Edmonton Oilers (23–24–5) vs Chicago Blackhawks (20–24–9)
8:00pm CST
Rogers Place
TV/Radio: WGN
PROJECTED STARTERS
Chicago – Collin Delia (5–2–3, SV%: .922, GAA: 2.99)
Edmonton – Mikko Koskinen (14–11–2, SV%: .908, GAA: 2.84)
TEAM STATISTICS
Power Play
Chicago (20.5%, 16th)
Edmonton (21.4%, T10th)
Penalty Kill
Chicago (74.0%, 31st)
Edmonton (75.5%, 29th)
Shorts for/against
Chicago (31.3, 17th; 35.1, 30th)
Edmonton (29.0, 27th; 31.2, 17th)
Shooting %
Chicago (10.0%, 12th)
Edmonton (9.8%, 14th)
Faceoff %
Chicago (49.8%, 17th)
Edmonton (47.9%, 27th)
Avg. height/weight
Chicago 6’1”, 197lbs
Edmonton 6’2” 204lbs
PROJECTED LINES/PAIRINGS
Chicago Blackhawks
Drake Caggiula–Jonathan Toews–Patrick Kane
Alex DeBrincat–Dylan Strome–Dominik Kahun
Brandon Saad–David Kampf–Marcus Kruger
Brendan Perlini–Artem Anisimov–John Hayden
Gustav Forsling–Erik Gustafsson
Edmonton Oilers
Milan Lucic–Connor McDavid–Ty Rattie
Tobias Rieder–Leon Draisaitl–Alex Chiasson
Jujhar Khaira–Ryan Nugent-Hopkins–Zack Kassian
Colby Cave–Kyle Brodziak–Jesse Puljujarvi
Analysis
The red-hot Blackhawks are riding a four-game winning streak heading into the freezing-cold city of Edmonton on Tuesday night. Temperatures will rival what we saw in Chicago just less than a week ago. The Blackhawks will look to make it five straight against Connor McDavid and the Oilers.
Although Patrick Kane is having an MVP season, talk of the town of late has been Erik Gustafsson’s offensive play. On Saturday night, “Gus” registered two goals, with the second being the power play overtime game-winner against the Minnesota Wild. Despite his struggles in the defensive zone this season, the limited minutes of the third-pairing and power play time have suited well for the Swedish defenseman of late. Another notable point-getter on Saturday night was Dylan Strome. Strome now has 29 total points this season in 49 games. However, 23 of those points have come in 29 games with the Blackhawks and it seems that Strome’s change of scenery has played out well for the young center.
The Edmonton Oilers are a franchise looking for an identity. After numerous questionable moves (to say the least) over the last few years, Peter Chiarelli was finally relieved of his duties at the end of January. One such move will play his first game against the club who gave him a two-year contract his offseason, as Brandon Manning will suit up against the Blackhawks for the first time in the 2018-19 campaign.
The Oilers have struggled of late, losing their last five games dating back to January 19th. The Oilers currently sit only two points ahead of the Blackhawks in the Western Conference standings and would surely love to climb back into the playoff picture. However, it remains to be seen if Connor McDavid can carry this club on his back all the way to the promised land. Many will say that is improbable.
One fun matchup to watch will be Patrick Kane and Connor McDavid. Although not necessarily going head-to-head on each shift, both players currently have 31 goals (tied for second in the league) and 76 points (also tied for second in the league). It will be fun to see who can edge out the other in the goal and point standings en route to a possible Richard/Art Ross trophy.