Edmonton has put three wins together in very different fashion. After being heavily out-shot and out-chanced against the Penguins in the first period, the Oilers turned on the jets after and dominated in a high octane offensive effort. Against the Blues, the Oilers played a physical, shutdown game where they won off of attacking the net hard and scoring the greasy goals. Against the Hawks, the Oilers played a back and forth game where they were fine trading chances and penalties in a bizarrely ref'd game which came down to a late Draisaitl goal to win.
Three wins in three very different ways. The coach probably liked the second win the most and that is also likely the game Edmonton will need to play against the Calgary Flames who have looked very dangerous in the first month of the season. The defense they have may be the best in the NHL and the team plays a heavy shutdown game. Kadri leads the team in scoring and is for now at least showing his high production season last year was not a one off. This is going to be a tough test for the Oilers.
However there are some weaknesses still on display for the Flames. Goal scoring overall is still not this team's strong suit as they are currently 22nd in the NHL in total goals scored. Calgary has scored a total of 22 goals while the Oilers have 31. Another potential concern for the Flames is Jacob Markstrom who has a 0.907SV% in his first 5 games this season. Markstrom was kept out against the Oilers in the first matchup this season but will be in tonight. The narrative for Markstrom is that he cannot play well against the Oilers. Flames fans and the coaching staff will surely be hoping to at least partially erase that narrative tonight.
In net for the Oilers will be Stuart Skinner instead of Jack Campbell and already there are concerns about the play of the guy who was just signed to be the starter. Ultimately I think it is far too early to be worried and in most cases it is hard to fault Campbell for his performance. Looking back, most of the goals against have been good goals that have been a result of the Oilers collapsing in front of him. That being said, Campbell's rebound control has also got him into trouble and is something he will need to clean up.
Skinner gets the nod and the 24 year old has been excellent with far better rebound control early on. Skinner came in for relief of Campbell in the first matchup against the Flames and stopped 31 of 31 shots but still got the loss as the damage was already done.
Edmonton is playing far better hockey than they did in the first three games of the season and I expect a far better showing from the team tonight. Sadly this is our second last matchup between these two teams this season so hopefully all the players on both sides put on a good show.
It looks like Holloway will draw in again and Ryan Murray will stay out. Niemelainen is a great physical presence on the backend and is finally making some good decisions with the puck as well. He deserves a regular spot in the lineup right now.
Connor McDavid currently leads the league in goal scoring with 8 goals in 8 games and has not shied away from firing the puck on net himself. It's been a great start to the season and the captain loves to play against Calgary. He already has two hat-tricks on the season. Two hat-tricks versus Auston Matthews two goals. Just sayin.
Once more the Oilers will need to rely on their third line to put some pressure against their opponent's bottom six. Calgary is a highly stingy team to play against and you can be certain they will send everything out against McDavid and Draisaitl to stop them from producing. The bottom six for Edmonton scoring a goal could be the key to victory.
Last quick note on former Oiler Ethan Bear who was just traded to the Vancouver Canucks. Bear was an excellent Oiler during his brief stint here and I was sad to see him traded at the time. Things did not work out for him as well in Carolina and overall Foegele has been a solid piece for Edmonton. I wish Bear the best with his new team and hope for his success.
Enjoy the game tonight!