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G48: Flames @ Oilers - The Flames Are The Better Team |
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The last couple days of trade proposals has been a fun break from reality. Sadly there is no Jake Muzzin, Jakob Silfverberg, or Tyler Toffoli coming to the rescue of Edmonton. Help may however come in the form of Oscar Klefbom.
Klefbom has been sidelined the last 16 games with a broken finger and the team desperately misses him. The first 31 games of the season, the Oilers went 17-12-2... since Klefbom's injury the team is 6-9-1. Since December 11th the Oilers have only 4 wins in regulation.
It's tough for Oilers fans to watch as their team fights to just make it into the playoffs, while their rivals to the south are likely going to finish first in the Pacific. We can discuss in the off-season, which players in Calgary are likely to repeat this success and who might fall off, but regardless of that, the Flames have a solid roster and have built a team that should contend for years to come.
Last season the Flames were in a similar position to Edmonton in that most of their offense was centred around their best players. Gaudreau, Monahan, and Tkachuk did most of the heavy lifting up front for Calgary similar to what McDavid, Draisaitl, and Ryan Nugent Hopkins did for Edmonton. Treliving recognized the need to improve the forward core and traded from a position of strength and moved Dougie Hamilton for Noah Hanifin and Elias Lindholm. This is similar to what Peter Chiarelli has done for Edmonton with the exception of trading from a position of strength.... or addressing needs....or getting quality players in return......
If you asked most fans before the season started who would score more goals; Neal or Lindholm, people would probably have said Neal. He has been a consistent 20+ goal scorer since entering the NHL, while before this season started, Lindholm had not yet reached that mark. Things are topsy turvy this season with Neal having only 5 goals and Lindholm well on his way to crack 30 goals.
This is an Oilers blog so I'll talk about Edmonton now....tonight is going to be tough to win.
LINEUPS
OILERS
Draisaitl-McDavid-Chiasson
Khaira-RNH-Yamamoto
Lucic-Cave-Kassian
Rieder-Brodziak-Puljujarvi
Nurse-Russell
Jones-Larsson
Manning-Benning
Koskinen
- Please just trade Puljujarvi so I don't have to watch this anymore.
FLAMES
Gaudreau-Monahan-Lindholm
Tkachuk-Backlund-Frolik
Bennett-Jankowski-Neal
Mangiapane-Ryan-Hathaway
Giordano-Brodie
Hanifin-Andresson
Kylington-Prout
Rittich
4 KEYS TO VICTORY
1) Take Advantage In The First. The only real area Edmonton has an advantage going into this game is that the Flames played last night in a high scoring affair where Calgary once again, pulled ahead in the third period. The Oilers have had two days off and need to come in to this game with energy before Calgary gets their legs under them. Calgary is 1-2 this season coming off back to back games.
2) Another Clinic. Last time these two teams faced off, the final score was 1-0 for Edmonton. Both Koskinen and Rittich put on a show with both goalies taking 19 shots and a McDavid goal being the difference. It is likely we see these two men face off again, and Koskinen will have to be the better of the two for Edmonton to win.
3) Nurse On The Point. Darnell Nurse has always been a productive player at even strength, but with Sekera and Klefbom playing he has never really had a fair shake on the PP. This season with both players out, Nurse has been on the first unit and has produced strong numbers. Since December 22nd he has 5 assists on the PP. In 2016/2017 when Klefbom was at his most productive he had a total of 13 assists through the whole season. Even when Klefbom returns I would keep Nurse in that spot.
4) It Was Going To Happen Eventually. The Anaheim Ducks are off of their 13 game losing streak and have won their last two games. Even after that horrid losing streak the Ducks are tied with Edmonton with 49 points. The Wild Card race is going to be tight and Edmonton needs to continue putting wins together or they will be out of the race quickly.
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
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