Edmonton is riding a hot streak right now as they make their way through the Central Division. With a 3 game winning streak in tow, the Oilers hope to make it 4 tonight against the Chicago Blackhawks. Should they do so it will be Edmonton's second 4+ game winning streak of the season; the first occurring at the very beginning of the year.
Playing against the Central has gone in the Oil's favour this season. Through 18 games against the Central, the Oilers have a record of 9-7-2. Quickly here is Edmonton's split record by division this season.
Pacific: 11-9-3 Metro: 10-2-0 Atlantic: 6-5-3
Three losses against the Central have somehow come against the Wild but aside from that the division has been kind to the Oilers. Edmonton has played two games so far this season against the Blackhawks, losing the first by the score of 3-1 and winning the second by the score of 5-3. Tonight Edmonton will hope to win the season series and finish their road trip with a perfect six points.
March's schedule is incredibly favourable to the Oilers. Ten of the remaining fourteen games this month are at home along with games against some bottom dweller teams like the Ducks, Sharks, and Sens. Having said that Edmonton also plays six games against teams that are ahead of them in the standings; Golden Knights twice, Capitals, Flyers, Lightning, and Avalanche.
No Oscar Klefbom yet but Edmonton almost has a completely healthy roster to continue to gel together and prepare for what is almost certainly a playoff run.
LINEUP
OILERS
RNH-Draisaitl-Yamamoto Neal-McDavid-Ennis Archibald-Sheahan-Kassian Athanasiou-Khaira-Chiasson
Nurse-Bear Jones-Larsson Russell-Benning
Smith
- There was a bit of panic early as Mike Smith took a puck to the hand in practice and left. According to Tippett however he still expects Mike to start tonight.
BLACKHAWKS Kubalik-Toews-Saad Nylander-Strome-Kane Debrincat-Dach-Caggiula Highmore-Kampf-Carpenter
Keith-Boqvist Carlsson-Murphy Seeler-Koekkoek
Crawford
--- 3 KEYS TO VICTORY
1.) Youth On Display - Unless they suddenly go on a massive run and the teams in front of them have some horrible luck, the Blackhawks aren't making the playoffs this season. While that will dissapoint fans they are getting to see the future of this team on display. Young talent like Nylander, Dach, and Boqvist could be prominent players in the league for years to come. Being green players comes with mistakes on the ice. Edmonton needs to respect their ability while capitalizing on their inexperience.
2.) Not Winning Many Like That - To say Edmonton didn't deserve the win against the Stars is an understatement. Dallas pushed against the Oil all night and Edmonton never seemed to find their game. Despite being outshot 43-27 Edmonton stole a win on the back of Mikko Koskinen, who for some reason won't start tonight. Tippett will be expecting a far better effort from his guys tonight.
3.) Hold Off The Pitchforks - Seeing Athanasiou on the fourth line already has some people already calling him a bust. Relax. People underestimate how long it takes for players to adapt to a new team, city, coaching style, everything. Josh Archibald went his first 19 games in Edmonton without a point. He struggled with some early injuries and didn't look sharp most times he was on the ice.
He scored on December first and since then has gone 11-8-19 through 39 games. Give the player some time to adapt and learn his teammates. Playing in Detroit he also isn't used to playing in any meaningful games.
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FILM OF THE DAY
Using the word "cruising" in the title I need to pick something in that same vein. Here is a scene from the 1991 Thelma and Louise.