GDB 24.0: Love that Dirty Water! (3pm MST, Sportsnet)

Photo credit:Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

6 years ago

Over the years, the road has been kind to the Edmonton Oilers. Some struggling home teams left town and got their act together and there were also times where a trade completed while the club was out east had an enormous impact.

CARRY THAT WEIGHT

Jennifer Frey, March 18, 1993: Esa Tikkanen did not have to move his skates and his sticks very far. Neither did Doug Weight. A few hours before the Rangers played the Edmonton Oilers last night, Rangers President and General Manager Neil Smith announced that he had traded Weight, a 22-year-old center, to the Oilers for Tikkanen, a gritty player with four Stanley Cup victories to his credit. Weight moved his things, and a heavy heart, to the visitors’ dressing room at Madison Square Garden. Tikkanen brought his belongings and an ever-present grin to the home hallway, where he chatted cheerily with his new teammates while working on his sticks. (New York Times)

The Oilers were a struggling team at the time, the Rangers were pushing for a Stanley Cup that would, in fact, arrive the following spring. The standings on March 18, 1993, reflect the story. Edmonton had 58 points in 73 games, good for No. 5 in the Smythe Division. The Rangers were No. 4 in the Patrick Division, 73 points in 70 games.

FRACTURE

Jan 16, 2017; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (93) celebrates his first period goal with teammates against the Arizona Coyotes during the first period at Rogers Place.Mandatory Credit: Walter Tychnowicz-USA TODAY Sports

This year’s Oilers were supposed to be buyers, but in fact the national media is already talking about selling.

Nick Kypreos: “The problem is, of course, is his salary is still very high at $6 million. But it’s a nice problem for the Oilers to have—that Nugent-Hopkins all of a sudden is making other people around the league notice him.” (Mike Johnston, Sportsnet)

Oilers fans may experience some rage when reading this quote, because of course people around the league should notice Nugent-Hopkins! He’s a fine player and is having one of the best seasons of his career. He’s the kind of player the organization should keep and build around—and that may inspire the biggest pressure point of this season.

Edmonton fans are up in arms over this season, a trade of Nugent-Hopkins for futures is going to be a very tough sell. Peter Chiarelli is under tremendous pressure and there are many who question his ability to get 100 cents on the dollar from a deal.

Added to all of this chaos is the fact RNH is 24. On the day Edmonton acquired Doug Weight, he had just turned 22. If you’re trading the Nuge for futures, why are you trading Nuge? It makes no sense. Even the cap argument is poor, since there are multiple options (including rumors of a cap for 2018-19 that could reach $80 million) that allow the Oilers to fit under the cap moving forward. Oilers fans are in a foul mood in regard to past trades, a Nugent-Hopkins deal that brings back unknowns or draft picks could blow this season wide open.

LINEUPS…

Oilers

Lucic-McDavid-Cammalleri
Maroon-Nugent-Hopkins-Slepyshev
Caggiula-Draisaitl-Strome
Pakarinen-Letestu-Kassian

Nurse-Larsson
Klefbom-Benning
Auvitu-Russell

Talbot

These are the forward lines used at practice yesterday with the defence remaining relatively similar aside from Klefbom drawing back in on the second pairing. No lines have been released yet, so we will update as soon as the news comes out.

Bruins

Heinen-Bergeron-Pastrnak
Debrusk-Krejci-Vatrano
Schaller-Kuraly-Szwarz
Acciari-Nash-Beleskey

Chara-McAvoy
Krug-Carlo
Grzelcyk-Miller

Rask

Lineups (subject to change) are courtesy of DailyFaceoff.com

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

Steve Conroy, Boston Herald: The Bruins’ goaltending world will take another turn today when Tuukka Rask gets the net again for a Garden game against the underachieving Edmonton Oilers. Rask has not played since a 4-2 loss to the Ducks in Anaheim on Nov. 15 and, since then, the B’s have gone on a four-game win streak with Anton Khudobin. The B’s have earned points in all nine games Khudobin has played this season (7-0-2, .932 save percentage, 2.22 goals-against average) but only five with Rask (3-7-2, .897 SP, 2.89 GAA). Source

TONIGHT

Photoshop: Tom Kostiuk

GAME DAY PREDICTION: The Bruins are a step slow in the first period, Edmonton receiving two power-play opportunities—cashing on one (goal by Oscar Klefbom). Cam Talbot has a quiet first period in goal, stopping just six shots.

OBVIOUS GAME DAY PREDICTION: Boston finds itself in the second period, pushing for the entire 20 minutes, getting a pair of goals from David Pastrnak. Edmonton holds on after that, 2-1 home team after two periods.

NOT-SO-OBVIOUS GAME DAY PREDICTION: The third period sees Edmonton play their best period since the Detroit game, Connor McDavid scoring with 112 seconds left to tie the game and send it to overtime. A brilliant fourth period sees both teams almost scoring and Pastrnak getting it done with one minute left. 3-2 Boston in a thriller.