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Preview: Predators @ Oilers - More, More, More!

Oilers will take on a Predators team that survived a late surge in Calgary last night.

By Jeff Chapman
Zack Kassian scored a goal against the Panthers on Wednesday. Can he do it again tonight?
Zack Kassian scored a goal against the Panthers on Wednesday. Can he do it again tonight?
Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports


Nashville

@
21-17-7, 49 points, 1.089 p/g Ranks 25-15-7, 57 points, 1.213 p/g
Central Division - 4th Pacific Division - 3rd
15th Points per Game 10th
14th Special Teams 16th
7th Shots on Goal 4th
10th Goals Against per Game 12th
7:00 PM MDT
TV - Sportsnet West
Radio - 630 CHED
Rogers Place

The opposing view

PROJECTED
FORWARDS

Patrick Maroon - Connor McDavid - Leon Draisaitl
Benoit Pouliot - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - Jordan Eberle
Milan Lucic - Drake Caggiula -  Anton Slepyshev
Anton Lander - Mark Letestu - Zack Kassian

DEFENCE

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

GOAL

Cam Talbot
Laurent Brossoit


McDavid's OT Heroics Earn Oilers Two Points Over Panthers

I remember fun.  Fun used to creep up every now and again, but I remember it vividly about eleven years ago in spring.

If this Oilers team is playoff bound, you'll remember games like Edmonton and Florida.  It wasn't a particularly strong game by the Oilers (they looked pretty sloppy for significant chunks of the game), but you will remember Connor McDavid rolling out of his own zone with less than ten seconds remaining in OT.

Maybe you'll remember Mark Letestu scoring on the power play.  That guy's been everywhere for the Oilers lately.

You'll probably remember Jordan Eberle scoring late in the third to tie it up.  Please recall Eberle's struggle to score, it's been at least four hundred years since he scored last.  You'll probably recall Zack Kassian getting credited for goal he scored as well.  This one wasn't challenged for being offside!  It was crazy.

The Oilers emerged with two points.  It wasn't a moral victory.  It was an actual counts-in-the-standings victory.  Two more points for the Oilers, they'll try to close out their homestand with a win against Nashville.

Let's go to the tape.

The Oilers are saying

That's Connor McDavid on reaching 100 points with his first assist of the evening.

McDavid would have two more points to finish with three on the evening (1-2-3) and he now has 102 points career points in 92 games.  Don't know if he's got seventeen hundred more points in him, but there's only one way to find out.

The opponents are saying

Had this game been on your TV set, you would've seen that the Predators were up 4-0 for about 56 minutes of regulation.  Flames scored three goals in three minutes late in the third, but ran out of time before they could do any more damage to netminder Jusse Saros.

Have some of this

  • Jujhar Khaira left Wednesday's game with an upper body injury.  Anton Lander was recalled, Lander would be my replacement for Khaira today.
  • Matthew Benning missed last game with an illness.  He skated yesterday, and should be good to replace Gryba tonight.
  • Jordan Eberle finally got a goal.  You can all relax now.  Eberle's ninth goal of the season couldn't have come at a better time, as the Oilers were trailing 3-2 late to the Panthers.  I've been wrong before, but I've got a nickel that says his goal total will start catching up sooner than later.
  • Cam Talbot will once again likely get the start for the Oilers (24-12-6, .918 SV% / 2.42 GAA / 3 SO).  Pekka Rinne will get the start tonight for the Predators. (16-12-6, .921 SV% / 2.36 GAA, 1 SO).
  • Oilers can close out their six game homestand at 5-1 with a victory tonight.  No sweat, eh?
  • I've been thinking about the backup goalie position maybe a little too much as of late, but I wonder for Cam Talbot's sake if he's ready to play 70+ games this year.  Under McLellan's arm in San Jose, Evgeni Nabokov had seasons of 77 (!!!) and 71 games in a year.  That's too many.

  • This can work.  I can definitely work with this.
  • Iiro Pakarinen (knee), Tyler Pitlick (knee), Jujhar Khaira (upper body) and Darnell Nurse (lower body) will be out for the Oilers. The Predators are without Roman Josi (upper body), Colin Wilson (lower body and Peter Granberg (undisclosed)
  • #GOILERS