TALE OF THE TAPE:
Game: Edmonton Oilers (23-34-7, 55 pts) vs Philadelphia Flyers (29-22-11, 69 points.
Location: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Time: 5:00 PM MT
Where to find it: TV: Sportsnet One – Radio: 630 CHED
Edmonton Oilers Preview:
Two in a row!
That’s right, the Oilers come into tonight’s matchup after winning two in a row. After defeating the New York Islanders 3-1 on home ice Sunday night, the Oilers Connor McDavid beat the Sabres 2-1 in OT.
The win in Buffalo was the Oilers first game on a brief four game road trip which will be the team’s longest road trip before the end of the season on April 9th.
Tonight, Patrick Maroon makes his Oilers on the third line with Mark Letestu and Lauri Korpikoski. I don’t think it would be out of the realm of possibility to see him play some minutes with McDavid and Eberle and McLellan mentioned that today.
“We just want him to feel comfortable,” McLellan said. “Will he move up? Will he move around? Of course he will, because we’re trying to adapt and adjust with a bunch of new players. Let’s let him get his feet wet, let’s let him feel comfortable and then we’ll figure out where he fits.”
Maroon has 79 points in 204 games played and has this season he has 13 points in 56 game played.
“I’m really excited, it’s going to be a great opportunity for me,” he said. “Anaheim was really good to me, but they had to make some moves and I was the guy to go. I’m excited to become an Edmonton Oiler. This team is going to be really good in a few years. Just to be part of this rebuild, and the new stadium, is really exciting for me.”
“I have pretty good hands for a big man,” Maroon said. “My job is to create space for my linemates, get to the net, create some havoc and hopefully we can get some goals.”
I really like the style of game that he plays, and I think he will be a good addition to this team. At only $1.5 million per for the next two years, he is on a very reasonable contract given the success he saw alongside Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry in the past.
He seems to be coming into town with the right attitude and I am really happy with this move. To me, Maroon is one of those ‘love him if you have him, hate him if you don’t’ guys. Now that he’s in Edmonton, I love him.
Chiarelli says it’s “nonsense” to link RNH’s #Oilers future to not picking him for #WCH2016: https://t.co/XzniWcYstR pic.twitter.com/aZNfJZ1m6j
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) March 3, 2016
Of the 20 Oilers expected to play tonight, nine have joined the team since Chiarelli became GM.
— Reid Wilkins (@ReidWilkins) March 3, 2016
Yak is back!
His KHL team just got swept in four games in the playoffs. In 15 games (inc. playoffs) Yakimov had 4G, 2 A. #Oilers https://t.co/VPlyZ7B8ri
— zach laing (@Loweded) March 3, 2016
Predictions for tonight:
- Maroon is awesome, and gets time in the top six tonight.
- The Pardy Party continues and he follows up his debut with another strong performance.
- Connor McDavid avenges his injury suffered at the hands of the Flyers, and takes it to the next level. 2G, 1 A.
Flyers Preview:
For Philadelphia, the Stanley Cup Playoffs already have started. “Right now every game is a playoff game for us,” defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere told the Flyers website Wednesday. “We need points in every game.” The Flyers have won three straight and are three points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the final wild card into the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. “We’re going to fight to get back into a playoff spot,” forward Claude Giroux said. “There’s no quitting in this team.” Steve Mason could start in goal Thursday. In three games against the Oilers with the Flyers, he’s 3-0-0 with a 1.95 goals-against average and .923 save percentage. Michal Neuvirth has started the past four games, going 3-1-0 with a 2.53 GAA and .907 save percentage. He made 29 saves in a 5-3 win Monday against the Calgary Flames.
— NHL.com
Line Combos and Starting Goalies c/o Left Wing Lock:
Oilers (Cam Talbot):
Taylor Hall – Leon Draisaitl – Zack Kassian
Nail Yakupov – Connor McDavid – Jordan Eberle
Patrick Maroon – Mark Letestu – Lauri Korpikoski
Matt Hendricks – Anton Lander – Adam Cracknell
Andrej Sekera – Mark Fayne
Adam Clendening – Darnell Nurse
Adam Pardy (Party) – Brandon Davidson
EDM Injuries: Oscar Klefbom (leg infection), Andrew Ference (hip), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (hand), Eric Gryba (knee), Benoit Pouliot (unknown, but likely shoulder separation).
Scratched: Iiro Pakarinen, Luke Gazdic, Nikita Nikitin
Philadelphia Flyers (Michal Neuvirth):
Brayden Schenn – Claude Giroux – Wayne Simmonds
Michael Raffl – Sean Couturier – Sam Gagner
Scott Laughton – Nick Cousins – Matt Read
Chris Vandevelde – Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – Ryan White
Andrew MacDonald – Shayne Gotisbehere
Nick Schultz – Mark Streit
Evgeni Medvedev – Radko Gudas
Any ideas on how to improve my game previews? Send me an email at zjlaing@gmail.com.
