Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all my readers. However you choose to celebrate the season, I wish you all the best! Specifically for Oilers fans I hope that your team rewards you with a win tonight against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Tampa is the best team in the NHL. They have scored 18 more goals than the next highest team, they have 6 players with 20 or more points and goal scoring up and down their lineup. Meanwhile Edmonton has struggled to produce against two of the worst defensive teams in St Louis and Vancouver. Everything about this game at first glance screams blowout.
Edmonton has frustratingly played down to lesser teams in the past and shows up for the big games. Hopefully fans can witness a Christmas miracle and earn a win.
LINEUP
OILERS
RNH-McDavid-Puljujarvi Rieder-Draisaitl-Chiasson Caggiula-Brodziak-Kassian Lucic-Spooner-Rattie
Nurse-Larsson Gravel-Jones Garrison-Benning
Koskinen
- As I wrote yesterday, Hitchcock has shuffled up the lines a bit. Puljujarvi gets a chance on the top line and Spooner will centre the fourth line while Khaira is out on his suspension.
LIGHTNING Palat – Stamkos – Gourde Johnson – Point – Kucherov Killorn – Cirelli – Miller Erne – Paquette – Callahan
Hedman – Girardi McDonagh – Cernak Stralman – Sergachev
Vasilevskiy
4 KEYS TO VICTORY
1) Jesse's Goal. Jesse Puljujarvi is getting the bump onto the top line so the pressure will be on for him to produce and on top of that, he is facing off against the best in the league. Puljujarvi is one of the better defensive forwards on the team and is a strong fore-checker. He will be valuable in retrieving the puck for Nuge and McDavid and needs to put pucks on net.
2) A Better Mikko. Koskinen and Talbot have not been the cause of Edmonton's recent struggles but they have not provided the same level they had during the Oilers 8-1-1 run. In his last start against Vancouver Koskinen posted a .897 SV% with 23 saves on 26 shots. Tampa will be firing on all cylinders and Edmonton will need their netminder to be their best player.
3) A Goal For Rieder. All Tobias Rieder wants for Christmas is a goal. Tobias Rieder was brought in to provide secondary offense and while he hasn't looked poor, he has not been nearly good enough. Rieder is back with Draisaitl and Chiasson who earlier in the season played well together.
4) Seriously The Lightning Are Going To Score Alot. The Oilers have a 76% PK...the Lightning have a 24% PP.... be better please. FILM OF THE DAY
Miracle On Ice.