We’re back! It’s the Edmonton Oilers taking on the Montreal Canadiens for the fifth time this season! Montreal has taken three out of the four so far (pretty handily I might add) but the Oilers are looking to stay in the hunt for first in the North with a win and Mike Smith, who the Habs haven’t scored on this year, is starting.

Should they be in the lineup, here are three players that I think you should keep an eye on for the Habs tonight,

• #45 Eric Staal – It’s time to see what the Oilers allegedly could’ve had but lacked a certain draft pick to get it done. Staal is going to be coming in with a reignited fire in his belly after escaping the Buffalo Sabres organization. I’m very interested to see how he changes the dynamic of this team because the Habs have some good young players at center, but they’re not quite “there” yet. Staal’s experience and pedigree should help.
• #90 Tomas Tatar – It wouldn’t shock me if this fella is an Edmonton Oiler sometime in the next six months. At this point in time though, he’s got six points in his last five games and his line is feeling it.
• #6 Shea Weber – Old Man Weber seems to have found his young legs again. Recently he decided to take Brady Tkachuk out behind the woodshed for a beating and he’s contributing to the Canadiens’ offense as well with four assists and 17 shots on goal in his last five.

For Montreal to have success, the recipe isn’t all that extravagant. Simply keep close tabs on McDavid and Draisaitl and the Oilers’ offense will disappear. Montreal has enough depth on forward that it should keep Nurse and Barrie busy and not helping on the scoresheet. Toss in Carey Price and his resurgence, on paper they should be in good shape. That said, they’re behind Toronto, Edmonton, and Winnipeg in the standings for a reason.

With regards to Edmonton, I’ll be watching these three individuals closely,

• #74 Ethan Bear – I like what Bearsy has been doing lately and I’m thinking with Tyson Barrie playing banged up and his subsequent dip in form, we could see a reunification of his partnership with Norris Trophy candidate Darnell Nurse.
• #39 Alex Chiasson – Chaser had a little break last week but when he returned he looked re-energized. I love his line with JJ Khaira and Devon Shore. They’re heavy and they can dominate possession in the offensive zone. I’m hoping to see a few shots and maybe a goal tonight in his return home.
• #21 Dominik Kahun – The goal he scored in Edmonton’s previous game was exactly what the Oilers have been looking for. Meaning, he paid the price in front of the net to get it. I think what impresses about that goal is that he’s not the kind of player to get stuck in the muck like that. Hopefully he adopts more of that kind of grit to go with his skill and it contributes to a nice little scoring run as we approach the post-season.

Three Keys to Success For the Oilers

• Win the 5×5

With Montreal struggling at basically every other aspect of the game, if Edmonton can take over the scoring at 5×5, the odds of winning will rocket in their favor but that means they’re going to have to be much better with possession and shot volume.

• Dominate the Cycle

I don’t know if I’ve seen a better group of forwards for the Oilers when it comes to working the boards and down low in the offensive zone. Since the Habs do so well defending the rush, Edmonton is going to have to get their hands dirty and work some magic off of the cycle. The harder they work at this, the more likely it is that they’ll draw a penalty.

• Wingers, It’s time to contribute!

Over the past five games, the only forwards scoring are Connor McDavid (4g), Leon Draisaitl (2g), and Edmonton’s left-wingers (4g amongst RNH, Kahun, Archibald, and Shore). The rest of the goals have gone to Edmonton’s first pair defensemen, Darnell Nurse (3g) and Tyson Barrie (1g)… That’s going to be awfully easy to play against if the Habs can manage to keep Leon and Connor off the scoresheet like they’ve been doing for most of this season…

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The Montreal Canadiens will play their first game since getting shutdown for more than a week after forwards Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Joel Armia went into COVID protocol and their opponents will be the Edmonton Oilers, a team coming off of a very emotional overtime win last night.

Speaking of last night’s victory for the Oilers, I don’t think they played particularly well and in my opinion were very lucky to come away with the two points. Mike Smith carried their asses in both games and is showing once again why veterans like himself are of extreme value in a young dressing room.

Some of what I post will look familiar as I cut and pasted a little bit from the game preview I published prior to the canceling of the matches between the Habs and Oilers.

Should they be in the lineup, here are three players that I think you should keep an eye on for the Canadiens tonight,

• #11 Brendan Gallagher – Was an integral figure in Montreal’s last win. Has seven points (five goals) in his last ten games and no doubt will be driving Edmonton’s defenders crazy.
• #92 Jonathan Drouin – He’s starting to heat up a little bit with four points (all assists) in his last five games. Drouin is a clever playmaker when given the time and space.
• #17 Josh Anderson – I have a feeling we might see a scrap tonight if Anderson is feeling good. Anderson’s game is predicated on being extremely physical, driving the net like Glenn Anderson used to for the Oilers, and being a menacing presence who’s difficult to handle.

For Montreal to have success, their top-six is going to have to outwork Edmonton’s. Simple as that. As good as that group might be, it will be a very tall task for them. Expecting one of the Oilers’ goalies to have a bad night or for the club to be tired from last night’s victory is probably a better bet.

Dominique Ducharme’s bottom-six has gone absolutely dry with only two goals in its last five games, maybe they’d like to show up here at some point.

For the last ten games, Carey Price (4-1-2) and Jake Allen (0-1-2) have had their forms on the year flipped. Price is starting to round into the goalie we all know him to be and Allen is beginning to regress. This will be a tough decision for Ducharme as to who he starts because Allen has a much better record against Edmonton and Price’s struggles when he plays the Oilers are well known. Whoever it is starting, they’d best have their “A” games handy.

Montreal has had a lot of time to rest here and that will leave us wondering, will the Habs be full of piss and vinegar and on the ball or will it take them some time to shake off the rust?

With regards to Edmonton, I’ll be watching these three individuals closely,

• #29 Leon Draisaitl – He wasn’t not great last night. Gave up the puck on countless occasions and really didn’t look like he had it against Toronto. However, he continues to be Edmonton’s single shining light on the faceoff dot.
• #19 Mikko Koskinen – In Edmonton’s last ten games, Koskinen has started three of them and he’s 2-1-0 with a 1.68 GAA and a .938 SV% in those games. It’s been a long time since he had a start, so it’ll be prudent that he’s sharp early on.
• #8 Kyle Turris – There’s a theory bouncing around out there that MAYBE this guy needs to be playing in the top-six to be more effective since he has only shown that he’s completely ineffective in the bottom-six. The two games before he was put on COVID protocol were his best to date for Edmonton and he did get a goal last night. We’ll see how he does against Montreal.

Three Keys to Success For the Oilers

• Get On the Habs Early

Montreal recorded a very emotional victory against the Vancouver Canucks before their games were re-scheduled and if they can draw from that win, they’ll be feeling good going into this one. Edmonton should be gunning for the kind of start that saw them come away with a 7-1 win against the Calgary Flames not too long ago. It was as if their mindset was that they were in the last minute of a must-win game down by a goal and they had the netminder pulled. That’s how intense they need to start their games. If they do that tonight, they’ll send a shock into Montreal’s psyche that will put the Canadiens back at square one.

• Tighten Up the Neutral Zone

The two games against the Maple Leafs were tough and similar to a playoff atmosphere. The Oilers would be good to learn from both the win and the loss and close off the neutral zone thus disallowing the Montreal forwards clean entries into Edmonton’s zone.

• Shut Gally Down

The heartbeat of the Montreal Canadiens is Brendan Gallagher. If the Oilers can find a way to take him off of his game and render him ineffective, that could go a long way for Edmonton. Gallagher’s intensity and enthusiastic style of play has a certain ability to find its way into the minds and hearts of his teammates when he’s on.

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The Edmonton Oilers are in Montreal for a trio of games against one of the best teams in the first half of the season. Early on, the Habs handily beat Edmonton twice by scores of 5-1 and 3-1. Although, in their third meeting, the Oilers shut out the Canadiens 3-0.

At the moment, Montreal is 4-3-4 in their last ten and Edmonton is 7-3-0, trends that I expect to continue because the Oilers’ leadership core of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Darnell Nurse are on a tear the league hasn’t seen since the days of Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, and Sergei Zubov. I also am of the belief that as big and strong as these Canadiens are, they’re slowing down after a hot start and are ripe for the picking.

If the Oilers win, they’ll be alone at the top of the North Division. Wouldn’t that be a helluva birthday gift for Mike Smith, who turns 39 today!

Should they be in the lineup, here are three players that I think you should keep an eye on for the Habs tonight,

• #11 Brendan Gallagher – Was an integral figure in Montreal’s win over Vancouver the other night. His confidence will be sky high, meaning, he’s going to be in everybody’s grill. Has seven points (five goals) in his last ten games.
• #92 Jonathan Drouin – He’s starting to heat up a little bit with four points (all assists) in his last five games. Drouin is a clever playmaker when given the time and space.
• #17 Josh Anderson – I have a feeling we might see a scrap tonight if Anderson is feeling good. Anderson’s game is predicated on being extremely physical and I hope the Oilers keep their wits about him when he’s on the ice.

For Montreal to have success, their top-six is going to have to outwork Edmonton’s. Simple as that. As good as that group is, it will be a very tall task for them. Expecting one of the Oilers’ goalies to have a bad night is probably a better bet.

Dominique Ducharme’s bottom-six has gone absolutely dry with only two goals in its last five games, so that will have to be addressed as well.

For the last ten games, Carey Price (4-1-2) and Jake Allen (0-1-2) have had their forms on the year flipped. Price is starting to round into the goalie we all know him to be and Allen is beginning to regress. This will be a tough decision for Ducharme as to who he starts because Allen has a much better record against Edmonton and Price’s struggles when he plays the Oilers are well known. Whoever it is starting, they’d best have their “A” games handy.

With regards to Edmonton, I’ll be watching these three individuals closely,

• #29 Leon Draisaitl – A heavy game is one that fits Leon nicely. Since the 3rd of March, he’s got 16 points and now he’s part of a line being called “The Nuclear Option” which features himself, Connor McDavid, and Jesse Puljujarvi. I can only remember one other line that featured such high-end talent and it was on a team that won two consecutive Stanley Cups in the early 90s.
• #25 Darnell Nurse – Call me convinced. I used to want the Oilers to trade Nurse every year because I wasn’t impressed with his puck-handling or his shooting or his upcoming contracts. Things have changed. Nurse is composed with the puck, his decision making is better, his shooting is better, his passing has improved by leaps and bounds. He’s playing like a Norris Trophy finalist right now and has 9 points in his last ten games. The Oilers finally have a true top-pairing defenseman and if he wants $7M or $8M a year long-term, it’s a conversation worth listening to.
• #13 Jesse Puljujarvi – I know I pick him as a player to watch often but this time it’s for different reasons. He’s getting some really good press lately for his fantastic play lately and I want to know how he responds to having some of the spotlight on him. It didn’t bother his form in Finland for Karpat or with when he was a superstar for Finland at the World Juniors, but I’m still curious how his game will react to the positive attention.

Three Keys to Success For the Oilers

• Get On the Habs Early

Montreal recorded a very emotional victory two nights ago and they’ll be feeling good going into this one. Edmonton should be gunning for the kind of start that saw them come away with a 7-1 win against the Calgary Flames recently. It was as if their mindset was that they were in the last minute of a must-win game down by a goal and they had the netminder pulled. That’s how intense they need to start their games. If they do that tonight, they’ll send a shock into Montreal’s psyche that will put the Canadiens back at square one.

• Tighten Up the Neutral Zone

Those two games against the Jets were tough defensive battles and as many have said already, similar to a playoff atmosphere. The Oilers would be good to emulate those victories and close off the neutral zone thus disallowing the Montreal forwards clean entries into Edmonton’s zone. They’ll be forced to dump it in and if Mike Smith is in net, he’ll gobble those up and spit them back out to his forwards for a counter attack.

• Shut Gally Down

The heartbeat of the Montreal Canadiens is Brendan Gallagher. If the Oilers can find a way to take him off of his game and render him ineffective, that could go a long way for Edmonton. Gallagher’s intensity and enthusiastic style of play has a certain ability to find its way into the minds and hearts of his teammates when he’s on.

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