After a tough loss to the Jets on Wednesday night, the Oilers are back in action to face the Chicago Blackhawks that are coming off of a beat down in Vancouver last night. Will our boys in orange avenge that close loss in Winnipeg? Will Connor do more Connor things? We’re only a few hours from finding out.

1. The Edmonton Oilers face off against the Chicago Blackhawks on home ice for the first time and only time this season, as the boys in orange will look to get themselves back in the win column. In their last meeting, the Oilers left Chicago with a 2-1 OT win but most people will remember that game because of Connor McDavid’s ridiculous assist on Pat Maroon’s first period marker. Here’s hoping he can weave a little bit more of that magic tonight.

2. The Blackhawks are in town to face the Oilers after playing their first game back from the Christmas break and getting their asses kicked last night in Vancouver. Can Edmonton take advantage of a team that played less than 24 hours ago? The Oilers are 10-4-1 when scoring first this season but only 7-14-1 when their opponent gets the first goal. It’s vital for the Oilers to get the first goal against a tired team that may take a few shifts to get their legs back under them.

3. The Oilers are tied for second last in penalties drawn with 103 which seems ridiculous for a team with Connor McDavid. Though with that said, it’s not like Connor gets the calls on 85% of the slashes/hacks he takes on a nightly basis anyway. To compare, the Avalanche and Penguins have each had 140 power plays on the year. You mean to tell me that teams are 35% dirtier when they play the Pens and Avs? How can the refs be so inconsistent?

4. Of all the teams in the league, the Blackhawks have been one of the most generous when it comes to the Oilers. Edmonton has had a run of luck against Chicago over the past season and change as is shown by their 3-1 over the past four games played. In that time, the Oilers have outscored the Blackhawks by an 11-7 margin, something they will surely be hoping to continue tonight.

5. Over at Corsica, the Oilers are maintaining their hold on top five spots in all kinds of shot metrics. As of this morning, the Oilers currently rank third in CF% with a 53.16% which has their Expected Goals For also sitting in third place. Let’s hope the shooting% (numbers can keep going up a little bit (currently at 7.76%) so that the excellent fancies can matchup with hat we’re seeing on the scoreboard.

6. Jesse Puljujarvi has seven goals in the 20 games that he’s played, which would put him on pace for a 29 goal season over 82 games. The thing that’s most impressive about the big Finn is that he’s producing well without getting a tonne of time on the ice. Generally speaking, Puljujarvi hovers around 12-15 minutes per night and he’s making the most of it. Here’s to the people that were ready to write him off after starting the year in Bakersfield.

7. With Oscar Klefbom coming back into the lineup, the Oilers will have to make a roster decision in order to create the spot needed to bring those abs off the IR. If I was to guess, it would be Anton Slepyshev that is left without a chair when the music stopped. Slepyshev is one of the few guys that can be assigned to Bakersfield without clearing waivers. That said, it could also be Auvitu (but why?) or Gryba. We shall see.

8. As much as I love Connor McDavid and will for the rest of his life, I’d be really appreciative if he shot the puck more. I mean, he’s the best player on the ice and I know that he likes to set up his teammates up but it’s okay for him to be selfish. In his last five games, the captain has only 12 SOG which isn’t nearly enough given how many chances he’s been generating over that same period. Yes, he does still have six points over that stretch (2G, 4A) but that total could likely be doubled if teams had to also worry about him being a shooting threat. The funny thing is that anytime someone asks Connor about shooting it always seems to annoy him which tells me it’s something he’s thinking about. Now we wait for the switch to flip.

9. Coming into tonight’s game, the Oilers are 6-4-0 in their last 10 games and have moved to within five points of a Wildcard spot. They’re starting to make up some ground a little bit but they have to be sure to leave it all on the ice as to not end a four-game winning streak by starting to slide the other way. A win tonight would be another step towards getting back to where they need to be.

10. Corey Crawford was placed on the Injured Reserve with an upper-body injury, meaning the Oilers will face yet another backup goalie. Here’s hoping for goals and not posts.