Pre-Game Report: Edmonton Oilers vs Columbus Blue Jackets

Pre-Game Report: Edmonton Oilers vs Columbus Blue Jackets

Hello Oilers fans, Austin here and welcome to today’s pregame report between the Oilers and the Columbus Blue Jackets. It is a rematch of their game that they played against each other on Monday and the Oilers came out on top in that one. They were down 4-2 in the third. A little bit of Conor McDavid heroics. A late goal by Jake Walman. And then Jack Rosive, Jack attack, Jackpot, whatever you want to call him in overtime. He has scored two consecutive overtime game winners to get the Oilers on a little win streak here. Now, it’s not pretty right now in oil country. The way this team is finding ways to win games, but they don’t ask how, they ask how many. And I think last night’s game against Philadelphia Flyers could be a very good stepping stone to to completely turn their season around. The way they played last night against Philly was almost perfect. There was about a 10-minute lull in the third period where the Philadelphia Flyers, they recognized that their game was not as good as it should be and they pushed Edmonton, but the Oilers did not break for 50 minutes of that game. The Oilers dominated. If the Oilers can play like that consistently, they are going to dominate teams throughout the season and they are going to climb the standings and the offense is eventually going to show up. It’s only so long you can keep this offense down. Uh guys like Matthew Seavoy, couple points last night. Jack Rosik has been great. Conor McDavid’s heating up. I I know Leon Dry settle is cooled down a little bit, but don’t worry, he’s going to get to his scoring ways once again. We’re feeling pretty positive heading into this game. Now, as of the recording of this video, do not know who the starting goalender is. It is a back-to-back, so they likely do go with Calvin Pickard. However, because of Calvin Pickard’s 836 save percentage and four goals against average, I may just elect to play Steuart Skinner in the second half of a backto-back. He It’s not optimal, but I don’t trust Calvin Pickard right now, and I don’t know if the team does either, but obviously by the time you watch this, it could be announced that Pickard is the starter. The Oilers don’t seem like a team that would play Stu on consecutive nights, but I am happy that Stu played good against Philly at over 900 save percentage. That’s what we asked for. That’s what we get. And then we get wins. 900 save percentage equals win here in oil country. In today’s video, I’ll be going over the projected lineups if Zack Heyman is playing. Don’t know if he’s playing yet, but the projected lineups if he’s playing. I’ll go over the stats for both teams, how they stack up against each other, keys to the game, players to watch, and the score prediction. Let me know all of your thoughts in the comments section below. Make sure to smash that like button if you really like today’s video, and make sure to subscribe if you’re not yet subscribed, as we are this close. We are literally literally this close literally that close to hitting 8,000 subscribers, which I am very excited about. And my next live stream is not going to be tonight. My next live stream is going to be Saturday against the Carolina Hurricanes. I know a lot of you have been asking for live streams. Uh just things get in the way sometimes. Life gets busy. I will have a live stream on Saturday for everyone. We’ll do some gifted memberships and we’re going to have a ton of fun. But until Saturday hits, we do have a game to focus on tonight. Let’s check out the projected lineups here. Now, there’s not much changes. There’s not much changes with Heyman in the lineup. If Heyman plays, remember this lineup is not official. This is a lineup that I went over last night. If Heyman were to play, I think he would slot in on that top line with McDavid and Matthew Seavoy. I think Seavoy deserves to stay in that top six after getting his opportunity against Philadelphia Flyers. He had two assists and he was instrumental in Edmonton’s win, including the assist in overtime on Rozik’s game winner. On the second line, Vasili Pod Kohl’s in with Leon Dryidle and Jack Rosik. I don’t think you break that lineup at all. Really like Pod Kohl’s with Dryidle and Rosik. At minimum, maybe you could put Mapapani up and then Pod Coulson down on the third line. But Mapani for me, he’s going from line one all the way down to line three. I just don’t think Andrew Majapani has added enough in the top six to justify his spot up there. I think he’s more suited to a bottom six role. add some sandpaper and add a little bit of depth to the bottom six because right now the bottom six for Edmonton is not producing anything. The bottom six for the most part is a black hole. They are not producing any offense at all. Majapani I think can help with that. Trent Frederick, he had a fight the last time these two teams met. Hopefully he does not drop the gloves with Olivier again because Olivier is an absolute freak. He’s a monster. He’s scary. I wouldn’t want to drop the gloves with him either. Trent Frederick. He has just horribly black and red eyes right now. I just hope Trent Frederick’s okay. I know I kept saying he needed to play with more emotion. H maybe don’t pick on Olivier. Maybe that’s not the type of emotion that I was looking for. I give him credit. I think he’s very courageous to do that. But Trent Frederick, now the emotion needs to come on the offensive side of the puck. Trent Frederick a couple years ago had 18 goals for the Bruins. Before that, 17 goals in a season. Frederick can put the puck in the net. He can play offense. I want to see him find a way to get some chemistry with some guys, find a way to produce offense for Edmonton. Now on the fourth line, Matiasmark with Noah Philp and Ike Howard. And then on the wings, you would have Tomas Shek and Lazar just kind of waiting to join up. Don’t know who’s going to be pulled out of the lineup as of the recording of this video. There is no official lineup posted. This is just kind of how I would build the lines. This is what I personally like, but obviously by the time put the puck is dropped, things are going to look different. So don’t yell at me. The lineup is not official. This is just how I would roll with it. On defense, you have Echome with Bousard, who played much, much better against Philadelphia Flyers, especially Evan Buchard. Probably his best game of the season. On the second pair, you have Nurse with Wman. Uh Wman continues to play very strong. Darnell Nurse I thought had a very good 30 minutes against the Philadelphia Flyers, but that third period was pretty sketchy. A lot of times where he was unable to make a clean outlet pass out of his zone. Darnell Nurse, slow the game down, my brother. Just all all you have to do is skate yourself out of trouble. Darnell Nurse, his best asset is his skating ability. Darnell Nurse is great on his feet. If he feels like he doesn’t have a pass, he’s very good at skating the puck out of trouble. I want to see more skating of the puck from Nurse. The less outlet passes, more skating. On the third pair, Kulak with Emerson. I thought Emerson struggled a little bit last night. Took a penalty that obviously none of us were happy about. Uh, one, it was a weak call, but two, Emerson just got to stay disciplined here. And then the extra defenseman, you have Stetcher with Regula. Don’t be surprised to see Regula get back in the lineup here shortly. Uh, I think they’re going to want to keep getting him extra reps, especially if Stam Bowman does make a move with Heyman’s imminent return. They’re going to have to do something to clear roster, clear cap space. Not sure what it’s going to look like yet. Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. who you think on the defensive group. Emmonton should be trying to move out if they do make a trade in goal. Uh it’s likely Pickard getting the start, but I do have Skinner just cuz I would prefer Skinner at this point. I don’t know. Calvin Pickard, he’s just not doing the job for me. Poor Pickard’s poor picks, man. Um unless we get big dick picks, uh I’m very concerned about Calvin Pickard right now and his play this season. He has regressed heavily. Now, Nan Hopkins, he is still out at least a week or so. and Zack Heyman, he probably doesn’t play tonight. He likely plays on Saturday against the Carolina Hurricanes. Now, jumping into the stats for both clubs, the Columbus Blue Jackets, they are 87 and one. They rank eighth place in the Central Division. Uh, and the standings in the Eastern Conference, very condensed. They’re they’re like one or two wins for Columbus and they’re going to be climbing up into the third, four, second place area of the Central Division there. Um, or or the Metropolitan, sorry, that is the Metropolitan Division, not not the Central. What the heck is that? What am I doing? That is the Metro Division is where Columbus plays, not the Central. Their last 10, they are 54 and one. Their power play ranks 30th. Their penalty kill ranks 27th. So, if you’re the Oilers, if you get a power play or two, you got to take advantage of it. Take advantage of the poor special teams of the Blue Jackets. Columbus scores three goals per game. They give up 3.19 goals against per game. Expected goals for they rank 19th. Shots for percentage, they rank 14th. And to team save percentage at five on five, ranks seventh. So the Columbus Blue Jackets, they get the saves at five on five. Their expected goals for kind of in the middle. It’s their special teams right now that is uh not so well for that group. That’s kind of keeping them down. Uh but Columbus, they are a hardworking, young, fast, skilled team. And they make you pay if you are not managing the puck well. We saw that the other night. Columbus deserve that win against Edmonton before Edmonton had their big comeback. If you’re the Oilers, you got to be ready to go from puck drop. do not let Columbus get a lead because if Columbus gets a lead this time, I don’t think they’re going to relinquish it. I think Columbus is going to make adjustments here for the Oilers. They’re now 86 and four on the season. That puts them at third in the Pacific Division. They are 43 and three in their last 10 games. Power Play ranks third. Penalty kill ranks 10th. Goals for per game is tied with Columbus at 17th. Goals against per game ranks 26th. That’s not very good. Expected goals forward percentage very middling at 20th in the league. shots scor percentage ranks sixth and their team save percentage at five on five ranks 30th in the NHL. Not good enough when it comes to the goalending. But last night, like I said, stepping stone, maybe Stu Skinner builds off that. We want to see consistency. The Oilers are 5 and 0 when they get a 900 save percentage or better. That’s all we’re looking for, folks. 900 save percentage or better, and this team has a good chance to win the hockey game. Now, taking a look at the keys to the game for both clubs for the Emmonton Oilers. My message to the bottom six is wake the f up. We need that bottom six. Come on, bottom six. Wake the f up. Go out there, bang some bodies, put the puck in the net maybe two times and give this team a chance to win. The Oilers are relying way too heavily on their top players. And with Nan Hopkins not in the lineup right now, they need some depth scoring. They need help from the bottom six. For the love of goodness, love of goodness, love of God, please, please, please, please, bottom six, do something. and Chris Knobblock. Please trust your bottom six. Stop playing Knight Coward only 6 minutes a night. If you want production from your bottom six, you got to play these guys just a little bit more as well. Uh second key to the game for the Oilers, they need a good night in the crease. Whoever it is, whether it’s Stu or Picks, they need a good night in the crease from their goalender. And number three, keep Seavoy in the top six. I am concerned that when Heyman comes back, Matthew Seavoy is going to be the casualty and be the one that is sent down the lineup. I don’t want that to be the case. I want Mapani sent down. Keep Matthew Seavoy in that top six. I think Seavoy deserves to stay up there. He’s played very, very good hockey. Love his game. Love his tenacity. Love his forche. He should be in the top six permanently, at least for the time being. For the Columbus Blue Jackets, their keys to the game. Number one, they will be looking for redemption after the previous meeting. So, the Oilers have to be on their toes. They have to be ready right at puck drop. For the Blue Jackets, stay hard on loose pucks. If you are utilizing your speed and putting pressure on the Em’s defenders, they are going to cause turnovers and those turnovers are going to be being caused at the blue line. The Oilers are struggling with those zone exits. Uh the the that first pass out of the zone. Columbus can take advantage of that, force those turnovers at the blue line, attack on transition, and make life miserable for Em’s defense and their goalenders tonight. Game note, very important game note tonight. The Emmonton Oilers are currently undefeated with Matias Yanmark in the lineup. They are 2 and 0 with Matias Yandmark in the lineup. So Matias Yandmark has come into this lineup and the team has not lost a game yet. Let’s keep that streak going. My players to watch. Matthew Seavoy uh for Edmonton and Boone Jenner. Boon Jenner for the Columbus Blue Jackets. Now Boon Jenner, he’s not producing the way he would like to be producing right now. I think Boon Jenner is one of those players that is due for some offense. Now what what does this all mean? What is my score prediction? What is the score prediction going to look like now? Do I predict the Oilers to win? the Oilers to lose. Oh my goodness gracious. You know what? I’m going to say 5-3 Oilers with a Matthew Seavoy goal. I’m feeling good about this one, folks. The way Edmonton played last night instilled a lot more confidence in me going forward into this game. Yes, it’s a second half of a backto-back. Yes, Calvin Pickard could be in the crease, which would not be a good thing. But I think the team as a whole, they understand that they are not where they should be. There’s a lot more that they can all, you know, get out of their own game and from each other. And I think this team is building something here. So if the Oilers go out, if they get a big win against Columbus tonight, that will put them 2 and 0 on this seven-game road trip. And that is something that you can build on. Do not go into Columbus after a hard-fought win against Philly and get absolutely blown out like you did against Colorado last Saturday. Do not do that. That would be an absolute disaster. Go out there, beat these guys. Beat these guys. Columbus is a good team. They’re a hard team to play against, but you can beat them. Those are my thoughts. Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. We’ll see you in the postgame fan reaction, folks. Tell someone that you love them before the game. And as always, fight like a kid, fight like Ben. Let’s go Oilers. I’ll see you soon. Take care.

After Jack Roslovic went back-to-back in overtime on Wednesday to secure the Edmonton Oilers a hard-earned 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers, they’ll be aiming to go back-to-back to win their third straight game on Thursday night and the Blue Jackets. Matthew Savoie looks to stay on the top line with Connor McDavid, while Jack Roslovic continues to play strong alongside Leon Draisaitl. Austin Hockey brings you today’s pre-game report, including stats, lineups, players to watch, and score predictions! Keep the conversation going in the comment section below! #oilers #edmontonoilers #nhl

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