I’m not sure who it was in the NHL’s scheduling department that wished horrible things upon the Edmonton Oilers but these first 10 games have been something else. Before today’s matchup against the Blackhawks, Edmonton had to get through six straight opponents that had 100 points or more in the 2017/18 season (Winnipeg, Boston, Nashville x2, Pittsburgh, Washington) and the fact that they finished that stretch with a 4-1-1 record can only be viewed as a monstrous success. I don’t know about you, but I would have definitely been pumped if you had told me the Oilers would have a 5-3-1 record after nine games, especially after losing those first two. In terms of how they’ve played, it’s been night and day. They’ve had to earn every point they have on their record and to grind those out against some very tough hockey teams is something Oilers fans should feel good about.

Looking at today’s matchup, the journey through October doesn’t get any easier with a stop in Chicago either. After missing the playoffs in 2017-18 with 76 points, the Blackhawks have had a pretty solid start to their season, posting a 6-3-2 record over their first 11 games which has them right in the mix in a very tough Central Division. I know some folks on Twitter were talking about today’s game being the easier of the two in the back-to-back set but I’m not sure that I necessarily agree. Despite not being the Cup winning team they once were, this is still a team with plenty of weapons that can burn you. As you’ll see in the number section below, the Blackhawks are a team that can score a lot of goals, but they’re also one that gives just as many and that makes them a wildcard.

With both of these teams playing yesterday, the Blackhawks got dummied by the St. Louis Blues while our beloved Oilers beat the league-leading Nashville Predators, it will be interesting to see where their energy levels are at for today’s game. I’m not saying that either team is going to look sluggish per se, but there could be an advantage to whoever can get their legs under them the quickest. Perhaps this is something the Oilers can take advantage of since their game had ended hours before the Blackhawks and Blues had even gotten started? Could a few hours of extra rest be enough to give the Oilers a head start? We’re only a few hours from finding out. All I know for sure is if the Oilers can play the way they did against Pittsburgh and Washington then they’re going to be in good shape.

In three appearances against the Blackhawks last season, the Oilers finished with a 1-1-1 record with two of those games (a win and a loss) ending in overtime.

Numbers courtesy of Corsica

RNH-McDavid-Yamamoto
Rieder-Draisaitl-Chiasson
Lucic-Strome-Caggiula
Khaira-Brodziak-Kassian

Klefbom-Larsson
Nurse-Russell
Garrison-Benning

Talbot

Outside of Talbot getting the start, these are yesterday’s line combos and I haven’t updated them yet because no information has been released on any changes. I’m only guessing here but I could see Evan Bouchard getting back in the mix somewhere for his eighth game, though Matt Benning looked pretty good in his first game back off of the IR. Another thing to watch for will be Zack Kassian’s usage going forward since we learned last night from Elliotte Friedman that the organization has given him permission to seek a trade elsewhere. As always, I’ll update the lines when news comes out.

DeBrincat-Toew-Kahun
Saad-Anisimov-Kane
Fortin-Johnson-Schmaltz
Kunitz-Kruger-Hayden

Keith-Jokiharju
Gustafsson-Seabrook
Davidson-Rutta

Ward

Corey Crawford got the start for the Blackhawks in their matchup against the Blues yesterday which leads me to believe that Cam Ward will be getting the start today. Again, nothing confirmed there but I’m just using my best guess. Also, this could be the first time that we get to see Brandon Davidson in a Blackhawks jersey so we’ll keep an eye on that too.

Friends, your time is running out if you want to get in on this road trip to Calgary. We’re about 3/4 sold out and you have less than a week to make the call on coming or not.