Pre-Game Report: Edmonton Oilers vs Minnesota Wild

Pre-Game Report: Edmonton Oilers vs Minnesota Wild

Hello Oilers fans. Austin here and welcome to the pregame report between the Edmonton Oilers and the Minnesota Wild. The Oilers are coming off a pretty big win against the Boston Bruins, but it did come at a huge cost. Tristan Jarry is out with injury. Don’t know the severity of that injury as of yet. So Calvin Pickard is probably going to get the start. I don’t know who Edmonton is going to call up by the time you see this video. Maybe they’ve already made a call up and I just haven’t been able to talk about it yet. and the Minnesota Wild on the other side. Oh my goodness, their goalending has been phenomenal between Gustoson and Yesper Walstead. Uh they are the best goalending duo in the entire National Hockey League. Walstead also shut out the Oilers back on December 2nd and the Minnesota Wild are currently riding a six-game win streak. Basically, what I’m saying is this could be a scheduled loss for Edmonton. Not that I don’t want the Oilers to win or that I don’t believe in them, but this just really does it just feels like a scheduled loss. This is the end of the road trip for Remmon. their fifth game of this road trip. It’s in Minnesota, a place where historically it’s been a house of horrors for the team. And of course, with how hot Minnesota has been, the Oilers have lost Tristan Jarry. Things don’t look great on the Oilers side, but I will still talk about the projected lineups, the stats for both teams, how they match up together head-to-head, keys to the game, players to watch, and score predictions. So, let me know all of your thoughts in the comments section below. And let me know if you believe, do you believe can get a win uh tonight? I have no idea. We’ll see. We’ll see how it goes. And also, uh, I did not get a day after discussion up because I forgot that the game against Minnesota is also a matinea. Matineese are not Edmonton’s strong suit. So, that’s another reason why I think this could be a scheduled loss for the Oilers. Uh, so we’ll kind of take a look at the projected lineups here for Edmonton. I don’t foresee too many changes here. Top line, Newton Hopkins, Conor McDavid, Zack Heyman. They remain redot. Well, at least Conor McDavid does. Conor McDavid has 22 points in his last eight games. It’s unbelievable what Connor is doing right now. He’s on one of those vintage Connor hot streaks, and I love to see it. That is helping the team win, but that does mean that the rest of the team needs to pick it up a little bit. Conor McDavid has done a lot of the heavy lifting as of late, especially in the goal scoring department as well. There’s been a little bit of depth scoring. We’ve seen Pod Kohl’s in pot a few. We’ve seen Seavoy get some lately, but Leon Dryidle, he is scoreless in his last several games here. So, I’d like to see Leon Dryidle maybe get on the score sheet at some point with a goal. Although for Leon’s credit, he’s been passing the puck a lot. He’s been getting a ton of assists. He’s been setting guys up. Pod Coulson, McDavid, Seavoy. Um, you know, so it’s not like Dry Settle isn’t producing. We’re just used to seeing him put the puck in the net a little bit more than he has. On the third line, now this this is the line that needs to get going. Mapani, Henrik, and Matias Yanmark. This line specifically needs to get going because the line below them, the fourth line, Jones, Frederick, and Hudson. Well, Max Jones and Quinn Hudson connected on a goal against Boston. So, if the fourth line is going to produce, we need that third line to also maybe produce. Now, to be fair, to be fair to Mapani, the the the advanced analytics are in his favor. The underlines for Mapani are in his favor. I do think the goals will eventually start to go in the net for him when he’s on the ice, but he’s stuck to he’s stuck next to Henrik and Yanmark, and those are not two players that I think are good for Mapani’s game. game. I think Mapani needs a little bit more skill next to him. I wouldn’t mind seeing Quinn Hudson get bumped up. I think if you had a Mapani Henrik Hudson line, that might look pretty good and it might help Mapani’s game get going. You need to play skill guys with skill guys right now. Henrik, he could be considered a skill guy, but his role at this stage of his career, father time has taken over. Unfortunate Henrik just does not have the foot speed. He doesn’t have the ability to get in on the forche like he used to. Doesn’t have the same shot that he used to. Mapani needs someone that’s a little bit quicker and has good hands. Matias Yanmark is not someone that has good hands. Yanmark’s hands are made of absolute stone concrete. I don’t even know what you’d want to call it. Hopefully that bottom six though is able to, you know, at least tread above water. It’s going to be a tough one tonight against the Minnesota Wilder, I guess, this afternoon. Now, out of the lineup for the Oilers, you have Scratches, Lazar, and Tomasek. I’m assuming this could change. Lineup is not official. Out. No, Phil, Jake Wallman, Jack Rosik Kappa and Connor Clattenburg and Alec Regula might still be out with a bit of an illness. He did not play against Boston and that might be okay because Stillman came in and looked really good and I thought Stashne did a really good job play next to Darnell Nurse. I thought the defense as a whole really did come together. They played as a unit and they didn’t give Boston too many opportunities. So, I thought defensively Edmonton’s effort was solid. When it comes to the defense pairs for Remington, you have Ekhol with Buchard, Nurse with Stashne, Stillman, and Emerson. Now, Jarry, unfortunately, is hurt. He’s not going to get the start. It will likely have to be Calvin Pickard unless there’s some kind of trade that is going to happen. But the roster freeze is at midnight um Eastern. By the time you see this pregame report, the roster freeze will probably have already happened as of the recording of this video. For me, it is 8:19 a.m. on December 19th. So, it’s a full day before the game has actually occurred. I’m just getting the recording done early because I do have some plans in Edmonton this weekend. So, I will not be home to actually do the pregame report a little bit later than usual. Now, let’s take a look at the stats for both teams. The head-to-head match up here. Minnesota, they are 219 and five and they are third in the Pacific. Sorry, in the Central, not the Pacific. They are third in the Central Division. They are 72 and one in their last 10 games. They’ve won six games in a row. Their power play ranks ninth. Their penalty kill ranks 21st. Goals forward per game, they rank 16th. goals against per game. They are fourth best in the National Hockey League. Expected goals forward percentage ranks 19th. Shots forward percentage ranks 25th. Team save percentage ranks number one 93.57%. I can’t even imagine what that’s like watching two goalenders that just absolutely own the opposition every single night. Boy oh boy, I wish I could see that from Edmonton’s perspective. Now, if the Oilers, if you’re a fan that has hope that can get the win, you’ll know that Minnesota will regress at some point. Whether it’s the goalending that regresses or whatever, Minnesota’s shot metrics are not fantastic. They’re not world beaters. They don’t generally dominate teams when they win. A lot of their wins are due to the fact that their goalending is really solid, their power plays solid, and you know, they they get leads and they’re good at defending. I’m not going to say Minnesota’s not good at defending. That’s not what I’m trying to say here. But for Minnesota, there are signs that there is going to be a little bit of regression. But in saying that though, Wild fans, don’t get too up in arms here. Picking up Quinn Hughes is massive for that team. His ability to move the puck up the ice, skate with it, generate shots and chances. Quinn Hughes on Minnesota is absolutely disgusting. It’s nasty. Him and Brock Faber played, I think, 30 minutes together the other night. It’s It’s going to be a tough task for Edmonton to defend against that. Uh, and Quinn Hughes, I mean, we all Oilers fans are very very familiar with how good Quinn Hughes is. watched him all the time when he was on the Vancouver Conucks. It’s going to be a tough one for Edmonton to slow down that kind of momentum. Now looking over on the Oilers side, they are 1712 and six. They are third in the Pacific Division. They are also 72 and one in their last 10 games. They are 61-1 in their last eight. And boy oh boy would I love a win. If the Oilers could somehow get a 900 save percentage, 111-1 when they get it. However, the last time they had a loss where they had a 900 save percentage, that was actually against the Minnesota Wild where uh you know they lost one- nothing. Steuart Skinner played really good in that game, but the Oilers just couldn’t get any offense. They’re going to have to get the offense going tonight. Emmonton’s power play ranks second best in the National Hockey League this season. Their penalty kill, it is slipping a little bit. It ranks 22nd. Goals per game ranks third. Goals against per game ranks 25th. Expected goals for 16th. Shots for percentage ranks seventh. And their team save percentage of five on five is no longer dead last. It is now second last in the league, 88.69%. Now, keys to the game here for the Edmonton Oilers. I already kind of mentioned it a little bit earlier, but they do need more from that third line and more from the bottom six in general. I’d like to see something positive out of that bottom six, especially the Mapani, Henrique, and whoever they end up playing with line. Majapani, man, the the the process is there. I think the underlying metrics show that he is due to regress positively. Hopefully, Majapani can get off the shine a little bit. Number two, they’re going to need big dick picks to be absolutely massive if they’re going to have any chance of winning this game. Calvin Pickard came in relief for Jarry against Boston. He played stellar. He’s going to have to do that again. It’s a tough tough order, tough task to give Calvin Pickard just because of his struggles this season. But [snorts] I mean, he might be able to do it. We we’ve seen Calvin Pickard come in when he’s had to under emergency situations, whether it’s been Steu not playing up to snuff or there’s been injury and and and Pickard comes in to, you know, hold the fort. Pickard has done it before. Can he do it against a team like Minnesota though? Last game on the road trip, the team in front of him is going to have to be very committed right now. Now for the Minnesota Wild, their keys to the game. Number one, special teams will be absolutely instrumental. They’re going to have to kill penalties and also score on the power play if they get opportunities. Number two, shutting down McDavid and Dryidle. the McDry duo. Easier said than done, of course. I think most teams, their keys to the game on the whiteboard in the locker room is we got to shut these guys down. Not always able to because of just how good of players McDavid and Dry Settle are. And number three for Minnesota use their speed. That will kill Edmonton. The Oilers on the last game of a road trip. There might be a little bit of fatigue coming into play here. Not saying that there will be, but the fact that it’s a matinea, last game of the road trip for Edmonton. If if Minnesota utilizes their speed, forces Emmonton to chase the game, they’re going to be in the driver’s seat here. The game note for the game today, the Emmonton Oilers are four or six and0 in their last 10 games versus the Minnesota Wild. Not great, although that is a little bit better than when I was a kid growing up watching the Oilers against Minnesota. I think at one point the Oilers lost 18 of their of like 19 games versus Mini in like a three or four year stretch. It was awful. It was terrible. is not fun to watch. A little bit more fun to watch these days, but Minnesota still seems to have Edmonton’s number. Yes. Walstead shut out Edmonton in their previous meeting on December 2nd. Players to watch. Number one for Edmonton. Well, I guess for Minnesota, too. I’m going with the Quinn. Two Quins here for Edmonton. Quinn Hudson. He had his first NHL goal against Boston. And I really did like his game. And Chris Knobblock also recognized his game as well. Gave him a couple shifts with Leon Dryidle. So that’s really good recognition from the coaching staff. I’d like to see Hudson play more than six minutes of time on ice, but he’s making sure that he’s taking advantage of the ice that he’s given. Right. The the opportunity is there and Quinn Hudson has grabbed it by the horns. So hopefully he’s able to keep doing that. Then for Minnesota, player to watch is Quinn Hughes. He has one goal, one assist, and he is a plus two rating in his first three games with the Minnesota Wild. Now, when it comes to the score prediction, oh boy, oh boy, am I going to pick an absolute blowout? Am I going to pick a shutout? Am I going to pick the Oilers to win? It’s a tough one, Oilers fans. I don’t tr I don’t like betting against Edmonton, but this really just does feel like a scheduled loss to me. I’m gonna say 4-2 Minnesota Wild with a Leon power play goal. Leon is due to at least score at some point. I hope I’m wrong. Please, please prove me wrong, Oilers. I really don’t want to be right on that one. It’s just one of those games, man. With the injury to Tristan Jarry, last game of the road trip. It’s a matinea. It’s against Minnesota, a traditional House of Horrors team for Edmonton. It’s a tough one. It’s tough for me to look at all of the things going against Edmonton and confidently predicting them to win. So, I will predict them to lose, but I hope that they do win. I hope they prove me wrong. I hope I can look back on that score prediction be like, “Wow, what a big dummy. This guy’s a big idiot.” Uh, I hope you enjoyed the pregame report between the Oilers and Wild. If you did, hit the like button if you really liked it. Subscribe to the channel and as always, tell someone you love before the game today. All right, fight like a kid, fight like Ben. Let’s go Oilers. We’ll see you in the postgame fan reaction and uh hopefully it’s after a big win. All right, take care folks. We’ll see you soon.

This might be a scheduled loss Oil Country. Matinee, final game of a road trip, against Minnesota? 😬 Prove us wrong Edmonton! I’ve got you covered with the projected lines, stats, players to watch, keys to the game, and more! #oilers #edmontonoilers #nhl

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