WGD: Game 51: Red Wings vs. Oilers
By Nick Seguin
5 years agoThe Red Wings road trip through Western Canada so far as been a disaster. In both games, they had a lead going into the third period and in both games they lost it. Their losing efforts as of late have plummeted them to the bottom of the standings where, after the Los Angeles Kings won their matinee game yesterday, they sit in last place.
The good news is they roll into Edmonton tonight where they won’t be the biggest disaster. The Oilers are currently out of playoff contention, though by a mere three points, and Peter Chiarelli seems determined to sink them even further. Yesterday, he waived Ryan Spooner, effectively turning Jordan Eberle into nothing. Then, it was announced that Mikko Koskinen, the goalie whose played a mere 31 NHL games, has been extended for three years at a $4.5-million AAV. He’ll apparently be their starting goalie of the future.
But enough about their head office moves. What about their play on the ice as of late? The Oilers are 5-5-0 in their last 10 games and 12-12-1 at home. Funnily, they are 11-11-2 on the road, making them a perfectly even and balanced team. Thanos would like them. In their only other game against the Red Wings this year, the Oilers won by a score of 4-3.
THE RED WINGS
LW | C | RW |
---|---|---|
TYLER BERTUZZI Rating: 74.7#37 LW | DYLAN LARKIN Rating: 79.1#22 C | GUSTAV NYQUIST Rating: 75.6#48 RW |
THOMAS VANEK Rating: 73.2#50 LW | FRANS NIELSEN Rating: 72.6#89 C | ANTHONY MANTHA Rating: 75.5#31 RW |
DARREN HELM Rating: 71.4#129 LW | LUKE GLENDENING Rating: 69.9#168 C | ANDREAS ATHANASIOU Rating: 76.2#41 RW |
JACOB DE LA ROSE Rating: 68.5#128 LW | CHRISTOFFER EHN Rating: 71.5#126 C | JUSTIN ABDELKADER Rating: 70.0#112 RW |
DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | |
---|---|
NIKLAS KRONWALL Rating: 72.1#72 LD | MIKE GREEN Rating: 75.3#27 RD |
DAN DEKEYSER Rating: 72.3#65 LD | NICK JENSEN Rating: 71.3#72 RD |
JONATHAN ERICSSON Rating: 69.8#119 LD | FILIP HRONEK Rating: 73.1#41 RD |
Dennis Cholowski will sit for another game, much to the chagrin of the Red Wings fan base. Blashill must have liked the year Filip Hronek played in his 14+ minutes of ice time against the Canucks.
He must’ve liked how the whole lineup played since there is no change to the lines at all. The Vanek-Nielsen-Mantha lined contributed both goals in the game on Sunday afternoon. Both goals were at 5-on-5 as the Wings again went scoreless on the power play, something that has been nagging them all season.
THE OILERS
LW | C | RW |
---|---|---|
RYAN NUGENT-HOPKINS Rating: 75.9#44 LW | CONNOR MCDAVID Rating: 90.4#1 C | JESSE PULJUJARVI Rating: 70.4#97 RW |
JUJHAR KHAIRA Rating: 69.1#121 LW | LEON DRAISAITL Rating: 79.6#19 C | ALEX CHIASSON Rating: 70.1#100 RW |
RYAN SPOONER Rating: 69.7#116 LW | COLBY CAVE Rating: 71.2#132 C | KAILER YAMAMOTO Rating: 72.7#60 RW |
MILAN LUCIC Rating: 69.8#114 LW | KYLE BRODZIAK Rating: 70.3#161 C | ZACK KASSIAN Rating: 69.9#105 RW |
DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | |
---|---|
DARNELL NURSE Rating: 73.8#38 LD | ADAM LARSSON Rating: 71.3#70 RD |
KRIS RUSSELL Rating: 72.0#75 LD | MATT BENNING Rating: 71.1#73 RD |
BRANDON MANNING Rating: 69.0#127 LD | ALEX PETROVIC Rating: 68.3#100 RD |
What more can be said about the Oilers? Jesse Puljujarvi, the frequent target of trade speculation, has played himself onto the top line with Connor McDavid. The recently-waived Ryan Spooner is still holding down a third line spot and Leon Draisaitl anchors the second line.
Their blue line is devastated with injury right now, with Oskar Klefbom and Andrej Sekera are still out, leaving Adam Larsson and Darnell Nurse to lead the top line.
BETWEEN THE PIPES
Jimmy Howard vs. Mikko Koskinen
The newly-extended Mikko Koskinen will get the start tonight as he steps forward as the Oilers starting goalie for the next three years. He’ll be up against the not yet-extended Jimmy Howard.
HOW TO WATCH
Puck drop is going to be at 9:00 P.M. ET tonight so make sure you set those alarms nice and loud for tomorrow morning. You’ll be able to watch the game on NBCSN if you’re in the U.S. and pretty much every Sportsnet Channel if you’re tuning in from Canada.
As always, make sure you’re following us on Twitter for all kinds of fun in-game reactions, gifs, and all the other things you’d expect from a hockey blog twitter account.
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