Game Day Notes: Edmonton Oilers at Pittsburgh Penguins

It will be billed as McDavid versus Crosby 3.0. Last year, these two played more against than away from each other — 19:28 head-to-head and 16:34 apart at 5×5, in two of the most exciting games of the season.

McDavid won the battle. His line outscored Crosby 2-0. The possession numbers were very close (24-23 in CF-CA), but Mike Sullivan moved Crosby’s line away from McDavid’s line at home after McDavid dominated the first period. The Penguins ended up winning the game 4-3.

Superstars are insanely competitive and while they have a healthy respect for one another, you know they want to go head-to-head tonight.

1. The Penguins won both games last year. McDavid had three assists in Pittsburgh, but Connor Sheary scored with 1:42 remaining to give Pittsburgh the 4-3 victory. In Edmonton, McDavid scored and they went to a shootout. Both McDavid and Crosby scored in the shootout, but so did Phil Kessel, and the Pens won 3-2.

2. The Oilers haven’t had a lead since Kris Russell scored 1:08 into the first period in Vancouver in game two. The Canucks tied it at the 7:35 mark and the Oilers have not played with a lead since. Despite the OT win in Chicago, they have played  357:09 without the lead. Not surprisingly, they are 1-5 in that span. Getting a lead would be huge for a group struggling to score.

3. The Penguins have scored a powerplay goal in eight of their nine games. Their PP is second in the NHL at 32.4%, scoring 12 goals on 37 opportunities. The Oilers have scored a total of 14 goals.

4. The Oilers PK is 30th at 72.4%. They’ve allowed eight goals on 29 chances. They can’t afford to give the red-hot Penguins PP many chances or they’ll likely get crushed.

5. Pittsburgh has been outscored 28-15 at 5×5 through nine games. The Oilers have been outscored 13-8. The Penguins are vulnerable at EV right now, and surprisingly it has been their top two lines and top defence pairing getting lit up. Eventually, that will change for the Pens, but Edmonton needs to try and extend their 5×5 struggles for another game.

6. Tough break for the pride of Sexsmith Alberta, Carter Rowney. He blocked a shot with his hand early in the first period versus Tampa Bay and is now on the IR and won’t play against the team he grew up cheering for. The Penguins are in Edmonton next Wednesday and he’s hoping he will be healthy by then.

7. Lies, lies and statistics… Matt Murray has some gaudy numbers. He has a .896sv% and a 3.35 GAA. However, he is 5-0-1 in six starts. He had a shutout versus Nashville, but in his other six appearances he has faced 196 shots and allowed 23 goals. He has a .882sv% in those games. But he’s been getting great goal support with 24 goals in his six starts.

8. It is interesting to see the Penguins have played Tampa Bay twice this month, both the second half of a back-to-back, and they gave Murray the night off in favour of Antti Niemi. Niemi got lit up both nights, losing 7-1 and 5-4. Niemi is now in Florida after being claimed on waivers.

9. The Oilers have been outscored 22-11 in their last six games. The offence needs to wake up soon if they want to avoid a disastrous October.

10. The Oilers have two victories in Pittsburgh since 1993. They are 2-10-2 in their last 14 games including a SO victory in 2015 when Anders Nilsson made 39 stops in regulation and both saves in the shutout as the Oilers won 3-2.  The Oilers were 12-9-1 in their first 22 visits to Pittsburgh, but the celebrations have been limited since 1993. They will try to change that tonight.