Edmonton Oilers (17-11-0, 3rd in North) vs.
Ottawa Senators (9-19-1, 7th in North)
12 March 2021
Rogers Place
7 PM MST
TV: Sportsnet
Radio: 630 CHED
COUNT SEVEN
Leon Draisaitl had a hat trick and four other Oilers scored en route to a decisive 7-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday night. It wasn’t close at any time during this one. The Oilers got on the board early, and they got on the board often. Mike Smith was nearly perfect as he turned aside 21 of 22 Senators shots en route to his eighth win of the season, and the Oilers picked up two more points over a hapless Senators club.
The Oilers will look to close out this three game series at a perfect 3-0-0 with another victory tonight. Can the Oilers rack up two more points tonight?
Let’s go to the tape.
THE OILERS ARE SAYING
“I thought our start was really good and we put them on their heels a little bit early on, and that helps a lot...We had contributions from all four lines, defensemen, and (Mike Smith) was great, so it was a pretty complete effort.”
That’s Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl on his club’s 7-1 win over the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday.
Draisaitl finished with five points (3-2-5) in Edmonton’s dismantling of the Senators. He’s up to 42 on the season, putting him six behind some guy named Connor McDavid.
THE SENATORS ARE SAYING
“The whole game, we just didn’t play the right way and we just didn’t eliminate anybody...We didn’t stop anyone in the [defensive] zone, and we were easy to play against. We didn’t look like we had a lot of jam, and they did. They had good legs, they jumped on every puck and they were ready to play, and we weren’t.”
-That’s Ottawa Senators head coach D. J. Smith after his club’s 7-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night.
What can you say? The Oilers scored early and often, while there was little relief for Senators goaltender Matt Murray. It was 4-0 at the end of the first for Edmonton, it didn’t get much better as the night progressed.
HAVE SOME OF THIS
The following suitable for mature audiences only.
- Devin Shore will need to buy a new outfit for Matt Murray after defrocking him in such a manner. Shore’s little fake shot got Murray all set just in time for Shore to get a little dish to Jujhar Khaira who took care of business. Just a nice little set up for Devin Shore and a nice goal for Jujhar, two players who don’t often see a lot of the scoresheet.
- KEEP IT COMING: It’s been a little while since the pregame has heaped praise on Connor McDavid. McDavid’s fancy no-look pass to Leon Draisaitl for Leon’s third of the game ought to be a highlight everywhere. For McDavid, it’s just another three point day at the office.
- William Lagesson made his way back into the lineup after being out with an upper body injury for nearly a month. Lagesson played 19:20 in Wednesday night’s romp over the Senators, keep your eyes on whether or not Coach Tippett puts Caleb Jones back in or if Lagesson (or Kris Russell) rides again.
- As interesting as the left side is, the right side is even more cramped. Evan Bouchard was a healthy scratch last game, Ethan Bear played the least amount of minutes among all defencemen, and if you guessed Adam Larsson would end up having the most time on ice among all Oiler defencemen...well that’s a good guess.
- NET GAINS: Mikko Koskinen is expected to get the nod tonight (8-9-0, .899 SV% / 3.30 GAA) while the Senators have their choice of Joey Daccord (0-2-0, .913 SV% / 2.71 GAA) or they could flip back to Matt Murray (7-12-1, .880 SV% / 3.34 GAA)
- SCRATCHES: Zack Kassian is likely to be ready for game action between now and the next few days. Josh Archibald is day-to-day. Kyle Turris missed last game on Covid protocol, while Dominik Kahun is day-to-day. For the Senators, forwards Colin White and Ryan Dzingel are day-to-day. Goaltender Marcus Hogberg is week-to-week with a lower body injury.