Now, before I get too carried away with myself and assume that the Flames will continue on in their role as the free space on the Bingo board, I would much rather see the Oilers take it upon themselves to kick a struggling team while they’re down. I talk about killer instinct a lot and this is another opportunity to flex it. No waiting out the buzzer, no falling into the trap, just relentlessness — that’s what we need. To make it happen, the most important thing I can think of for the Oilers to do if they’re to get the job done and extend their winning streak is to put in a full 60 minutes worth of effort. No shifts off, just work. Against the Senators, the Oilers took their foot off the gas far too often and while it was certainly nice to see them sweep the series in spite of those lulls, I’d much rather see the group cash out wins on merit rather than a well-executed rope-a-dope. I want to see shots. I want to see goals. I want to see the work. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll take two points no matter how they come, but if we’re planning to make some noise in the playoffs then the boys will have to find ways to create their own luck rather than relying on goaltending until the clock runs out.

Let’s see what the numbers say…

Draisaitl – McDavid – Puljujarvi
Kahun – Haas – Yamamoto
Shore – Khaira – Archibald
Kassian – Turris – Chiasson

Nurse – Barrie
Russell – Larsson
Jones – Bear

Smith

No RNH tonight means Dave Tippett had a choice to make of keeping McDrai together or splitting them up and spreading the offence around. I text Gregor this morning to see if he could find out anything about the line combos and he responded with, “expect the same lineup today unless the Oilers recall someone at 5pm… but with RNH out, Turris is the 4C.” As always, I’ll be sure to jump in and make the edits if anything changes between now and puck drop.

Gaudreau – Lindholm – Tkachuk
Mangiapane – Monahan – Dube
Lucic – Backlund – Nordstrom
Bennett – Ryan – Ritchie

Giordano – Tanev
Hanifin – Andersson
Valimaki – Stone

Markstrom

The Flames mixed up their lines on Friday in the hopes of getting anything going, so we’ll see whether or not Sutter’s newest trios have any effect on how craptacular they’ve been playing.

Game Day Prediction: As much as the Flames battle hard and play well against their provincial rival, the Dynamic Duo is simply too good and powers the Oilers to a 4-2 win.

Obvious Game Day Prediction: Leon Draisaitl will do everything he can to piss off two Tkachuks in the span of a few days.

Not-So-Obvious Game Day Prediction: The Oilers get an empty-net goal for the third straight game in a row.

When you have the two best players on the planet, the only option is to make a t-shirt that reflects their brilliance. Shine bright, boys. Pick up the Dynamic Duo tee here.