The Edmonton Oilers are losing precious ground in the playoff race with every loss they rack up. Last week they had a pretty good grip on a top-3 spot in the Pacific but that most definitely isn’t the case this morning. It’s actually Vegas that has stormed ahead of everyone as they lead the division with 80 pts. Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, Nashville, Winnipeg, Minnesota, and Arizona are separated by four points only!
The good news is, the Jets’ form has been about as good as Edmonton’s lately (Oil have one win in its last five) and they could be without Patrik Laine and Josh Morrissey this evening. On the plus side for Coach Tippett’s club is that it could be getting back four very important pieces in Kailer Yamamoto, Zack Kassian, Kris Russell, and Matt Benning. Russell and Yamamoto will be decided upon this morning but Benning and Kass are expected to be in the lineup.
Oh! I should apologize for not having a preview post up for the Vegas game. Things got quite busy around the house and I was simply too exhausted to stay up and write one out for you. The kids are back to school after an extended Chinese New Year vacation due to the coronavirus breakout over in these parts.
The BLH Instagram account is growing like crazy! Three weeks ago when we started to get it back going we were at a shade over 1100 followers and now we’re closing in on 1400. So please, head on over and give us a follow as we’re posting exclusive content over there that won’t be published here or on our Twitter page.
Three Players to Watch for the Jets
- #20 Cody Eakin – Players playing on new teams since the trade deadline have had excellent luck against the Oilers. Sonny Milano had two goals for Anaheim and Nick Cousins scored for Vegas the other night. It wouldn’t shock me if Eakin got a goal this evening against the Oilers.
- #29 Patrik Laine – Not sure if he’ll be in the lineup. I read he was banged up in his last game out, so we’ll have to see here. If he is skating, his shot is one of the deadliest in the whole league. Is it shocking that a man of his size seems to find the open ice more often than not? You’d think opposing defenses would be able to keep tabs on him a bit better than they do.
- #55 Mark Scheifele – According to dailyfaceoff.com, the Jets captain has 5 goals on his last 8 shots… Are you kidding me?! I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on him because I want to see if he can remain on the heater of all heaters.
Here are the lines that Winnipeg went with in their last game,
#NHLJets lines tonight vs. Washington:
Connor — Scheifele — Wheeler
Ehlers — Eakin — Laine
Harkins — Copp — Roslovic
Bourque — Shore — AppletonKulikov — Pionk
Beaulieu — DeMelo
Bitetto — PoolmanHellebuyck
— Murat Ates (@WPGMurat) February 28, 2020
Three Players to Watch for the Oilers
- #44 Zack Kassian – I like what Jason Strudwick said recently on the Jason Gregor show. He said that Kassian owes his teammates seven games now. He has to give his all basically until the end of the year to make up for a dumb decision that put his boys in a bind when they needed him badly.
- #29 Leon Draisaitl – Is tonight the night that Ze Koln Krusher gets his 100th point? I think it will be…
- #63 Tyler Ennis – Ennis has fit into Edmonton’s lineup seamlessly. He’s been aggressive on the puck and the report on him being quick and skilled has been bang on. I like him alongside McDavid a lot more than I do Athanasiou at this point. If I recall correctly, he’s accrued 4pts since joining the club from Ottawa at the deadline.
Athanasiou-McDavid-Ennis
RNH-Draisaitl-Yamamoto
Archibald-Sheahan-Kassian
Khaira-Haas-Chiasson
Neal-Granlund-P. RussellNurse-Bear
Jones-Larsson
Lagesson-Benning
K. RussellSmith
Koskinen— Bob Stauffer (@Bob_Stauffer) February 28, 2020
The Next Ten Games (61-70)
- vs. Minnesota Wild (28-24-7) – Edmonton is 0-2 against the Wild this year and it’s about time the Oilers beat Bill Guerin’s boys. (WIN) LOSS
- @ Los Angeles Kings (22-34-5) – I have to say, the Kings are a dangerous team right now. They have nothing to lose and can spoil a lot of teams’ seasons. The Oilers have won 2/3 this year against their old coach but Connor McDavid might be back in this one. Keep an eye out to see if anybody out of the ordinary is sitting for this one because the next day is the trade deadline. (WIN) WIN
- @ Anaheim Ducks (24-29-7) – Last time out the Oilers put up six on Dallas Eakins’ Ducks. I expect Edmonton to equal that this time around and who knows how the roster will look as this is the game that follows the trade deadline. (WIN) OT LOSS
- @ Vegas Golden Knights (32-22-8) – The Golden Knights record might hover around Edmonton’s but I feel like this team is a bit better on paper plus this is the second game in a back-to-back. (LOSS) LOSS
- vs. Winnipeg Jets (32-25-5) – Big Buff sank this team when he decided he wasn’t going to play but the Jets have stuck in the race the whole season pretty much. You have to love the heart! (LOSS)
- @ Nashville Predators (29-23-7) – I think the Oilers can sweep the season series with Nashville. The Preds defense isn’t what it used to be and there seems to be a bit of a dark cloud floating over the team at the moment. Pekka Rinne has hit a wall too… (WIN)
- @ Dallas Stars (35-19-6) – Edmonton and Dallas have each won one game-a-piece against each other this season so far. This will be the rubber match and I like Dallas here. (LOSS)
- @ Chicago Blackhawks (26-26-8) – Going into Chicago to play the Blackhawks is never an easy task and the Oilers have always had a tough time winning in the Windy City. (LOSS)
- vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (30-19-3) – Edmonton is 21-8-0 at home vs. Columbus all-time. It’s hard to argue with those numbers, right? On the other hand, John Tortorella has his team right in the running for a playoff spot in the East. This game should be a war of attrition to see who comes away with the two points. (WIN)
- vs. Vegas Golden Knights (32-22-8) – I like Edmonton’s chances at home against the Golden Knights. History tells us they have a better chance at beating them in Edmonton than in Vegas. (WIN)
(Standings as of February 21st, 2020)
