On this night in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, the local NHL team will start a four-game homestand that will see them face such opponents as the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Vegas Golden Knights, the Winnipeg Jets, and lastly the New York Islanders. I don’t think it can be understated how important it is for Ken Holland’s team to come out .500 or above here. They’ve got the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks breathing down their necks right now and any slip-up could cost them valuable points in the standings.
WGP, CGY and VAN win.
VEG and ARI lose.
Pacific standings and WC.VEG 82 pts in 69 GP
EDM 80 pts in 68 GP
CGY 79 pts in 69 GPWC
VAN 76 pts in 67 GP
WPG 76 pts in 69 GPMINN 75pts in 67 GP
NSH 74 pts in 67 GP
ARI 74 pts in 69 GPCrushing L for ARI in CGY. Huge win for VAN.
— Jason Gregor (@JasonGregor) March 7, 2020
Now, this Columbus team they’ll be facing tonight is one that plays with its heart on its sleeve and without quit. At the moment, they are without EIGHT of their regular players according to dailyfaceoff.com. Imagine how different this club could be if Josh Anderson, Cam Atkinson, Seth Jones, and Oliver Bjorkstrand were healthy…
Normally, we’d go ahead and schedule this a loss for the Oilers because it’s their first game home from a road trip and the other team looks wildly undermanned, but this is a different team now. Take their previous game against Chicago for example.
At 4-1 down, that should be game over for most teams in the NHL. This league is far too good to have three-goal leads evaporate in 20 minutes but this Oilers team nearly made that a reality. They were a Leon Draisaitl one-timer or an Alex Chiasson deflection from tying it up in the final stages of that game…
This is how a playoff team performs and it’s very reminiscent of the 2017 run. There’s some bend but no breaking.
Random Pontifications
- Josh Archibald re-upped with the club for another two years at $1.5M per and I couldn’t be happier. He’s been such an important part of the team’s success on the special teams and his attitude and mindset have been a breath of fresh air in that bottom-6. He knows his role, he loves it, and he never complains. He just goes out and does the job asked of him. A great role model he will be for younger prospects looking to break into the team.
- What do you think is going to happen with Connor McDavid‘s line going forward? Long term, I don’t think that Andreas Athanasiou is going to be a fit there. He and 97 are both players that like to gather the puck deep with speed and bust through the neutral zone. When I watch them try to make plays all I see is one guy slowing down for the other until the momentum they built up is lost. Not to say they couldn’t perform a few more area passes and skate onto the puck going full-tilt, but I’m just of the opinion that Connor needs players who are good in the offensive zone along the boards (like Nuge) and Athanasiou needs a guy who can hit him with speed (like Leon).
- If Oscar Klefbom is returning tonight, I wonder if Kris Russell sits. As much as we love the Caroline Cowboy, Caleb Jones has replaced him and Darnell Nurse has filled in admirably (6 assists in his last 5 games). Matt Benning is another possibility due to Jones’ ability to play the right side too.
- What’s up with Taylor Hall? The guy produces where ever he goes but his teams never win. Is it an epic run of bad luck or do his teammates simply think that since Hallsy is on the team they can relax a bit? I can’t see it being that way but it’s hard to believe that so much bad luck could follow one player around for so long. Well, as much as I didn’t like him early on in his career, I think he’s developed into a fine man and is a much better NHL player now than he was when he was in Edmonton. Hopefully, he lands himself a nice contract with the right team this summer.
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Three Players to Watch for the Blue Jackets
- #18 PL Dubois – This young man has really come on and is now the BJ’s 1st line center. He’s a very powerful pivot and a force to be reckoned with on the forecheck. He’s not an easy man to knock off of the puck and he can shoot… Boy, can he shoot. He’ll be Columbus’ target man tonight.
- #8 Zach Werenski – Z-Dub has taken a bit of a step back this season but he’s still as dangerous as ever from the point. A fantastic skater and mover of the puck, it’s his lethality from the blue line in the opponent’s zone that should have the Oilers concerned. Especially since Edmonton’s netminders have shown to struggle with deflected shots already this season.
- #52 Emil Bemstrom – A highly touted rookie who has joined the team after ripping up the Swedish Hockey League last year. He got hurt this year and missed some time but make no bones about it, if the Oilers don’t respect this players ability to score goes, they’re going to regret it. He’ll be lining up on the first line right wing tonight most likely.
Columbus ran this skeleton crew in their last skate out,
#CBJ lineup in warmups:
10 Wennberg – 18 Dubois – 52 Bemstrom
71 Foligno – 38 Jenner – 14 Nyquist
50 Robinson – 20 Nash – 15 Lilja
23 Matteau – 11 Stenlund – 74 Shore8 Werenski – 27 Murray
44 Gavrikov – 58 Savard
4 Harrington – 2 Peeke70 Korpisalo
80 Kivlenieks— Brian Hedger (@BrianHedger) March 5, 2020
Three Players to Watch for the Oilers
- #56 Kailer Yamamoto – It’s really too bad the Oilers played this guy so much in prior seasons. Had they waited and made this year his rookie year, he’d be battling Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes for the Calder Trophy. He’s scoring at a point-per-game pace right now as his crew marches into the playoffs. Talk about perfect timing.
- #16 Jujhar Khaira – I really liked his game against the Blackhawks. He was responsible and made far more good plays than bad. Let’s see how he does tonight, the Oilers might miss Haas’ speed, tenacity, and unpredictability.
- #77 Oscar Klefbom (#25 Darnell Nurse) – I don’t know for sure if Klef is going to be playing tonight, so that’s why I’ve got Nurse in brackets. I’m having a hard time watching Darnell man the point on the PP and while Ethan Bear has looked good in spurts there, I’m not sure he’s quite ready yet. I love Nurse’s work defensively lately though. I do feel that Edmonton is missing Klefbom’s puck-moving ability though.
No lines posted yet. So keep an eye on Oilers Twitter though. They’ll show up there sooner or later.
The Next Ten Games (61-70)
- vs. Minnesota Wild (28-24-7) – Edmonton is 0-2 against the Wild this year and it’s about time the Oilers beat Bill Guerin’s boys. (WIN) LOSS
- @ Los Angeles Kings (22-34-5) – I have to say, the Kings are a dangerous team right now. They have nothing to lose and can spoil a lot of teams’ seasons. The Oilers have won 2/3 this year against their old coach but Connor McDavid might be back in this one. Keep an eye out to see if anybody out of the ordinary is sitting for this one because the next day is the trade deadline. (WIN) WIN
- @ Anaheim Ducks (24-29-7) – Last time out the Oilers put up six on Dallas Eakins’ Ducks. I expect Edmonton to equal that this time around and who knows how the roster will look as this is the game that follows the trade deadline. (WIN) OT LOSS
- @ Vegas Golden Knights (32-22-8) – The Golden Knights record might hover around Edmonton’s but I feel like this team is a bit better on paper plus this is the second game in a back-to-back. (LOSS) LOSS
- vs. Winnipeg Jets (32-25-5) – Big Buff sank this team when he decided he wasn’t going to play but the Jets have stuck in the race the whole season pretty much. You have to love the heart! (LOSS) WIN
- @ Nashville Predators (29-23-7) – I think the Oilers can sweep the season series with Nashville. The Preds defense isn’t what it used to be and there seems to be a bit of a dark cloud floating over the team at the moment. Pekka Rinne has hit a wall too… (WIN) WIN
- @ Dallas Stars (35-19-6) – Edmonton and Dallas have each won one game-a-piece against each other this season so far. This will be the rubber match and I like Dallas here. (LOSS) WIN
- @ Chicago Blackhawks (26-26-8) – Going into Chicago to play the Blackhawks is never an easy task and the Oilers have always had a tough time winning in the Windy City. (LOSS) LOSS
- vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (30-19-3) – Edmonton is 21-8-0 at home vs. Columbus all-time. It’s hard to argue with those numbers, right? On the other hand, John Tortorella has his team right in the running for a playoff spot in the East. This game should be a war of attrition to see who comes away with the two points. (WIN)
- vs. Vegas Golden Knights (32-22-8) – I like Edmonton’s chances at home against the Golden Knights. History tells us they have a better chance at beating them in Edmonton than in Vegas. (WIN)
(Standings as of February 21st, 2020)
