Arizona Coyotes (20-34-7) (8th, Pacific)

Edmonton Oilers (27-34-4) (6th, Pacific)

7 PM

Rogers Place

TV: Sportsnet Oilers

Radio: 630 CHED

SB Nation Opponent: Five For Howling

BREAKDOWN:

The Rangers were on the tail-end of a back-to-back. They allowed fifty shots to the Calgary Flames the night prior. Henrik Lundqvist made 100 saves on 106 shots against Vancouver and Calgary en route to picking up two well deserved wins. Surely the Oilers would be able to take advantage of a road weary Rangers team, especially with a goalie that wasn’t Henrik Lundqvist in between the pipes.

Connor McDavid had a goal and an assist, while Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored in his first game back from injury. It wasn’t enough, as the Rangers got out of Edmonton with two points. The Rangers sent a letter to their fans explaining that they’d be going a full blown rebuild before the trade deadline, they’re just three points from a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Oilers will try to get back into the swing of things tonight as the Coyotes pay a visit to Rogers Place.

Let’s go to the tape.

The Oilers are saying

“It was good to get back out there, I got my legs under me after the first couple (of shifts),...Unfortunately, that wasn’t the start we wanted. The second half of the game, we played a lot better. I think we kept things simple for the second half of the game, and it started to work out for us”

Source

That’s Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Nugent-Hopkins made his first appearance in the lineup after six weeks off due to broken ribs. He responded with a second period goal. Unfortunately for the Oilers, the Rangers got on the board just 51 seconds into the game.

The Coyotes are saying

“Everybody is doing the little things and that’s why we’re winning hockey games now. It’s a game of details and everybody is chipping in.”

Source

That’s Coyotes defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson after Arizona’s 2-1 victory over Ottawa on Saturday.

Coyotes are winners in eight of their last eleven games. That’s pretty good, yeah?

Have some of this

• It’s almost like Klefbom was injured all season.
• NONE IN 29: Okay, okay, THIS Is the game that Milan Lucic gets off the schneid. It’s got to be. Over two months since his last goal, he’ll likely be paired on the top line with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl to get things going. It’s getting comical at this point. Get one and then get another.
• Connor McDavid’s 30th goal of the season was scored in the Ranger game on Saturday. 30 goals ties last season’s career high for McDavid, and there’s still 17 games to go. He’s got 79 points on the year, that’s just 21 more for back-to-back 100 point seasons.
• Adam Larsson is expected to rejoin the team after being away two games for his father’s funeral. Larsson will remain out of the lineup tonight, Ethan Bear will get his third NHL game.
• Arizona is 30th in goals scored per game (2.41 avg), they’re 26th in goals allowed per game (3.19 avg). The Coyotes rank 26th on the power play success rate (16.9%), they’re 20th on the PK (79.7%)
• Look for Cam Talbot to get the start tonight against the Coyotes (22-26-2, .903 SV% / 3.12 GAA / 1 SO) while Antti Raanta (15-15-6, .924 SV% / 2.74 GAA / 2 SO) will likely go for Arizona.
• The Oilers have no injuries to report at this time. For the Coyotes, Zac Rinaldo (upper body) and Alex Goligoski (wife expecting) are out.