TALE OF THE TAPE:
Game: Edmonton Oilers (25-35-7, 57 pts) vs Winnipeg Jets (27-32-5, 59 pts)
Location: MTS Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Time: 5:00 PM MT
Where to find it: TV: Sportsnet West – Radio: 630 CHED
Edmonton Oilers Preview:
Big news this afternoon as the Oilers vs Winnipeg Jets Heritage Classic game was confirmed. The news came down just hours before the two teams take each other on in the Hometown Hockey matchup.
I’ve long waited for the team to get another outdoor game after the first outdoor game was played in Edmonton 13 years ago.
“We are very excited to have another opportunity to play in an outdoor game,” Oilers Entertainment Group Vice-Chairman Kevin Lowe said. “The inaugural Heritage Classic, held in Edmonton, was a huge success and something people will always remember. Although most people talk about the Battle of Alberta throughout the 80’s, games against the Jets during that era were just as fierce and competitive.”
It’s great to see the league pay tribute to the days of old when the Oilers and Jets entered the NHL in 1979 after having played in the World Hockey Association for years prior. Alumni teams from both the Oilers and Jets will face off on Oct. 22, 2016 and the two NHL rosters will face off the following day.
With Wayne Gretzky captaining the Oilers alumni squad, Dale Hawerchuk will captain the Jets alumni team.
Tonight, the two teams will face off for the third and final team this season after squaring off twice already. The Oilers won the first game 3-1, and the Jets won the second 2-1 in a shootout.
Adam Pardy returns to Winnipeg for the first time as a member of the Edmonton Oilers after being claimed on waivers and put right into the lineup.
“It’s going to be fun,” said the 31-year-old Pardy. “It’s always nice to come back right away and show the team that let you go that you can play. It’s always a little more excitement, a little more intensity. It’s definitely easy to get up for these games.”
The three games Pardy has played in Edmonton has seen him playing over 20 minutes a night, and he is on a two-game point streak with an assist in each of the last two games.
For tonight’s game, Adam Cracknell slides in place of Iiro Pakarinen on the fourth line and Adam Clendening gets paired up with Darnell Nurse on the third pairing.
After getting embarrassed by the Blue Jackets on Friday night, I would bet on the Oilers having a strong showing tonight. The five games prior to the Jackets game were great and now with the remainder of the Oilers games this year against Western Conference teams it will be interesting to see how the boys respond.
Quotes from oilers.nhl.com.
Predictions for tonight:
- Adam Pardy has to get some anger out after being waived, and fights one of his former teammates.
- In another physical affair, Patrick Maroon leads all Oilers with 5 hits.
- The Jets fall to the Oilers 4-3.
How did last games predictions go:
- The Oilers top six continues to roll, and score three of tonight’s five goals
- Laurent Brossoit comes in and has another great showing. The young guy can play and may be in the conversation for the backup role next year in Edmonton
- The Oilers win 5-2.
Oilers lost bad.
That game was a reeeeaaaaaal head scratcher.
Winnipeg Jets Preview:
Defenseman Jacob Trouba may play after missing a 4-2 home win against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday because of an upper-body injury. Defenseman Dustin Byfuglien has a career-high eight-game point streak (one goal, seven assists). Center Mark Scheifele has five goals in his past two games and had his first NHL hat trick Saturday. Coach Paul Maurice has not confirmed a starting goaltender; Pavelec and Michael Hutchinson have alternated the past five starts, with Pavelec playing Saturday. The Jets are 1-1-1 on a five-game homestand that ends against the Nashville Predators on Tuesday.
— NHL.com
Line Combos and Starting Goalies c/o Left Wing Lock:
Oilers (Cam Talbot):
Taylor Hall – Leon Draisaitl – Patrick Maroon
Nail Yakupov – Connor McDavid – Jordan Eberle
Zack Kassian – Mark Letestu – Lauri Korpikoski
Matt Hendricks – Anton Lander – Adam Cracknell
Andrej Sekera – Mark Fayne
Adam Pardy – Brandon Davidson
Darnell Nurse – Adam Clendening
EDM Injuries: Oscar Klefbom (leg infection), Andrew Ference (hip), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (hand), Eric Gryba (knee), Benoit Pouliot (shoulder).
Scratched: Iiro Pakarinen, Luke Gazdic, Nikita Nikitin
Winnipeg Jets (Ondrej Pavelec):
Drew Stafford – Mark Scheifele – Blake Wheeler
Mathieu Perrault – Alexander Burmistrov – Joel Armia
Chris Thorburn – Adam Lowry – Marko Dano
Matt Halischuk – Andrew Copp – JC Lipon
Toby Enstrom – Dustin Byfuglien
Josh Morrissey – Tyler Myers
Ben Chiarot – Paul Postma
Any ideas on how to improve my game previews? Send me an email at zjlaing@gmail.com. Follow me on Twitter.
