Blackhawks Game Day: 3 things to watch against the Oilers

Chicago Blackhawks (5-4-2, 12 pts) @ Edmonton Oilers (5-4-3, 13 pts)
9 pm CT – Rogers Place
TV: CHSN (Ball/Granato)
Radio: WGN 720 AM (Wiedeman/Roumeliotis)

The Chicago Blackhawks continue their six-game road trip in Alberta tonight with a tough matchup against the Edmonton Oilers. The two-time defending Western Conference champions are off to a slow start by their standards. They have nearly an identical record as the Blackhawks, with one more overtime loss for the extra point. However, they have some key forwards on the injured list and will look to shoot up the standings once they return.

While some of the supporting cast have changed, the Oilers are still all about Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid doing the heavy lifting. The dynamic duo is tied for the team lead with 14 points. Draisaitl has been doing the goal scoring, with eight goals, and McDavid has been in playmaker mode with 11 assists.

Draisaitl has been a menace against the Blackhawks in his career. In 27 games, he has 18 goals and 41 points. McDavid has 11 goals and 32 points in 23 games versus Chicago. However, they both have only one goal against tonight’s starter, Spencer Knight, in two games.

Andre Burakovsky, who scored a beautiful goal against the Winnipeg Jets, has enjoyed playing against the Oilers. In his 19 career games, he has scored six goals and recorded 15 points, so look for him to extend his point streak to three games. Teuvo Teravainen has 10 goals and 28 points in his 21 games versus Edmonton. However, they each have one goal against Oilers’ starting goaltender Stuart Skinner in six combined games.

Ilya Mikheyev Returns, Jason Dickinson Out

When you play the Oilers, you have to have the horses to run with Draisaitl and McDavid. The Blackhawks have some big, fast, defensive-minded forwards who are up to the task. Ilya Mikheyev is one of those, and he is expected to return to the lineup after missing Thursday’s game. He’ll be shadowing one of the Oilers’ two superstars.

Ideally, you’d love to have Jason Dickinson shadow the other, but he will miss tonight’s game after reaggravating a shoulder injury suffered initially against the Boston Bruins on Oct. 9. Tonight’s game will be the fourth he’s missed with this injury. The Blackhawks have not recalled anyone from Rockford yet, so they must not expect him to miss a significant amount of time.

Top Line Looks to Continue Success

Ryan Greene on the top line was not on my bingo card to start the season, but he’s going to get a third straight game with Burakovsky and Connor Bedard.

“I thought that line was excellent,” head coach Jeff Blashill said yesterday. “They were dangerous. They need to make sure they share the net front, since none of them are natural net front guys. You have to have some traffic to score some dirty goals to go along with the skill-type goals that they can score. I thought Ryan did a good job with them. He’s got pretty good poise and strength on his skates to make a play. It’s every night league, so you’ve got to go out and do it again tomorrow night.”

In 23:37 of 5-on-5 ice time together, this line has held an advantage in shot attempts (25-16), shots on goal (13-7), scoring chances (10-8), and goals (4-1). They will be tested against the Oilers tonight as they will see a lot of their top six. If Bedard is truly taking a step towards superstardom this season, look for him to relish this chance.

Keep the Game at 5-on-5

If the Blackhawks want any chance of winning tonight, they have to stay out of the penalty box and keep the game at full strength. The Oilers have been mediocre at 5-on-5 this season, as there hasn’t been much offense outside of the top six.

Edmonton has been outscored 26-23 at 5-on-5 this season. They have allowed 297 scoring chances, the third most in the NHL. However, they have been solid, having given up only 98 high-danger scoring chances, the same amount they have produced. They are essentially a 50/50 team at 5-on-5, so keep it a coin-toss game by playing a disciplined game.

The Blackhawks will want to avoid the stick penalties because the Oilers are deadly on the power play. They have the third-best unit in the league with a 30.3% success rate. They have 10 goals in 33 chances, but have also allowed two shorthanded goals.

Season Series

11/1 @ EDM
1/12 vs EDM
4/2 @ EDM

Blackhawks Team Leaders

G-Connor Bedard (6)
A-Bedard (8)
P-Bedard (14)
PPG-Bedard (2)
GWG-Ryan Donato (2)
SOG-Bedard (33)
PIM-Louis Crevier (21)

Oilers Team Leaders

G-Leon Draisaitl (8)
A-Connor McDavid (11)
P-Draisaitl/McDavid (14)
PPG-Draisaitl (4)
GWG-5 tied with 1
SOG-McDavid (37)
PIM-Isaac Howard/Evan Bouchard/Troy Stecher (8)

Blackhawks Team Stats

GF/G-3.27 (17th)
GA/G-2.82 (10th)
PP%-16.7 (24th)
PK%-85.1 (9th)
SOG/G-24.5 (31st)
SA/G-29.6 (22nd)
FO%-47.2 (24th)
PIM/G-12:32 (31st)

Oilers Team Stats

GF/G-3.17 (18th)
GA/G-3.17 (19th)
PP%-30.3 (3rd)
PK%-83.3 (11th)
SOG/G-29.3 (11th)
SA/G-24.7 (2nd)
FO%-51.7 (11th)
PIM/G-5:10 (1st)

Blackhawks Probable Lines

Forwards
Ryan Greene-Connor Bedard-Andre Burakovsky
Teuvo Teravainen-Frank Nazar-Tyler Bertuzzi
Ryan Donato-Colton Dach-Ilya Mikheyev
Landon Slaggert-Nick Foligno

Defensemen
Alex Vlasic-Sam Rinzel
Wyatt Kaiser-Artyom Levshunov
Matt Grzelcyk-Connor Murphy
Louis Crevier

Scratched
F-Sam Lafferty

Injured
G-Laurent Brossoit (hip), F-Jason Dickinson (upper body)

Oilers Probable Lines

Forwards
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins-Connor McDavid-Andrew Mangiapane
Vasily Podkolzin- Leon Draisaitl-Jack Roslovic
Matthew Savoie-Adam Henrique-Trent Frederic
Isaac Howard-Noah Philp-Curtis Lazar

Defensemen
Mattias Ekholm-Evan Bouchard
Darnell Nurse-Jake Walman
Brett Kulak-Ty Emberson

Scratched
D-Troy Stecher, F-David Tomasek

Injured
F-Zach Hyman (wrist), F-Mattias Janmark (undisclosed), F-Kasperi Kapanen (knee), D-Alec Regula (undisclosed)

Goaltending Matchup

Spencer Knight (4-3-1, 2.59 GAA, .914 SV%, 0 SO) vs Stuart Skinner (3-3-2, 2.59 GAA, .896 SV%, 1 SO)