The last time Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers entered Buffalo for the first edition of McDavid vs. Eichel we were treated to quite the show. The 2015 1st overall pick put on an absolute clinic against the Sabres, scoring the 2 Oiler goals en route to a 2-1 overtime victory. Jack Eichel will be in the lineup for the Sabres tonight, despite being in obvious discomfort in Monday's game against the Capitals. With the Oilers seeking vengeance for a 6-1 loss suffered to the Sabres back on October 16th, Connor McDavid and the Oilers will look to flip the script tonight as the team kicks off a 3 game road trip
The team is coming off a pair of back-to-backs this past weekend, picking up 3 points in a pair of OT contests, and with the loss to a tight-checking Minnesota team on Sunday, the team is looking to regroup tonight against the Sabres. Jesse Pulijujarvi and Matt Hendricks will be reinserted into tonight's lineup in place of Benoit Pouliot and Anton Slepyshev. Hendricks, who hasn't played since the 4-2 loss to Toronto on November 30th, will be slotted in the fourth line with Mark Letestu and Tyler Pitlick, while Pulijujarvi will make his first appearance in 2 games on the 3rd line with Drake Caggiula and Zack Kassian. Cam Talbot will get the nod in net, in wake of a strong performance by Jonas Gustavsson Sunday night. Talbot is 1-1-0 in his career against the Sabres, and had a very forgettable night the last time these two teams hooked up.
Brandon Davidson is practicing with the team, although he is not expected to make his return quite yet.
Tonight's lineup will see line changes on every line except for the McDavid line, and will look something like this:
Lucic - McDavid - Draisaitl
Maroon - Nugent-Hopkins - Eberle
Puljujarvi - Caggiula - Kassian
Hendricks - Letestu - Pitlick
Russell - Larsson
Klefbom - Fayne
Sekera - Benning
Talbot
The Sabres, on the other hand, will be rolling with, former Oiler, Anders Nilsson in net. The Oilers will look to blow a few past him and evade the infamous "former Oiler" curse that seems to follow the team. Buffalo's lineup is expected to be the following:
Carrier - O'Reilly - Okposo
Kane - Eichel - Reinhart
Foligno - Larsson - Gionta
Girgensons - Grant - Moulson
McCabe - Ristolainen
Guhle - Franson
Falk - Burgdoerfer
Nilsson
The Oilers (14-10-3) currently sit tied atop of the Pacific Division with the San Jose Sharks (15-9-1), each having a total of 31pts. A win tonight will move Edmonton into sole possession of the division lead, as San Jose does not play until tomorrow night.
The Sabres (9-10-6) sit in a polar opposite position of the Oilers, as they are currently in last place within the Atlantic Division with 24 points. A win for them would leapfrog them over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Tonight's game can be in seen in the Edmonton region on Sportsnet West at 5:00pm MTN.
Thanks for reading!
You can follow me on Twitter @PrestonKixFM
Go Oilers Go!
The team is coming off a pair of back-to-backs this past weekend, picking up 3 points in a pair of OT contests, and with the loss to a tight-checking Minnesota team on Sunday, the team is looking to regroup tonight against the Sabres. Jesse Pulijujarvi and Matt Hendricks will be reinserted into tonight's lineup in place of Benoit Pouliot and Anton Slepyshev. Hendricks, who hasn't played since the 4-2 loss to Toronto on November 30th, will be slotted in the fourth line with Mark Letestu and Tyler Pitlick, while Pulijujarvi will make his first appearance in 2 games on the 3rd line with Drake Caggiula and Zack Kassian. Cam Talbot will get the nod in net, in wake of a strong performance by Jonas Gustavsson Sunday night. Talbot is 1-1-0 in his career against the Sabres, and had a very forgettable night the last time these two teams hooked up.
Brandon Davidson is practicing with the team, although he is not expected to make his return quite yet.
Tonight's lineup will see line changes on every line except for the McDavid line, and will look something like this:
Lucic - McDavid - Draisaitl
Maroon - Nugent-Hopkins - Eberle
Puljujarvi - Caggiula - Kassian
Hendricks - Letestu - Pitlick
Russell - Larsson
Klefbom - Fayne
Sekera - Benning
Talbot
The Sabres, on the other hand, will be rolling with, former Oiler, Anders Nilsson in net. The Oilers will look to blow a few past him and evade the infamous "former Oiler" curse that seems to follow the team. Buffalo's lineup is expected to be the following:
Carrier - O'Reilly - Okposo
Kane - Eichel - Reinhart
Foligno - Larsson - Gionta
Girgensons - Grant - Moulson
McCabe - Ristolainen
Guhle - Franson
Falk - Burgdoerfer
Nilsson
The Oilers (14-10-3) currently sit tied atop of the Pacific Division with the San Jose Sharks (15-9-1), each having a total of 31pts. A win tonight will move Edmonton into sole possession of the division lead, as San Jose does not play until tomorrow night.
The Sabres (9-10-6) sit in a polar opposite position of the Oilers, as they are currently in last place within the Atlantic Division with 24 points. A win for them would leapfrog them over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Tonight's game can be in seen in the Edmonton region on Sportsnet West at 5:00pm MTN.
Thanks for reading!
You can follow me on Twitter @PrestonKixFM
Go Oilers Go!