As if the season hasn’t been difficult enough it seems as though even after the Oil win they don’t get to enjoy it for all that long as tonight the club takes on the Canucks in Vancouver. Last night’s win was exactly what the Doctor ordered for the Oilers. The top line was humming along all night, the 3rd and 4th lines were keeping the puck in the other end and cycling effectively, and Nail Yakupov scored off of a sweet pass by Gagner.
And as much as that game was desperately needed for the fans, the team needed to break out of that losing streak and prove to themselves that they could actually win a game. Also, seeing their goalie make some point blank saves has to be reassuring considering the season so far. I think Scrivens played a great game out there and the defense looked pretty solid in front of him. I can only think of 1 give-away in the defensive end that happened out of panic. For the most part though the team was calm and collected back there and it made for much better breakouts.
Moving on to tonight’s game against the Canucks, I read a different energy going into this one than the last against Vancouver. The focal point of attention in the previous game was Kassian’s antics and retribution (whether or not Eakins admits it). Prior to the game, during it, and after it all anyone wanted to talk about was wiping the ugly off of his face. Naturally things went horribly wrong for the Oilers in that regard. Kassian hid from Gazdic all night. Oiler fans would have been happy to see Gazdic refuse to take No for an answer and jump him, but he didn’t. He gave him every opportunity to join the fight willingly but as, cowards do, Kassian declined. To Kassian’s credit though he did score a goal in the game and it drove the Oil even more crazy.
So what exactly has changed? Well I think the Oilers know exactly who Kassian is now and the benefit of the doubt has been removed. I don’t think they still feel the need to go after him because he’s shown that it would just be a waste of time. In addition to that, the fact that there has been no lead-up to this game should really keep the focus on the hockey instead of the circus show that is Zack Kassian.
LINEUPS
With the exception of Bryzgalov getting the start, the lineup will be exactly the same as last night’s affair. Scrivens played great but Eakins cited the stats that show a goalie playing in back to backs has on average a huge dip in save percentage in the 2nd game. If I give Eakins credit for one thing, he is extremely progressive when it comes to using stats to inform his decisions.
Hall RNH Eberle Yak Gagner Perron Hendricks Gordon Jones Gazdic Smyth Joensuu
N. Schultz J. Schultz Marincin Petery Belov Potter
Bryzgalov
OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME
1) Stay Focused On Hockey. The Zack Kassian mess from the last game should be done with even though it didn’t have a satisfying end for the Oilers. They need to worry less about some guy who averages 12 minutes a night and put more attention towards Hamhuis and Edler.
2) Get Yak The Puck. He has really been playing solid hockey since coming back from injury but his abilities are still not being used to full potential on the PP. He is ready for that shot but they aren’t finding ways to get him the puck.
3) Tired Canucks? Both clubs played last night so fatigue is an issue for the Canucks and the Oilers. The difference is that the Oilers were able to role all 4 lines last night in a romp and the Canucks couldn’t. Edmonton had 2 players with more than 20 minutes last night, Petry and Schultz the Younger. The Canucks had 9 players over 20 minutes on Sunday night. This is the time for the Oilers and Eakins to show where all that emphasis on extra conditioning comes into play.
The Puck drops tonight at 8:08PM Mountain Time on Sportsnet. Game On!
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