Finally, the Edmonton Oilers are going to play a game of hockey tonight… FFS, it’s been WAY too long. I probably shouldn’t complain because all it means is that we’re going to have to ramp up the content to keep up with all the games Edmonton is going to play until the 15th of May.
As it stands, the Oilers are in the ‘Peg tonight to take on the Winnipeg Jets, who’ve just come off of a 5-2 spanking of the North Division-leading Toronto Maple Leafs a couple of nights ago.
Paul Maurice’s men are 6-2-2 in their last ten and Dave Tippett’s soldiers are 6-3-1 in their last ten. So it’s safe to say that these two teams are humming along or at least in Edmonton’s case, were humming along until Vancouver f*cked the schedule all to hell. Anybody find it interesting that the guy that’s rumored to have brought the ‘Vid into the Canucks’ ranks is one of the players they traded out of there at the deadline?
Anyways, hearsay aside, a rusty Oilers team is going to have their hands full as it is with Winnipeg’s big boys having a hell of a time on the scoresheets as of late.
- Mark Scheifele – 7pts in his last five games.
- Nik Ehlers – 7pts in his last five games.
- Kyle Connor – 6pts in his last five games.
- Neil Pionk – 5pts in his last five games.
- Connor Hellebuyck – .930 sv%, 2.02 GAA, and a 3-0-1 record in his last give games.
Hell, Mathieu Perreault and Andrew Copp have four points in their last five games too…
Seeing how the Jets are only three points behind Toronto for first place in the North and they’ve built up some momentum here, I can’t see them letting off the gas here and coasting into the post-season. Edmonton is going to need to really defend well with so many of Winnipeg’s high-end forwards scoring so well at the moment.
One big question going into this game is whether or not Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will be available or will he rest until Monday for the game against Montreal?
Should they be in the lineup, here are three players that I think you should keep an eye on for the Jets tonight,
- #37 Connor Hellebuyck – The North Division’s top netminder is heating up and that means for the Oilers who are already struggling to score, things are about to get a whole lot tougher in that regard.
- #64 Logan Stanley – This massive man mountain is set to make the lives of every Oilers forward who dares skate down his side of the ice a living nightmare. A lightmare, if you will. When he’s on the ice, the best thing a forward can hope for is that he catches him flat footed because his reach, strength, and poise everywhere else is a real challenge to overcome.
- #25 Paul Stastny – He 15 shots (!!!) in his last five games but only one goal to show for it in that time and we know that if a player is on a slump of any sort that playing the Oilers is always a good opportunity to snap out of it.
For Winnipeg to have success, all they have to do is one thing. Shut down Connor McDavid. He’s the player that will give them the most trouble and I think the Jets have the burly skaters to shut down Draisaitl and the rest of Edmonton’s power forwards.
With regards to Edmonton, I’ll be watching these three individuals closely,
- #41 Mike Smith – The last time these two clubs met, Smith was a massive reason as to why the Oilers fought back from a 2-0 deficit to win the game 4-2. I’m a little concerned that the layoff will have a detrimental impact on Smith’s game, mind you. That said, Edmonton desperately need him to be on his game tonight.
- #22 Tyson Barrie – That long break couldn’t have come at a better time. Barrie was clearly dealing with some niggling injuries and if Coach Tippett is going to use him on the top-pair with his best players, Barrie needs to be as healthy as possible.
- #13 Jesse Puljujarvi – I say this almost every time, but he has good luck against the Jets AND he’s tied with RNH for third highest scoring forward on the team in Edmonton’s last ten games with three goals and two assists.
Three Keys to Success For the Oilers
- Win the Special Teams Game
This could be a really fun battle to watch because over the last month, both of these teams are in the top-10 for PP and PK. Whoever wins this wins the game I reckon.
- Keep the Home Play Clean
Winnipeg has three elite goal scorers in their top-six, yet, I find that against the Oilers, they tend to score some mucky goals. Real Ryan Smyth Specials. I believe this is simply due to Edmonton’s defense getting caught puck-watching, as they do almost every game.
- Take Advantage of Winnipeg’s Immobile Defense
The Jets are a very heavy and strong team and their defensemen are quite old-school. Meaning they rely on a lot of sandpaper and effort to break down the other team. So for a club like Toronto who seems to struggle versus heavy times like Winnipeg, Calgary, and Ottawa, Winnipeg has an advantage.
But when they play teams that are a mix of power, aggressiveness, and skill, they can be exposed because they’re not the most mobile of teams.
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