40,000 volts of playoff adrenaline shot right through the heart as a result.

The Keys to the Game for the Oilers

1. Survive the Early Going: The Sharks have been a fast team out of the gates all season long. Heck, we have witnessed their fast starts just in the games against the Oilers this season. The key here will be for the Oilers to not get overwhelmed, and as a result, outscored early on. Going down a goal or two early against a veteran playoff team could be an easy ticket for a loss. Something tells me that the energy at Rogers should help the Oilers find their feet early.
2. Speed, Speed, Speed: The Oilers have the fastest player on the planet, followed by more than a few guys who are capable of blazing down the ice and making room for themselves (Draisaitl, Kassian, Nurse, etc.). The Sharks have shown against the Oilers this year, and especially in last year’s Stanley Cup Finals against the speedy Penguins, that they can have serious troubles keeping up. They are an older team, and when paired with the fact that they may or may not be dressing two players that are a far cry from 100% healthy, it seems to be an opening to take advantage of.

Players to Watch

Edmonton Oilers

• Connor McDavid: His play reached a supersonic level down the stretch. It boggles the mind and chills the spine to think of the level that McDavid could hit in the playoffs.
• Oscar Klefbom: In the new year, the Oilers stud blue-liner has been consistently piling up games where he is on the ice for well-north of 20 minutes a night. In this, his first playoff game, how does Klefbom respond? Can he maintain his late season offensive surge? He had 6 points against the Sharks in 5 games this season. His play will go a long way into determining how well the Oilers do in this series.
• Cam Talbot: He wasn’t as sharp later in the season as one would have hoped, similar to his counterpart in San Jose, Martin Jones. Can he find his mid-season form when it matters most?

San Jose Sharks

• Logan Couture & Joe Thornton: Will they play, and if they do, how healthy/effective are they?
• Brent Burns: Might just win the Norris Trophy, he ended the season with 76 points, and a year ago had 24 points in 24 playoff games. Expect nothing but a top of the line performance from the Sharks MVP.
• Martin Jones: See everything regarding Cam Talbot, and apply it here. Which goaltender locks it it down?

The Expected Lineups

Edmonton Oilers

Patrick Maroon – Connor McDavid – Leon Draisaitl

Milan Lucic – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle

Drake Caggiula – Mark Letestu – Zack Kassian

Benoit Pouliot – David Desharnais – Iiro Pakarinen

Oscar Klefbom – Adam Larsson

Andrej Sekera – Kris Russel

Darnell Nurse – Eric Gryba

Cam Talbot

San Jose Sharks

Melker Karlsson – Logan Couture – Joe Pavelski

Joonas Donskoi – Patrick Marleau – Joel Ward

Jannik Hansen – Tomas Hertl – Mikkel Boedker

Timo Meier – Chris Tierney – Marcus Sorensen

Paul Martin – Brent Burns

Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Justin Braun

Brenden Dillon – David Schlemko

Martin Jones

Game Notes

• Eric Gryba gets the call ahead of Matt Benning for the first game, with Todd McLellan opting for the more physical option in his 3rd pair.
• Peter DeBoer has labelled both Logan Couture and Joe Thornton as game time decisions. Thornton was skating better in the morning skate but still looked off when stopping/turning. As for Couture, he was fine in practice yesterday, but from the sound of his voice, his mouth is still in rough shape.
• Drake Caggiula, Zack Kassian and Mark Letestu have all been rewarded for recent good play with a slot on the 3rd line. Also indicative of where the Coach stands on Desharnais and Pouliot. If those two struggle early, expect their minutes to drop like a led balloon.
• Iiro Pakarinen gets the nod ahead of Anton Slepyshev on the 4th line. Pakarinen scored the game-winner against the Canucks on Saturday.

Prediction

The building is shaking, the noise is remarkable, and the Oilers take advantage. 4-2 win with Connor McDavid getting 3 points in his playoff debut.

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