GDB 65.0: Ranger Danger (8:30pm MST, CBC)

Photo credit:Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

6 years ago

The Edmonton Oilers kicked off their five-game homestand with a loss to the Nashville Predators and will be looking for a better result in tonight’s contest against the newly rebuilding New York Rangers.

It’s weird to see a team that’s closer to a Wildcard spot than the Oilers are telling the world that they’re going to rebuild. As an Oilers fan, I looked at that move and thought a) why are they telling their fans what’s going on without insulting them, and b) holy hell they’re closer to the playoffs than we are. How is it that a team that is within single digits of a playoff spot has the audacity to publicly announce a rebuild when another team, that was supposed to be a playoff contender, is stuck in the league’s basement again? You can’t make this stuff up. If you were writing an anti-Oilers propaganda movie for the 2017-18 season, I don’t know that you could come up with something any better than what’s actually happening.

With the Rangers playing (and winning) last night in Calgary, the Oilers had an opportunity to get back into the win column by taking advantage of a tired team. At least, that’s the theory anyway. The Rangers had no business winning that game after being outshot by a margin of 2:1 but the Flames’ goalie sucked and Lundqvist stole it for them. Moving into today’s game, I want to know if the Oilers are going to be ready to play because they’re facing a team that’s coming into town on a back-to-back weekend, sneaking out of part one with a lucky win. These are the games the Oilers haven’t been winning this year and it would be nice if they can actually close one out. There’s an opportunity here, but we’ll have to see if they can capitalize on it.

NUMBERS TO KNOW

The last time these two teams met, back on November 11th, the Oilers rolled into MSG with dreams of two points in their hearts but a lack of execution in their game. New York handled the Oilers a 4-2 loss which ended their modest two-game winning streak. Normally, we wouldn’t talk much about winning two games in a row but those streaks are as valuable as gold around these days.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins makes his return to the lineup after missing 18 games with cracked ribs. RNH took a big hit by Brayden McNabb in Vegas on January 13th and hasn’t played since. Even so, Nugent-Hopkins remains the Oilers’ third-leading scoring with 31 points (16G, 15A).
As much as I feel bad for the guy, I can’t talk about numbers without mentioning Milan Lucic’s 28 straight games without a goal. As you’ve all heard dozens of times by now, Lucic’s last goal came on December 23rd in a 4-1 win against the Montreal Canadiens and he has been a black hole for offence ever since. Here’s hoping he pots one today.
Calgary lost last night’s game against the Rangers by a score of 3-1 despite outshooting the Rangers 51-27. Henrik Lundqvist stole the game for the Rangers that they had no business winning. There are two bright sides from this, the first is obviously that Calgary lost, and the second is that the Oilers aren’t playing Lundqvist. Though with that said, it’s not like they’ve had much luck with backups either.
Mats Zuccarello leads the Rangers in points this year with 43 (10G, 33A) in 64 games played. Zuccarello has been ice cold over his last five games, putting up donuts in both the goal and assist columns. Why do I bring this up? You know why. A guy on a slump coming into Edmonton? Watch out.
If you were ever looking for evidence of struggles with the man advantage then I would like to present you with Exhibit A: Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Nugent-Hopkins lead the Oilers in power play goals with four apiece. Seems low doesn’t it? That’s because it is.
Check out more news and numbers in today’s game notes.

LINEUPS

Oilers

Lucic-McDavid-Draisaitl
Cammalleri-Nugent-Hopkins-Aberg
Puljujarvi-Strome-Slepyshev
Pakarinen-Khaira-Kassian

Nurse-Russell
Klefbom-Benning
Sekera-Bear

Talbot

Bob Stauffer tweeted out these line combos a little while ago and it’s interesting to see how McLellan put things together with Nuge coming back and Rattie being reassigned to Bakersfield.

Rangers

Kreider-Zibanejad-Buchnevich
Vesey-Namestnikov-Zuccarello
Spooner-Hayes-Fast
Carey-Holland-McLeod

Skjei-Pionk
Staal-O’Gara
Gilmour-Deangelo

Georgiev

Henrik Lundqvist played last night in Calgary so it looks like the Oilers are in line for another backup tonight, something they’ve struggled with mightily all season long.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING…

From Five Thirty Eight:

Longtime Rangers fans aren’t unaccustomed to spending the spring without playoff hockey. After all, the team failed to qualify in each of the seven seasons leading up to the lockout. The post-lockout Rangers actually were unusually consistent for a franchise that has had its ups and downs over the years. Indeed, this recent 12-year stretch is the third-best (non-overlapping)²one in Rangers history according to win percentage, trailing only 1968-79 and 1931-42.
Much of the blame for this year’s drop-off may be pinned on Lundqvist, who is having the second-worst season of his career based on quality start percentage. In the past, Lundqvist has taken a lot of the heat for his team’s near-misses and postseason underachievement. But the real issue that has kept the Rangers from getting over the hump is not their star goaltender, but that they were never able to build a winning core around him.

TONIGHT…

Photoshop: Tom Kostiuk

Game Day Prediction: The Rangers played in Calgary last night and the Oilers take advantage of tired legs for another two-goal first period. Edmonton gets back into the win column with a 4-3 regulation win.

Obvious Game Day Prediction: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is playing in his first game since January 13th and comes back strong with a power play marker for his 17th goal of the season.

Not-So-Obvious Game Day Prediction: Henrik Lundqvist turned 36-years-old yesterday and he didn’t get to celebrate much because of the game in Calgary. He changed that today with a double mushroom swiss at Burger Baron. Carlos made it for him with love.

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Source: NHL.com, Official Game Page, 3/03/2018 – 10:00 am MST

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