GDB 61.0: A Test Against The League’s Best (6:30 pm MT, SNW)
By Cam Lewis
1 year agoAfter facing the last-placed team in the league’s standings on Saturday, the Edmonton Oilers will host the soon-to-be Presidents’ Trophy winners on Monday night.
Be sure to check out NHL lines site Betway for the latest Oilers game day odds!
The Boston Bruins are rolling into town on a six-game winning streak. Edmonton is the second of four stops on a Pacific Division swing for the Bruins, which kicked off with a 3-1 win over the Canucks in Vancouver. The highlight from that game was goaltender Linus Ullmark firing a shot from Boston’s zone into the Canucks’ empty net…
That win put Boston at 45-8-5 for the season. They’re nine points up on the Carolina Hurricanes, who have the next-best record in the league, and they’re a whopping 19 points clear of the top team in the Western Conference, the Vegas Golden Knights.
The best regular season in NHL history was put together by the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings, who went 62-13-7. The 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning matched that Red Wings squad in terms of wins, going 62-16-4, but they finished with three fewer points in the standings because of loser points.
The Bruins have 24 games left remaining on their schedule, so the best regular season record in NHL history is well within reach. They need to win 18 of those 24 games in order to surpass the number of wins that Detroit and Tampa had.
The 95-96 Wings lost in the Western Conference Final while the Lightning got shocked in the first round of the playoffs by the Columbus Blue Jackets. What’ll the Bruins do in the playoffs? They’ve loaded up by acquiring Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway but the Eastern Conference is a gauntlet.
This game is going to be a big test for the Oilers. They’ve lost just two games in regulation over their last 18 but 12 of those games came against teams who aren’t currently in a playoff position. A strong effort and a win over Boston would make everyone forget about the miserable performance Edmonton put forward in Columbus on Saturday.
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LINEUPS…
Edmonton Oilers
RNH – McDavid – Yamamoto
Kostin – Draisaitl – Hyman
Foegele – McLeod – Janmark
Ryan – Puljujarvi
Kostin – Draisaitl – Hyman
Foegele – McLeod – Janmark
Ryan – Puljujarvi
Nurse – Ceci
Kulak – Barrie
Broberg – Bouchard
Desharnais
Kulak – Barrie
Broberg – Bouchard
Desharnais
Skinner
Klim Kostin will return to the lineup for the first time since February 15 when the Oilers hosted the Detroit Red Wings. Devin Shore will come out of the lineup and will be sent down to AHL Bakersfield to make room for Kostin.
Boston Bruins
Marchand – Bergeron – DeBrusk
Zacha – Krejci – Pastrnak
Foligno – Coyle – Frederic
Greer – Nosek – Hathaway
Zacha – Krejci – Pastrnak
Foligno – Coyle – Frederic
Greer – Nosek – Hathaway
Orlov – McAvoy
Lindholm – Carlo
Forbort – Clifton
Lindholm – Carlo
Forbort – Clifton
Swayman
Taylor Hall is dealing with a lower-body injury so he won’t be in the lineup to face the club that selected him first overall at the 2010 draft.
What they’re saying…
Boston Bruins winger Taylor Hall will not play against the Edmonton Oilers tonight nor will he suit up against the Calgary Flames in the final game of the Bruins’ current four-game road trip. Hall was sent back to Boston with a lower-body injury and is currently listed as day-to-day.“Taylor went back to Boston… I think last night or early this morning. He’s lower body and we’re just precautionary..I don’t think it’s anything serious..but with back to back games we didn’t see him playing so we sent him back,” Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters after his team’s game day skate in Edmonton on Monday.With Taylor Hall out, forward A.J. Greer will draw back into the lineup and play on the fourth line with center Tomas Nosek and newcomer Garnet Hathaway on the right wing. As a result, winger Nick Foligno has been promoted up to the third line alongside center Charlie Coyle and right wing Trent Frederic.There will also be a change on the blue line tonight for the Boston Bruins. Matt Grzelcyk will be a healthy scratch and Connor Clifton will draw back in to play with his normal defensive partner Derek Forbort. Newcomer Dmitry Orlov will slot up to the top pairing to play with Charlie McAvoy.
Photoshop: Tom Kostiuk
Tonight…
Game Day Prediction: The Oilers put forward one of the strongest efforts of the season and snap Boston’s winning streak with a 2-1 win.
Obvious Game Day Prediction: Connor McDavid is involved in both of Edmonton’s goals.
Not-So-Obvious Game Day Prediction: Stuart Skinner nearly posts the Oilers’ first shutout of the season but the Bruins make the score 2-1 in the latter part of the third period.
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