Odds And Ends: New Jersey Edition

The Oilers will play their second of a five game road trip on Friday as they head to New Jersey to face off against the Devils. Coach Tippett says that Mike Smith will make his second straight start in goal.

Smith returned to the lineup on Wednesday night in St. Louis as the Oilers faced the Blues. He allowed four goals on 33 shots in the loss, though he had some tough situations dealt to him early on. Smith’s game in St. Louis was his first game in ten weeks while he recovered from a lower body injury sustained in mid October in a game against the Ducks.

In four games, Smith is 2-1-0 with a .910 SV% and a 3.38 GAA.

The Devils have struggled to maintain any kind of consistency this season. With just eleven wins in 31 games, they’ve had trouble scoring goals (22nd in the league with 2.74 per game), they have trouble keeping pucks out of the net (24th in the league at 3.35 goals allowed per game), and their special teams (31st on the power play, 13.8% success) leave much to be desired. With the Oilers getting Darnell Nurse, Jesse Puljujärvi and William Lagesson back from Covid protocols, they’ll have as close to a full roster as possible to help pick up a win.

It’s an early one tomorrow (11 AM), be sure to join us for the fun.