The Oilers face a huge test tonight against a Dallas squad that is atop the Central Division and has already beat the snot out them once before. The Stars should be coming into this one with a lot of confidence in their ability to dictate play, and they should.
The Oilers pulled a shootout win out against the Bruins, though they had a chance to take them out in regulation. The Bruins aren’t world beaters but the Oilers have been able to remain competitive even with all these losses.
Edmonton is actually in a 4 way tie with Calgary, Anaheim, and Vancouver for last in the West with 9 Wins on the year. The Bettman point is what separates the teams. Edmonton and Calgary have identical records and are stuck at 20 points but Anaheim has 23 and the Canucks have 26 points. The reality is that the Pacific division is very poor this year and the bottom half is interchangeably so.
The Stars have feasted on the Pacific this year.
Dallas is 6-0-1 vs Pacific Division.
Oilers are 0-6-1 vs Central Division.
Central teams have won 31 of 45 vs Pacific teams.
— Reid Wilkins (@ReidWilkins) December 4, 2015The Stars are loaded for bear up front and as a club they are top 10 in the NHL at controlling shots and shot attempts. Per War on Ice they create the most High Danger Scoring Chances per 60 minutes in the NHL. However it’s live by the sword, die by the sword as they also give up the most High Danger Scoring Chances against. Of course, when you’re getting good-enough goaltending and have two of the best players in the NHL on your team that high octane tempo can really work in your favor.
I don’t know if it can hold up over an entire year but the Stars don’t plan on letting the Oilers slow them down. Dallas has scored 92 goals already this season. Edmonton has only scored 65 (NHL Median is 66 so the Oilers aren’t exactly terrible). It looks to me like the Stars are the offensive team the Oilers want to be when they grow up.
The difference is they have *slightly* more stable goaltending, quality veterans down the middle, and only one of their top 4 defenders has played fewer than 300 games. Dallas is a team built to win now. Edmonton’s youth shows when you compare the two clubs.
LINEUP
The Oilers practiced yesterday but Pouliot was not participating. These were the lines at that time.
Hall Draisaitl Eberle Pakarinen RNH Purcell Korpikoski Letestu Hendricks Gazdic Lander Khaira
Klefbom Fayne Nurse Sekera Schultz Gryba
Nilsson
OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME
1) Benn & Seguin. You cannot separate them. You have to treat them as a duo, and the most dangerous duo in the NHL at that. They are tied for 2nd in NHL scoring with 35 points in 26 games each. They have a combined 32 goals on 185 shots. Those two players alone make up 1/3 of the goals for the Dallas Stars, who have the most goals for in the NHL (Montreal has tied them but in 1 more game played). It goes without saying that the Oilers have circled these two names on the board.
2) Klingberg Dead Ahead! The 3rd member of the Stars crushing it offensively is John Klingberg. The 23 year old 2nd year NHL defenseman is 2nd in blueline scoring and 6th overall in league scoring with 25GP, 5-22-27. He plays a significant amount of time with the top unit and is very quickly cementing himself as one of the NHL’s best puck movers. If you arent familiar with him yet, you will be by the end of the year.
3) Staying In It. The Oilers played a pretty good game against the Bruins, who themselves admitted were playing poorly. Edmonton has done a pretty good job staying in close games this year but the Stars have already beaten the club down once before. Edmonton cannot afford to allow the Stars to beat up on them every time they meet. They have to keep things closer. If this turns into a track meet the Oilers have talent to score goals, but the Stars are simply better at it.
Puck drops tonight at 7 PM Mountain Time on Sportsnet West. Get Better, Connor!
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