GAME PREVIEW: Edmonton Oilers @ Dallas Stars

Edmonton Oilers (13-4-0), 2nd, Pacific

Dallas Stars (7-7-2, 6th, Central

23 November 2021

American Airlines Center

630 PM MT

TV: Sportsnet West

Radio: 630 CHED

SB Nation Opponent: Defending Big D

SCORE MORE

The Oilers exploded by scoring four goals in the first period of Saturday night’s 5-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. Edmonton had a couple of even strength goals, a power play goal, and a shorthanded goal when Kailer Yamamoto buried a gift from Seth Jones. Both Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl each had a goal and an assist (Leon had a shorty as well), while Philip Broberg got his first career NHL assist on Ryan McLeod’s second of the year. Tyson Barrie scored on the power play, and the Oilers got another solid night in net from Stuart Skinner. Skinner made 29 saves for his second win of the season.

The Oilers begin a three game road trip with a stop in Dallas tonight. Can the Oilers wrap up their fourteenth win of the season?

Let’s go to the tape.

THE OILERS ARE SAYING

“We capitalized on some chance and we gave up a couple of chances, and Skinner was sharp early...I think it was good for him to jump right in the game. I think in the first shift he had a Grade-A chance against him, and he made a good save. He got in the game early and we capitalized on some chances, got a 5-on-3 and capitalized there, and then we were kind of off and running.”

Source

That’s Oilers head coach Dave Tippett after his club’s 5-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night.

Stuart Skinner has two wins in a row, and he’ll get a chance to make it three on this road trip. Skinner has turned aside 75 of 78 shots in his last two games, he’s got that mojo right now.

THE STARS ARE SAYING

“I saw that [Raffl] was skating, getting the puck, so I just tried to join with him,” Hintz said. “And then I saw that there was only one [defenseman] in the play, so it was good. … It’s a big one that you get [the pass] on the tape because you’re trying to skate fast, so if it’s not there, it might be a missed chance, but today I got two nice passes, so it was great.”

Source

That’s Stars forward Roope Hintz after his club’s 4-1 win over the St. Louis Blues on Sunday.

Roope Hintz scored two shorthanded goals in Dallas’ victory over the Blues, a feat that hasn’t been accomplished in the league since Neal Broten did it for the North Stars in 1988 against the Whalers. Hintz will be the top line centre on a line with veteran Joe Pavelski and winger Jason Robertson this evening.

HAVE SOME OF THIS

• SO HOT: Mikko Koskinen has preformed well in his last two appearances (he saved 42 of 43 last time the Oilers were there), Stuart Skinner was in the starter’s net at practice yesterday. If Skinner goes tonight, that’d leave Koskinen the Arizona game tomorrow.
• Would really enjoy seeing some more Sceviour - Yamamoto on the PK. Both had 3 minutes while shorthanded, Tippett might have something with this pair.
• The Oilers scoring four goals in the first period in Saturday’s 5-2 win surely helped assuage some fears about the defence. Duncan Keith played 25 minutes in Darnell Nurse’s absence, while Philip Broberg made some smart plays on a pair with Cody Ceci.
• STARS: The Stars have been all over the place this year, though they look like they might be putting things together after their 4-1 win against the Blues. Dallas has now won three of four, save for a 9-2 letdown against the Minnesota Wild last week.
• Braden Holtby (2-4-1, .918 SV%) was signed by the Stars as a free agent this offseason, but he’s been day-to-day with a lower body injury for the last week and a half. Jake Oettenger (2-0-0, .955 SV%) has been up to backup Anton Khudobin (3-3-1, .873 SV%), who has had a rough start to his 2021-22.
• One thing that’s going quite well for the Stars is their power play. It’s ranked fifth overall in the league with over a 25% success rate. Who’s driving that bus? Veteran Joe Pavelski leads the Stars with three power play goals
• Connor McDavid continues his point streak, he scored a goal and his assist in the club’s 5-2 win on Saturday night. With 32 points in just 17 games, he’s averaging nearly two points per game. (12-20-32). Leon Draisaitl actually has over two points per game (18-17-35) after a shorthanded goal and an assist on Saturday night.
• The Oilers trail the Flames by a point, but Calgary has a couple more games played. A win tonight can put the Oilers back atop the Pacific.