The Rangers are looking for their sixth win in a row this afternoon, with the Edmonton Oilers presenting what should be a good challenge. The Oilers, while not exactly a great team this year, are a fast paced team that can basically score at will. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are just unreal talents. The problem with Edmonton is that beyond those two and one or two other guys, their depth stinks. It’s a product of bad trades.
As for the Rangers, they are winning despite some odd roster choices. But considering how badly they needed a confidence boost, you kind of just deal with it. Ride the winning streak.
Oilers Systems
Todd McLellan had his Oilers mostly running an aggressive 2-1-2 forecheck, mixing in some 1-2-2 depending on game situation. In the defensive zone schemes they overload the boards and play zone defense when the puck is at the points or down low. The power play is a 1-3-1 and their penalty kill formations are a hybrid (depends on puck location/opposition setup).
Oilers Lines
Patrick Maroon-Connor McDavid-Leon Draisaitl
Milan Lucic-Ryan Nugent-Hopkins-Jesse Puljujarvi
Jussi Jokinen-Ryan Strome-Iiro Pakarinen
Brad Malone-Mark Letestu-Zack Kassian
Darnell Nurse-Adam Larsson
Oscar Klefbom-Matthew Benning
Kris Russell-Eric Gryba
PP1: McDavid–Maroon-Draisaitl-Letestu-Klefbom
PP2: Strome-RNH-Lucic-Draisaitl-Benning
Cam Talbot gets the start.
Rangers Lines
Chris Kreider–Mika Zibanejad–Pavel Buchnevich
Rick Nash–Kevin Hayes–Mats Zuccarello
Jimmy Vesey–David Desharnais–JT Miller
Michael Grabner-Boo Nieves-Jesper Fast
Ryan McDonagh–Nick Holden
Brady Skjei–Kevin Shattenkirk
Marc Staal–Steven Kampfer
PP1: Nash-Miller-Buchnevich-Zibanejad-Shattenkirk
PP2: Hayes-Desharnais-Kreider-Zuccarello-McDonagh
Henrik Lundqvist gets the start.
Scratches/Injuries: Paul Carey (flu), Brendan Smith (healthy)
Crazy Prediction: A Kampfer goal, just because.
Game time is 1pm. Be sure to follow on Twitter for gifs, and on our Snapchat for in-game.
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