OILERS VS SABRES – McEichel 1 – Sans McDavid

TALE OF THE TAPE:

Game: Edmonton Oilers (10-15-2) vs Buffalo Sabres (11-12-3)

Location: Rexall Place, Edmonton, Alberta

Time: 6:00 PM MT

Where to find it: TV: Sportsnet – Radio: 630 CHED

Edmonton Oilers Preview:

The train keeps a rollin’!

Coming hot off the heels of two solid wins against the Boston Bruins and the Dallas Stars, the banged up Oilers look to do something they don’t do often – beat a team they should beat. Recent losses against the Carolina Hurricanes and Toronto Maple Leafs show how backwards this team is at times, and it’s almost laughable.

Tonight was supposed to be the night McEichel 1 was supposed to be taking place. The young godsend McDavid, and the bad boy Eichel battling it out on Rexall’s soon to be forsaken ice.

Instead, the Oilers are left sans McDavid, and sans McEichel 1.

As I mentioned earlier, the Oilers are a little banged up right now. Andrew Ference and Benoit Pouliot join the rest of the group that has been placed on the IR. Thus, the team was forced to recall Ryan Hamilton on an Emergency Basis.

“We’re missing a whole line on offence and we’ve managed to get points in four of our last five,” said Hall. “That’s not easy to do and we’ve played some quality teams. You hope that this is the worst of it and once we get some guys back they stay back and guys like myself stay healthy. That’s the name of the game. You look at the best teams in the league and when they finish at the top of the standings they’re always healthy throughout the year and we need to try and stay healthy.”

The good news however, comes as Brandon Davidson returns to the lineup after missing each of the last two games. Anders Nilsson gets the start in goal.

Walter Foddis’ Pregame Metrics:

The Otherside:

Buffalo called up forward Cal O’Reilly, the brother of center Ryan O’Reilly, from Rochester of the American Hockey League on Saturday, before the start of this three-game Western Canada trip. Cal O’Reilly hasn’t played in the NHL since Feb. 15, 2012, but coach Dan Bylsma coached him with the Pittsburgh Penguins and told the Sabres website, “He can play in all situations; he plays a hard game down the middle of the ice, and he can make plays.” At practice in Edmonton on Saturday, Cal rotated in on a line with Nicolas Deslauriers, David Legwand and Marcus Foligno. The Sabres have scored 17 goals in their past four games and won three. – nhl.com