Round one of three against the Sens will go tonight in Edmonton as the Oilers will get their second helping of a Tkachuk in as many days. Ottawa is coming off of an OT win against the Calgary Flames and have won two of their last three (both against Calgary, no less). Whereas the Oilers are looking to get back on the winning trail after dropping a trio of games to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Archibald is out tonight. Day-to-day with an upper body injury.
— Reid Wilkins (@ReidWilkins) March 8, 2021
Mikko Koskinen starts tonight vs Ottawa—he’s 2-0 against the Sens this year with .949 save pct. RNH at centre w/Ennis & Puljujarvi. Top line loaded w/Draisaitl-McDavid-Yamamoto.
Ottawa 0-5 this year on the 2nd of a back-to-back.
— Jack Michaels (@EdmontonJack) March 8, 2021
Should they be in the lineup, here are three players that I think you should keep an eye on for the Sens tonight,
- #36 Colin White – Has scored five goals in his last six games, so rest assured, his confidence is high and he’ll be right in the middle of everything. I wonder if he might have to answer for trying to fight Jesse Puljujarvi the last time these teams met.
- #19 Drake Batherson – Leads the team in scoring with nine goals and nine assists. Prior to the pair of games against Calgary, where he went pointless, he was on a 7-game scoring streak where he put up 11 points.
- #44 Erik Gudbranson – Is the Sens top shutdown defender and he absolutely creamed Matthew Tkachuk last night. It’s not easy to play that sort of game night-in, night-out, but I suspect that won’t keep him from playing with an ornery disposition.
For Ottawa to have success I’m thinking they’ll need to shut down the McDavid line, if that’s even possible for this team. They’ll need Tim Stutzle, Evgeni Dadanov, and Josh Norris to get their act together as they’ve gone ten or more games without adding so much as a pair of points in that time.
There’s a chance Joey Daccord could get the call in net since Matt Murray minded the goal last night in Cowtown. Usually the Oilers have the worst luck against backup goalies, especially ones they’ve not yet faced. Therefore, if Daccord is in net, that might be a blessing in disguise.
With regards to Edmonton, I’ll be watching these three individuals closely,
- #56 Kailer Yamamoto – Got off the schneid against the Flames and has now found his way onto the top line with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Best he keep producing or else he may get swapped out for Jesse Puljujarvi.
- #93 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Moving Leon to LW on the first line means Nuge is back to being a centerman again. Whether these lines stay the same or not, I’m starting to think there’s a bit of heat growing under RNH’s bottom. His production has been lacking a bit and given the quality of linemate he’s had, concern has begun to swell.
- #63 Tyler Ennis – Nuge and Pulju’s linemate this evening will be the furious jitterbug. After getting the scratch for the Battle of Alberta in favor of Devin Shore, he’ll be back in against Ottawa at the sacrifice of Dominik Kahun. Ennis had some shocking giveaways during his last game and as a result he was summoned by Coach Tippett for a 15-minute chat at practice.
Three Keys to Success For the Oilers
- Sort Out the Neutral Zone
Toronto had their number as Edmonton couldn’t get through the NZ let alone into the Maple Leafs’ end with control of the puck. The Sens aren’t anything close to the Buds and this could mark an excellent opportunity for the Oilers to work on ironing out some of their zone entry wrinkles.
- Take Advantage of a Tired Senators Club
Ottawa took eight penalties last night. Their four penalty killing forwards (what?!) are sure to be low on petro going into this one and thusly, the hustle must be won by Edmonton’s group.
- Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!
With the possibility of an AHL goalie being in net as well as a tired group of defencemen (thanks to blocking 22 shots the evening prior, spending most of the night on the penalty kill, going to OT, and their “D” coach shortening the bench), lanes are going to open up and it is of the utmost importance that those who don’t usually shoot, do so.
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