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Kings @ Oilers Game 80 Preview

Thankfully, there are only three games remaining in this season.

By Jeff Chapman
Kings coach Darryl Sutter has his work cut out for him if LA is to make the playoffs.
Kings coach Darryl Sutter has his work cut out for him if LA is to make the playoffs.
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports


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@
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39-29-15, 93 points, 1.178 p/g Ranks 23-42-13, 59 points, .746 p/g
Western Conference - 9th Western Conference - 13th
18th P/G 28th
12th ST 25th
5th ES 28th
4th Goal 30th
7:30 PM MDT -  SN1, SNE, SNO, SNP
Rexall Place
The opposing view: Jewels From The Crown

Thump

The Oilers had some moments on Saturday where it didn't look like the chum bag was about to rip out from under them, but it was all Calgary on the score sheet.  Flames goaltender Kari Ramo went off with an injury just one minute into the first period and was replaced by Jonas Hiller.  Hiller turned away all of Edmonton's 27 shots, and the Flames put four pills behind Ben Scrivens.  Markus Granlund scored two of Calgary's four, as Calgary makes the push towards the second season.  The Oilers, well, some of them have seen the playoffs on TV, and we are going to SO have the best draft party in June.  Again.  Right?

The Oilers are saying

"We definitely want a different result than what happened last week.  It's no different for them.  They're going to come in here hungry. They're going to be scratching and clawing.  We've got to be ready to play 60 minutes, otherwise it could be a tough night."

That's Oilers interim head coach Todd Nelson on being prepared for LA.

The Kings are fighting for their playoff lives. They're tied with Calgary in the standings, but Calgary has more regulation/overtime wins than the Kings.  No doubt, the Kings will be thirsting for goals early and often

The Oilers...are a professional hockey team located in Edmonton, and they've been out of the playoff race since about October 28th.  Here's a quick list of what the Oilers are playing for tonight.

There's a lot riding on tonight's game, as you can see.

The opponents are saying

"You know what?  The League's tough.  The conference is tough.  Last year, this amount of points was in.  Last year, Vancouver and Calgary were behind Los Angeles.  It's the way the League is.  It's not a bad thing, it's a good thing."
That's Kings coach Darryl Sutter on where the Kings are at in the standings.

AIN'T IT TRUE IT'S A MONUMENTAL GOOD THING

You've got to believe that the Kings are going to be in the dance, right?  Calgary's going to fall, right?  The Flames (93 points) hold the first tiebreaker with the Kings (also 93 points), and the Flames control their own destiny.  All the Kings have to do is to get more points than the Flames over the next three games, and they're in.  Calgary faces off against Arizona, while LA has to get through the Oilers tonight.  LA is on the tail end of a back-to-back tonight after losing a shootout against Vancouver last night.

Have some of this
  • Richard Bachman (2-2-0, .908 SV% / 3.04 GAA) is back with the team and will get the start tonight. Jonathan Quick (35-21-13, .917 SV% / 2.26 GAA) is expected to play his second game in as many nights.
  • PLAYING 4 AT C - With Ryan Nugent-Hopkins still out with a foot injury sustained in last week's game versus Colorado, it's looking like Taylor Hall will get the go down the middle once again.  Good thing the games don't mean very much right now, because this was a very bad idea in the fall of '13. The Oilers are two centres short tonight in RNH and Gordon.
  • Mark Fayne is out tonight.  The Oilers defence will include all of David Musil and Brandon Davidson. Lance Tyler Pitlick could go tonight.
  • PITTSBURGH MAGIC - The Penguins (95 points) have not yet clinched a playoff berth in the Eastern Conference.  With three games to go (OTT, NYI, BUF), it's completely plausible that they could find themselves outside of the playoff picture in a few days.  Should that happen, the first round pick that was dealt for David Perron would be entered in the lottery.  It would only be an additional 1-2 % chance that the Oilers could luck out on McDavid or Eichel, but it would be pretty fun watching the entire NHL world worth themselves up into a froth over an additional shot at yet another first overall for the Oilers.
  • UPDATE

Edmonton looks to be locked in 28th unless Arizona catches a hot streak late.  Buffalo could still "fall" to 29th if they amass 3 points in their last two games.

  • GOILERS