The Penguins continue their trip across Western Canada as they visit the once holy hockey town that is Edmonton. Tonight, the Edmonton Oilers will play host to our Pittsburgh Penguins.
It's a 9:00pm local puck drop, but the Pregame begins right now....
Tonight's "Big Dave's Gameday Jam" comes from one of my favorite bands. I grew up on this groups debut album "Hybrid Theory" and rediscovered how much I loved them last year. That's right, I am talkin of the great Linkin Park. This song comes off one of their newer albums, it is "Guilty All the Same" featuring Rakim. Enjoy!
The State of the Penguins
That is what the Penguins have accomplished over that span after another quality win against Vancouver on Wednesday night. The Penguins played another solid game, but I wouldn't say complete. They were sloppy in the second and in the last five minutes of the game. That being said, they still got the win.
The Penguins are playing better hockey. They are playing boring hockey, but they are still winning. I would love to see more high flying, high octane offense, but the Penguins are winning, so I can't complain too much.
The Pens have scored more of late. They scored three goals v. Vancouver on Wednesday and have netted 14 over their last four games. That is certainly better than the 16 goals over the first eight games. Let's hope it continues.
Sidney Crosby scored on Wednesday, on the power play, in front of the net. Is that enough to get him jumpstarted? I certainly hope so, but I won't count my chickens until they hatch. If he continues to go to the net, both at even strength and on the power play, he should get his points.
Evgeni Malkin is playing very good hockey. He has played well offensively, leading the team in goals and points. But his defensive play has been outstanding. He is forechecking, back checking and being smarter with the puck. I like this Geno, even if I'd like to see more points out of him. Part of his success has been the line changes that put Phil Kessel on his line. The duo has 10 points in five games together. I'll take that.
The Penguins bottom six continues to impress. Fehr and Cullen have been outstanding, scoring three goals over the last two games. Kunitz has goals in two out of three games. Bonino has been great defensively and in the faceoff circle. They continue to succeed and I hope it continues into tonight.
Pittsburgh has won eight out of nine games. They have won five games in a row. This is an important stretch of hockey for the Penguins and I'd like to see them continue that great play against the lowly Edmonton Oilers tonight.
Are they Really that Unlucky?: The Edmonton Oilers
Well, that may not be true, I have never actually been there, but in terms of hockey success, the dark days don't seem to have an end in sight in this once holy hockey town.
The Oilers have been a dying franchise for a decade now. After an appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals in 2006, Edmonton has been abysmal, a dark hole in terms of their hockey. You have to give it to the fans, they stick by this team even in their darkest times and times have been dark for a while.
It is hard to believe that this team isn't growing or seemingly moving in the right direction. The Oilers have had a top ten pick in each of the last nine NHL Drafts, including four number one overall selections. Their last playoff appearance was 2008, the year they drafted Jordan Eberle. Since then, the Oilers have rarely been in contention and they have drafted the talented likes of Eberle, Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Nail Yakupov, Darnell Nurse, Leon Draisaitl and last season Connor McDavid.
That's right, Edmonton robbed the Sabres of their ultimate prize last season when they were given the top pick once again in the NHL Draft. They took the dubbed "Next One," Connor McDavid with that selection. McDavid, who will be this generation's Sidney Crosby is expected to end the darkness and bring the dawn in the Oil City at long last.
But it is unlikely to happen now...
The Flyers took out McDavid on Tuesday night and the young star will miss "months" according to Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli after suffering a broken clavicle in his shoulder. Until Tuesday night, McDavid appeared to be the real deal, winning NHL Rookie of the Month for October and scoring 12 points in thirteen games. He certainly looked to be an answer, but he will be gone for the foreseeable future.
So what do the Edmonton Oilers have going for them?
They are getting a little better, at least for now. They currently sit at 5-8-0 overall, currently 5th in the Pacific Division. They are 5-5-0 over their last ten games and did win that game against Philadelphia on Tuesday. The Oilers hired a new GM in Chiarelli who is working hard to return this team to their Stanley Cup winning days of the 80s, and also a new head coach in Todd McLellan who seems to be pulling some strings and getting more out of his star players.
On the ice, the Oilers have been led by former number one overall pick Taylor Hall. Hall, who was flanking McDavid until the injury, posted 16 points in thirteen games. Another top pick, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, will fill in on the top line for McDavid and he has done well in his first 13 games of the season posting five goals and eleven points. Nail Yakupov, hey, another top overall pick, also playing well thus far in 2015-16 with 10 points in thirteen games. In net, former Ranger netminder Cam Talbot now runs the show in Edmonton and has three of the Oilers five wins on the season.
The Oilers are down and likely out again. However, that does not mean the Penguins can afford to take this game lightly. Edmonton will put up a fight, the Penguins need to make sure they supply the knockout punch.
The Lowdown on Edmonton:
- 5-8-0 overall on the season.
- Currently sitting 5th in the Pacific Division.
- Defeated Philadelphia in their last game, but are 5-5-0 in their last 10 games.
- The Oilers are 3-4-0 at Rexall Place this season.
- Despite their struggles, the Oilers only have a minus-5 goal differential.
Edmonton Offseason Acquisitions: C Connor McDavid (1st Overall, NHL Draft), LW Lauri Korpikoski (FA, Arizona), C Mark Letestu (FA, Columbus), D Andrej Sekera (FA, Los Angeles), G Cam Talbot (Trade, NYR), G Anders Nilsson (Trade, Chicago), D Griffin Reinhart (Trade, NYI) D Eric Gryba (Trade, Ottawa)
Scoring Leaders:
- LW Taylor Hall - 16pts (6G-10A)
- C Connor McDavid - 12pts (5G-7A)
- C Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - 11pts (5G-6A)
- RW Nail Yakupov - 10pts (2G-8A)
- LW Benoit Pouliot - 7pts (3G-4A)
- C Leon Draisaitl - 7pts (3G-4A) in just 3 games
Injury Report:
- RW Jordan Eberle (upper-body) will make his season debut tonight. He missed the first month of the season with a shoulder injury.
- C Connor McDavid (upper-body) is OUT indefinitely. McDavid suffered a broken clavicle on Tuesday v. Philadelphia and will be out "months."
- LW Lauri Korpikoski (upper-body) is OUT tonight. Korpikoski, who is suffering from a head injury, was placed on IR this past week.
- D Justin Schultz (back) is OUT tonight. Schultz has missed about a week and is set to miss another week to a month depending on how his back responds.
- LW Rob Klinkhammer (lower-body) is also OUT tonight. He was placed on IR last week after suffering a lower-body injury v. Minnesota.
Projected Lines:
- Taylor Hall - Leon Draisaitl - Jordan Eberle
- Benoit Pouliot - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - Nail Yakupov
- Matt Hendricks - Mark Letestu - Teddy Purcell
- Anton Lander - Andre Miller - Iiro Pakarinen
Projected Pairs:
- Andrej Sekera - Darnell Nurse
- Oscar Klefborn - Brandon Davidson
- Griffen Reinhart - Eric Gryba
Anders Nilsson is expected to start in net for the Oilers tonight.
News & Notes from the Penguins
- The Penguins held an optional skate this morning at Rexall Place.
- Those who participated were: Perron, Kunitz, Bonino, Bennett, Plotnikov, Cullen, Fehr, Sprong, Letang, Dumoulin, Maatta, Clendening, Lovejoy, Fleury and Zatkoff.
The Pens/Oilers Matchup:
- The Penguins swept the season series last year. Marc-Andre Fleury shutout the Oilers in Edmonton in early April while the Pens won the home matchup in a 6-4 contest.
- The Penguins have gone 7-0-2 in their last 9 games v. Edmonton.
- Pittsburgh is 3-0-2 in their last five games at Rexall Place.
- Sidney Crosby led Penguin scorers with a goal and four points in two games. David Perron had two goals and three points v. Edmonton while Patric Hornqvist matched him with three points on the year.
- Marc-Andre Fleury won both games, including one shutout.
- Jordan Eberle led the Oilers in scoring in both games scoring a goal and two points over two games. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had two assists in those games.
Miscellaneous Notes:
- Eric Fehr made history when he was the first player in the NHL to score short handed goals in his first two games with a team.
- The Penguins have only given up 41 shots over the last two games. Much better than the 53 they gave up to Buffalo just eight days ago at Consol.
- The Penalty Kill continues to streak, killing 17 straight entering tonight.
- C Evgeni Malkin will play in his 600th NHL game tonight.
- D Ian Cole will play in his 200th NHLS game tonight.
Projected Lines & Pairs
- Pascal Dupuis - Sidney Crosby - Patric Hornqvist
- David Perron - Evgeni Malkin - Phil Kessel
- Chris Kunitz - Nick Bonino - Beau Bennett
- Daniel Sprong - Matt Cullen - Eric Fehr
Pairs:
- Ben Lovejoy - Brian Dumoulin
- Kris Letang - Ian Cole
- Olli Maatta - Rob Scuderi
Jeff Zatkoff is expected to start in net.
My Keys to the Game
2. Top Line: Sid scored the other night, Hornqvist and Duper in games prior to that. I think they need a huge night together and I hope they do it tonight. The Edmonton defense is not great and the speed this line possess should be able to get some time in space to get some quality shots off. Hopefully, that works out.
3. Attack, Attack, Attack!: Don't sit back, even if that is the style the Pens are playing. The Pens need to attack this team and keep the pressure on Cam Talbot and the mediocre defense. I'd like to see 30-plus shots on net and I don't think that is asking too much from this team against this opponent.
My 3 Penguins to Watch
2. David Perron: Finally got off the schnide when he scored in Vancouver. Now, he returns to play his old team and he has great numbers against them. Perron had two goals and three points in two games v. Edmonton last year, I think he keeps rolling tonight skating alongside Phil and Geno.
3. Daniel Sprong: The rookie gets back in the lineup tonight after being a scratch the last few games. It's a good move to get the youngster in the game. I hope to see him get at least 10-13 minutes tonight, but I'm not holding my breath. That being said, with a lowly opponent tonight, the Penguins wouldn't be in the wrong by playing Sprong more tonight. Let him use his legs and flash his skills, otherwise, you're wasting his talents.
What You Need to KNow for Watching/Listening
- The Pens game can be found locally on ROOT Sports. Puck drop is at 9:00pm. Paul Steigerwald and Bob Errey will have the call with Dan Potash handling the interview. "Thanks Daaaaaan."
- Penguins Pregame will precede the game, beginning at 8:30pm on ROOT.
- Penguins Postgame will follow all the action.
For those listening to the game tonight:
- The game can be caught on 105.9 The X, the Penguins app, the Penguins website and on the iHeart Radio app.
- Mike Lange and Phil Bourque are slated to have the game coverage starting at 9:00pm.
- Penguins Pregame will precede the coverage with Josh Getzoff as host.
- Post game coverage will follow all the game coverage.
Pens Points available tonight:
- ROOT Sports Pregame keyword: 5pts
- ROOT Sports Post Game keyword: 5pts
- Pens Radio Network keyword: 5pts
- Miller Light Night at Cadillac Ranch - 25pts
I'd like to thank you all for stopping by. I may have a post game tonight depending on my mood after the game and what time it is. I will likely just tweet my post game thoughts, but if I decide to post a View From Where I Sat, I will inform you all.
The Pregame returns tomorrow night for the Calgary game as well. Don't miss out on that. No post game following tomorrow's matchup.
That'll do it for me. Enjoy the game and LETS GO PENS!!!