Game Thread: Oilers at Chicago - On The Road Again

With just five wins in their first 14 games the Oilers find themselves, once again, near the bottom of the Western Conference standings, one point ahead of the last place Avalanche. Even though the season is just 14 games old, those standings look less and less appealing every day. And now the Oilers embark on a four game, seven day road trip that starts in Chicago against he defending Stanley Cup champions. This just keeps getting better and better.

How To Watch

Puck drop: 6:00PM MST
TV: Sportsnet
Radio: 630 CHED

What To Watch For

Mark Fayne has been released from prison the pressbox and will play with Oscar Klefbom tonight. Fayne, who was a surprising healthy scratch in the Oilers last three games, is saying all the right things about watching the games rather than playing in them - "It's always good to have a kick in the pants to get things going again." - which is what you'd expect from a veteran. How will he play tonight? Any signs of rust or will this be a "screw you" kind of performance to show the coaches that they were wrong to sit him or something in between?

The Opposing View

From Second City Hockey:

The Blackhawks have a 93.2 save percentage at home, versus 88.1 on the road. Looking only at 5-on-5 play, Chicago has a 94.3 home save percentage and a 88.9 road save percentage. So we've talked a lot about the team's low shooting percentage and the powers of regression. However, we're getting to the point where goaltending is clearly the biggest difference between the team's play at home and on the road. The team has played a pair of back-to-backs away from home this season where they lost all four games.

Projected Line Combinations