TALE OF THE TAPE:
Game: Edmonton Oilers (22-29-5) vs Winnipeg Jets (24-27-3)
Location: Rexall Place, Edmonton
Time: 8:00 PM MT
Where to find it: TV: Sportsnet West – Radio: 630 CHED
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Outdoor game in Winnipeg will take place in late October. Looking like Oilers vs Jets.</p>— John Shannon (@JSportsnet) <a href=”https://twitter.com/JSportsnet/status/698638977780359173″>February 13, 2016</a></blockquote>
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This would be really cool.
Edmonton Oilers Preview:
Big news tonight in Edmonton as Oilers G Cam Talbot has come down with an illness. Prospect Laurent Brossoit will get his second career NHL start just two days after being recalled from the Bakersfield Condors.
The Oilers are in tough against a physical, heavy Winnipeg Jets team. It really will be a test for the Oilers. Historically, the Oilers struggle against bigger teams. Simply put, it’s because the Oilers themselves have yet to find ways to win against these groups. Maybe it’s because the Oilers don’t have the physical players to deal with the style of play the Jets bring.
“In my opinion, we stole the game when we played them [Dec. 21, EDM 3 – WPG 1],” said Head Coach Todd McLellan. “We had a good start, we built up a lead and then we decided we just wanted to defend and with their size and their ability to roll around in your end, that’s not a good recipe. You’ve got to keep attacking. They do play a hard, strong game along the walls. They roll around good. Our power play is going to have to be sharp. They have a tendency to take some penalties, so if they do we’re going to have to make sure it’s sharp.”
When you look at tonight’s lines, it’s apparent that Todd McLellan has set the lines to allow for there to be physical presence on each line. Hopefully, this acts as a deterrent for anything too rough tonight but who knows. Other than that, the lines seen today are a mess.
Nail Yakupov is continuously getting buried on the third and fourth line without any real offensive players. To his own credit, he is producing 1.7 points per hour on ice which is good to see.
Winnipeg is on the cusp on missing out on the Playoffs and they’ve been really struggling as of late, going 7-9-1 since the beginning of January. The team has been frustrated, and with there being no clear direction in which the team has planned on going with UFA Captain Andrew Ladd it is an unneeded distraction for a team making a push.
The Winnipeg Jets are 0-22-2 when trailing after two periods, and 4-16-2 when trailing after the first, so let’s hope the team can come out strong.
None the less, the Oilers will have their work cut out for them.
Predictions for tonight:
- The current line combo’s don’t last all game.
- Nail Yakupov and Leon Draisaitl get some ice time together.
- Connor McDavid scores a bagillion goals.
Jets team scope: Winnipeg activated goaltender Ondrej Pavelec from injured reserve Friday before leaving to begin a four-game road trip. He has been out since injuring his knee Nov. 21 against the Arizona Coyotes. Rookie goaltender Connor Hellebuyck was reassigned to Manitoba of the American Hockey League. Coach Paul Maurice did not confirm a starting goaltender but said that Pavelec and Michael Hutchinson “somewhere in the next two or three games” each will play. Winnipeg remains last in the Central Division at 51 points. Center Bryan Little has scored in each of the past two games. The trip continues next Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes. -nhl.com
Line Combos and Starting Goalies c/o Left Wing Lock:
Oilers (Laurent Brossoit):
Benoit Pouliot – Connor McDavid – Jordan Eberle
Taylor Hall – Mark Letestu – Zack Kassian
Iiro Pakarinen – Leon Draisaitl – Teddy Purcell
Nail Yakupov – Matt Hendricks – Lauri Korpikoski
Andrej Sekera – Mark Fayne
Darnell Nurse – Justin Schultz
Brandon Davidson – Eric Gryba
EDM Injuries: Oscar Klefbom (undisclosed), Andrew Ference (hip), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (hand)
Scratched: Adam Clendening, Anton Lander
Winnipeg Jets (Ondrej Pavelec):
Nikolaj Ehlers – Bryan Little – Blake Wheeler
Mathieu Perreault – Mark Scheifele – Drew Stafford
Andrew Ladd – Adam Lowry – Joel Armia
Alexander Burmistrov – Andrew Copp – Chris Thorburn
Toby Enstrom – Dustin Byfuglien
Ben Chairot – Tyler Myers
Mark Stuart – Jacob Trouba
Any ideas on how to improve my game previews? Send me an email at zjlaing@gmail.com.
