Guess what time it is folks? IT’S CONNOR MCDAVID TIME BABY!!! The King is in the house and he’s brought his band of merry men to Rogers Place to feast upon the Coyotes of Arizona.
Now, which Oilers team is going to show up? The one that should win this game handily or the one that struggles to beat the teams it should?
The Oilers last game out vs. Calgary wasn’t really a challenge, was it? The Flames had no answer for Leon Draisaitl, but I expect this evening to be a bit more difficult for the Oilers. Not from a skill point-of-view though, rather a work-ethic one. You know that Rick Tocchet isn’t going to go down without a fight because that’s what his M.O. was as a player and Arizona is dressing some gritty characters to boot.
Three Players to Watch for Arizona
The roster going into tonight’s game for Arizona still looks like things are getting worked out. Check it out,
Keller-Stepan-Kessel
Grabner-Richardson-Hinostroza
Crouse-Hayton-Fischer
Bunting-Chaput-Pederson
Ekman-Larsson/Demers
Capobianco-Hjalmarsson
Chychrun-Gross
Hill
First off, the one player that I’m intrigued to watch is Barrett Hayton. Fifth overall in 2018, a shock pick to most, nearly made the club last season but the Coyotes brass felt he’d be better served going back to Sault Ste. Marie for another season in the OHL. The book on him is that he’s a smart two-way player who is reliable on both sides of the puck. He’s not elite in any one aspect but he’s above average in many.
Another player I’m eager to see is Phil Kessel. I mean, how can you not be? It’s Phil “The Thrill” Kessel. He’ll go down in NHL history as one of the most misunderstood players of all time I think. Even at 31 years old, he can still skate and rip that puck. There’s a part of me that would’ve liked to have seen Anton Burdasov in the game to compare the shots.
Lawson Crouse is the Coyotes mini-Lucic. He’s a big-bodied fella who can skate really well and his game is predicated on physicality. It’s a shame he was rushed into the NHL as I feel had he been properly developed, he could’ve been a Timo Meier-like player.
Three Players to Watch for Edmonton
Tonight the Oilers will be icing what will probably be the closest thing to the finished product, I’ll be a little concerned if Edmonton doesn’t dominate this game. Here are the lines,
Draisaitl-McDavid-Kassian
Gagner-RNH-Neal
Khaira-Sheahan-Archibald
P.Russell-Cave-Chiasson
Klefbom-Persson
Nurse-Larsson
K.Russell-Benning
Smith
It’s safe to say that one player everyone will be watching is Connor McDavid. He hasn’t played a game since that unfortunate incident in Calgary last season. Ironically, if I recall correctly, the Oilers won that game and lost the chance to draft Kaapo Kakko, but I digress… Nearly every report coming out of Edmonton is saying that McDavid is faster and stronger than last season and that is going to throw my preseason prediction for a loop if that indeed is the case.
Mike Smith will be getting at least 40 minutes tonight. What I’m expecting is a solid outing from the veteran netminder, however, I’ll really be keeping a keen eye on how the Oilers defense reacts to Smith’s puckhandling. He can stop an opponent’s dump-in and produce a breakout all in one motion and that’s something I can’t recall any Oilers goalie being able to do in my recollections. I know it’s frustrated me to no end when other teams have been able to do it against the Oilers though.
This is going to be a big test for Joel Persson. Can he handle top-4 minutes vs. proper NHL forwards? I’ve seen some good from the 25-year-old Swedish puck-mover, but I’ve also seen some shakiness. That said, he’d have to really fall off a cliff to lose that spot next to Klefbom at this point.
Who are you going to be paying specific attention to this evening? Let us know in the comments below!
