Connor McDavid has scored 100 points in 53 games. The Edmonton Oilers have not only clinched a playoff spot but they have secured home ice advantage in the first round. There are three games left to play. What are the Oilers playing for in these three games aside from not getting hurt?

There are a couple important things on the line still and I want to see the Oilers take these games seriously, bring some intensity but also ensure the players stay healthy. A regulation win tonight against the Canadiens, guarantees that the Oilers face off against the Winnipeg Jets in the first round. Edmonton has not faired well against the Canadiens this season while they have dominated the Jets.

That being said the Canadiens have struggled mightily since Edmonton last played them. Gallagher, Price, Danault, Drouin, and Weber are all currently out for the Canadiens and the team has lost 3 straight and does not have a regulation win in their last 6 games.

OILERS LINE COMBINATIONS

Kahun-McDavid-Puljujarvi
RNH-Draisaitl-Yamamoto
Neal-McLeod-Chiasson
Shore-Khaira-Archibald

Nurse-Barrie
Jones-Bear
Lagesson-Larsson

Koskinen

- Looks like Kris Russell will not get back into the lineup for the rest of the regular season and Kulikov is still a bit banged up.

CANADIENS LINE COMBINATIONS

Toffoli-Suzuki-Armia
Tatar-Kotkaniemi-Anderson
Perry-Staal-Caufield
Byron-Evans-Lehkonen

Edmundson-Petry
Kulak-Chiarot
Romanov-Merrill

Allen

4 GAME THOUGHTS

1.) Caufield - Oilers fans will get their first look at the young scorer Cole Caufield tonight. After a couple quiet games, Caufield now has 3 goals in his past 5 games. The kid also shoots like crazy with 14 shots in his last 5 games. The kid is lighting it up right now and the Oilers bottom six in particular need to be careful about limiting his lanes.

2.) Bounce Back Mikko - Koskinen will be back in net after his complete meltdown of a performance in his last game, allowing 4 goals on 4 shots. Aside from the dismal performance, Koskinen has been an excellent backup to Smith and posted above 0.920SV% in the last couple months. It's going to be key for the team and himself for him to stop that first puck and get comfortable fast.

3.) Not Just Connor - The players will never admit it but it was obvious in these past few games that the captain's teammates were trying to force the puck to him a bit too much. Now that the team and McDavid can hang their hat on his achievement, the roster needs to get back to focusing on a complete game.

4.) Adam Larsson Is Good - I haven't said enough nice things about Adam Larsson this season. The right handed shutdown D has been almost as valuable to this roster as Darnell Nurse has been. It looks like a contract extension is in the works and right now it is clearly deserved.

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