My Lord, how can the hockey gods keep testing the Edmonton Oilers like this. James Neal being out hurt a little, then Connor McDavid got his leg trapped under a food truck and things started to get a little worrisome. Follow that up with Zack Kassian kicking a guy and now Oscar Klefbom is out 2-3 weeks with a shoulder injury?! What in Sam’s Hell is going on in Edmonton?!!! It’s absolute bedlam!
Now let’s top that off with a visit from one of the Eastern Conference’s most deadly teams, the Boston Bruins! Sweet infant Jesus, that stings!
Now, as a fan of young players and prospects, I love the fact that the Oilers are going to go into this matchup with up to FIVE rookies in the lineup. “Killer” Yamamoto, Tyler “Wheels” Benson, Caleb “Too Tall” Jones, Ethan “The Mighty” Bear, and “The Flow” William Lagesson. So much youth being served and it’s quality youth too unlike the nicknames I’ve given them… I can’t even remember the last time I saw this many good young prospects playing for the Oilers, contributing in a meaningful manner, AND Edmonton winning games!
Tonight is going to be a challenge though. Last time out the Bruins were asleep the whole time and Edmonton got lucky I think. Chara and the boys won’t be snoozing tonight because they’re riding a three-game winning streak and are 9-1-0 in their last ten games.
I’ve got Boston down for a win but I’m hoping the Oilers youngsters can pull a rabbit out of their hats and send the Bruins packing sans points.
Evan Bouchard
Everybody’s favorite uncle was finally called up. He was the second-highest scoring rookie defender in the AHL at the time of the recall and from all of my viewings of him this year, he’s definitely ready for the promotion. That said, there are some things to be mindful of here with this young man,
- If he plays more than nine games, he’ll lose a year on his ELC. Edmonton could use him on a cheap entry-level deal whilst being an impact defender, right? That’s just a bit more cap room for them to add some better forwards this summer.
- There’s no real place in the lineup to put him unless they slot him in ahead of Lagesson and Russell on the left-side. A real kick to the baby-makers for those guys, especially Lags who’s been waiting patiently to play.
Bouchard is only in first year of pro…next year is his second so he won't need to be protected. His GP has zero impact on expansion.
— Jason Gregor (@JasonGregor) February 19, 2020
Three Players to Watch for the Bruins
- #88 David Pastrnak – You can’t help but put this guy on a list of players to watch. He’s dangerous anywhere inside the opposition’s blue line and he’s simply the best player on Boston now. Was he a Keith Gretzky pick?
- #47 Torey Krug – I love the little defenders that have the biggest hearts. This guy can compete with the best of them and he doesn’t take any shit from anybody, no matter the size. I love his presence on the blue line offensively as well. The Oilers will need to make sure Krug isn’t seeing any lanes from the point or they might be dash one.
- #73 Charlie McAvoy – Here’s a guy who takes a ton of abuse but keeps on ticking. He’s not quite as good as Ryan Suter but a lot of how he plays reminds of me of the Wild defender. He’s calm and collected and just goes about his job. He’s another one of Boston’s threats from the back end too.
BRUINS LINES
Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak
DeBrusk-Krejci-Kuhlman
Bjork-Coyle-Heinen
Nordstrom-Kuraly-WagnerChara-McAvoy
Krug-Carlo
Grzelcyk-Lauzon— Marisa Ingemi (@Marisa_Ingemi) February 19, 2020
Three Players to Watch for the Oilers
- #25 Darnell Nurse – It’s back up to the first pairing for Nurse and Bear with Klefbom out. If Darnell can stick to being the hammer here, the Oilers should have success. He’s a much better shutdown defender than he thinks and he’s going to be facing Boston’s top line, which coincidentally has been the only line scoring recently.
- #82 Caleb Jones – Up the ladder to the 2nd pair for Jonesy. This will be a good test for this young man. For the most part, he’s been facing bottom-6 competition. Now, partnered with The Iron Swede, they’ll be tasked with suffocating the offense out of the Bruins second line. His playmaking and smooth skating will be a great help in his role tonight.
- #84 William Lagesson – Wow! It only took an injury to Edmonton’s no.1 defenceman to get Lagesson into the lineup. Sarcasm aside, this will be a showcase to other GMs as well as his own. For everybody’s sake, and I have complete faith in him, let’s hope he has a great game. Keep an eye on him though, he’s a clever player who mucks it up well but he also possesses the ability to jump into the play, make a great outlet pass, or even bomb it from the point.
RNH-Draisaitl-Yamamoto
Benson-Sheahan-Archibald
Gagner/Granlund-Haas-Chiasson
Khaira-Cave-P. Russell/Kassian (suspended)Nurse-Bear
Jones-Larsson
Lagesson-BenningSmith
Koskinen— Bob Stauffer (@Bob_Stauffer) February 18, 2020
The Next Ten Games (51-60)
- vs. St. Louis Blues (31-12-8) – I’m not 100% sold that the Oilers will be focused on this game seeing as they play Calgary the next night. They have played well against the league’s best this season at times though. Can McDavid and Draisaitl beat the Blues in this one as they did at the All-Star game? (WIN) WIN
- @ Calgary Flames (27-19-6) – If you thought last night’s game was fun with all the fights and cheap shots, this game is going to be bonkers. It always seems to be in Calgary. Losing three times to the Flames and that post-game celly by Rittich will be eating away at the Oilers. They’ll be doing their damnedest to bring home the two points. (WIN) WIN
- @ Arizona Coyotes (26-21-5) – The Oilers put up a touchdown on the Coyotes right before their bye-week and I don’t imagine that sat well with Taylor Hall and co. That said, they’re on a bit of a slump in their last ten (4-5-1) and Edmonton is flying high as of today (6-2-2). On the other hand, just when the opportunity presents itself to the Oilers they usually take the night off. (LOSS) LOSS
- vs. San Jose Sharks (22-26-4) – Man, this Sharks team is bad. With Vlasic, Karlsson, and Burns on the back-end no less… Can you believe the Golden Knights fired Gerard Gallant to hire San Jose’s old coach? I think this will be a scheduled win for McDavid’s boys. Watch out for shenanigans from Evander Kane and Timo Meier. (WIN) LOSS
- vs. Nashville Predators (23-19-7) – Since the Preds hired NJ’s old coach, they haven’t been scoring much and that’s not a good sign when you go into Edmonton. Couple that with Pekka Rinne’s game falling right off of a cliff and the Oilers should be able to walk away with two points. (WIN) WIN
- vs. Chicago Blackhawks (24-21-6) – The Hawks are coming on as of late and I think they could pull this one off in Edmonton. Maybe Drake Caggiula does the ex-Oiler thing and scores. (LOSS) WIN
- @ Tampa Bay Lightning (30-15-5) – This will be a fine test for the Oilers. Tampa has found their stride at the right time and are looking very dominant. Might we see another ex-Oiler in Pat Maroon score or drop the flippers? I expect McDavid to be flying in this one. (LOSS) LOSS
- @ Florida Panthers (28-16-5) – This match-up is going to be a fun one. The Panthers have some really fun players to watch like Huberdeau, Barkov, and the very underrated Vincent Trochek. Which Sergei Bobrovsky might we see if he gets the call though? (WIN) WIN
- @ Carolina Hurricanes (29-18-3) – It’s hard not to like what they’ve built in Carolina. Andrei Svechnikov is already a scoring phenom at 19-years-old and it’s hard to overlook the wonder Finns (Aho/Teravainen), right? How will this team be sans Dougie Hamilton though? Can the Oilers sweep back-to-backs again? (WIN) WIN
- vs. Boston Bruins (29-10-12) – Edmonton goes from one team who doesn’t lose in OT to a team that seemingly only loses in OT. The Oilers gave the Bs a pretty sound beating last time they played and we’re close to the trade deadline here so I’m not sure what the rosters will look like. I like Boston for this one though. (LOSS)
(Standings as of January 20th, 2020)
