The Bruins (12-8-2) are facing the Edmonton Oilers (11-18-3) tonight in Edmonton in hopes of extending our win streak to 4 and holding our point lead in the conference over the Penguins.
Before jumping into this preview, I have to give a stick tap over to our old buddy and current Captain of the Edmonton Oilers Andrew Ference. We all know how great of a player and person Ferry is and although it was sad to see him go, it's always good to see him succeeding else where. It's even better to see that nothing has changed but the jerseys between the boys. I wish him the best of luck tonight and in the rest of the season.
But now, on to the preview. The Edmonton Oilers are struggling if I'm going to put it nicely. They are currently in last place in the Western Conference with only 25 points. The team has a -20 goal differential and 5-9-1 record at home with a 6-3-1 record in their last 10. The majority of their players have a negative rating while on the ice, ranging from Nail Yakupov's horrendous -18 to Jordan Eberle's -3. There are only 8 players on the whole team with a positive rating and 5 of them are +0. Goalie Devan Dubnyk isn't making matters any better. He's got a 3.27 GAA and a .892. SV% in 25 games played. He's got a 9-12-2 record, which reflects the three games he was pulled from. What all this boils down to is the Oilers just aren't very good... at all.
But the Bruins aren't coming into this at a full advantage either. The team is going into this game still slightly crippled by injuries. Although Boychuk returned last game against the Flames, the Bruins are still without Adam McQuaid (lower body injury, IR), Dougie Hamilton (lower body injury, 2-4 weeks), Chris Kelly (broken fibula, 4-6 weeks), Loui Eriksson (Concussion, IR) and Daniel Paille (upper body injury, undisclosed).
Before jumping into this preview, I have to give a stick tap over to our old buddy and current Captain of the Edmonton Oilers Andrew Ference. We all know how great of a player and person Ferry is and although it was sad to see him go, it's always good to see him succeeding else where. It's even better to see that nothing has changed but the jerseys between the boys. I wish him the best of luck tonight and in the rest of the season.
But now, on to the preview. The Edmonton Oilers are struggling if I'm going to put it nicely. They are currently in last place in the Western Conference with only 25 points. The team has a -20 goal differential and 5-9-1 record at home with a 6-3-1 record in their last 10. The majority of their players have a negative rating while on the ice, ranging from Nail Yakupov's horrendous -18 to Jordan Eberle's -3. There are only 8 players on the whole team with a positive rating and 5 of them are +0. Goalie Devan Dubnyk isn't making matters any better. He's got a 3.27 GAA and a .892. SV% in 25 games played. He's got a 9-12-2 record, which reflects the three games he was pulled from. What all this boils down to is the Oilers just aren't very good... at all.
But the Bruins aren't coming into this at a full advantage either. The team is going into this game still slightly crippled by injuries. Although Boychuk returned last game against the Flames, the Bruins are still without Adam McQuaid (lower body injury, IR), Dougie Hamilton (lower body injury, 2-4 weeks), Chris Kelly (broken fibula, 4-6 weeks), Loui Eriksson (Concussion, IR) and Daniel Paille (upper body injury, undisclosed).
But even with the injuries, we know our depth is capable of handling it. Although the first two periods of the game against the Flames were kind of abysmal, the Bruins came out flying in the third, thoroughly proving that even without some of our veterans we are capable of playing good Bruins hockey.
So with that in mind, the keys to tonight's game are simple. First, is to watch for those holes in the defense and take advantage of it. It's obvious the Oilers' defense has been struggling and the Bruins need to be able to recognize that and capitalize on the opportunities this awards us. We need to use these holes to keep the puck in their zone and to create rushes that will get the puck to their end otherwise. By keeping it in their end, the Bruins will get plenty of opportunities to create pressure in front of the net, shoot the puck and score. In this game, scoring should not be a huge problem for us if we keep the pressure up, lift the puck and shoot for the top corners or under Dubnyk's stick side. The guy is a mediocre goalie against a group of guys known as the Beasts of the East for goodness sake. But even a mediocre goalie can look good if the Bruins don't shoot the puck.
Along with all of this, the Bruins defense needs to be as on top of their game as they can be right now. The Oilers may be a struggling team but we've all seen how mediocre teams can feed off momentum. We're going to need to be especially weary of guys like Jordan Eberle (11 goals, 16 assists), Taylor Hall (12 goals, 15 assists) and David Perron (12 goals, 13 assists). Keep them cut off from passing and shooting lanes and you've basically crippled the Oilers minimal offense. The Oilers also aren't the most physical team in the league, so winning key puck battles and creating turnovers is not only going to be relatively simple but is going to be a great tool for us to keep that offensive drive up.
I'm not at all worried about our goalie situation tonight. Whether they decide to play Tuukka or Johnson, our net minding is going to be solid, especially against a struggling offense. Tuukka currently has a 1.87 GAA and a.935 SV% with a 16-7-2 record. Johnson has a 1.98 GAA and a .922 SV% with a 5-1 record. Granted, neither goalie can do it all on his own, but with these stats and the level of consistency we've seen out of both of them, if it comes down to it they both should be able to handle the pressure.
So with that in mind, the keys to tonight's game are simple. First, is to watch for those holes in the defense and take advantage of it. It's obvious the Oilers' defense has been struggling and the Bruins need to be able to recognize that and capitalize on the opportunities this awards us. We need to use these holes to keep the puck in their zone and to create rushes that will get the puck to their end otherwise. By keeping it in their end, the Bruins will get plenty of opportunities to create pressure in front of the net, shoot the puck and score. In this game, scoring should not be a huge problem for us if we keep the pressure up, lift the puck and shoot for the top corners or under Dubnyk's stick side. The guy is a mediocre goalie against a group of guys known as the Beasts of the East for goodness sake. But even a mediocre goalie can look good if the Bruins don't shoot the puck.
Along with all of this, the Bruins defense needs to be as on top of their game as they can be right now. The Oilers may be a struggling team but we've all seen how mediocre teams can feed off momentum. We're going to need to be especially weary of guys like Jordan Eberle (11 goals, 16 assists), Taylor Hall (12 goals, 15 assists) and David Perron (12 goals, 13 assists). Keep them cut off from passing and shooting lanes and you've basically crippled the Oilers minimal offense. The Oilers also aren't the most physical team in the league, so winning key puck battles and creating turnovers is not only going to be relatively simple but is going to be a great tool for us to keep that offensive drive up.
I'm not at all worried about our goalie situation tonight. Whether they decide to play Tuukka or Johnson, our net minding is going to be solid, especially against a struggling offense. Tuukka currently has a 1.87 GAA and a.935 SV% with a 16-7-2 record. Johnson has a 1.98 GAA and a .922 SV% with a 5-1 record. Granted, neither goalie can do it all on his own, but with these stats and the level of consistency we've seen out of both of them, if it comes down to it they both should be able to handle the pressure.
My three guys to watch tonight are:
1. Zdeno Chara: Chara is a giant against most people but against the Oilers forwards he looks even bigger. With his reach,stride and physicality, he's going to have a relatively easy time getting past the small guys to either get to the net or to set up for shots from the blue line. It's only going to help his game tonight that he's going to be able to get his slap shots off against a mediocre goalie and defense. His slap shot is hard to track as is, not to mention if your goalie and defense can barely hold their game together and if you add traffic in front of the net to the mix.
2. Riley Smith: Being a small, agile player who can keep pace with the small Edmonton forwards paired with his 7 goals and 14 assists is going to make Smith formidable tonight. Since he's going to be able to keep pace, he's going to be key in creating turnovers and creating the plays and scoring chances we want to see tonight. Who knows, he may himself even see a goal because of it.
3. Torey Krug: Another small, fast player who is going to be key in keeping up with the Edmonton forwards. But the difference here is Krug is willing to get a bit more physical than Reilly Smith is, which is going to help him keep possession of the puck and get off those great shots from the blue line he's been known for this season. Not to mention he's one of the few regular defensemen we have right now, so he's going to act as an anchor of sorts for our depth players.
1. Zdeno Chara: Chara is a giant against most people but against the Oilers forwards he looks even bigger. With his reach,stride and physicality, he's going to have a relatively easy time getting past the small guys to either get to the net or to set up for shots from the blue line. It's only going to help his game tonight that he's going to be able to get his slap shots off against a mediocre goalie and defense. His slap shot is hard to track as is, not to mention if your goalie and defense can barely hold their game together and if you add traffic in front of the net to the mix.
2. Riley Smith: Being a small, agile player who can keep pace with the small Edmonton forwards paired with his 7 goals and 14 assists is going to make Smith formidable tonight. Since he's going to be able to keep pace, he's going to be key in creating turnovers and creating the plays and scoring chances we want to see tonight. Who knows, he may himself even see a goal because of it.
3. Torey Krug: Another small, fast player who is going to be key in keeping up with the Edmonton forwards. But the difference here is Krug is willing to get a bit more physical than Reilly Smith is, which is going to help him keep possession of the puck and get off those great shots from the blue line he's been known for this season. Not to mention he's one of the few regular defensemen we have right now, so he's going to act as an anchor of sorts for our depth players.
Score Prediction: 4-1 Bruins Win
Until after the game,
Keep Calm and Bergeron!
Keep Calm and Bergeron!