GDB 36.0: One more win for Santa (5pm MST, SNW)
By baggedmilk
6 years agoWith this being the last game before the Christmas break, the Oilers will look to close out the pre-Christmas portion of the season on a high note. Considering the Montreal Canadians are, at times, known to be garbage people, I’m feeling hopeful. My friends, it’s game day.
When these two teams last faced off on December 9th, the Oilers absolutely ran the Canadiens’ show for the full 60 minutes. They basically walked into Montreal, grabbed the Habs by their ankles, and shook them down for their lunch money and other pocket treasures. Frankly, it was a dominant performance. Carey Price got the hook, Niemi wasn’t any better, and the Oilers walked away with two of the easiest points they’ve had all season. Now, the question will be whether or not they can muster up another effort like that and turn the Habs’ visit into some kind of war flashback.
Needless to say, this is a massive game for the Oilers against a team that is definitely beatable. Even though Montreal has done a decent job of turning their season around, the Oilers could still get them back on the ropes with a quick start and an early goal. By no means, is this game a gimme, but the Canadiens are beatable if the boys can stick with it. To put it another way, Edmonton has a really good chance at two points if they can maintain the same level of effort as they’ve been getting over the last two weeks. Considering Montreal played last night in Calgary, there’s a real chance here for the Oilers to finish off strong before heading into their break.
Here’s hoping they’re not looking past tonight’s game at the three day break that’s coming up when the final buzzer sounds.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
- Looking at the special teams battle, no one will be surprised to read that the Montreal Canadiens have an edge on both the PP and PK. On the power play, Montreal wins out with their 18th ranked 18.3% which is nothing to write home about but still better than the Oilers’ lousy 16.3%. On the PK, the Habs once again have the advantage as their mediocre 77.4% kill is still enough to best Edmonton’s 30th ranked PK at 73.2%. Goodness.
- Looking at goal differential, Edmonton’s -8 (104GF – 112GA) is actually quite a bit better than Montreal’s -14 (94GF – 108GA) which is interesting how these two numbers were reversed when these teams played two weeks ago. By no means is Edmonton’s number perfect, but they’re definitely making strides in both ends of the rink.
- According to Corsica, the Oilers still rank 2nd overall in terms of CF% with a 53.63 and third in xGF with 74.9. As they have been all season, the Oilers are getting a tonne of shot attempts, and are finally getting a little bit of puck luck. It’s nice to see their productions starting to even out with what the fancy stats have been predicting all season long.
- The Habs did the Oilers a favour last night by beating the Flames 3-2 in regulation. That win makes today’s game even more important for the Oilers as they pull themselves to within three points of Calgary if they can beat Montreal today. Huge game.
LINEUP
Oilers
Lucic-McDavid-Puljujarvi
Maroon-RNH-Caggiula
Khaira-Draisaitl-Strome
Cammalleri-Letestu-Kassian
Maroon-RNH-Caggiula
Khaira-Draisaitl-Strome
Cammalleri-Letestu-Kassian
Nurse-Russell
Davidson-Larsson
Sekera-Benning
Davidson-Larsson
Sekera-Benning
At the time of posting, no lineup info has been put out by the Oilers but I assume it’s a pretty safe bet to guess that they’re going to run with the same lines as they had against St. Louis. Either way, I’ll update as news comes out.
Habs
Pacioretty-Drouin-Byron
Galchenyuk-Danault-Shaw
Hudon-Plekanec-Gallagher
Deslauriers-Froese-Carr
Galchenyuk-Danault-Shaw
Hudon-Plekanec-Gallagher
Deslauriers-Froese-Carr
Benn-Schlemko
Alzner-Petry
Morrow-Jerabek
Alzner-Petry
Morrow-Jerabek
Niemi
The Habs played last night in Calgary (Price was in net) and haven’t released any lineup info just yet. Again, I’ll update the lines as news comes out.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING…
It happened Thursday afternoon at the Saddledome as the Canadiens practised in preparation for Friday’s game against the Calgary Flames. Andrew Shaw, who has never been afraid to mix things up, got into a shoving match with defenceman Joe Morrow.“There’s nothing wrong with that,” coach Claude Julien said. “It’s players showing emotion. At the end of the day, there’s a professional side to this game and there’s a personal side. What happened on the ice was professional and they’re going to be in the room and they’ll probably be hugging and buying each other a Gatorade and they’ll move on.”Julien himself showed some emotion earlier in the practice. The coach wasn’t happy with what he saw on the ice and raised his voice a few decibels. His players seemed more focused after the outburst.
TONIGHT…
Photoshop: Tom Kostiuk
GAME DAY PREDICTION: Much like the last time these two teams played, the Edmonton Oilers run a pain train on the Canadiens, beating them by a score of 4-1.
OBVIOUS GAME DAY PREDICTION: Since it’s the last game before Christmas, the boys were dreaming of turkey dinners, stocking stuffers, and Christmas presents which gave the Habs the opening they needed to score the game’s first goal.
NOT-SO-OBVIOUS GAME DAY PREDICTION: Connor McDavid gathers the boys around for an inspired reading of ‘The Night Before Christmas.’ Nuge sat on his lap the whole time, enjoying the last couple days of his advent calendar and giving dirty looks to anyone not paying attention.
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Source: NHL, Official Game Page, 12/23/2017 – 12:00pm MST
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