It’s not very often when you get a back-to-back weekend filled with 2 PM matinees, but the second half of that set is on deck for the Edmonton Oilers as they look to get back in the win column in their first matchup of the season versus the Anaheim Ducks.

Does anyone else still despise the Anaheim Ducks because of the era in that franchise that was absolutely devastating for the Oilers any time they matched up? I’m talking about the Getzlaf-Kesler run during the Eakins years when winning games in Anaheim was impossible for a rebuilding Edmonton club that was a little more hopeful than skilled. Those were the seasons when we thought signing Ben Eager and Darcy Hordichuk would push this thing past the tipping point. Ahh, to be young.

I’m sure if you asked Ryan Nugent-Hopkins — the last man standing from that time — he’d probably have wartime flashbacks to getting beatdown over and over again. It was ugly, my friends. Mix in the Kesler pad hold on Talbot from the 2017 playoffs, and you’ve got the recipe for a decades-long grudge I plan to carry with me forever. I will hate the Ducks until I can’t anymore. Nowhere am I suggesting that’s the healthiest approach to life, but it works for me, and I’m not changing any time soon.

Now that the Ducks are rebuilding and the Oilers have Stanley Cup aspirations, all I can think about is repaying the favour. While I don’t expect the Anaheim fanbase to be as dialled in as we are when it comes to holding long-term grudges, I know that there will at least a chunk of people in that barn today who were Ducks fans during all of those lopsided matchups from years ago. I want those people to have a bad time today. Frankly, they had way too much fun against the Oilers for years, and now it’s time for them to suffer a little.

To ensure the home side suffers enough to satisfy the ghosts from Oilers past, the boys need to get their legs moving right from Jump Street. I don’t care that they played yesterday — the Ducks did too — Edmonton can give themselves a major advantage in this hockey game if they can find their way to an early lead. The Ducks’ -23 goal differential ranks among the league’s worst, and they struggle mightily when trailing in games. If the Oilers can pop one in the first few minutes, this game could be over before it even has the chance to get going.

Of course, I said the exact same thing about the San Jose Sharks a couple of weeks ago, and they were only 18 seconds away from pulling off the upset. Even the worst teams in the NHL can win on any given night if the cookie crumbles the right way, and I’m hopeful that the boys learned their lesson about allowing weaker opponents to linger. Sure, Edmonton was able to complete the comeback against San Jose, but that’s not going to work every time — it’s way better to put this thing out of reach.

Yet, as we learned again on Saturday, winning games in the NHL isn’t ever easy. The Oilers blew two separate leads in their 4-3 overtime loss to the Kings yesterday at Crypto.com Arena, and they can’t let opportunities like that slip away in divisional games. They get the opportunity to bounce back on Sunday in Anaheim, and I’m eager to see whether Edmonton can shake off yesterday’s mistakes and secure a win that ensures they maintain pace with the top of the Pacific Division.

Let’s see what the numbers say…

Nugent-Hopkins – McDavid – Hyman
Podkolzin – Draisaitl – Arvidsson
Kapanen – Henrique – Brown
Janmark – Ryan – Perry

Ekholm – Bouchard
Nurse – Stecher
Kulak – Emberson

Pickard

I doubt we’ll see much in the way of updates until the boys get on the ice for warmups after playing yesterday in L.A., so I guess we’ll have to wait and see if Kris Knoblauch makes any changes outside of Pickard getting the start. I’ll be sure to jump in and edit the lines once we know who is playing where.

Vatrano – Strome – Terry
Killorn – Carlsson – Leason
Fabbri – McTavish – Gauthier
Harkins – Lundeström – Johnston

LaCombe – Gudas
Zellweger – Trouba
Domoulin – Helleson

Gibson

The Ducks fell 3-1 to the Philadelphia Flyers yesterday in Anaheim, which means John Gibson is likely to get the start after Dostal manned the crease for the first half of their back-to-back. Like the Oilers, I doubt we’ll see any updates from the Ducks end of things until closer to puck drop. Even though Anaheim is 1-8-1 in their last 10 games, it is worth nothing that the Ducks may have lost to Philly yesterday, but some of the numbers suggest it could have easily gone the other way. I guess the point is not to underestimate them just because they’re bad.

Game Day Prediction: The Oilers get back in the win column with a convincing 6-1 win.

Obvious Game Day Prediction: Calvin Pickard will give the Oilers another steady start between the pipes. The Ducks will get some early chances, and some big saves by Our Pal Cal allows Edmonton the time they need to settle in.

Not-So-Obvious Game Day Prediction: Kasperi Kapanen stays hot with his sixth goal of the season, and fifth since being claimed off waivers. We also get a second straight game with a revenge goal when Adam Henrique snipes one in the second period.