Edmonton Oilers (16-11-0, 3rd in North) vs.
Ottawa Senators (9-18-1, 7th in North)
10 March 2021
Rogers Place
6 PM MST
TV: Sportsnet
Radio: 630 CHED
SB Nation Opponent: Silver Seven
MAKING IT WORK
The Oilers shrugged off an early Senators goal en route to a 3-2 victory. Kailer Yamamoto tallied his seventh of the year midway through the first period, Alex Chiasson helped grab the lead for the Oilers with a power play marker in the second. Leon Draisaitl would grab the eventual game-winner in the tail end of the second period, and the Oilers enjoyed a solid sixty minutes notching their second win in a row.
The Oilers will look to do it all again tonight as they take on Ottawa in the second of a three game series. Can the Oilers fill the opposition’s net one more time?
Let’s go to the tape.
THE OILERS ARE SAYING
“We talked about, going into the game, that we were going to have to play a full 60 minutes to get a win...They’re a young team that works hard and you have to put the work in or you’re going to be behind it. We gave up a tough one early, but our guys stuck with it and I thought our guys played pretty solid for the most part.”
That’s Oilers head coach Dave Tippett after his club’s 3-2 win over the Senators on Monday night.
It’s worth noting that Senators goaltender Joey Daccord kept the Senators in this one. The Oilers could have easily had 4 or 5 goals. Edmonton improve to a perfect 5-0 over Ottawa on the season.
THE SENATORS ARE SAYING
“It’s on us, a couple of mistakes just on changes. Our penalty kill did a good job and there was 10 seconds left and guys were racing off, and then they had the quick-up on the other goal. Those are great shots by really good players.”
That’s Senators head coach D.J. Smith after his club’s 3-2 loss to Edmonton on Monday night.
Smith with the understatement of the year. Leaving defenceman Artem Zub as the only player back on an Oilers power play is probably going to result in disaster.
HAVE SOME OF THIS
If some of their mistakes don't go in the net they're not noticed. Its not written about, no one remembers it.
— Woodguy (@Woodguy55) August 11, 2020
But they went in the net so we hear about how the need to lead and have a "Yz moment"
Maybe they just needed a save or a Dman to have their check? (7/
- There’s a lot of things that you don’t remember. Hell, I can’t remember what I had for lunch yesterday. The reason I bring this up is all about Mikko Koskinen, who had a pretty good game if you can forget the goal he allowed in the first minute. What’s that? You can’t forget it? That’s fair. That’s how the mind works. Everybody remembers the really good stuff that happens. The time you ate the whole thing. The home run you hit in grade 4. The time you cashed in on Lotto 6/49. It also remembers the very bad. The time your pants fell down in the subway. Maybe that’s just me. The point? Even accounting for the terrible one he let in early, he had a very good game with 26 saves on 28 shots. It’s a .929 SV%, which is very good. I don’t think that translates to another start today, but it’s worth nothing that Koskinen had a very good outing on Monday.
- Kyle Turris had his best game as an Oiler on Monday, and he had a very nice assist on Leon Draisaitl’s game winning goal. He was placed in Covid protocol yesterday, and I can only hope that he popped an inconclusive test because...well, let’s not.
- Even though there were three bad games against the Leafs last week, the Oilers can start closing the gap with a win tonight. They’re only six points away today, and a regulation win tonight (coupled with another Leafs loss to the Jets tomorrow) would have them just one point behind Winnipeg and four behind the centre of the universe.
- Zack Kassian skated on the fifth line in practice yesterday, and he could be good to get back into the lineup soon. The question is: where? He’s not replacing either of Kailer Yamamoto or Jesse Puljujärvi, could he be a fixture back on the third line? Hey, I hear the Sabres are trying to unload Eric Staal.
- NET GAINS: Mike Smith is your probable tonight (7-2-0, .925 SV% / 2.29 GAA / 1 SO). The Senators are likely to return to Matt Murray (7-11-1, .885 SV% / 3.66 GAA).
- SCRATCHES: The previously mentioned Kyle Turris will be out unless we hear something today. Zack Kassian could join the club later this week. Dominik Kahun and William Lagesson are is day-to-day. For the Senators, both Artem Anisimov and goaltender Marcus Hogberg will miss tonight’s game.