Oilers v. Kings - 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12

Now concerning unconditional devotion you don't really need instructions from me, for God is teaching us how to love the unlovable day by day. Indeed, your continued devotion despite eight years of futility is to be admired. Nevertheless, I urge you to guard against bitterness and to remember that, even in the midst of difficulty, this team will bring moments of great joy. I urge you to cheer when a goal is scored, to be awed by a wonderful pass, and to let your mouth drop at a beautiful rush. I urge you to shout at the screen, to embrace after a win, and to wear your colors publicly, letting verbal abuse from outsiders be an opportunity for self-deprecating humor. In this way, our devotion will be a witness to all the world as to the greatness of the Oilers and the community that they represent.

Edmonton Oilers @ Los Angeles Kings

Staples Center, 7:00 p.m. MDT
Television: Sportsnet

Visiting Team Scouting Report: The Kings are one of just eight teams in the NHL with a Fenwick Close percentage five-on-five of 50% or better for each of the last three regular seasons. The other seven are Chicago, St. Louis, Boston, Detroit, New Jersey, and Vancouver. You'll notice that this group of eight includes all of the Stanley Cup finalists over the last three seasons too. This year? More of the same. All eight teams are above 50%, and the Kings currently sit eighth in the league at 53.2%. If we look at all Fenwick events five-on-five, the Kings are fifth at 54.1%. They're achieving those results with their tremendous depth. Of the twenty skaters who have played in at least three games, just four have a Fenwick percentage below the break-even mark.

Expected Lineups:

Edmonton Oilers (3-8-1):

Yakupov - Nugent-Hopkins - Eberle
Perron - Arcobello - Hemsky
Lander - Gordon - Jones
Eager - Acton -Gazdic

Belov - J Schultz
Smid - Petry
N Schultz - Ference

Dubnyk

Los Angeles Kings (7-4-0):

King - Kopitar - Williams
Richards - Carter - Frattin
Brown - Stoll - Lewis
Clifford - Fraser - Nolan

Regehr - Doughty
Voynov - Mitchell
Muzzin - Greene

Quick

By The Numbers:

• With yesterday's loss against Phoenix, the Oilers have now picked up five regulation losses after scoring the first goal. I've only got data going back to the 1987-88 season, but the record for most losses after scoring first since then is 20 set by the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 1990-91 season. The Oilers are currently on pace for 34.
  
• Anze Kopitar has been a great player for several seasons, but he scored just ten goals in forty-seven games last season and he has just one goal so far this season. Perhaps even more ominous, his goal output was dropping in 2013 because he was taking far fewer shots. In each of the four seasons from 2008-09 to 2011-12, Kopitar registered 2.9, 3.2, 3.1, and 2.8 shots per game; in 2013, he took just 2.1 shots per game, a lower total than even his rookie (2.7) and sophomore (2.5) seasons. So is that one goal something to worry over? Perhaps not. His shot output is back to normal this year, sitting at 2.8 shots per game.
  
• After scoring his second goal of the season last night, Will Acton is now tied for 229th on Edmonton's all-time goal-scoring list. Other players in Edmonton Oiler history with two goals include Pat Conacher, Joe Hulbig, Ralph Intranuovo, Steve MacIntyre, Adam Oates, Jason Strudwick, and Valeri Zelepukin.