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G55 - Oilers @ Cana Oh Who Cares, Let's Talk About The Playoffs |
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Today the Edmonton Oilers and the Montreal Canadiens will face off in an exciting, high intensity match that will...
I'm sorry, I'm having a hard time pretending to care about the game tonight. First off it's a 3 o'clock game and with my day job I'm going to miss the darn thing. Secondly there is nothing left to play for. With the Jets victory last night the first round matchup has been secured. The Edmonton Oilers will play the Jets in a playoff series for the first time since the 89/90 season.
Right now it's looking like this series will get underway next Wednesday and the Oilers have two games left to play. Personally I would like to see Tippett sit McDavid, Draisaitl, and Nurse tonight. Let the big minute players have a night off and get them back into game action on Saturday against the Canucks. We will see later today what the lineup looks like. It will likely be somewhere between a full roster and whatever abomination the Boston Bruins iced last night.
Now, enough of Montreal, back to Winnipeg.
At a first glance some might want to call this an easy matchup for the Oilers in the first round. The Edmonton Oilers sport a 7-2-0 record against the Jets this season, scoring 34 goals while only allowing 22. Aside from the 18 goals the Oilers allowed against the Senators that is the lowest amount they have allowed an opponent. Connor Hellebuyck had an 0.877SV% against Edmonton this season and is a career 0.893SV% against the Oil. The Oilers are 7-3-0 in their last 10 while the Jets have been limping along and are 2-8-0 in their last 10.
That being said the Winnipeg Jets cannot be taken lightly. Playoff series are won on a hot goalie and I wouldn't bet against Hellebuyck as the former Vezina winner coming in strong and making the Edmonton Oilers work for every goal. Another big factor will be the return of Nikolaj Ehlers as he has begun skating once more. Ehlers is a massive part of this team and a huge bonus for the team at 5 on 5 and his loss has obviously been felt by the team.
Let me throw a few numbers at you all for how the Oilers and Jets match up.
Total Goals For:
Oilers - 178 - 8th
Jets - 166 - 12th
Total Goals Against:
Oilers - 147 - 8th
Jets - 150 - 12th
Powerplay:
Oilers - 27.61 - 1st
Jets - 24.18 - 4th
Penalty Kill:
Oilers - 81.25% - 11th
Jets - 80.28% - 14th
The Oilers have the edge here in every category but the Jets match up very close as well. Both teams deliver high octane offense and can beat you with their special teams play. While Edmonton has had the upper hand for most of the regular season, I do expect this to be a closer series than expected. Over the next week I will break down the forwards, defense, goaltending and other matchups between these two teams to give Jets and Oilers fans everything they need to know.
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I will update the lines once they are announced. I do think we will see some bigger changes to the lineup tonight.
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4 GAME THOUGHTS
1.) Nobody Get Injured - Pretty self explanatory.
2.) 3PM Is Too Early For A Game - Nuff Said
3.) Next Week We Are Watching Playoff Hockey - Buckle up Oilers fans, it's going to be a wild and fun time.
4.) Don't Forget To Add A Fourth Item Here Sean -
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
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