Edmonton took 2 points from the LA Kings on Friday night, moving them back into first place in the division and beating a team that had previously beaten them 5-1.
Those are the only good things I witnessed during that game. The rest was still a really poor game played by the Edmonton Oilers.
Let me rephrase... it was a poor game played by everyone with the exception of Mikko Koskinen who if was not brilliant, would likely have resulted in another loss to a bottom feeder team.
Second star of the game goes to the powerplay because if the Kings hadn't taken those penalties than the Kings still would have won because Edmonton couldn't generate anything at 5 on 5.
Look at this graph below... for the record Edmonton fans, you want this graph to be on the other side of that middle line.
And the unblocked shots. Note, darker the inner circles, the better.
Winning is good, but wins like that are certainly not sustainable, nor should any good team try and play games like that.
Tonight should be a better team performance by the Oilers, mainly due to the likely return of both Ryan Nugent Hopkins and Zack Kassian.
LINEUPS
1.) Healthy - It can't be stressed enough how much Edmonton missed Ryan Nugent Hopkins these past few games. Without RNH in the lineup, Tippett has been forced to split up the only other two forwards capable of pushing the envelope at 5 on 5. Meanwhile, the Sabres will be without their best defender in Rasmus Dahlin who is out due to a concussion. The Sabres are also playing the second of back to back games after playing out a grueling 6-5 loss to the Canucks.
2.) 5 on 5 Matters - There is a simple reason why I always harp on 5 on 5 play... because it's where 90% of any game is played. The Sabres are 9th in the league with 73 even strength goals while Edmonton sits 19th with 64. Buffalo is horrid on the PK with a 30th place 73.63% but the Oil can't keep counting on their hot powerplay to get them through games.
3.) Another Floundering Team - After a hot start to the season, the Sabres have bounced between being good and not. In their last 10 games the Sabres are 3-4-3 and on the road Buffalo is 5-8-3. Despite this the Sabres are still good enough to be third in the Atlantic Division and will be looking to salvage this road trip with a win.
FILM OF THE DAY
There is a right way and a wrong way to win. In life, cheating is the wrong way to win but stressful times can push people. Such is the case in The Perfect Score when a group of high school seniors plan a heist to steal the answers to the SAT's. Before they were Captain America or Black Widow, Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson were Kyle and Francesca.