The Oilers have 15 points in the bag and those cannot be taken away. There will be pundits that will say that it’s all a mirage and the real Oilers will emerge at some point here, but what if this team goes their next ten games with another seven wins? There are beatable teams in their next ten matches that could have the Oilers rack up another six or seven wins. Then what? What would the pundits be saying then?
Even if the depth scoring doesn’t pick it up, all the Oilers need is for the bottom-six to keep the puck out of the net more often than not, the top-six scoring not to dry up like it has, the special teams to maintain it’s trajectory, and for the goaltending to keep up its solid play. Is it too much to ask? I mean, if Buffalo can keep it going, I don’t see why Edmonton can’t.
First things first though, they’ve got to get past the Capitals and nip this two-game losing streak in the bud.
The Evening’s Battles
Leon vs. Ovi – Which 50-goal scorer will end up on the scoresheet the most tonight?
Klefbom vs. Carlson – Oscar has had a few rough outings as of recent and Carlson is leading the NHL in scoring… Can the six-pack Swede flip the script?
McDavid vs. Backstrom – Nik Backstrom is a very subtle scorer whereas Connor McDavid is absolutely out of this world and his points are only scored on highlight-reel plays. Will we be seeing subtle scoring or highlight reel extravaganzas?
Neal vs. Oshie – One has seven goals, the other has nine. It’s a battle of the snipers here folks! Will either twinkle the twine tonight?
Koskinen vs. Holtby – Any other year, this would go to Holtby without question, but Koskinen is undefeated so far and playing extremely well.
Nugent-Hopkins vs. Kuznetsov – This match-up of elite two-way forwards might end up being the most entertaining of all given the amount of intensity both play with.
Kassian vs. Wilson – What might we get when these two worlds collide?! I’m hoping to find out.
The Next Ten Games
The first ten games of the 2019/20 season went quite well for the Oilers, more so at the start than the end, mind you. I predicted they’d go 6-4-0 and they ended up going 7-2-1. It’s not going to be as easy in these ten games, but it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility if they did better than anticipated.
10/24 Washington: 7-2-2 (h) – I like Washington here. Too much depth and firepower (LOSS)
10/27 Florida: 4-2-3 (h) – If Barkov is still out, I’ll take the Oilers. (WIN)
10/28 Detroit: 3-7-0 (a) – It was a tough go in their first meeting, but I reckon Edmonton turns it up in Detroit for their GM. The first game in a B2B for the Oilers. (WIN)
10/29 Columbus: 4-3-2 (a) – Edmonton has had trouble with tough-checking teams so far but Columbus’ goaltending doesn’t impress me. The second game of the B2B for Edmonton. (WIN)
11/2 Pittsburgh: 6-5-0 (a) – Crosby and co. are an intimidating bunch. I’ll go with a shootout loss here. (S/O LOSS)
11/4 Arizona: 5-2-1 (h) – Coyotes are a lot deeper than years previous. (LOSS)
11/6 St. Louis: 4-2-3 (h) – The champs will give the Oilers are really hard time. However, the Blues will be on the latter half of a B2B. (LOSS)
11/8 New Jersey: 2-4-2 (h) – New Jersey’s defense and goaltending just isn’t coming together. The Devils will be playing the 2nd game of a B2B as well. (WIN)
11/10 Anaheim: 6-4-0 (a) – John Gibson has been amazing and this team is rallying behind Dallas Eakins. These games are usually very intense and this one shouldn’t be any different. (WIN)
11/12 San Jose: 3-5-1 (a) – Martin Jones has completely lost the plot and Vlasic is coming up in trade rumors now? (WIN)
*Records as of October 24th, 2019.
I have Edmonton going 6-3-1 here. Blue-skying it worked for me in the first ten-game block, so I’m going to try it again. It’s not going to be easy for the Oilers and they’ve got their first back-to-back coming up. I’ll be curious how Coach Tippett handles the goaltending for that.
Three Players to Watch for the Capitals
This roster has it all, eh? Speed, toughness, skill, smarts, goal-scoring, danglers, hard-hitters, grinders, and great goaltending. If there’s any weakness on it, I would have to say it’s the defense. Michal Kempny can’t be a top-pairing defender, can he? Nick Jensen and Jonas Siegenthaler aren’t household names either.
- John Carlson – He leads the NHL in scoring… How insane is that?
- Jakub Vrana – This guy is such an electrifying hockey player. His speed could give Oilers defenders some trouble.
- Evgeny Kuznetsov – The Snowman never fails to entertain. His vision and creativity are amongst the best in the NHL.
Capitals Projected Lines (subject to change)
Alex Ovechkin • Nicklas Backstrom • TJ Oshie
Carl Hagelin • Evgeny Kuznetsov • Tom Wilson
Jakub Vrana • Lars Eller • Garnet Hathaway
Brendan Leipsic • Nic Dowd • Chandler Stephenson
Michal Kempny • John Carlson
Dmitry Orlov • Nick Jensen
Jonas Siegenthaler • Radko Gudas
Braden Holtby • Ilya Samsonov
Injuries: Richard Panik
Three Players to Watch for the Oilers
Am I wrong in thinking that the Oilers are not the greatest in their first games following a road trip? I feel like I heard that or read it somewhere and it doesn’t sound out of place. That said, these boys are facing a bit of adversity here and I want to know, is this still the McLellan era Oilers or can they bounce back here and prevent two losses from turning into five?
- Alex Chiasson – Demoted to the 4th line against Minnesota. He has to get his name on the scoresheet if there’s a wish to remain in the top-six. Scored a beauty against WAS last year.
- Zack Kassian – Another player who was demoted from the top-six to the bottom-six. With Tom Wilson in the lineup for the Caps, I’m expecting Kassian to turn the intensity to eleven.
- Connor McDavid – Three games without a point must feel like an eternity for McDavid. It has to be eating him alive inside that Carlson is ahead of him in the scoring race.
Oilers Projected Lines (subject to change)
Leon Draisaitl • Connor McDavid • Zack Kassian
James Neal • Ryan Nugent-Hopkins • Alex Chiasson
Jujhar Khaira • Riley Sheahan • Josh Archibald
Tomas Jurco • Markus Granlund • Patrick Russell
Darnell Nurse • Ethan Bear
Oscar Klefbom • Kris Russell
Brandon Manning • Matt Benning
Mikko Koskinen • Mike Smith
Injuries: Adam Larsson, Joakin Nygard, Joel Persson.
Is anybody else hoping there are a lot of penalties for both teams? Just to be able to watch the first unit powerplays for each team Who are you looking forward to watching closely? Do you think the Oilers can stop this losing skid before it really gets going? Let us know in the comments below!
