The Montreal Canadiens and Edmonton Oilers are in precarious positions as the two teams embark on a pair of games this week. If the Oilers lose, it would crack the door open a little more on their cross-provincial rivals’ playoff hopes and it would also allow the Habs to surpass the Winnipeg Jets thus potentially setting the stage for a Canadiens/Oilers first-round playoff match-up.
Personally, I don’t think any team in the North scares Edmonton but seeing as Montreal played the Oilers quite well in the regular season, I could understand if there was some extra motivation to hammer on the Canadiens tonight and on Wednesday.
My feeling is that anybody not playing the Maple Leafs would like to see them involved in a very physical first-round series in the hopes that they’d head into the second round (if they got there) beat up a bit.
Should they be in the lineup, here are three players that I think you should keep an eye on for the Canadiens tonight,
- #73 Tyler Toffoli – What a year it’s been for TT! At the moment though, the Canadiens have two players who are scoring for the team, one of them is Toffoli and the other is the next fella on this list. It’s always good to go with the hot hand when picking players to watch and Toffoli has five points in his last five games.
- #14 Nick Suzuki – Montreal has had five different goal scorers in their last five games (Suzuki, Toffoli, Lehkonen, Edmundson, and Kulak) for a total of six goals… Young Suzuki also had five points in that time frame.
- #8 Ben Chiarot – Chiarot has had a fine season. When he was with the Jets I didn’t give him much thought but he’s been a rock for the Habs and if Shea Weber is going to be out of the lineup for any decent length of time, they’re going to need Chiarot to step his game up.
With regards to Edmonton, I’ll be watching these three individuals closely,
- #13 Jesse Puljujarvi – My boy has nine points in his last ten games and is coming on strong at the perfect time for the Oilers. To date, he’s been used as a battering ram and a disruptor but now he’s finding the soft ice and his offense is starting to shine.
- #70 Ryan McLeod – He’s stepped right in without skipping a beat. His confidence shines strongly and that is seen when he carries the puck through the neutral zone like a seasoned veteran. I’m hoping he scores his first NHL goal tonight.
- #29 Leon Draisaitl – Has six goals in his last three games and is aiming to rack up point #80.
Oilers News and Notes
According to Elliotte Friedman, the Oilers and Adam Larsson are closing in on a 4yr deal. Kurt Leavins noted that he thinks the salary could come in above $3.5M but lower than $4M per year.
I like the sounds of this contract. It will take him to the age of 32 and also provide the Oilers with a defensive stalwart just as the club is entering its Stanley Cup contending years.
The other thing that bringing Larsson back for another four seasons will do is give them a right-shot defender who can move up and down the lineup, as needed and seeing how Ethan Bear is ready to take the next step and Evan Bouchard has already developed into a bottom-four defender, Edmonton would have something very rare, three righties on the blueline who the coach can deploy where ever he wants and whenever he wants.
I’ve got a question for you, who is the comeback player of the year for the Oilers, Jesse Puljujarvi or Mike Smith?
Give us a follow on the socials!
- Youtube: Beer League Heroes Channel
- Twitter: @beerleagueheroe
- Instagram: @beerleagueheroes
- Facebook: Beer League Heroes
