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G46: Sabres @ Oilers - A Winnable Stretch Of Games

January 14, 2019, 11:19 AM ET [178 Comments]
Sean Maloughney
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Of the 45 games the Oilers have played thus far this season, 31 of those games have been against Western opponents; their record in those games is 14-15-2. Edmonton has faired slightly better against the few games it has played against the East, going 7-6-1 in 14 games. There are six teams Edmonton has not yet faced this season; the Sabres, Hurricanes, Blue Jackets, Islanders, Senators, and Leafs. Tonight the Buffalo Sabres will be scratched off that list.

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THE SKILL(LESS) COMPETITION

I'm not going to harp too much on the skills competition as it's a fun event for kids and families but watching it without Connor McDavid present felt empty. There are a number of talented players on the Oilers such as Nurse, Draisaitl, and Ryan Nugent Hopkins but McDavid's absence only exemplified how rough this team is without him. Congrats to Ryan Spooner for winning the fastest skater competition.

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LINEUPS

OILERS

As of right now I'm assuming the Oilers are going with the same lineup they iced against the Coyotes. The big if we will be watching today is whether or not Connor McDavid will be able to play. Similar to the skills competition....this lineup is incredibly underwhelming if he is not playing.

Draisaitl-McDavid-Rattie
Lucic-RNH-Chiasson
Rieder-Khaira-Kassian
Spooner-Brodziak-Puljujarvi

Jones-Larsson
Nurse-Russell
Manning-Benning

Koskinen

- Maybe Manning will play tonight...

SABRES (via DailyFaceOff)

Skinner-Eichel-Thompson
Sheary-Sobotka-Reinhart
Girgenson-Mittelstadt-Pominville
Rodrigues-Larsson-Okposo

Pilut-Ristolainen
Dahlin-Bogosian
Scandella-Mccabe

Hutton

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4 KEYS TO VICTORY

1) Connor's Better. It's incredible how much pedigree plays into contracts. Eichel had a strong rookie campaign with 56 points in 82 games, dealt with injuries the following two years and played just below a ppg pace, and was then signed to an eight year 10 million dollar contract. This season Eichel has remained fairly healthy but is barely on pace for 30 goals. Hopefully McDavid is healthy tonight so we can all see what we already know.

2) Having Said That.... Before I have the Sabres fans yelling at me in the comments section, I will remind everyone that the Oilers have not won against Buffalo since 2016. Edmonton has dropped four straight to Buffalo and outscored a total of 18-6 and Buffalo wasn't good those years either. The Sabres have played better hockey this year but are 3-6-1 in their last ten. This is a winnable game.

3) Fix The PP... Again. Edmonton is 1/13 on their powerplay since the beginning of January. Clearly something needs to change.

4) Don't Fall Further Down The Hole. The rest of January is a pretty relaxed schedule for Edmonton. After tonight's game the team will face in order, Vancouver, Calgary, Carolina, and Detroit, followed by the All-Star Break. Including tonight, my math says Edmonton needs to at least 7 of 10 points in these games to be in the hunt. That starts tonight.
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