Pre-Game Report: Edmonton Oilers vs St Louis Blues

Pre-Game Report: Edmonton Oilers vs St Louis Blues

Hello Oilers fans. Austin here and welcome to today’s pregame report between the Mton Oilers and the St. Louis Blues. Now the Oilers look like they might be kind of trending up right now. And the St. Louis Blues, they’ve lost seven games in a row. But what St. Louis reminds me of actually is the 2023 2024 Edmonton Oilers before Jay Woodcraftoft got fired. Right now St. Louis has some pretty strong underlying metrics that to me at least shows that they are going to turn their season around and probably still make the playoffs. Uh but St. Louis’s big problem is something that Oilers fans know all too well is that they cannot get a single save right now. Jordan Biddington has a goals against average of almost 3.5. Joel Hoer has a goals against average of five over five goals against average. Oh my goodness gracious. The St. Louis Blues, they cannot get a save. They cannot buy a save right now. And the Edmonton Oilers, well, they got a good few saves the other night against Chicago. Steuart Skinner had a terrific night against the Blackhawks. And uh we were played another Central Division team tonight. And I would likely think that Calvin Picker gets the start tonight and then Stu gets the start tomorrow against Dallas just because of Stu’s history against the Stars in the playoffs. I imagine they’ll give Stu the start against Dallas tomorrow. But I don’t know for sure as of the recording of this video. I don’t know who’s actually getting the start for Edmonton, but I am myself projecting Calvin Picker to get the start. So hopefully they can get the job done. Hopefully they can keep the St. Louis Blues down just a little bit longer before St. Louis eventually turns their season around and starts trending upwards. So, if you end up enjoying this pregame report, make sure to hit that like button. And uh if you really like it, make sure to subscribe to the channel. I just want to give a quick shout out to the best fans on the planet. All of you currently watching and listening at home. Uh your support on my uh postgame fan reaction from the Oilers and Blackhawks game. Cannot be understated. Uh I I I just I’m at a loss for words for just how kind all the comments were. Uh I was very vulnerable in that video and I do appreciate that everyone was supportive, kind, not only to myself, but to each other. I know there were some Dodgers fans, some Jay’s fans, some neutral fans, and some non-B baseball fans, but you all came together to show your love and support, and that’s why you are the best fans and the best community on YouTube. So, I just wanted to give a big shout out to everyone. Before we get into the projected lineups, let’s do that right now for the Edmonton Oilers. Uh, these were the lines against the Chicago Blackhawks. I imagine there won’t be any major changes. The only change I might see is maybe Tomasek comes in for Lazar or Phelp, but I didn’t think Lazar or Phil played, you know, necessarily terrible against Chicago. On the top line, you have New Jen Hopkins with Conor McDavid and Andrew Maani. Uh, that is a line that has had some ups and downs. Conor McDavid, though, he bounced back after a pretty poor showing against the um, sorry, I’m kind of blanking here. After a poor showing against the Rangers, I I almost said Utah, but I was like, “No, they played well against Utah. They beat Utah six to3.” After a poor showing against the Rangers, Conor McDavid bounced back against Chicago with three assists. And that line, that top line for Edmonton played much, much better. Uh, and that’s a really good sign that, you know, they understand that their play against the Rangers wasn’t good enough and that they do have to hit another level to find success. and uh hopefully they’re able to um you know kind of continue that into tonight’s matchup against the Blues. On the second line you have Pod Coulson with Leon Dryidle and Jack Rosik. Uh that line that trio has been Edmonton’s best trio for the last few games here. I have really liked Rosik’s game. Really like Dry Cidle’s game other than his effort in overtime against the Rangers. And I’ve really really really really loved Vasil Pod Coulson’s game. Vasili Pod Coulson does so much on the ice for his linemates to create space and time and allow players to get possession. Uh it can’t be understated just how valuable Vasili Pod Coulson’s play style is. I I don’t know why it took so long to put Pud Coulson and Dry Cidle together this season, but I am glad that Nblock has realized, okay, maybe I should keep these guys together kind of permanently. And Jack Rosik, he has found a very nice home flanking Leon Dryidle. Don’t worry, the goals will come. Rosik is all over it. It seems like he is getting at least one breakaway or partial breakaway a game. He’s usually hitting at least one post or crossbar per game. Uh he’s getting two-on-one opportunities with Leon. Rosik I think is due to really just explode offensively here. Uh he’s all over it all the time. He’s in the right spots and he’s using his speed as well. That line is fast. They are tenacious and they are doing a great great job at generating scoring chances. So for Rosik hopefully he can keep playing well. I know he only has two goals on the season, but that is about to change in my opinion. On the third line, you have Matthew Seavoy with Adam Henrik and Trent Frederick. Adam Henrik, I think, has had a actually pretty decent season up to this point. He has six points. Uh Henrik and Seavoy seem to have some chemistry together. I like the way they look. It’s Trent Frederick right now where I think the team is trying to figure out where he fits in terms of the puzzle that they are building and putting together. Nothing against Trent Frederick here, but his play has been subpar. most nights he does look kind of invisible. He’s not really engaged physically. He’s not engaged on on the offensive side of the puck. Defensively, I think he’s been fine. Like I think when it comes to his play in the neutral zone and the defensive zone, I think he’s been I think he’s been perfectly acceptable for Trent Frederick’s standards, but uh they we we are looking for a little bit more. Not asking for a ton of offense, but we are asking for him to at least look noticeable on the for check. bang a body into the boards, get in front of the blue paint, deflect a puck into the net with your face. I don’t know, man. For Trent Frederick, I really want him to turn his game around. This is a player that I really do like. This is a player that I was happy about when they signed him to the 8-year contract. I think we all know eight years was kind of a silly number to give him, but the extension itself made sense. And I understand the logic why they gave him that extension, but right now for Trent Frederick, the play is not justifying it. There’s a lot of time to turn it around. Maybe he’s still getting over that high ankle sprain. I don’t know. I don’t like to speculate on that kind of stuff, but hopefully he’s able to turn his season around right now. Turn it around. If there’s ever a team to turn your season around, if there’s ever a team to feel good about your game and get some offense, it would be St. Louis. No offense to the Blues here, but this is a team that, you know, you could might consider fragile. And the goalending, maybe the goalending is a little fragile. Throw some pucks on net, see if something squeaks through and you can start to build some confidence here. And then on the fourth line, Howard Phelp and Lazar. They played against or they played with each other, not against each other, they played with each other against the Chicago Blackhawks. Um, looking to continue some okay play. Ike Howard has two goals in his last five games. So, his game is starting to kind of, you know, we’re starting to see why he’s on the NHL roster. We’re starting to see why they signed him out of college and why they see him and and look at him as a pretty highly touted uh player for Ike. Just keep building your game. Keep doing what you can. Maybe you’ll start to get a few shifts here and there with some of the big guns. Uh but for now, do your job on the fourth line. Don’t get scored on and uh try and provide some offense for the team, some secondary offense. On defense, you have Echo with Bousard. They were reunited after being kind of taken apart for a couple of games there. Just Eko and Bousard weren’t really working well together. Bousard had a much better game against Chicago Blackhawks than he did against the New York Rangers. And Evan Bousard overall, you take that Rangers game out his last five or six games, he has been great. He’s over a point per game. He’s generating offense. The power plays been clicking. Uh Evan Bousard had one really bad game against the New New York Rangers. Uh I don’t think that is truly reflective of his play this season. He’s been inconsistent obviously, but uh if we take a look at the last five games or so, Evan Buchard’s game, it is trending in the right direction. Nurse and Wman is your second pair. Darnell Nurse was benched for a little bit in that Utah game and he’s been great ever since. Really like his play and some of that has to also be attributed to Jake Walman who has come into this lineup and has basically provided a point per game since he he came back into the lineup. He’s played seven games for the Oilers. Jake Walman has been fantastic. He is the goods. I’m very happy with his play and hopefully him and Nurse continue to play very well together. I know Wman, he’s a left shot D man. probably prefers to be on the left side, but what he is doing right now, being asked to play on the right side, this is, you know, it’s a big ask. A lot of players can’t do what Wman is doing right now just for comfort reasons, just for historical reasons, just the way they play. Jake Wman, he is doing what the team needs of him right now, and that is helping the Oilers win hockey games. On the third pair, you have Kuak with Ty Emerson. Now, Tai Emerson has really taken a step up in my opinion compared to last year. Not not a lot of offense. That’s not what Ty Emerson provides, though he does have a goal this season, which is very fun. Uh, but Ty Emerson’s defensive game, his defensive awareness, and his positioning on the ice at all times. You never see that guy make a mistake. And Ty Emerson, because of his age, he’s very young. He’s still growing and learning and and and figuring things out. I like his game a lot. That is a player that I would start to trust with a little bit more ice time. If for some reason Buchard can’t quite find his game over the next 10 or so games, I would start to trust Emerson in high leverage situations. His defending has been great and him and Koulak work very well together. Yeah, you probably don’t want them going up against other teams top players, but I have a lot of trust in Emerson’s game right now. And then in goal, like I mentioned, I am projecting Calvin Picker probably gets the start, at least as of the recording of this video. Uh I would imagine he gets the start tonight and then Steuart Skinner gets the start tomorrow against the Dallas Stars. And Zack Heyman still considered week to week. Uh you may see him maybe maybe next weekend. Maybe Saturday uh against the uh Colorado Avalanche back at home. If not Saturday, probably sometime during the week of November 9th or 10th. I think they play Columbus on the 10th, which is like a Monday. Somebody can correct me if I’m wrong. I’m usually wrong on these. Now, let’s jump into the pregame stats here. The St. Louis Blues, they are 37-2 on the season. Their power play ranks 11th, 23.5%. Their penalty kill not so good ranks 27 69.7% goals forward per game they ranked 21st 2.83 goals against per game this is where St. Louis is having major major issues right now they’re giving up over four goals per game that ranks dead last their goalending has been literally abysmal we think sometimes the goalending is bad I don’t think I’ve seen goalending as bad as what we’ve seen in St. Louis this season. Their record though is not reflective of how they’ve been playing. They are sixth in expected goals for percentage at five on five, which means they are generating more chances, high danger chances. They’re getting the better looks on a night-to-ight basis generally, right? And not every high danger chance is equal. Not every high danger chance is the same as another high danger chance. But for the St. Louis Blues, this is a 12-game sample now. And their expected goals forward percentage, their underlying metrics are very, very solid. And this is a team that I think is going to turn the season around if they can start to get some saves here. Their shots for percentage ranks 14th and their team save percentage at five on five 32nd. 86.51%. They are getting an 865 save percentage in 12 games at five on five. That is horrifying. That is worse than what you would have seen in the 1980s and when goal scoring was at an all-time high. That is really really bad. That is not good at all for the Oilers. see if he can take advantage of it. On the Oilers side, their power play ranks first 33.3%. That power play is clicking. It is finding ways to get goals. It seems like at least once a game now, which is awesome. Rosik had a nice tipin goal uh against the Chicago Blackhawks. So hopefully he is able to keep that up as the netfront presence. They tok out of the lineup, put Rosik in as the netfront, and he did a good job. He had a nice tip goal on the power play. Uh Penley Kill ranks 15th, 80.6%. They did give up a power play goal to the Chicago Blackhawks, but that’s okay. The penalty kill still looking strong in my opinion. Goals for per game ranks 18th. 3.15 goals per game. Goals against per game, they rank 17th. So, middle of the pack. They’re also middle of the pack in expected goals for percentage, it’s at 49% on the season. Looking for a little bit more at five on five in terms of chance uh in terms of high danger chance generation and high danger chance suppression. And I think defensively the team can be better, but I also think we haven’t seen the best of this forward group at generating those high danger chances. They have been better over the past week or so, but they need to start converting a little bit more and and producing chances at a higher rate in my opinion. Shots forward percentage, they rank seventh and my apologies, team save percentage, they ranked 25th, 89.73%. Now jumping into the keys to the game and the players to watch and the score prediction. And the keys to the game for the Edmonton Oilers, simple hockey. You do not have to over complicate anything right now, especially against the St. Louis Blues. Just simple hockey, north, south, defend well, get in on the for check, cycle the puck, shots for tips, uh, and then crash the blue paint. Very simple hockey. You do not have to do more than that. Literally shoot everything on net. I’m not even kidding. If you’re the Oilers, everything. Literally everything. Skate. This is the one time, Darnell Nurse. This is the one time for Darnell Nurse that I’m giving him permission to throw muffins from the blue line because of how bad St. Louis’s goalending has been. Literally throw everything on net. Something’s going to go through. Something will squeak through. I know it. And then uh continue to be strong on the special teams. The Oilers power play has been a big difference maker for them over the past few games here. And hopefully uh if they get at least one or two, maybe three power plays, they convert an at minimum one of them, maybe two, maybe more. Who knows? Who knows? The possibilities are endless with the Oilers special teams. Now with the St. Louis Blues, stick with it at five on five. They have a 41 goals four percentage versus a 55 expected goals for percentage. So the goals for and expected goals for there is quite a a disparity between those two numbers. This is very similar to what the Oilers dealt with in 2023 before Jay Woodcraft was fired. In fact, I went back and looked at the numbers. The Oilers before Jay Woodcraft was fired like basically the day that he was fired actually they had a 41% goals for percentage and a 57% expected goals for percentage. So very very similar circumstances between the Oilers and Blues from you know the the Oilers 2023 season and now St. Louis today. Jim Montgomery he’s not going anywhere. St. Louis will not fire him. That is not something that I think the Blues are concerned about. But their team play if they stick with it at five on five things will turn around. They are not going to get an 865 save percentage all season long from their goalies. That’s just not possible. I just cannot imagine that happening for a full 82 game season. But for the Oilers, you got to make sure that you’re prepared. St. Louis, they are going to be playing desperate hockey. There is a lot um there’s a lot of pressure on St. Louis to not only make the playoffs, but build on what they did last season. Be on your toes. And for St. Louis, stick with it. If they stick with it, they have a good chance of winning this game. And of course, it goes without saying, please make a save. I put that on the Oilers side sometimes, but for St. Louis, they desperately need saves right now. My players to watch, I’m going Leon dry cidle for the Oilers. He has nine goals in 13 games. It seems like Leon seems to be scoring one goal a game lately. He has been all over it. And I’m going with the former Oiler Dylan Holloway for St. Louis. Holloway, it looks like his game is starting to turn around. He’s off to a much slower start this season than he did last season. But again, the whole team in St. Louis, when you’re behind the eightball and you’re down by three goals every single night heading into the third period, probably not a recipe for success or confidence building. Uh if St. Louis jumps on Edmonton early, though, look for Hollow Way to be one of those players. Now, what is my score prediction? I hate doing this now because every time I’ve predicted the Oilers to win, they lose. And every time I predict the Oilers to lose, they win. So now it turns into a well do I just pick the Oilers to lose just because I am superstitious now and you know have the fans mad at me for picking Edmonton to lose or do I just keep sticking with my guns and eventually I’m going to hit on one of these predictions. Uh I’m going to stick with it. Honestly, I’m not going to do the superstitious thing and predict Edmonton to lose. I I have a good feeling about their game tonight. I have a good feeling about where their game has been trending over the past four or five games or so. I’m going to say 53 Oilers with a Jack Rosic goal. That is my score prediction. I want to know what your score prediction is. Let me know all of your thoughts in the comments section below. I’m excited for the game tonight. There will be no live stream tonight, folks. I don’t know when the next live stream I’m going to be able to do is. Probably Saturday against Colorado will be the next one. That’s the one I’m aiming for, but I cannot guarantee that. But in any case, I do appreciate all of your support as always. You will still get your pregame reports, postgame fan reactions, and day after discussions. Uh I took yesterday off just to kind of decompress after the Toronto Blue Jays uh heartbreaking loss in game seven to the Dodgers. Uh still going to support my boys in blue in Toronto. So um well the Jays that is not the Leafs, not a Leafs fan, but it’s it’s it’s it is a bittersweet time right now as a Jays fan. Um, I I’m more on the accepting side that I think the Jays can build on this if they keep that core together. Resign Bo Bashette. Uh, depending on what Basset wants. I know his age. I think he’s 36 now. Maybe you don’t want to give him a long-term deal, but get Basset resigned. Sir Anthony Dominguez, get him resigned. I know I’m talking about baseball now. This is not a baseball channel. I apologize. I’m I’m going on I’m ranting. I’m ranting about baseball now. Before the game tonight, tell him that you love them. And as always, fight like a kid. Fight like Ben. Let’s go Oilers. I’ll see you in the postgame fan reaction. Take care everyone.

The Edmonton Oilers hit the road for back-to-back games starting on Monday at Enterprise Center against the St. Louis Blues. The Oilers are 4-1-2 over their last seven games, including a 3-2 overtime victory over the Chicago Blackhawks where Connor McDavid recorded three assists and Leon Draisaitl scored his 9th goal of the season. The Blues record is not indicative of their play, though, and Edmonton has to be ready to play a full 60 minutes tonight.

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