powered by Edmonton Sun and Edmonton Journal Sports |
|
|
Next Game: Oilers @ Avalanche, Ball Arena, Tonight, 7:30 p.m.
|
|
|
Colorado Avalanche forward Ivan Ivan, front left, drives past Edmonton Oilers defenseman Troy Stecher, back left, to put a shot on Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner in the third period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024, in Denver. AP Photo/David Zalubowski |
Game Day Notes: Oilers (28-13-3) @ Avalanche (27-17-1)
|
• The Oilers won 4-1 in the previous meeting against Colorado on Nov. 30
• With Calvin Pickard starting last night against Minnesota, you can expect Stuart Skinner to get the start against Colorado
• Tonight's game will feature four of the top five scorers in the NHL. Colorado's Nathan MacKinnon leads the NHL with 70 points (15g, 55a) in 45 games, while Leon Draisaitl is second with 65 points (31g, 34a) in 44 games. Connor McDavid has 62 points in 41 games, while Mikko Rantanen has 61 points in 45 games
• Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner recorded his sixth career shutout after the Oilers' 1-0 win over Los Angeles on Monday • Edmonton has scored three goals in 15 of their last 16 games. The only game they didn't was a 1-0 win over Los Angeles on Monday
• Connor McDavid's second goal of the game last night against Minnesota moved him past Jari Kurri for second-all-time in Oilers team scoring with 1,044 points
Projected Lineups Edmonton Oilers
Nugent-Hopkins – McDavid – Hyman
Podkolzin – Draisaitl – Arvidsson
Janmark – Henrique – C. Brown
Kapanen – Philp – Perry Ekholm – Bouchard Nurse – Stecher Kulak – Emberson Skinner
Pickard
Colorado Avalanche
Lehkonen – MacKinnon – Drouin Kiviranta – Rantanen – O'Connor Colton – Kelly – Parssinen
Innala – Mittelstadt – Polin Toews – Makar
Middleton – Manson De Haan – Malinski
Blackwood Wedgewood
By The Numbers
Edmonton Oilers
Power Play — 25.0% (8th)
Penalty Kill — 75.8% (25th)
Faceoffs — 53.1% (3rd)
Goals For avg — 3.3 (8th)
Goals Against avg — 2.73 (7th)
Colorado Avalanche
Power Play — 21.2% (17th)
Penalty Kill — 78.9% (17th)
Faceoffs — 44.4% (31st)
Goals For avg — 3.31 (T6th)
Goals Against avg — 3.09 (18th) |
|
|
WATCH: Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch speaks to the media after the team's 5-3 win over Minnesota on Wednesday
|
|
|
SLOPPY START IN MINNY BUT EDMONTON OILERS, AS USUAL, FIND WAY TO WIN
|
At times Wednesday night the Edmonton Oilers looked like a gorilla eating a plate of spaghetti and red sauce with his bare hands. Yeah, it was all kinds of messy, but you couldn’t knock the entertainment value. And, like a hungry primate throwing down fistfuls of pasta, you knew they’d find a way to get it done.
Despite falling behind 2-0 after another sloppy start, playing too loose in their own end, taking some undisciplined penalties and relying too heavily on goaltender Calvin Pickard, the Oilers polished off the Minnesota Wild like a nice bowl of Bolognese. “When we’re down we’re never out of it,” said Pickard, who played a major role in the 5-3 decision. “We battle back. Huge win.”
Third-period goals from Vasily Podkolzin and Connor McDavid broke open a 3-3 tie to improve the Oilers to 5-1 through the first six games of what amounts to an eight-game road trip.
Once again, they come from behind. Once again they find a way. Edmonton’s resilience and calm in the face of adversity, whether it’s stormy waters in October or stumbling early in Minnesota, has become part of their DNA.
“It’s kind of been our mindset the last few years,” said Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who scored his sixth goal in the last 10 games in the win. “Stick with it and trust that we can get the job done no matter what the score is.”
It was imperfect in many ways — and if they play this loose against the Colorado Avalanche Thursday they’ll be in trouble — but they did what they needed to do in Minnesota and that’s all that mattered on Wednesday night. |
|
LAUREN KYLE-MCDAVID TO OPEN NEW EDMONTON RESTAURANT IN HISTORIC LOCALE |
The historic Canada Permanent Building in Downtown Edmonton is set to become the new home of Lauren Kyle-McDavid’s latest business ventures, Bar Trove and Trove Living.
“I just fell in love with the bones and the architecture, and I loved the kind of European feel to it,” said Kyle-McDavid of the space.
In an Instagram post last week, Kyle-McDavid announced to her more than 115,000 followers on the app that her new business project was “well in the works.” Kyle-McDavid, who got married to Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid last summer, said that Bar Trove and Trove Living are separate businesses from her other endeavours and aims to create an interconnected experience bringing furniture, food and drink together for a seamless outing.
She said the Bar Trove space, located at 10126 100 St., will feature a bar and small plate restaurant on the main floor with room for roughly 30 people, while the upper two floors will be home to offices and a showroom for Trove Living, which will sell luxury furniture and homeware.
Kyle-McDavid said that Bar Trove is “trying to focus local,” using best quality and best available products to create a French-inspired palate. Bar Trove has partnered with a consultant from Toronto who is assisting to curate the cocktail list and menu. But the new space will otherwise be unaffiliated with any major restaurant group.
Meanwhile, Trove Living upstairs will be run with Kyle-McDavid’s business partner, Brittany Schulz, with an aim to bring European furniture brands not well-represented in Western Canada. |
|
|
Edmonton Oilers 2024-25 statistics
|
|
|
Leon Draisaitl: 44 GP, 31 G, 34 A, 65 PTS Connor McDavid: 41 GP, 19 G, 43 A, 62 PTS Zach Hyman: 39 GP, 14 G, 11 A, 25 PTS Ryan Nugent-Hopkins: 43 GP, 12 G, 14 A, 26 PTS - Connor Brown: 44 GP, 6G, 13 A, 19 PTS
|
| Evan Bouchard: 44 GP, 7 G, 26 A, 33 PTS Mattias Ekholm: 44 GP, 6G, 12A, 18 PTS Darnell Nurse: 41 GP, 4 G, 14 A, 18 PTS Brett Kulak: 44 GP, 5G, 10 A, 15 PTS
|
| - Stuart Skinner: 29 GP, 17-9-3, .902 SV%, 2.68 GAA
-
Calvin Pickard: 17 GP, 11-4-0, 0.897 SV%, 2.53 GAA
|
|
|
Did you like this newsletter? Tell your friends to sign up here. |
|
|
Edmonton Oilers forwards Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl look on during warm-up before a game against the Boston Bruins at the TD Garden on Jan. 7, 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts. Photo by Rich Gagnon /Getty Images |
Will the NHL hand out fines or suspensions over the McDavid and Draisaitl incidents? |
By David Staples
There were two incidents in the Edmonton Oilers 5-3 win over the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday night that could well see the NHL hand out fines today, one incident involving Connor McDavid, the other Leon Draisaitl.
I suggest fines here because there’s little chance either incident will rise to the level of suspension, given the NHL’s track record and the severity of the two incidents.
In the game’s second period, Marcus Johansson of the Wild was covering McDavid, who cycled high near the offensive blueline with the puck, then laid it off with a backhand pass to Draisaitl. Just then, Johansson moved toward McDavid. McDavid clipped him in the face with an elbow on the way by.
In McDavid’s defence, the elbow appeared to be a light one, and it might also well have been reflexive and protective, as this is the kind of play where McDavid is regularly hammered hard with a check after he’s passed the puck. The NHL tends to allow that kind of late hit.
It’s also the case that there are more hard physical plays, including hits to the head, most games that the NHL never takes a look at.
If Johansson had bounced right up after the hit, it’s likely no one would be talking about it today. But he left the game with injury.
The second incident in the Wild game is also the second incident of an Oilers star having his feet kicked out from under him in two games. First it was Adrian Kempe of Los Angeles slew footing McDavid in Monday’s game, which saw Kempe get a $5000 fine from NHL Player Safety.
This time it was noted Wild agitator Ryan Hartman kicking the skates out from under Draisaitl in the third period, doing so right in front of the referee but receiving no penalty, just as Kempe also received no penalty.
Hartman’s play was flagrant and exceedingly dangerous.
We shall see what happens with the NHL today but perhaps the league might well consider a memo for referees to keep a much closer eye out for slew foot players. The fact that both incidents were unpenalized during the games is unacceptable. |
|
|
▶️ The Cult of Hockey's "Cal Pickard steals win for Oilers over Wild" podcast |
|
|
|
