So Alberta is a place I live.....
Blog will be a bit shorter today as life happens but I hope you all enjoy the game tonight.
I expected the Golden Knights and Oilers game to be a high scoring affair but apparently that will not be the case under Ken Hitchcock. The Oilers played a strong game and managed to effectively shut down one of the more potent offenses in the NHL right now.
There are still a number of question marks on the Oilers backend and in their forward core, but Hitchcock has the team executing his system and proving they do not need elite talent at all positions to win games.
LINEUP
OILERS
Chiasson-McDavid-Draisaitl Caggiula-RNH-Puljujarvi Lucic-Brodziak-Kassian P.Russell-Khaira-Rattie
Klefbom-Larsson Nurse-Russell Gravel-Benning
Koskinen
- Apparently there are some visa issues with Zykov so we will have to wait a bit longer to see his Oilers debut. Koskinen starts because of course he does.
STARS
Benn-Seguin-Spezza Shore-Hintz-Radulov Nichushkin-Faksa-Pitlick Janmark-Dickenson-Ritchie
Lindell-Heiskanen Bayreuther-Polak Hanley-Fedun
Khudobin 4 KEYS TO VICTORY
1) 1 Goal Games. Edmonton and Dallas both have played a flurry of one goal games lately, including one against each other where Mikko Koskinen came away with a 1-0 shutout. Edmonton is winning playing this system so no need to open the doors and trade chances with the Stars. Be patient and the chances will come.
2) Spooner! Spooner..... Ryan Spooner finally started proving his worth by scoring the game winning goal against the Golden Knights and was injured in the same game. Khaira has slotted back to centre and hopefully the 4th line can continue to generate. 3) Bishop Takes Rook. The Stars are starting to get some of their players back; most notably Ben Bishop. The Stars starter helped the team beat the Canucks, stopping 19 of 20 shots. The Oilers will need to test Bishop early and force him to make some tough saves.
4) Broken Record. A win in regulation tonight will put the Oilers 1 point behind the Stars for a Wild Card position. The Oilers did themselves no favours in November and will need to continue playing tough hockey in December to put themselves back into playoff contention.
FILM OF THE DAY
I've had a bit of a day with the terrible road conditions in Alberta but the weather here isn't nearly as bad as the destruction filled popcorn flick The Day After Tomorrow.