The NHL season is filled with unpredictability. It is impossible to predict injuries, and I doubt anyone in the Stars organization would have expected their blueliners on a seemingly endless train through the infirmary. Four of their regulars are out tonight and their starting goalie, Ben Bishop, will miss his fourth game.
Bishop is a big blow. He is expected to return this weekend, but the Stars will try to get through the week without him. The other major loss was 25-minute-man John Klingberg. He finished sixth in Norris Trophy voting last season and was off to another great start with 13 points in 16 games before injuring his hand. He is one of the best puck moving and mobile defenders in the NHL and the Stars have missed him over the past eight games.
They are also without Stephen Johns, Marc Methot and Connor Carrick. In their absence rookie phenom Miro Heiskanen has filled in admirably. The 19-year-old rookie is playing 22:46/game and has faced many of the top players in the NHL. He had a 4-6-10 in 24 games and he has been a positive player at 5×5. The Stars look to have found a gem in Heiskanen.
As good as he’s been, the Stars top-four consists of him, Esa Lindell, Roman Polak and rookie Gavin Bayreuther. Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ lines need to create some offence against them.
Edmonton only has 12 goals in their previous five games. They haven’t produced much offensively, but have allowed 20 goals. They need to bear down at both ends of the rink. If Kyle Brodziak hits the wide open net late in their third period v. Anaheim, the Oilers would have won. Their forwards have missed too many great opportunities.
It is imperative they start burying their great scoring chances. If a defender gets beat people get upset and expect more, and I believe the same should be expected of forwards when they have a great scoring chance.
Anton Khudobin is not Ben Bishop. He is a quality backup goalie, but has never been a starter and he’s allowed 12 goals in the three games without Bishop. The Oilers shooters can’t give him any confidence. When a great chance presents itself, they need to bury it.
As for matchups, expect Connor McDavid’s line to see a lot of the Stars top trio of Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Alex Radulov. Ken Hitchcock said this morning the reason he has promoted Alex Chiasson onto the top line is because many teams are loading up one line and you have to outscore them.
LINEUP…
Oilers
Draisaitl-McDavid-Chiasson
Caggiula-RNH-Puljujarvi
Lucic-Brodziak-Kassian
Khaira-Spooner-P.Russell
Klefbom-Larsson
Nurse-Russell
Gravel-Benning
Koskinen
Chiasson gets a bump to the top line, which is great for him, but he and RNH were just starting to get some chemistry and production on the second line. I’d have kept them together and moved Caggiula back to the top line. He fits in better than Spooner does because he’s a better forechecker and puck retriever for McDavid and Draisaitl. Right now though Chiasson’s stick is red hot so Ken Hitchcock wants to load up one line, similar to tonight’s opposition.
This is the problem of every coach in the league. Getting talent to work hard. If talent doesn’t work you have zero chance of winning. Talent gets you to the show and hard work gets you to elite status.
— Theo Fleury (@TheoFleury14) November 27, 2018
I appreciated the response from Fleury. He’s bang on. Most young players need to adjust their work ethic. It isn’t that they aren’t working hard, but they aren’t working hard at an NHL level. It is different than junior or the minors. Hitchcock will be encouraging Puljujarvi to increase his intensity and desire tonight.
Stars
Benn-Seguin-Radulov
Hintz-Spezza-Shore
Nichushkin-Faksa-Pitlick
Janmark-Dickinson-Comeau
Lindell-Heiskanen
Bayreuther-Polak
Hanley-Fedun
Khudobin
I suspect Hitchcock would like to get the RNH line out against Spezza’s line. The Faksa line, especially he and Tyler Pitlick, were great against top lines last year, and you can expect they will see McDavid at times as well.
The Oilers need to use their speed and try to take advantage of Polak. He is a veteran and knows how to play, but if you can get him in open space they will have a better chance to create scoring opportunities.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING…
12-10-2 isn’t a terrible spot for the Dallas Stars to be in through 24 games in the 2018-19 season, but it’s also not the best spot.
The Stars currently sit with 24 points in the middle of an overloaded Western Conference playoff race. It’s a good enough mark to hold them in the second wild card spot, but with four points separating them from a top-three spot in the Central division and four teams within four points just below them, it would be folly for Dallas to feel comfortable with 58 games to go in the year.
Now, the Stars have been dealt a pretty tough hand. After trying to balance a first-year head coach and new additions to the roster, Dallas has suffered through the majority of their starting defense (including John Klingberg, Stephen Johns, and Marc Methot) and top players like Alexander Radulov and Ben Bishop missing different portions of the season.
TONIGHT…
Game Day Prediction: Oilers get a much needed victory with a 5-3 win.
Obvious Game Day Prediction: The PP continues its hot streak by scoring a PP goal in five of their previous six games. Chiasson scores his 11th of the season.
Not-So-Obvious Game Day Prediction: Dallas is the only team in the NHL McDavid is averaging a goal-per-game against. He scores his eighth goal eight games against the Stars. In fact he scores twice.
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Is it just me or is Drai playing like both his head and his feet are in wet cement?
He is so boring to watch right now. Does everything sooooo slowly including stick handling and skating. Move your feet man. Watching him on the pp makes me cringe when he is on the wall stick handling on the spot for 5-10 secs.
Has Draisaitl won a puck battle or a face off tonight?
0-0 after 1. Welp, can’t say Edmonton isn’t getting their chances. From what I’ve heard, they’re just taking it to Dallas. But alas, work beckons me away. I shall let SportsNet notifications update me on the score.
Enjoy the rest of the game ya’ll!
Don’t look now…
But Buffalo has won 10 straight games.
Eichel won that lottery, not McDavid
Nah. McDavid takes it. 2 Art Ross’, 2 Ted Lindsey’s, and a Hart remember. What has Jack won?
Youngest captain in NHL history, and a playoff appearance going 2 rounds deep.
none of that has anything to do with the Oilers organization. McDavid pretty much did it alone.
Eichel will be playing playoff hockey this season
Hey Alex,
I’ll bet that we’re watching our #1 goaltender for the next three or four years. That’s all I’d offer anyway.
Hey Alex I missed the first two periods, how have the Oilers been?
The mute button is a great feature when Remenda talks. 👍
Drai look like that guy that barely wakes up at 3 to sip daiquiri by the pool
The identifiers have been the best line tonight.
Again
WTF Nurse doing? Wasted all that time and ices the puck, the Stars had forever to get set for that… moves like that make me wonder what they are thinking at times
Pool party was breaking up the wall, Nurse never even looked at him. BRUTAL!
Yeah I am not sure what Nurse was thinking there, but he sure didnt see the ice very well on that one
Two guys puck watching instead of seeing where the opposition players are. How many times did the Oil get scored on because of that
It looks like every team in the Pacific is guaranteed a point tonight.
I cant recall the last time we go to OT 0-0.
That one cross the line!!! either way this comment would work
OF F************* COURSE
That baby is in…Oilers Win!!!
It was in, you could see white between the puck and the goal line. Why have video replay if you don’t use it to make the right calls ?
No doubt, and all the angles that NHL has and they still blow the call
What???? Sure looks like it crossed the line to me… You have to be kidding
That was a F’n goal,
Justices prevails. Costs McD a point but I’m sure he’s just glad we won. Koskinen has to stay in net until 2 games in a row. He’s been getting better and better as the season goes on.
I meant that Talbot should only play in back-to-back games. Other than that, play Koskinen.
bullshettman
Klefbom pots it in the net, good for him and 2 points the Oilers desperately needed
Sad when you have to get two goals in OT to win
lol…. no kidding
Klefbom scored the winner but Kostinen won the game
HaHaHaHa
Where the Talbot excuse makers at?
Asking for a friend.
There’s got to be cheap technology available aka infra red light in net that would allow the NHL to figure if a puck has crossed the line in the air in its entirety. I doubt think it’s that complicated, well it doesn’t seem complicated too me.
Zebra hackery strikes again. Glad Oilers won the game but that was a brutal no-goal call. You could clearly see white all the way around the puck.
Sad thing is because the Oil won anyways, there won’t be any repercussions for that ref. Wait – what am I saying? As if there would have been any repercussions anyways…
Have to say the Koskinnen signing is starting to look decent at this point. Games like this one combined with Talbots struggles are making a good argument that we should be making a starting goalie change…
It’s not the ref that needs repercussions, he had a split second to make that call from a so-so angle. It’s the NHL video review knobs that denied us despite the perfect overhead angle with white ice between the puck and goal line. This league embarrassed itself nightly. When does Buttman retire. ?
Chia takes a lot of heat but he was right about Koskinen without him we would be in trouble. No doubt he has taken the starter job.
I just can’t understand why ppl feel a need to critic this win and complain about anybody on the team. Why?