October 14, 2019 /

2019/20 Edmonton Oilers GM6: Oilers @ Blackhawks – Three Players to Watch

Find me the man who said they thought the Edmonton Oilers would be undefeated five games into the 2019/20 NHL season and I’ll show you a liar. Some might’ve predicted that the Oilers would be a wildcard team or possibly a top-three Pacific division team, but nobody, that I’ve read or heard, said they’d be one of the final teams to pick up a loss through the first five games of their year.

Tonight, they’ll be playing the final game of their four-game roadie and it will be against the 0-2-1 Chicago Blackhawks.

Not to be a massive homer or anything, but I like Edmonton’s chances in this one. Chicago’s netminding isn’t the greatest as Corey Crawford is sporting a lovely 4.63 GAA coupled with a .875 SV%. His partner, Robin Lehner, is playing marginally better but still nothing to phone home about. His GAA is 2.96 and his SV% sits at .909. The Hawks aren’t scoring a lot as their goals for is tied for second-worst in the NHL (9) with Taylor Hall’s New Jersey Devils and behind the Arizona Coyotes who have seven goals.

That said, the Oilers have the worst shots for per game (25.8) despite having shooters like James Neal and Leon Draisaitl… So the potential is there for either a breakout from the Chicago goaltending or a route if the Oilers start shooting.

The first ten-game segment of the year that I predicted back on Oct.3rd has gone thusly so far,

  • Vancouver (h): I predicted a loss. (LOSS) WIN 1-0-0
  • Los Angeles (h): I like the Oilers chances here against their former coach. (WIN) WIN 2-0-0
  • NYI (a): The Islanders are a tough squad. Skill and grit in excess. (LOSS) WIN 3-0-0
  • NJ (a): This game will feature FIVE former first overall picks… Should be exciting! (WIN) WIN 4-0-0
  • NYR (a): The Rags are gonna be good soon, but I like the Oilers here. (WIN) WIN 5-0-0
  • Chicago (a): I’ll take Edmonton’s young superstars vs. Chicago’s aging ones. (WIN)
  • Philadelphia (h): The Flyers are always a difficult team to beat and now they’ve got Carter Hart. (LOSS)
  • Detroit (h): Ken Holland’s first game against his old team. DET’s defense is horrid though. (WIN)
  • Winnipeg (a): I’m a huge fan of WPG’s fwd core. I’ll take the Jets here. (LOSS)
  • Minnesota (a): What are the Wild anyhow? They don’t impress me. (WIN)

Game Notes

  • Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews have a combined eight shots in three games so far this season. Doesn’t that seem a little low? Perennial superstars Andrew Shaw and Dominik Kubalik lead the team with nine shots each.
  • Of the Blackhawks that have played two or more games, four players (Slater Koekkoek, Dylan Strome, Connor Murphy, and Andrew Shaw) have a CF% above 50% 5×5.
  • Will this be the game that the Oilers win without having to come back? It’d be nice to see them get a lead and hold onto it.
  • Will the Oilers’ bottom-six forwards decide to contribute to the score sheet? They’ve got two points between the eight of them, both points belonging to “European Showtime”, Gaetan Haas and Joakim Nygard.
  • Matthew Benning (1.250) and Tomas Jurco (1.175) are #1 and #3 in the NHL for PDO. The general idea is that the further north of 1.00 a player is, the more puck luck he’s getting. Whereas the further south you get from that baseline, the more snakebitten a player might be, like Toby Rieder (0.750). Those numbers are 5×5 and the players on the list had to have played a minimum of 40 minutes this year. #SmallSampleSize

Three Players to Watch for the Blackhawks

  • Jonathan Toews – ZERO points in three games to start the season and -1. Captain Serious has yet to hit the scoresheet and it wouldn’t shock me if he got a goal tonight. He’s too good to go too long without scoring.
  • Erik Gustafsson – I don’t recall hearing anybody say that the Oilers might rue the day they let this former 4th rounder walk but here we are. How’d this guy go from a 16pt player to a 60pt one?
  • Dylan Strome – This guy went from a ‘bust’ in Arizona to a ‘must’ in Chicago. He’s a really good playmaking middle-six center who may very well be the man on Chicago’s top line one day with his IQ, vision, and passing ability. Connor McDavid’s best friend could be seeing a lot of Connor depending on how the lines are rolled out.

Three Players to Watch for the Oilers

  • Markus Granlund – I liked his game against the Rangers. His legs were moving and he seemed more motivated to be honest. If he’s deployed in the same role, I’ll be looking to see if the enthusiasm in his play continues.
  • Matthew Benning – Can Battlin’ Matt Benning make it two good games in a row?
  • Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Will Nuge be tasked with going head-to-head with Toews and Caggiula or Strome and Kane? He was really good in New York City the other day and he’s riding a two-game point-scoring streak.

Can the Oilers continue their undefeated run? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below! Go Oilers Go!

Stats courtesy of nhl.com and Natural Stat Trick

Hey Flames Fans! Neal with it! Click the pic above and grab this beauty!
Hockey players are the toughest athletes on the planet. Click the pic and purchase this shirt right now!
The one time it’s okay to be a JERK! Grab this shirt while supplies last!

CategoriesBeer League Hero Edmonton Oilers NHL

TagsChicago Blackhawks Edmonton Oilers NHL

Beer League Hero Written by:

I'm the Beer League Hero! I am from Camrose, Alberta but I make my home in Taipei City, Taiwan. I've been through the ups and downs and the highs and the Lowes, the Bonsignores and the McDavids, the Sathers and the Eakins but I'll never leave my Oilers, no matter what! They're with me until the end and then some. GO OILERS GO!