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Oilers Look To Salvage Road Trip In Minnesota

0-1-1 ain't no fun

By Jeff Chapman
A goal and assist and it's business as usual for 97
A goal and assist and it's business as usual for 97
Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports


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@
Minnesota
14-11-4, 32 points, 1.103 p/g- Ranks 13-8-4, 30 points, 1.2 p/g
Pacific Division - 1st Central Division - 3rd
15th P/G 10th
10th ST 14th
4th S/G 16th
17th Goal 1st
6 PM MDT
TV -  Sportsnet West
Radio - 630 CHED
Xcel Energy Center

The opposing view
PROJECTED LINES
FORWARDS

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

DEFENCE

Oscar Klefbom - Adam Larsson
Andrej Sekera - Kris Russell
Dillon Simpson - Matthew Benning

GOAL
Cam Talbot
Jonas Gustavsson

Firewagon Hockey

The Oilers scored five goals in Philadelphia.  That's great!

They allowed six.  At least Connor McDavid made friends with Flyer defenceman Brandon Manning.

Edmonton held two separate two goal leads, but it was Michael Raffl scored with a minute and a half remaining in the third period to cap the three goal comeback for Philadelphia en route to a 6-5 win. Things looked great for the Oilers - they had two power play goals, a shorthanded goal, hell, Benoit Pouliot got in on the scoring.  When Benoit Pouliot scores, good things have got to be happening, yeah?  Eh.

Oscar Klefbom made it 5-3 early in the third period with a power play goal.  The Flyers would make it 5-4 just a minute later on the powerplay on a goal from Jakub Voracek.  Claude Giroux would tie it at 5-all midway through the third, and Raffl made it Philly's game to lose with just 90 seconds remaining in regulation.

The Oilers look to salvage the road trip by going 1-1-1 with a win tonight in Minnesota.

Let's go to the tape.

The Oilers are saying

That's Oilers head coach Todd McLellan after last night's 6-5 loss to the Flyers.

Man, what a rush.  And Jonas Gustavsson was there.  You should've seen it.  Less than stellar games for 93 and 77, but The Monster was there too.  I wonder of Jhonas Enroth is doing anything.

The opponents are saying

That's Wild coach Bruce Boudreau on Connor McDavid.

McDavid's no slouch, he's coming up on forty points just a third of the way into the season.  He'll have his work cut out for him against the Wild, who are allowing just 2.04 goals against per game.

Have some of this

  • MEN WHO WEAR PADS: Oh lord, you got full Gustavsson last night.  You never go full Gustavsson.  Gustavsson's showed fairly well through 210 minutes of play.  Last night's performance will help push his small sample season SV% down to .893.  It's one of a few problems right now, but the Oilers fancy themselves being in the conversation later this season, they've got upgrade the backup.
  • NEON LEON: Eight points (5-3-8) in his last five games, Draisaitl had three points (1-2-3) during yesterday's catastrophe.
  • POWERPLAY GARDENS - Edmonton went 2/4 in yesterday's loss to Philadelphia.  Don't look now, but the Oilers are now seventh overall in the league on the power play at a 21.4% success rate.  If they can keep from yielding six goals,
  • Cam Talbot back for the Oilers tonight (13-9-3, .914 SV% / 2.60 GAA /) while Devan Dubnyk (11-6-3, .946 SV% / 1.65 GAA / 4 SO) will go for the Wild tonight.  I've never been happier to see Cam Talbot in net ever.  Devan Dubnyk's .946  SV% is likely to dip before the year is up, but that's a freak number to hold down after 20 games.
  • Iiro Pakarinen (knee), Mark Fayne (groin), Darnell Nurse (lower body), Eric Gryba (undisclosed) and Brandon Davidson (upper body) will be out for the Oilers. The Wild will be without winger Zac Dalpe (knee) and defencemen Christian Folin (knee) and Victor Bartley triceps)
  • #GOILERS