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JOCKEYING FOR POSITION
Including tonight, there are six games remaining in the 2016-17 regular season for the Edmonton Oilers. A 3-2-1 record in those six games will make them a 100 point club, something I don’t think anyone was thinking about way back in September. Tonight, they’ll face a Sharks club who also clinched a berth to the playoffs on Tuesday.
How To Tune In
Time: 7 PM MDT
TV: Sportsnet West
Radio: 630 CHED
What To Watch For From The Oilers
The defence will be better tonight. Matthew Benning will return to the lineup after missing a game due to a blocked shot. Oilers really avoided an unsavoury situation as Benning suffered a bruise instead of something much worse. Benning’s return will likely sideline Eric Gryba.
What to Watch For From The Kings
Logan Couture will not play on the Sharks’ three-game road trip that begins tonight in Edmonton, head coach Peter DeBoer told reporters this morning. Couture stayed behind in San Jose yesterday, and will not travel with the team on the trip.
Couture left Saturday’s game in Nashville after he took a puck to the face late in the second period and did not return. The eighth-year center visited a dentist on Monday, but did not need his jaw wired shut, according to general manager Doug Wilson.
In Couture’s absence, Patrick Marleau centered Joel Ward and Melker Karlsson on the second line in Tuesday’s overtime win over the New York Rangers. Tomas Hertl and Chris Tierney stayed in their usual spots between the third and fourth line, respectively.
No Logan Couture? No problem for San Jose. Couture was hit with a puck on Saturday and had some fun dental surgery a couple of days later.
Chris Tierney had himself a two goal night against the Rangers on Tuesday.
Final Thought
It’s hard to follow up an emotional game like the one on Tuesday, but the Oilers can’t let off the gas now. A win coupled with a Ducks loss against the Jets will see the Oilers tied for first with 95 points.