Edmonton, AB - Following a win in the Land of 10,000 Lakes one week ago, the Oilers roll into tonight's contest vs. the Minnesota Wild with an extra step, looking to get back on track as the six-game homestand rolls along.
The Oilers opted to hold an optional morning skate, as the upcoming schedule sees the orange and blue play three games in the next four nights; all against Western Conference foes, in which the Oilers have posted an 8-8-2 record against this season.
The schedule also sees the Oilers and Wild clash for a fourth time, making 2011-12's Northwest Division start especially vital.
"I think it works both ways for both teams," said
Jordan Eberle, who's notched 24 points in 24 games this season. "You get to see them a couple times, so I think we can pick up on their tendencies, so we know what to expect, especially since we're playing them again in such a short period.
"Regarding tonight, we're going to be basing our performance on our own game plan; when we do that, we have success."
Eberle was an integral component to Friday's 5-2 triumph, posting a pair of assists and a +1 rating in 17:21. The 21-year-old insists that tonight's game plan will have to mirror last week's outing, which was highlighted by a patient pace to help counter the Wild's repressive style.
"That's actually the case with a lot of teams, but the Wild do it best, no question about it," he said about Minnesota's penchant to pounce on errors. "You've got to be patient with these guys, because they'll sit back and wait for you to make a mistake. They're a veteran team, and the same thing could be said for Nashville the other night, so we should know what to expect this time.
"If we get down by one, we can't start thinking outside the box."
Having tangled with the Wild three times already, however, Eberle also agreed that there were lessons to be learned; because, as the Oilers are well aware, a .500 (1-1-1) record won't cut it against a division rival.
"Absolutely," he said. "At the same time, we've got to make sure we're managing the puck well. We've given the puck away at inopportune times this season, which I think has killed us a couple times in our losses. We need to make sure we learn from those mistakes, especially against a team like this."
Linemate
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who's on an equally as impressive point-per-game tear, agreed with Eberle's assessment.
"They come at you hard," he explained. "You've always got to be prepared for them. It's never a bad thing to put the puck on net, too. We all know that, and that's what you're going to see tonight."
LINEUP CHANGES
Ryan O'Marra was recalled from the AHL's Oklahoma City Barons yesterday. While the 24-year-old, 24-game NHL veteran has recorded one goal and six points in his big-league career, and has yet to arrive in Edmonton.
He will, however, be slotted into the lineup as
Anton Lander will come out with a hand issue.
"Very well," Head Coach Tom Renney said, regarding O'Marra's play down in OKC. "We talk to our minor league guys all the time, and you go in with a point of view as a coach from a long distance, and then you hear what they've got to say; they've said nothing but good things about O'Marra."
Andy Sutton, who missed six games with a pulled groin, will also come back into the lineup tonight.
The added toughness will be a welcomed addition, as the Oilers will be contending with Minnesota's Brad Staubitz once more. The 27-year-old engaged with
Darcy Hordichuk in last week's game, succumbing to eight minutes in penalties in the process.
Theo Peckham, another domino in the Oilers' tough plans, is ready to go if need be but isn't expecting much to go down.
"Usually when you go into these games expecting a riot, there turns out to be nothing," he laughed. "I'd imagine they'll be coming pretty hard, they're a physical team and we'll be ready for that.
"If push comes to shove and that other side of the game needs to be taken care of, we've got the guys in here to do it," Peckham added.
Nikolai Khabibulin (9-5-2, 1.88 goals-against average and .936 save percentage) makes his 17th start of the season tonight.
-- Ryan Dittrick, edmontonoilers.com -
Follow me on Twitter | @ryandittrick
NHL.COM GAME PREVIEW
Last 10: Minnesota 6-4-0; Edmonton 3-7-0.
Season Series: This will be the fourth of six planned meetings between the two Northwest Division rivals. Minnesota took the first two meetings in a shootout but Edmonton rebounded with a 5-2 win Friday night.
Big Story: The Northwest Division-leading Minnesota Wild are coming off a six-game homestand when they skate into Edmonton, who will start their own six-game homestand against the Wild and will have to do so without the services of left wing
Taylor Hall, who is expected to be out of the lineup for 2-4 weeks after suffering a shoulder injury Saturday night against Colorado.
Team Scope:
Wild: Things have gone well in Minnesota for the better part of the year and the Wild have recently proved they will be a tough out anytime an opponent comes to town. During a recent six-game stint, the Wild came out victorious four times. On the year, the Wild are tied for the most home wins in the League. When the Wild skate into Edmonton, they will face an opponent who prevailed, 5-2, just five nights before. Moreover, the Wild followed up that occasion with another 5-2 loss to Calgary. But in the club's most recent outing against Tampa Bay, a complete game paved the way to a 3-1 win, which got the team feeling good about their game to end a long homestand.
"We were confident," Cal Clutterbuck said. "We were in our element. We knew exactly what we were doing. The biggest thing for us was just sticking with it."
Oilers: The Oilers have a chance to end the month of November on a high note with a win against the Minnesota Wild, especially after dropping their last two decisions to Colorado and Nashville, respectively. In both those efforts, the club's offense failed to deliver, scoring three goals in the two games. It's been hit or miss on offense for the Oilers of late. In their five wins this month, the Oilers outscored the opposition 26-7; in their eight losses, they've been outscored 35-14. Still, the chance to creep up the division standings exists, as the Oilers have five straight home games starting them in the face, beginning with the Wild, after dropping the first game of the homestand in a disappointing fashion.
"I thought our compete level had to improve," coach Tom Renney said. "As a team, we passed up opportunities to put pucks on net and create havoc on rebounds. It was way too easy for Nashville. It's the NHL … shoot the puck."
Who's Hot: For the Wild, Clutterbuck has been a factor of late, posting five points in as many games, including three goals in that span. The Oilers are led by rookie
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who has three multi-point games in six games and has points in five of six games.
Injury Report: Marek Zidlicky and Guillaume Latendresse are both out indefinitely with concussions, while defenseman Justin Falk is day-to-day with a back injury for Minnesota. Meanwhile, the Oilers are without
Ben Eager,
Corey Potter and
Andy Sutton, all of whom are day-to-day;
Cam Barker and
Taylor Fedun are out indefinitely, too, in addition to Hall's recent injury.
Stat Pack: Minnesota skates into their game against Edmonton tied for the most wins in the NHL (14).
Puck Drop: To deal with the loss of Hall and the club's recent struggles, the Oilers will depend on solid special teams to get by, as they are ranked in the Top-10 in both the power play and penalty killing.
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