Tag Archives: Penguins

Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Zach Laing

Oilers vs Penguins Preview – Reinhart down, Schultz up

edit 4:46 PM: Anders Nilsson has been confirmed to start.

TALE OF THE TAPE:

Game: Edmonton Oilers (7-14-2) vs Pittsburgh Penguins (13-8-1)

Location: CONSOL Energy Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Time: 5:00 PM MT

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

Edmonton Oilers Preview:

Coming off the heels of a 4-3 heartbreaking OT loss to the Red Wings, the Oilers made the move to activate Justin Schultz off the IR and assign Griffin Reinhart to the Bakersfield Condors (AHL).

The move isn’t one that I am a fan of, but it is one that I can understand. The Oilers still have a log jam of defencemen and something had to give. Reinhart was one of few defencemen available to be returned to the AHL, and I don’t feel that Brandon Davidson or Darnell Nurse are deserving of that. Reinhart still has some flaws in his game, so hopefully he can get some big minutes in Bakersfield.

Jujhar (J.J.) Khaira will be featured in his NHL debut.

“I think I’ve found my game,” said Khaira. “I’m definitely more confident. I know what I need to do when I’m out there, what kind of player I need to be and a lot of it has to do with being a big body and creating room for myself and others.” Source.

At 6’3, 215 lbs that is exactly what Khaira can come in and do. His scoring has caught up with his size this season, as he has potted seven points in 16 AHL games – a definite improvement over the 10 points in 51 games he notched last year.

I am a big fan of Khaira’s, and was happy that we were able to get him in the 3rd round of the 2012 NHL Entry draft. The Oilers are a team that has been lacking size for sometime, so hopefully Khaira will be able to continue to develop into an impact player for the Oilers down the road. His game has been impressive in the AHL.

Tonight, both the Oilers and Penguins are preparing for back-to-back games after both suffering OT losses last night. Last time these two teams met was on November 6th, where the Penguins beat the Oilers 2-1. Anders Nilsson had the start in that game, and boasted an impressive 2.05 GAA and .939 sv%.

Given that Talbot had the start last night, I would expect to see Nilsson manning the crease tonight.

Walter Foddis’ Pregame Metrics:

The Otherside:

Backup goaltender Jeff Zatkoff will make his fourth start of the season after Marc-Andre Fleury made 41 saves in a 2-1 overtime loss at the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday. Zatkoff got the victory in Edmonton earlier this month, making 26 saves. Sidney Crosby, who left the game in Columbus briefly after being cross-checked in the neck late in the second period, returned to the game and extended his point streak to four games when he set up Evgeni Malkin for a power-play goal midway through the third period. Crosby has three goals and five points during this stretch. “I’m OK,” said Crosby, who left with 1:20 remaining in the second period but was back for the start of the third. There always concern when it happens, but I’m OK.” – nhl.com

Line Combos and Starting Goalies c/o Daily Faceoff:

As per the Oilers website, “The Oilers did not skate this morning, having flown in from Detroit last night. The lineup will be announced during warmups.”

Oilers (Unknown): 

Penguins (Jeff Zatkoff): 

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

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zq8KHn2TEXI]

 

Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Zach Laing

Oilers vs Penguins Preview – Oh Connor, where art thou?

TALE OF THE TAPE:

Game: Edmonton Oilers (5-8-0) vs Pittsburgh Penguins (8-4-0)

Location: Rexall Place, Edmonton

Time: 7:00 PM MT

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

Edmonton Oilers Preview:

Day four post injury, and it’s still a tough pill to swallow. As I pointed out on twitter earlier in the week, I’m disappointed we won’t be able to see the battle of generation talents tonight between Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid. None the less, life goes on and it’s time to look beyond McDavid.

With McDavid down, Jordan Eberle draws back into the lineup and in saying so, the coaching staff made the move to juggle the lines a bit. Draisaitl will center Hall and Eberle, while the Nuge with center Pouliot and Yakupov. Tonight, I am looking forward to seeing how Yakupov plays sans McDavid.

Has Yakupov taken the steps we think he has, or is he just a product of McDavid’s talent? Time will tell but it is an interesting storyline to follow as we move forward.

Interestingly enough, Mark Fayne is a healthy scratch for the third game in a row. BLH speculated today that there could be a potential deal in the works. Fayne has certainly had his struggles, but I would be sitting others like Gryba for three games before I would Fayne. That’s why I’m a blogger, and not a coach I guess.

Tonight, I would look for the team to build off that Philadelphia win where we basically dominated that entire game. Here’s to hoping for the best!

 

The Otherside:

Pittsburgh was expecting to face Edmonton’s Connor McDavid for the first time, but McDavid sustained a fractured left clavicle Tuesday. “I was looking forward to playing against him, honestly,” center Eric Fehr told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review after practice Thursday. “There’s been a lot of hype the past couple years. He’s one of the up-and-coming stars. It’s always fun playing against those guys.” Pittsburgh has won five straight and is 8-1-0 after starting the season with three losses. Fleury has won seven straight against the Oilers with a 2.15 goals-against average. – nhl.com

 

Line Combos and Starting Goalies via Left Wing Lock:

Oilers (Anders Nilsson):

Penguins (Jeff Zatkoff):

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

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vF1HCMGZ4Ok]

Edmonton Oilers, Kris Hansen, NHL

The BLH Oilers Weekly Round Up: October 4th-10th

Photo courtesy of John Russell

 

First week of the NHL season took place. The Edmonton Oilers played twice losing both games to St. Louis and Nashville, 3-1 and 2-0 respectively. Still, hockey is back and I could not be anymore happier.

Edmonton Oilers Three Stars of the Week

You know, it’s a bit tough looking for three stars because there was really only one player that stood out as a number one star in my eyes and the rest were a collective “meh”. Even more so, it’s hard to choose someone when you go scoreless in two games (I’m not counting the accidental bank in goal from St. Louis as one).

3. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

He technically was credited with the goal against St. Louis but like I said, it was a complete fluke. Still, Nuge has been solid this year. He’s easily one of our best, if not best, defensive forward. He rarely looks lost out there. I’ve also noticed he’s not afraid to shoot the puck. I think him and Hall are a good fit together.

2. Nail Yakupov 

Hey! Nail finally got a chance to play with McDavid last night! That’s a positive right? He’s looked solid on both ends of the ice. He is causing turnovers in the offensive zone and is more tenacious. He needs to shoot the puck more though: there were times where he would look for a pass rather than a shot. Plus, he fumbled it twice on the blue line in the game against Nashville. Still, with Eberle out, it’s about time that Yakupov gets a chance in the top six and it’s up to him to keep it that way.

1. Cam Talbot 

This one is a landslide first star. Talbot was very solid to outstanding in the two games so far. I cannot say that of the four goals he let in that it was on him. He’s keeping the team in the games which has been a far cry from past seasons where the goalies could not save a beachball from going in. The irony is now the Oilers cannot score. Who saw that one coming? Talbot is looking like a number one goalie that the Oilers have needed so badly these last couple of seasons, two games in be damned.

Edmonton Oilers News and Rumors 

At this point of the season, there are not a lot of rumblings.

There was a rumor that Nikitin would be going to Russia. Alas, per Elliot Friedman, that will not be the case.  He’s going to be staying in Bakersfield for the foreseeable future.

Everyone’s favorite mostly out of touch TSN segment the Reporters are questioning if the Edmonton Oilers and Connor McDavid are crumbling under pressure.  Before we take out the pitchforks, Farber does defend the notion as being silly. Which it totally is because it’s two games into the season.

Around the League 

Videos of the Week. 

We had our first 3v3 OT game it was absolute madness.

 

Henrik Lundqvist made the save of the year

 

Jack Eichel had his first NHL goal

As did Dylan Larkin

The Week Ahead

The Oilers take on Dallas on Tuesday, St. Louis on Thursday for our home opener and visit Calgary on Saturday for a Hockey Night in Canada game.

That’s your Weekly Roundup for this week!

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