That last two game stretch represented the weakest part of the remaining schedule. It doesn’t get any easier from here on out. The Oilers are in tough for the rest of the year and if the goaltending is starting to cool down then this could be a long 10 games and it starts off with a visit from the Sharks.
Now both teams will have some motivation in tonight’s matchup based on their previous games against the Flames. Edmonton has that debacle from Saturday to make up for and the Sharks just lost 2-1 to Calgary last night. It would have been nicer for the Oil, I suppose, if the Sharks had won their 1st game in the back-to-back and came into town drunk on victory and just a little overconfident. Unfortunately I think Todd McLellan’s team will be pretty motivated for this one.
The Oilers have a little more on the line tonight despite the fact that the Sharks have a legitimate chance at a President’s Trophy as they need to undo a lot of wrongs that transpired on Saturday. The Oilers embarrassed themselves as individuals and as a Franchise in a way that has called to question every single person associated with the club.
The National Media has called out Lowe, questioned the very premise of a rebuild, suggested they made the wrong picks, and claimed Hall isn’t an elite talent. All of that because of one single, terrible game. Dallas Eakins crew has a lot to play for today.
And Dallas Eakins himself has a lot to prove as well. His outburst on the bench on Saturday because of a little spilled water was petty at best and then to bench Taylor Hall afterwards was absurd. The two have since spoken about it and at least outwardly everything seems to be back to normal. I sometimes have wanted Eakins to show more emotion on the bench but if that’s what happens when his emotions get the best of him then I’d say the unimpressed look he has no matter what the circumstances are is something I can live with.
Eakins has the confidence of the Management. I wondered how much he had after that loss but MacT has said to anyone that asks him that he is still incredibly bullish on Eakins as a coach. He recognizes that Eakins is still growing as an NHL bench boss but his message is still on point.
LINEUPS
Lander ran over Fasth in practice and the man with the wicked mask sprained his neck so the Oilers have recalled Laurent Brossoit up to backup Scrivens. There are better options right now for a backup but I think the big club wanted to do two things. 1) They didn’t want to hurt OKC’s playoff push by recalling their starter. 2) They want to give Brossoit a taste of life in the NHL so he knows where he needs to take his game. The Oilers really believe this guy has NHL games in his future.
Hall Gagner Perron Lander RNH Eberle Hendricks Gordon Pitlick Gazdic Smyth Jones
Ference Schultz Marincin Petry Klefbom Fraser
Scrivens
OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME
1) Pride. Both teams are playing for it tonight but Edmonton has to want it more. That loss has to resonate with them as a team and individually. If they cant play for pride then this is much worse than I anticipated.
2) Simple D. Everything that could have gone wrong went wrong against the Flames and it starts on Defense. There was the Schultz/Hendricks breakdown that lead to the 2nd goal against. The 4th goal was the result of Marincin pinching with 3 Oilers deep in the zone and letting the puck get by him. The 6th goal was made possible by Glencross walking right by Justin Schultz to gain entry into the zone as if he wasn’t even there. And the 7th goal was a complete defensive breakdown that eventually saw Fraser at the top of the circles for some reason. Normally you don’t give up a goal EVERY time you make a mistake, but they did. The Defense needs to reset and get back to basics.
3) Stop The Puck. I don’t blame the goalie for not stopping goals like a tip in from the side or a onetimer that makes them move from East to West but there were 3 goals from the outside that could have been stopped. The Gio goal, and 2 Glencross goals were from the top of the circles or just off of the wall. Those are the ones the goalies want back after the game. Scrivens got fired up in that game throwing jerseys back into the crowd too so I expect he’ll be ready for this one.
Puck drops tonight at 7:38PM Mountain Time on TSN. Game On!
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