The Oilers are back on the road after snapping their long 6 game losing streak on Thursday, taking on the Kraken in Seattle tonight. It was against this Kraken team that the Oilers losing streak began, back on December 3rd at Climate Pledge Arena.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
With some positive momentum the Oil will be looking for a better result this time around against the tight checking Seattle team that has also won but a single game since these 2 teams last met.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
We\u2019re confirmed to see Driedger and Skinner I goal for their respective teams this evening. More and more Oilers players and staff, including Coach Tippett, are being added to the COVID protocols, so it\u2019s likely only a matter of time before we see some Oilers games postponed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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KEYS TO THE GAME<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Edmonton<\/strong>:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Seattle<\/strong>:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n EXPECTED LINEUPS<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Edmonton<\/strong>: RNH, Puljujarvi, and Keith have been added to COVID protocols. Niemelainen is out with a hand injury. With so much changing as we get closer to game time it\u2019s almost impossible to predict the lines but I\u2019m giving it a shot here.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Foegele \u2014 McDavid \u2014 Kassian<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Benson \u2014 Draisaitl \u2014 Yamamoto<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Perlini \u2014 Ryan \u2014 Sceviour<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Griffith \u2014 Marody \u2014 Turris<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Nurse \u2014 Bouchard<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Koekkoek \u2014 Ceci<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Lagesson \u2014 Barrie<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Skinner<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Koskinen<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Seattle<\/strong>: Gourde, Blackwell, and Sheahan are in COVID protocols.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Schwartz \u2014 McCann \u2014 Eberle<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Johansson \u2014 Wennberg \u2014 Appleton<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Donato \u2014 Geekie \u2014 Donskoi<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Tanev \u2014 True \u2014 Jarnkrok<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Oleksiak \u2014 Giordano<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Dunn \u2014 Larsson<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Soucy \u2014 Lauzon<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Driedger<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Grubauer<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n PLAYERS TO WATCH<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Edmonton<\/strong>: Foegele<\/strong> getting a chance with McDavid is a great opportunity to both he and the team, as if he\u2019s able to produce in the top 6 the Oilers forward depth would be greatly improved. He\u2019s looked energetic and up to the task so far, but we\u2019ll need to see some production at even strength to truly strengthen his grip on the opportunity. Much has been made of Yamamoto<\/strong>\u2019s lack of shots, and production in general, as of late. I don\u2019t think he\u2019ll ever be a high scoring, point producing offensive star, the way it looks Puljujarvi is trending, but the forward does bring other skills to the table. Granted, there hasn\u2019t been enough good play from him, but I don\u2019t necessarily think he\u2019s a player whose success should be measured by points or shots on goal. After a brief stint in the AHL, Perlini<\/strong> returned to the lineup and finally added to his point total. The Oilers depth all but completely dried up, of course they won\u2019t be scoring every game, but hopefully Perlini can keep the points coming for a bit of a streak, bringing linemates like Ryan, Kassian, Sceviour, and Turris along with him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Koekkoek<\/strong> returns from the IR in an elevated spot in the lineup, so it will be interesting to see what he brings to the table tonight. There\u2019s a non-zero percent chance he can start pushing Keith for this spot alongside Ceci so tonight is a significant opportunity for him. Likewise, Lagesson<\/strong> has a chance to make a statement as well, as he\u2019s had some really strong games despite being healthy scratched often. Maybe he\u2019s not destined to become a top-4 defender, but it seems like a lot is going well for the Oilers when he\u2019s on the ice, and at least personally I\u2019ve been pretty impressed with him so far this season.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Seattle<\/strong>: Although Gourde is out, the Kraken have a lot of their top offensive players in the lineup tonight as Schwartz-McCann-Eberle should be dangerous, not to mention some strong contributors sprinkled throughout a lineup that will be much deeper than the Oilers rag tag group is shaping up to be. Wennberg<\/strong> and Tanev<\/strong> are really strong two-way players, while Donskoi<\/strong>, Donato<\/strong>, and Geekie<\/strong> all have some offensive skills that should have the Oilers keying in on their whereabouts.The defence is quite big and heavy, and opponents have been able to victimize the group with speed as of late. That being said, an undermanned Oilers forward group will have their hands full tonight. Oleksiak<\/strong> has kept improving over the years, and isn\u2019t afraid to use his speed to jump into play more than you might expect. Lauzon<\/strong> is tough and wild, what you might expect from a Bruins player. Former Oiler Larsson<\/strong> leads the team in icetime, and is surely missed on the Oilers blueline, but at least he is well appreciated in his new home.<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Oilers are back on the road after snapping their long 6 game losing streak on Thursday, taking on the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":1246950,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[191955770],"tags":[8066,676690990],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n