Matchups is dedicated to providing quick news, notes, and stats ahead on game days and within the divisions. We take a look at everything from head-to-head matchups before the puck drops to how teams stack up against each other around the league. We’ll show you the ins and outs from both sides of the ice to ensure that you’ve got the knowledge to power you to chirping victory.
When you are out of the playoff race players look for different things to motivate them. I don’t buy into the play-without-pressure theory and how it is easier to play games when there is nothing on the line. Opposing players and coaches have said this for years, only because they don’t want to say the…
Mikko Koskinen has allowed some goals on his glove hand side. Some have looked stoppable, no question, but he’s also made many great saves, and while he isn’t Andrei Vasilevskiy, he isn’t near the bottom of the NHL goalie tree either. He is pretty much right around average. Ideally, he will need to improve his…
It is invisible, but you can feel it pulling at you. Slowly. You try to fight it. You dig your feet in, lean back and try not to get sucked in deeper, but because you can’t see it you don’t know when it will try to lure you back. Some of you go willingly, not…
It must be frustrating when you finally play solid hockey, clamp down defensively, get solid goaltending, some complementary scoring and go 7-1-1 in nine games, but don’t make up any ground in the playoff race. That is the Oilers’ reality this morning. They went 6-2-2 in their last ten games, but are no closer to…
The Oilers are one win away from setting a new season-high with five-consecutive wins. In their way are the Toronto Maple Leafs, the team who hammered them in the middle of their otherwise-successful road trip last week.
It is never ideal when you have more road wins than home victories, especially when you only have 15 road victories. The Oilers have been a much more consistent and competitive team away from Edmonton recently, but if they want to stay in the hunt until the final week of the season they need to…
The similarities are many. The fan bases are blue collar, incredibly loyal, and they’ve watched more losing than every other NHL city over the past decade. The Oilers and Sabres meet tonight in Buffalo, and once again both teams are on the outside of the playoff picture and need a miracle final 17-game run to…
After earning a split in Ontario, the Oilers continue their five-game swing with a matinee match in Columbus. Here are your game day notes.
One of the best ways to learn in business is by watching and tracking how other businesses succeed, but also watching those who struggle. I find it is much easier to mirror the mistakes of the unsuccessful businesses rather than just copy what successful ones do. Why? Because the right decision is usually the tougher…
It feels odd to write Connor McDavid returns from suspension, but that is indeed what will unfold tonight in Toronto when the NHL’s third leading scorer returns to the Edmonton Oilers lineup. His teammates played quite well in his absence, picking up three of a possible four points, but under the most blatant Captain Obvious…
All losing streaks will come to an end eventually, some just take longer than others. The Oilers victories over the Islanders and Ducks last Thursday and Saturday were their first back-to-back wins since they defeated Buffalo and Vancouver on January 14th and 16th, and it was the first time they won consecutive home games since…
The Oilers will go into tonight’s key game against the Ducks without Connor McDavid. Let’s see how they respond with their captain having to watch from the sideline due to his two-game suspension. Here are your game day notes.
