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Oilers Close Out Homestand With Visit From Lightning

The Lightning are tired and injured. Can the Oilers scoop two points?

By Jeff Chapman
Jordan Eberle is back on line one.
Jordan Eberle is back on line one.
Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports


tampa bay

@
oilers logo black text
15-14-2, 32 points, 1.032 p/g- Ranks 15-12-5, 35 points, 1.094 p/g
Atlantic Division - 5th Pacific Division - 3rd
20th P/G 15th
14th ST 10th
8th S/G 5th
12th Goal 16th
8:00 PM MDT
TV - CBC, SN360
Radio - 630 CHED
Rogers Place

The opposing view
FORWARDS

Milan Lucic - Connor McDavid - Jordan Eberle
Patrick Maroon - Leon Draisaitl - Drake Caggiula
Benoit Pouliot - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins-  Tyler Pitlick
Matt Hendricks - Mark Letestu - Zack Kassian

DEFENCE

Oscar Klefbom - Adam Larsson
Andrej Sekera - Kris Russell
Brandon Davidson - Matthew Benning

GOAL
Cam Talbot
Jonas Gustavsson

Jacked

After Tyler Pitlick scored for Edmonton midway through the first period, the Jackets would score three unanswered goals en route to their seventh consecutive victory.  Sam Gagner would score his team leading twelfth goal eight minutes in the second period to tie it at 1-all, while he would assist on Cam Atkinson's go-ahead goal seven minutes into the third.  Matt Calvert would add an insurance goal not two minutes later to seal the deal. Sergei Bobrovsky would finish with 33 saves, the Oilers would emerge with zero points.

The Lightning visit Edmonton for a Hockey Night In Canada matchup.  Can the Oilers grab two much needed points?

Let's go to the tape.

The Oilers are saying

That's Oilers captain Connor McDavid on getting Jordan Eberle back on his right side.

Eberle is currently third in scoring (8-15-23) for the Oilers.  You're going to run into people who suggest that Eberle needs to be dealt for a 3C or another defenceman.  These people are not your friends.  (They don't suggest that the Oilers need a wing, because if you trade Eberle, you have a RW corps that has 15 career goals combined).  Don't hang around these people.  Move away from these people.

The opponents are saying

That's Lightning coach Jon Cooper on his team's 4-2 loss to the Canucks last night.

The Lightning haven't done so well without Steven Stamkos, who continues to be missing from the lineup after an a knee injury he sustained in a game against Detroit last month.  Tampa has lost eight of their last ten games, and they face an Oilers club on three days rest after losing in Vancouver last night.

Have some of this

  • NUMBERS, INC: It's damn near Christmas, and the Oilers haven't been relegated to the basement of the Pacific Division. That's good!  Can we start talking about the P-word yet?  Maybe.  It's shaping up to be a light season to get into the dance in the West, something like 90 points.  If the benchmark is 90 points, the Oilers will need to win about 27 more games, give or take a couple of Bettman points (there's 50 more games to go).  Deep breaths.
  • TAMPA SICK BAY: It's true, the Lightning are having a tough go of things with Steven Stamkos out indefinitely with a knee injury.  They're also without Ondrej Palat, Nikita Kucherov and Ryan Callahan.  Those four players combined for 92 goals in 2015-16.
  • WHERE IT'S AT: The Oilers called up Taylor Beck from Bakersfield.  Beck leads the Condors in scoring by a considerable margin with 30 points (9-21-30) in just 19 games.  The Oilers have reassigned Anton Slepyshev to make room to bring up Beck.
  • Hey look, it's Benoit Pouliot!  Don't know how it works for you, but whenever you talk someone up, they show up when you least expect it.
  • Cam Talbot will likely go tonight for the Oilers (14-10-4, .916 SV% / 2.57 GAA / 3 SO) while Ben Bishop (9-10-1, .905 SV% / 2.87 GAA) will likely go for the Jackets tonight.
  • Iiro Pakarinen (knee), Mark Fayne (groin), Darnell Nurse (lower body), Eric Gryba (undisclosed) will be out for the Oilers. Tampa will be without Ondrej Palat (undisclosed), Steven Stamkos (knee), Ryan Callahan (hip) and Nikita Kucherov (lower body).
  • #GOILERS