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Game Four: Oilers @ Coyotes - Room For Improvement |
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Edmonton won an exciting and infuriating game against the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday evening. On the offensive side of things the Oilers had dominating performances from their top line of Draisaitl, McDavid, and Pulujarvi but also a very strong showing from the third line of Foegele, Ryan, and Kassian with Zack Kassian notching two goals. This third line is the most complete third line with a clearly defined role that I can remember seeing for Edmonton.
The bad news was the defensive group as a whole including big lapses from Keith and Barrie in particular and a second line of Hyman, RNH, and Yamamoto that could not get anything going. Yamamoto made the most egregious mistakes and was ultimately taken off of the second line but Nugent-Hopkins has just looked invisible and bordering on uninterested from what I have seen.
Tonight the Oilers are facing off against a Coyotes team that has already allowed 16 goals against in a mere 3 games. That is 7 goals more than the Oilers have allowed in the same number of games. One would assume that Edmonton will not have any issues scoring tonight but instead I would like the team to focus on strong defensive play and limiting their opponents chances against, especially considering Koskinen may be asked to start tonight and on Friday against the Golden Knights.
Here are five things to pay attention to tonight.
1) Vejmdsalkdas??: Tonight the Coyotes will be starting esteemed goalie Karel Vejmelka; a name I had to look at seven times to spell correctly. The 25 year old has a single NHL start in his career and came in for relief of Ben Hutton a few days prior. I'm poking fun but this young rookie has stopped 43 of 45 shots against total and has a SV% of 0.956%. Edmonton needs to make life rough for this young netminder early and never relent.
2) Second Chance: Those will be the words from Tippett's mouth to Tyson Barrie and Kailer Yamamoto tonight. Both men saw themselves moved down the lineup after an abysmal showing but will return to their regular spots at least to start tonight. The message is clear; if these players make poor decisions both with and away from the puck they will be moved down the lineup or flat out benched.
3) Split: We are starting to get a clearer idea of what Tippett wants to do with his lineup. Home games where the Oilers have last change will likely see a healthy dose of Draisaitl and McDavid together while away games will split them up and force the opposition to line match. Hyman will play with McDavid while Draisaitl gets RNH and Yamo on the wings. Having both these lines get on the board with a goal would obviously be great.
4) Suppress: As previously mentioned instead of going with Skinner tonight and Koskinen tomorrow, Tippett goes with Koskinen against the Coyotes and has said he will make a decision tomorrow regarding the starter. After tomorrow the Oilers won't play for five days so I think Koskinen can handle a back to back scenario but if he is overworked tonight and has to make 35+ saves that could change. Edmonton needs to play tighter and smarter in front of their netminder than they have in these first three games.
5) Scoreboard Watching Already: It's far too early to be talking about standings implications but a win tonight would start the Oilers with a 4-0 season and be a nice cushion should the team come out flatter for their game tomorrow. A loss tonight and another tomorrow suddenly evaporates the good start and puts the team at 3-2-0. Games like this against an awful Coyotes team should be free points for Edmonton and they cannot let them slip away through shoddy play.
OILERS LINEUP
Hyman-McDavid-Puljujarvi
RNH-Draisaitl-Yamamoto
Foegele-Ryan-Kassian
Perlini-Shore-Turris
Nurse-Barrie
Keith-Ceci
Koekkoek-Bouchard
Koskinen
COYOTES LINEUP
Crouse-Schmaltz-Keller
Ladd-Larsson_Dzingel
Eriksson-Boyd-Kessel
Fischer-Beagle-Jaskin
Chychurn-Stralman
Gostisbehere-Soderstrom
Lyubushkin-Timmins
Vejmelka
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
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