Game Thread: Oilers @ Devils - No Reinforcements

Mark Fayne returns to Jersey to revisit his former team. At 6-2-2 in their last ten, the Devils are playing decent hockey, but will have to bounce back from a 6-2 beating at the hands of the surging Habs in Montreal on Saturday night. Meanwhile, the Oilers played slump-buster to the Leaf's franchise record losing streak on Saturday and team morale is no doubt suffering as a result.

How to Tune In

It's another early one tonight on the east coast. Game coverage will start at 5:00 PM MT on Sportsnet West.

What to Watch for From the Oilers

The Oilers shipped Taylor Hall back to Edmonton to undergo an MRI—evidence that the team has no clue as to the extent of Hall's ankle injury, and may have pushed him into season-ending territory by allowing him to play another game soon after sustaining the injury in practice. Benoit Pouliot remains out of the lineup as well. The tank is alive and well, ladies and gentlemen.

What to Watch for From the Devils

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The Devil's game plan from John Fischer over at In Lou We Trust:

The Goal: Make passes and play smart. The former will allow the Devils to do things like "attack" and "not constantly scramble back to your own end of the rink to defend." It will help the goaltender not have to put the entire team on his back for long stretches at a time. It will make the game easier to achieve victory. Given the state of Edmonton, playing smartly will likely pay off.

Final Thought

Niki Nikitin #WOWY: #Oilers with : 11-17-6, .412 | 2.41 GF/G ; 3.15 GA/G #Oilers without: 3-13-3, .237 | 1.84 GF/G ; 3.53 GA/G #WhoKnew?

— Bruce McCurdy (@BruceMcCurdy) February 9, 2015