TALE OF THE TAPE:

Game: Edmonton Oilers (22-29-5) vs Winnipeg Jets (24-27-3)

Location: Rexall Place, Edmonton

Time: 8:00 PM MT

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

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Outdoor game in Winnipeg will take place in late October. Looking like Oilers vs Jets.</p>&mdash; John Shannon (@JSportsnet) <a href=”https://twitter.com/JSportsnet/status/698638977780359173″>February 13, 2016</a></blockquote>
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This would be really cool.

Edmonton Oilers Preview:

Big news tonight in Edmonton as Oilers G Cam Talbot has come down with an illness. Prospect Laurent Brossoit will get his second career NHL start just two days after being recalled from the Bakersfield Condors.

The Oilers are in tough against a physical, heavy Winnipeg Jets team. It really will be a test for the Oilers. Historically, the Oilers struggle against bigger teams. Simply put, it’s because the Oilers themselves have yet to find ways to win against these groups. Maybe it’s because the Oilers don’t have the physical players to deal with the style of play the Jets bring.

“In my opinion, we stole the game when we played them [Dec. 21, EDM 3 – WPG 1],” said Head Coach Todd McLellan. “We had a good start, we built up a lead and then we decided we just wanted to defend and with their size and their ability to roll around in your end, that’s not a good recipe. You’ve got to keep attacking. They do play a hard, strong game along the walls. They roll around good. Our power play is going to have to be sharp. They have a tendency to take some penalties, so if they do we’re going to have to make sure it’s sharp.”

When you look at tonight’s lines, it’s apparent that Todd McLellan has set the lines to allow for there to be physical presence on each line. Hopefully, this acts as a deterrent for anything too rough tonight but who knows. Other than that, the lines seen today are a mess.

Nail Yakupov is continuously getting buried on the third and fourth line without any real offensive players. To his own credit, he is producing 1.7 points per hour on ice which is good to see.

Winnipeg is on the cusp on missing out on the Playoffs and they’ve been really struggling as of late, going 7-9-1 since the beginning of January. The team has been frustrated, and with there being no clear direction in which the team has planned on going with UFA Captain Andrew Ladd it is an unneeded distraction for a team making a push.

The Winnipeg Jets are 0-22-2 when trailing after two periods, and 4-16-2 when trailing after the first, so let’s hope the team can come out strong.

None the less, the Oilers will have their work cut out for them.

Predictions for tonight:

1. The current line combo’s don’t last all game.
2. Nail Yakupov and Leon Draisaitl get some ice time together.
3. Connor McDavid scores a bagillion goals.

Jets team scope: Winnipeg activated goaltender Ondrej Pavelec from injured reserve Friday before leaving to begin a four-game road trip. He has been out since injuring his knee Nov. 21 against the Arizona Coyotes. Rookie goaltender Connor Hellebuyck was reassigned to Manitoba of the American Hockey League. Coach Paul Maurice did not confirm a starting goaltender but said that Pavelec and Michael Hutchinson “somewhere in the next two or three games” each will play. Winnipeg remains last in the Central Division at 51 points. Center Bryan Little has scored in each of the past two games. The trip continues next Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes.  -nhl.com

Line Combos and Starting Goalies c/o Left Wing Lock:

Oilers (Laurent Brossoit):

Benoit Pouliot – Connor McDavid – Jordan Eberle
Taylor Hall – Mark Letestu – Zack Kassian
Iiro Pakarinen – Leon Draisaitl – Teddy Purcell
Nail Yakupov – Matt Hendricks – Lauri Korpikoski

Andrej Sekera – Mark Fayne
Darnell Nurse – Justin Schultz
Brandon Davidson – Eric Gryba

EDM Injuries: Oscar Klefbom (undisclosed), Andrew Ference (hip), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (hand)

Scratched: Adam Clendening, Anton Lander

Winnipeg Jets (Ondrej Pavelec):

Nikolaj Ehlers – Bryan Little – Blake Wheeler
Mathieu Perreault – Mark Scheifele – Drew Stafford
Andrew Ladd – Adam Lowry – Joel Armia
Alexander Burmistrov – Andrew Copp – Chris Thorburn

Toby Enstrom – Dustin Byfuglien
Ben Chairot – Tyler Myers
Mark Stuart – Jacob Trouba

Any ideas on how to improve my game previews? Send me an email at zjlaing@gmail.com.

TALE OF THE TAPE:

Game: Edmonton Oilers (14-18-2) at Winnipeg Jets (15-15-2)

Location: Rexall Place, Edmonton, Alberta

Time: 7:00 PM MT

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

Edmonton Oilers Preview:

You’re hot than you’re cold, you’re yes then you’re no.

The lines Katy Perry once sang in her hit “Hot ‘N Cold” (Yeah, I had it on my iPod) apply all too well to our Oilers. After winning the first six games of the month, the team has fallen to the hands of their opponent in their last three.

However, in the last three games one particular Oiler hasn’t been in the lineup. Oscar Klefbom.

As TSN’s Frank Seravalli pointed out in his #MondayMustRead, “you could make the argument that the Oilers have missed Oscar Klefbom has much as Connor McDavid.”

He also noted in the blurb that the Oilers have allowed an average of five (!) more shorts against and one more high-danger scoring chance against. Seravalli also noted that Klefbom could return to the lineup soon. I hadn’t really thought twice about the team’s performances sans McDavid, but it just goes to show how important he is to the team.

Klefbom is currently on pace for career high’s in Goals, Assists, Points and Time on Ice per game.

The season is still young, and this group is just finally getting it’s legs underneath themselves despite the last three losses. Mark Fayne, who was sent down to the Bakersfield Condors has been recalled and will draw into the lineup tonight.

Fayne’s play was so poor that it warranted his demotion and it showed this new management teams holds all players accountable. In five AHL games, Fayne had one assist.

The Jets have gone 5-5 in their last 10, compared to the Oilers who have gone 6-4 in their last 10. Both teams are on a bit of a cold stretch, so it will be interesting to see who comes out on top tonight.

The Otherside:

Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck is expected to start, but coach Paul Maurice has not confirmed. Winnipeg starts a stretch of seven of nine games on the road tied for the third-fewest road wins in the NHL (six). Having lost 10 of the past 13 road games (3-9-1), Winnipeg continue a two-game road trip Tuesday against the Calgary Flames. “It’s tough to explain sometimes,” defenseman Mark Stuart said of the road record, according to the Jets website. “You’re together as a team [on the road] and don’t have to worry about anything else but hockey and concentrating on the games. You can get on a roll. That’s what we need to do.”

Line Combos and Starting Goalies c/o Left Wing Lock:

Oilers (Cam Talbot):
Taylor Hall – Leon Draisaitl – Teddy Purcell
Benoit Pouliot – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle
Matt Hendricks – Mark Letestu – Lauri Korpikoski
Luke Gazdic – Anton Lander – Iiro Pakarinen

Darnell Nurse – Justin Schultz
Andrej Sekera – Mark Fayne
Nikita Nikitin – Eric Gryba

Winnipeg Jets (Connor Hellebuyck):

Andrew Ladd – Bryan Little – Blake Wheeler
Mathieu Perrault – Mark Scheifele – Drew Stafford
Chris Thorburn – Alexander Burmistrov – Nikolaj Ehlers
Joel Armia – Andrew Copp – Matt Halischuk

Jacob Trouba – Dustin Byfuglien
Toby Enstrom – Tyler Myers
Mark Stuart – Ben Chairot

Any ideas on how to improve my game previews? Send me an email at zjlaing@gmail.com.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6eetEkubjE]