The Edmonton Oilers blaze into Vancouver a team on fire after sweeping their cross-province rivals in search of another two points against a brutal Canucks team who can’t seem to find their way off of a nightmare rollercoaster that’s lasted nearly the entire season to date. Can Connor McDavid dazzle us again with another Gretzky-like performance or will the Elias Pettersson and his crew find a way to get their act together and deny the Oilers a chance at closing the gap on the division-leading Toronto Maple Leafs.
Click the pic and find the NHL94 player from your team!Should they be in the lineup, here are three players that I think you should keep an eye on for the Canucks tonight,
- #88 Nate Schmidt – He hasn’t been the d-man we expected him to be since his trade from Vegas yet, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t capable of finding his mojo. He’s one of Vancouver’s best skaters and on a good day, he is one of the rare NHL defenders that can give Connor McDavid a hard time.
- #40 Elias Pettersson – Scored a pair vs. the Jets in a 4-3OT loss the other night but is finally showing signs of life after a slow start individually. His line has been on fire lately.
- #9 JT Miller – Pettersson’s flank on the left-wing, assisted on both of the Swede’s goals against Winnipeg. I like this player, he brings an old-school element to the ice and I’m hoping Dylan Holloway can develop into this type of NHLer (if not better).
For Vancouver to have success they’ll need to keep working their asses off. Against Winnipeg the other night they were winning that game late into the 2nd period but a couple of brain farts later and the Jets were the ones going away with the points. If they bring that sort of hard working game to the Oilers and get a bit of puck luck, an early lead on Edmonton isn’t something this season’s team is used to. It may very well translate into a ‘W’ for the Canucks.
Another thing work keeping in mind is that the Oilers’ defense is banged up a bit as are a couple of their better forwards (Draisaitl/Yamamoto). There’s some talk that Caleb Jones may suit up for the first time in forever and if I was Travis Green, I’d be telling the team to lay the forecheck on heavy and hard. Jake Virtanen, if you want to help out, make sure your line is getting that puck into Jones’ corner every chance you get and like a heatseeking missile, you find him and eliminate him. No Mercy! Cobra Kai!
With regards to Edmonton, I’ll be watching these three individuals closely,
- #39 Alex Chiasson – According to Dailyfaceoff.com, Chaser has three goals and an assist in his last five games. His brand of heavy hockey works very well on Edmonton’s 4th line (or 3rd depending on how you look at it).
- #56 Kailer Yamamoto – Was on the receiving end of a questionable Elias Lindholm hit last time out and didn’t skate yesterday. Early prognostications are that he should be in the lineup but we’ll see. Has only three points in his last ten games, only Gaetan Haas has fewer.
- #82 Caleb Jones – Jason Gregor (TSN1260) reckons with Lagesson not yet 100% and Koekkoek out for the year, Jones may get the call. IF he does get inserted into the lineup, I will be watching to see how long it takes him to shake off the rust. Ethan Bear was skating yesterday, so there’s no guarantee Jones makes it in if Bear is good to go.
Keys to Success For the Oilers
Edmonton is on one helluva heater right now and that concerns me a little bit. They’re still allowing thirty shots a game or more and their goalies are playing well above their abilities. Scoring first has it’s advantages but it also means score effects, right? Team A scores a couple in the first and then sits back a bit and Team B works their butts off to try and chisel away at their deficit on the scoreboard whilst showering Team A’s goalie with shot after shot.
So, we’re all hearing that the Oilers have buttoned down and are playing a sound defensive game, but are they really or have their opponents simply failed to capitalize on their chances? I think it’s a question worth asking because as good as a 9-2-0 run is, there has to be an element of luck to it and as I watch the games, I’m not sure I’m seeing a 90s NJ Devils-like shutdown game being implemented so much.
Limiting the sputtering Calgary Flames to two goals isn’t that convincing when you’re outshot 65-49…
Edmonton and Vancouver split their last b2b last time with each team scoring five goals in their respective wins. If Tippett’s men are going to convince me that they’re turning a corner defensively, then I need to see that on the ice and in the numbers at the end of the evening. So I want to see them shut down Pettersson’s line and I’d like to notice a line of goose eggs beside Quinn Hughes’ name on the stat sheet after the game. That would go a long way for me.
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