Is there anything better than a Battle of Alberta on Saturday night? no No, it does not exist.
Heading into the Saddledome, the first task for the Oilers is to get through the first period without fouling themselves or giving Calgary a slight lead. If they get through the first few minutes without giving up a horrible goal they’ll be fine, but as we’ve seen countless times over the years it can be difficult to understand that the game starts at 8pm. I don’t know what needs to happen for the Oilers to start games the way they end them, but if I could find one magical spirit that would grant me one wish, this would be it. If a spirit doesn’t work, they have to Guys maybe listen to some Death Metal before the game to piss off the blood a bit. Aside from my search for solutions, I believe the boys already know what they need to do to avenge the October 15 loss, but as always, the hard part will be making sure they execute it.
Let’s see what the numbers say.
|
OILER |
FLAMES |
|
|
RECORDING |
5-3-0 |
5-1-0 |
|
WIN/LOSS STRAK |
W3 |
W2 |
|
The last 10 games |
5-3-0 |
5-1-0 |
|
GOALS FOR |
31 |
22 |
|
GOALS AGAINST |
26 |
17 |
|
POWER GAME% |
34.5 |
30.4 |
|
PENALTY KILL % |
75.0 |
84.6 |
|
avg SHOT/FOR |
33.9 |
36.7 |
|
avg SHOTS/AGAINST |
34.1 |
27.8 |
|
TEAM SAVE% |
.928 |
.921 |
|
CORSI FOR% |
53.40 |
52.42 |
|
PDO |
1,002 |
1,006 |
|
TEAM RECORD % |
7.50 |
8.50 |
|
EXPECTED TARGETS FOR % |
51.21 |
51.21 |
GDB PRESENTED BY BETWAY
oiler
RNH-McDavid-Hyman
Kane-Draisaitl-Yamamoto
Fogele-McLeod-Puljujarvi
Shore—Ryan
Nurse – Ceci
Kulak-Barrie
Murray-Bouchard
Niemelainen
Campbell
Heading into the second round of the Battle of Alberta, the most obvious comment I could ever make is that the Oilers have to be ready from the first puck drop. Point. When those two teams last met on Oct. 15, the Oilers uncovered Calgary with four goals in one half and one substitution, and that just isn’t good enough against a very good hockey team like the Flames. The margin for error is just too small in this league to cough up chance after chance, and if the Oilers have a shot at making amends, they need to start with the opening draw. As for line combinations, what’s listed above is a carryover from Thursday’s game in Chicago, so don’t put too much stock in what’s listed just yet.
Flames
Huberdeau-Lindholm-Toffoli
Dube-Kadri-Mangiapane
Coleman-Backlund-Lewis
Lucic-Rooney-Ritchie
Ruzika
Weegar-Tanev
Hanifin-Andersson
Zadorov-Stone
Quirk
Markstrom
I hate to say it, but the Flames are one hell of a hockey team, and it’ll take a whole team effort from the Oilers if they’re going to respond with a win. The Flames aren’t one of those lucky teams to win even if the team is playing poorly, and the Oilers’ upcoming challenge is finding a way to play a full 60 minutes.
I don’t know if you’ve heard of this folks, but the Calgary Flames are playing the Edmonton Oilers in a hockey game Saturday night. It’s the second meeting between these two teams in October, following a rather contentious Playoff Battle of Alberta in the spring.
Of course, heading into a game this big, Calgary’s goalie is a big topic of conversation. Specifically, which goaltender should start against the Oilers: backup Dan Vladar or starter Jacob Markstrom?
Based on how the Flames have been juggling their goaltenders lately, the Edmonton game feels like a Jacob Markstrom start. Sure, head coach Darryl Sutter is aiming to get Vladar one start a week, but that’s most likely a projected average, not a strict rule. Bringing Markstrom back to the level of his Vezina Trophy contender in terms of play and swagger is important, especially as last season Vladar showed he can be really good even when used sparingly.
Markstrom needs replays to get his game going and a big test against Edmonton could be huge for his game and confidence.
Matchday Prediction: The Oilers even extended the season series with a spicy 4-2 victory in the Crumbledome.
Obvious Matchday Prediction: I’ll be in the Saddledome and promise to put back no less than five beers to help our friends in Calgary build a new arena and get out of this dump.
Not-So-Obvious Matchday Prediction: Brett Kulak scores his first goal of the season with a sighted eye from the point.
#GDB #Battle #Boys #Part #8pm #HNIC
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