Tag Archives: Preview

Edmonton Oilers, Zach Laing

Oilers vs Avalanche Preview – Oilers look to take advantage of injured Avs

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TALE OF THE TAPE:

Game: Edmonton Oilers (29-38-7, 65 pts. 6-4 in their last 10) vs Colorado Avalanche (37-31-4, 78 pts. 6-4 in their last 10)

Location: Rexall Place, Edmonton, Alberta

Time: 7:30 PM MT

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

Edmonton Oilers Preview:

74 down, 8 to go.

After shutting-out the Vancouver Canucks 2-0 Friday night, the Oilers look to take advantage of a team that will be without Matt Duchene, Nathan MacKinnon and Eric Gelinas tonight.

Like the Oilers, the Avs are currently getting hit with the injury bug which is less than ideal for a team competing in a tight race for the playoffs with the Minnesota Wild. Tonight, the Oilers have a chance to stall their efforts, and their playoff hopes.

While Todd McLellan and the coaching staff haven’t been talking to the players about playing spoiler, Zack Kassian realizes the opportunity ahead.

“If we’re not making the playoffs, we might as well take down teams trying to make the playoffs,” said Oilers winger Zack Kassian. “It’s one of those things where this time of the year it’s tough to find things to get motivated for, but at the top of the list is ‘be the spoiler’ and take that dream from other teams.”

Both Jordan Oesterle and Griffin Reinhart received high-praise from Todd McLellan after last Friday’s game that saw them play over 22 minutes each and blocked 11 shots combined.

Reinhart has looked consistently good in the six games since his recall from the Bakersfield Condors, which is exactly what McLellan and co. wanted from him.

Oesterle has been a pleasant surprise since his recall on Mar. 9. In his nine games with Edmonton this season, he has four assists. His play has been really solid and he has played with confidence. Who knows what the Oilers have here, but early indications show that he has some potential to play in the NHL.

Laurent Brossoit gets his fourth start of the season, and it’s a good night for him to get the green light. With the Avalanches two top scorers in Duchene and MacKinnon being out of the lineup the Avs will look to other guys to finish on the ice.

The Oilers are going to need to play a tight game in front of the Bross, and limit the shots he sees.

“We’d like to play tighter,” said McLellan. “When you’re talking about the Vancouver game, I think we addressed that after. We were sluggish, we weren’t sharp, we were sloppy, we found a way to win and Talbs had a large part in that. We’d like to play better in front of LB tonight than we did the other night and it’s as simple as that.”

McLellan hasn’t forgotten that Brossoit is still a young goaltender, saying “sometimes inexperience and understanding who the shooters are and how they score” is part of the challenge facing LB.

I think at this point in time he will certainly be battling for the backup position next season, but may benefit from more AHL experience. With Talbot securing the starting role for at least the next year or two, LB has the ability to take time and develop properly.

Let’s see what the boys can do tonight..

Quotes from oilers.nhl.com.

Predictions for tonight:

  1. Oilers win 3-2.
  2. Griffin Reinhart scores his first NHL goal.
  3. Leon Draisaitl scores the other two goals.

Last games predictions and results:

  1. Oilers beat the Canucks 3-0.
  2. Former Canuck Zack Kassian scores.
  3. CAM TALBOT SHUTOUT!!!!!

Well not bad! Cam Talbot and the Oilers shutout the Canucks 2-0, but Kassian didn’t get a goal despite some chances.

2/3 ain’t too bad.

Avalanche Preview:

There were no updates on forwards Matt Duchene (knee) and Nathan MacKinnon (knee), and defenseman Eric Gelinas (elbow) on Saturday. Colorado recalled forward Mikko Rantanen from San Antonio of the American Hockey League. Duchene missed a 4-3 shootout win against the Calgary Flames on Friday, and Gelinas and MacKinnon left that game. Coach Patrick Roy said Gelinas was out indefinitely and MacKinnon would be re-evaluated Saturday. Captain Gabriel Landeskog will return after a three-game suspension. Goalie Semyon Varlamov is expected to make his sixth straight start; he has won four of his past five games.

— NHL.com

Line Combos and Starting Goalies:

Oilers (Laurent Brossoit):

Taylor Hall – Leon Draisaitl – Iiro Pakarinen
Patrick Maroon – Connor McDavid – Jordan Eberle
Lauri Korpikoski – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Nail Yakupov
Matt Hendricks – Mark Letestu – Zack Kassian

Andrej Sekera – Mark Fayne
Jordan Oesterle – Griffin Reinhart
Darnell Nurse – Adam Clendening

EDM Injuries: Oscar Klefbom (leg infection), Andrew Ference (hip), Eric Gryba (knee), Benoit Pouliot (shoulder), Brandon Davidson (knee), Adam Pardy (hand).

Colorado Avalanche (Calvin Pickard):

Avs Lines tentative due to injuries.

Mikkel Boedker – Nathan MacKinnon – Blake Comeau
Mikhail Grigorenko – John Mitchell – Jarome Iginla
Shawn Matthias – Carl Soderberg – Andreas Martinsen
Cody McLeod – Jack Skille – Andrew Bodnarchuk

Francois Beauchemin – Erik Johnson
Nick Holden – Tyson Barrie
Eric Gelinas – Chris Bigras

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

Edmonton Oilers, Zach Laing

Oilers vs Canucks – Let’s go on a run, shall we?

TALE OF THE TAPE:

Game: Edmonton Oilers (28-38-7, 63 pts. 6-4 in their last 10) vs Vancouver Canucks (27-30-12, 66 points. 4-6 in their last 10)

Location: Rexall Place, Edmonton, Alberta

Time: 7:00 PM MT

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

Edmonton Oilers Preview:

73 down, 9 to go.

What does the end of the season look like for the Oilers? Well, three of the last nine games include matchups against the Vancouver Canucks. The toughest remaining games will include draws against the Sharks, Kings, Ducks and Coyotes.

The Oilers have an opportunity to put a few games together at the end of the year. Is it out of the realm of possibility for the Oilers to go .500 the rest of the way? I don’t. It could have implications on the ability to have the highest chance to win the lottery draft, but there are some real quality players in the four to eight range that could really benefit the Oilers.

The Oilers and Canucks have split the two games played already this year, with each team winning 2-1 in OT. Oddly enough, both teams that won the game lost in the possession game.

“They’re in a similar boat to us where they’re trying to continue to lay their foundation down with a number of young players and those young players have produced lately, the second half of the year the Horvats and those type of players have been very good,” said McLellan. “But I still believe it runs through [the Sedin’s] and their ability to cycle and play on their backhands and create time and space for their teammates. That’s a huge challenge for our team. We’ve worked real hard all year to play better in our zone and they’re going to test it tonight for sure.”

Like any game against the Canucks, the challenge is to contain the Sedin’s. Combined, they have scored 161 points in 165 career games against Edmonton.

The recent decisions by the Oilers coaching staff to combine size with skill throughout the line-up has already begun to pay dividends. Maroon has been a nice fit the last few games with McDavid and Eberle, while Iiro Pakarinen has played alongside Hall and Draisaitl.

Pakarinen has two points (1G-1A) in his last two games. 

The Canucks have seemingly had the Oilers number for some time now winning seven of the last 10 games. However, the Oilers have kept the last three games close, bringing them all to OT. 

Cam Talbot, who has a .935 sv% in his last 10 starts, gets the start tonight. 

Quotes from oilers.nhl.com.

Predictions for tonight:

  1. Oilers beat the Canucks 3-0.
  2. Former Canuck Zack Kassian scores.
  3. CAM TALBOT SHUTOUT!!!!!

Last games predictions and results:

  1. Oilers win 3-1.
  2. Patrick Maroon fights David Backes for all the crap he has done to the Oilers in the last few years. Nobody gets hurt, but Maroon gets the W.
  3. Darnell Nurse returns, plays over 20 minutes and is a positive CF player in his first game back.

The Oilers won 6-4! Maroon and Backes didn’t fight, but they did do some jawing.

 

Canucks Preview:

Goalie Jacob Markstrom will start after Ryan Miller made 31 saves in a 3-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday. Hansen (ribs) did not practice Thursday and will miss the next two games. Defenseman Alex Biega will play after missing one game with an upper-body injury. Vancouver is 28th in the NHL with 163 goals and tied for 26th with 36 power-play goals. “We have to get our D involved more, I don’t think our D is involved as much as they were in the past,” coach Willie Desjardins told the Canucks website Thursday. “I think our power play has to be a little bit better. We got to get a few more off the power play. Plus, we have to get more power plays. We just don’t get enough power plays.”

— NHL.com

Line Combos and Starting Goalies:

Oilers (Cam Talbot):

Taylor Hall – Leon Draisaitl – Iiro Pakarinen
Patrick Maroon – Connor McDavid – Jordan Eberle
Lauri Korpikoski – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Nail Yakupov
Matt Hendricks – Mark Letestu – Zack Kassian

Andrej Sekera – Mark Fayne
Griffin Reinhart – Jordan Oesterle
Darnell Nurse – Adam Clendening

EDM Injuries: Oscar Klefbom (leg infection), Andrew Ference (hip), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (hand), Eric Gryba (knee), Benoit Pouliot (shoulder), Brandon Davidson (knee), Adam Pardy (hand).

Vancouver Canucks (Jacob Markstrom):

Daniel Sedin – Henrik Sedin – Alexandre Grenier
Brendan Gaunce – Bo Horvat – Jake Virtanen
Sven Baertschi – Linden Vey – Emerson Etem
Alexandre Burrows – Jared McCann – Radim Vrbata

Ben Hutton – Christopher Tanev
Dan Hamhuis – Matt Bartkowski
Andrey Pedan – Nikita Tryamakin

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

Edmonton Oilers, Zach Laing

Oilers vs Blues – Battered Oilers fight to get back in the lineup

TALE OF THE TAPE:

Game: Edmonton Oilers (27-38-7, 61 pts. 5-4-1 in their last 10) vs St. Louis Blues (41-21-9, 91 pts. 6-4 in their last 10)

Location: Rexall Place, Edmonton, Alberta

Time: 7:30 PM MT

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

Edmonton Oilers Preview:

72 down, 10 to go.

The end is in sight for the Oilers on another disappointing season. However, that isn’t holding some players back from giving it their all.

Adam Pardy, who suffered a broken finger and has missed the last two games, is one who is trying to get back into play as soon as he can.

Adam wants to play, badly. He’s got a hand injury from blocking a shot, and he’s able to skate so he wants to keep his legs going and his conditioning up as much as he can. The minute he’s good to play we’re going to put him in, because we’d like to find out a little bit more about him. He can’t run the risk of greater injury to himself and hurting the team, and I think he understands both of those situations. He’s very noble, he wants to maintain that conditioning level and we’d welcome him back quickly. – Todd McLellan on Adam Pardy.

Transcribed by J. Willis, OilersNation. 

I recommend reading through Willis’ article linked above, as he talks about how Pardy could be a valuable defensive asset in a 6/7 role next year for the Oilers.

After serving a three game suspension, Darnell Nurse returns to action after his altercation with Roman Polak of the Sharks on Mar. 8. Nurse has shown maturity through the situation, saying he “could have definitely been smarter out there.”

That’s fair. I wrote about the incident in a post-gamer I did for Copper and Blue. To summarize my thoughts on it, I was okay with what Darnell did.

Todd McLellan feels the team should be well prepared. He noted the similar roster structure between Nashville and St. Louis. The difficulty for the Oilers all season has been injuries.

Rather than it being an excuse, it is a legitimate reason as to why the team has not been successful. Suffering the most-impactful injuries in the league and the third most injuries period as per mangameslost.com.

None the less, the Oilers had a legitimate chance this season to do well. My beginning of the year prediction had them finishing 10th in the West. As of today, they are only six points out of 10th and fourteen out of a playoff spot.

For years, the Oilers have been pushed around physically by the Blues. With the size additions the team has, it should be interesting to see how the team responds. Let’s see what the Oilers are made of tonight.

Quotes from oilers.nhl.com.

Predictions for tonight:

  1. Oilers win 3-1.
  2. Patrick Maroon fights David Backes for all the crap he has done to the Oilers in the last few years. Nobody gets hurt, but Maroon gets the W.
  3. Darnell Nurse returns, plays over 20 minutes and is a positive CF player in his first game back.

Last games predictions and results:

  1. The Oilers win the game for LB.
  2. The line of Patrick Maroon, Connor McDavid and Jordan Eberle are all on the ice for two Oilers goals.
  3. Adam Clendening has another good showing, and scores his first with the Oilers.

Well, I was close. The Oilers lost but the line of Maroon-McDavid-Eberle accounted for one goal.

St. Louis Blues Preview: 

Defenseman Carl Gunnarsson is questionable after missing practice Tuesday. Coach Ken Hitchcock said Gunnarsson, who blocked two shots in the Blues’ 7-4 loss to the Calgary Flames on Monday that ended a six-game winning streak, is day-to-day. If Gunnarsson can’t play, Robert Bortuzzo would; he’s been a healthy scratch in seven straight games. St. Louis is seeking a ninth straight win against Edmonton; the Blues are 13-1-0 in the past 14 against the Oilers. The Blues last lost to the Oilers on March 26, 2013. “If we’re not prepared (against Edmonton), it’s going to be even worse,” said goalie Jake Allen, who will start after being pulled Monday after allowing four goals on 17 shots. Stastny has seven points (three goals, four assists) during a four-game point streak after scoring two goals Monday.

 

— NHL.com

Line Combos and Starting Goalies:

Oilers (Cam Talbot):

Patrick Maroon – Connor McDavid – Jordan Eberle
Taylor Hall – Leon Draisaitl – Iiro Pakarinen
Matt Hendricks – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Nail Yakupov
Lauri Korpikoski – Mark Letestu – Adam Cracknell

Andrej Sekera – Mark Fayne
Nikita Nikitin – Adam Clendening
Jordan Oesterle – Griffin Reinhart

EDM Injuries: Oscar Klefbom (leg infection), Andrew Ference (hip), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (hand), Eric Gryba (knee), Benoit Pouliot (shoulder), Brandon Davidson (knee).

St. Louis Blues (Jake Allen):

Jaden Schwartz – Jori Lehtera – Vladimir Tarasenko
Robby Fabbri – Paul Stastny – Troy Brouwer
Patrik Berglund – David Backes – Dmitrjj Jaskin
Scottie Upshall – Kyle Brodziak – Magnus Paajarvi

Jay Bouwmeester – Alex Pietrangelo
Robert Bortuzzo – Kevin Shattenkirk
Joel Edmundson – Colton Parayko

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

Edmonton Oilers, Zach Laing

Oilers vs Predators – LB gets the start and Maroon sees time on the first line

TALE OF THE TAPE:

Game: Edmonton Oilers (27-37-7, 61 pts. 5-4-1 in their last 10) vs Nashville Predators (34-22-13, 81 pts. 7-1-2 in their last 10)

Location: Rexall Place, Edmonton, Alberta

Time: 7:00 PM MT

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

Edmonton Oilers Preview:

After falling at the hands of the Arizona Coyotes 4-0, the Oilers are looking to bounce back against a playoff bound Nashville Predators. The team’s 4-0 loss against the Coyotes is one the team would love to have back. They outshot the ‘Yotes 44-29, and should have won the game but the Saturday night curse continued and the Oilers fell.

The Predators, who are 7-1-2 in their last 10 games have lost their last two games. The Flames took them down in Overtime last Wednesday 4-2 in OT, then they fell 4-2 to the Canucks Saturday night.

While the Predators are sitting in the first Wild Card position and likely heading for the playoffs barring any disaster, the Oilers are playing for pride.

“To get comfortable and just say I’m going to come back here and get into my spot in Edmonton, I think would be a grave mistake on many of our players including our upper-end guys,” said McLellan. “I did a study the other day and went back and looked at Edmonton’s roster last year and the number of players that played in an Oilers jersey at one point. If I’m driving home in the call and saying to myself ‘if it’s not in Edmonton then it’s somewhere else.’ I’d go do that homework, because for a lot of them it was not somewhere else. It was nowhere. We’re in 28th, 29th, 30th range and those players aren’t quite as desirable as the Stanley Cup champs, even if it’s on par.”

McLellan’s comments show how nobody on this team should feel comfortable and nobody should be taking a night off. Despite the fact this is something that shouldn’t have to be said, it’s clear the Oilers need a kick to get going.

The team should be playing their most passionate hockey yet. It’s frustrating, it’s tough to watch. None the less, with only three weeks of hockey and ten games remaining it’s important for the players to make one last impression.

There are some lineup changes tonight.

Patrick Maroon draws in alongside Connor McDavid and Jordan Eberle, while Iiro Pakarinen lines up with Taylor Hall and Leon Draisaitl.

Laurent Brossoit gets the start.

Quotes from oilers.nhl.com.

Predictions for tonight:

  1. The Oilers win the game for LB.
  2. The line of Patrick Maroon, Connor McDavid and Jordan Eberle are all on the ice for two Oilers goals.
  3. Adam Clendening has another good showing, and scores his first with the Oilers.

Nashville Predators Preview:

Nashville’s franchise-record 14-game point streak ended with a 4-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday. The Predators are seven points ahead of the Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. “It’s a tight playoff race, and you need all the points you can get,” Josi told The Tennessean after the loss Saturday. “It got us some separation from the teams below us, but it’s still a tight race. We’re nowhere near the playoffs yet, so we’ve got to keep going and get points along the way here.” Forward Colton Sissons has two goals and an assist in three games since being recalled from Milwaukee of the American Hockey League. Sissons replaced center Paul Gaustad, who has been out since March 5 because of an upper-body injury.

— NHL.com

Line Combos and Starting Goalies:

Oilers (Laurent Brossoit):

Patrick Maroon – Connor McDavid – Jordan Eberle
Taylor Hall – Leon Draisaitl – Iiro Pakarinen
Matt Hendricks – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Nail Yakupov
Lauri Korpikoski – Mark Letestu – Adam Cracknell

Andrej Sekera – Mark Fayne
Nikita Nikitin – Adam Clendening
Jordan Oesterle – Griffin Reinhart

EDM Injuries: Oscar Klefbom (leg infection), Andrew Ference (hip), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (hand), Eric Gryba (knee), Benoit Pouliot (shoulder), Brandon Davidson (knee).

Nashville Predators (Pekka Rinne):

Calle Jarnkrok – Ryan Johansen – James Neal
Filip Forsberg – Mike Ribeiro – Craig Smith
Miikka Salomaki – Mike Fisher – Viktor Avirdsson
Colin Wilson – Colton Sissons – Austin Watson

Roman Josi – Shea Weber
Mattias Ekholm – Ryan Ellis
Anthony Bitetto – Barret Jackman

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

Edmonton Oilers, NHL, Zach Laing

Oilers vs Wild Preview – Beaten up Oilers look to tame the Wild

TALE OF THE TAPE:

Game: Edmonton Oilers (26-36-7, 59 pts) vs Minnesota Wild (31-26-10, 72 pts)

Location: Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, Minnesota

Time: 6:00 PM MT

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

Edmonton Oilers Preview:

Broken, battered and bruised, the Oilers are going to try and field a hockey team tonight. Darnell Nurse has been suspended for three games for his beatdown of Roman Polak. Matt Hendricks and Taylor Hall were vocal in their support for Darnell Nurse.

Nurse himself admitted he probably went a little overboard.

“I’m a hard player, always have been. I like to go out and stick up for my teammates. It was probably a little overboard,” Nurse told reporters after receiving his punishment. “You’ve got to do it at the right times and in the right way. You always have to stick up for the guys you play with.” – sportsnet.ca

Andrej Sekera, who got hit into the boards awkwardly by Tomas Hertl in the 2nd period of the Sharks game is a gametime decision.

Adam Pardy is also a game-time decision with an undisclosed ailment.

If Sekera can’t go, that means Nikita NIkitin will draw back into the lineup. Once his contract is up in Edmonton, I would imagine he will head back to Russia. His play has been very poor, and I don’t see any teams taking a shot at him.

Jordan Oesterle, who was recalled from the Bakersfield Condors on Wednesday will slide into the line-up today. When he played four games at the end of Feb., he showed very well recording one point in four games with 18 min. TOI/Gm.

“I definitely felt good coming in. It was nice having those games last year to be comfortable with the guys and I definitely felt my game grew over the year,” Oesterle began. “This is a bigger opportunity than it was when I was here last month. I think I just need to play my game, play a strong game and do what I was doing in the American League.”

With Nikitin’s poor play, Oesterle has a chance to slide into the lineup and see the rest of the season in Edmonton. The Oilers used their final post-deadline recall on him so I would imagine he will see the rest of the regular season in Edmonton before he returns to the Condors for the playoffs.

In 42 games in the AHL, this season Oesterle has 23 points.

Quotes from oilers.nhl.com.

Predictions for tonight:

  1. Oilers win 2-0.
  2. Jordan Oesterle scores his first NHL goal.
  3. CAM TALBOT SHUTOUT!!!!!!

How did last games predictions go:

  1. Oilers beat the Shorks 3-2.
  2. Lauri Korpikoski continues his recent hot-streak, and scores a goal tonight.
  3. The Big Cat has a strong showing, and gets an assist.

Ouch. Not only did the Oilers get shutout in their game against the Sharks, I got shutout in my predictions.

Minnesota Wild Preview:

Minnesota could be without forward Jason Pominville, who is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Wild coach John Torchetti said he wasn’t sure if Pominville will play, but if he does, he would break Kyle Brodziak’s Wild record for consecutive games played (232). Pominville tied the record in a 4-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Sunday. “We’ll have to see after the morning skate, even if he does,” Torchetti told the Wild website. Torchetti also declined to name a starting goaltender. Devan Dubnyk allowed three goals on 16 shots against the Blues before being pulled for the second time this season. Darcy Kuemper made 18 saves over the final 27:55 but hasn’t started since a 3-2 loss to the Washington Capitals on Feb. 26.

— NHL.com

Line Combos and Starting Goalies:

Oilers lines are tentative due to injuries.

Oilers (Cam Talbot):

Taylor Hall – Connor McDavid – Zack Kassian
Patrick Maroon – Leon Draisaitl – Jordan Eberle
Lauri Korpikoski – Mark Letestu – Nail Yakupov
Luke Gazdic/Iiro Pakarinen – Anton Lander – Adam Cracknell

Jordan Oesterle – Mark Fayne
Nikita Nikitin – Adam Clendening
Griffin Reinhart – ??

EDM Injuries: Oscar Klefbom (leg infection), Andrew Ference (hip), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (hand), Eric Gryba (knee), Benoit Pouliot (shoulder), Brandon Davidson (knee).

Minnesota Wild (Darcy Kuemper) c/o Left Wing Lock: 

Zach Parise – Mikko Koivu – Charlie Coyle
Jason Zucker – Mikael Granlund – Thomas Vanek
Nino Niederreiter – Erik Haula – Justin Fontaine
Chris Porter – Jarret Stoll – David Jones

Ryan Suter – Jared Spurgeon
Matt Dumba – Marco Scandella
Jonas Brodin – Mike Reilly

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