Follow @SMaloughney The NHL now has 31 teams and it is difficult to keep track of all of them. The Eastern markets in particular don’t get nearly enough attention or notice by the mainstream media and definitely do not monopolize the news. Due to the frustrating issue that we don’t know how our trades affect their teams, it makes it difficult to write a pre-game blog.
I don’t know much about the Eastern team Edmonton plays tonight and I apologize for that. There simply isn’t enough information at hand for me to spend much time discussing them. My understanding is that they have a pretty good player named after a city in Texas...Houston or something like that.
The Oilers can't afford to take a night off; even against some unknown team. The last couple of games the Oil have been without their captain and best player in Connor McDavid and for a team hanging by a thread to post-season chances, that could have severed the final strand.
Overall Edmonton played strong against both the Ducks and the Predators. Beating Anaheim is not all the impressive at this point in the season, but managing to hold on and force a shootout against the Predators is something the team can try and build off of. LINEUPS
OILERS
Gagner – McDavid – Kassian Rieder – Draisaitl – Chiasson Lucic – RNH – Currie Malone – Brodziak – Rattie
Klefbom – Larsson Nurse – Russell Sekera – Benning
Koskinen
- This is not an official lineup, but I would guess that Hitchcock is going to continue to try and get offense from Leon away from McDavid.
UNKNOWN EASTERN TEAM Hooman-Tarps-Mariner Johnsen-Houston-Klappin Marlie-Nylon-Orange Eunice - Gaudy - TipTop
Really-Handsy Muzzle-Zeitgeist Dermatologist-Ozhiganov
Anders Lee
- I was given this roster from a friend of a friend of mine...I don't recognize any of these names.
4 KEYS TO VICTORY 1) McDavid Is Back At this point most Edmonton fans know that McDavid usually comes off as a reserved individual, however if he gets mad or isn't happy with how something is playing out he is not afraid to let others know it. McDavid did not mince words when explaining how he felt about the suspension, and now that he sits 16 points behind in the scoring race, you can bet he will be aiming to make up lost ground.
2) 1-2 Punch The last couple games have shown that when given the opportunity to stand on his own, Draisaitl certainly can answer the call. In the Anaheim game, Leon had the primary assist on Gagner's goal and against Nashville Draisaitl scored both goals in regulation. I don't know if the Oilers will ever be able to run RNH, Draisaitl, and McDavid on different lines for long periods of time but Edmonton has three brilliant centres at their disposal.
3) Quick Goals. It is something that has killed the Oilers this season. Too often the Oilers have allowed goals within quick succession of one another. Last game against Nashville, the Oilers allowed Sissons and Subban to score within just over a minute of one another. Should Edmonton get scored on by this Eastern team tonight, they need to refocus and ensure they go back to their systems.
4) Don't Take These Guys Lightly. Apparently the Oilers have not won in whatever city they are playing in tonight since 2010. I find that hard to believe as I am not even sure that the team Edmonton is playing tonight has even existed that long. If that is indeed true, the Oil need to focus on their game and not let the crowd dictate their pace of play.