Edmonton Oilers recall Bunz as they prepare to take on the Ducks

TALE OF THE TAPE:

Game: Edmonton Oilers (20-39-13, 53 points) @ Anaheim Ducks (49-22-7, 105 points)

Location: Honda Center, Anaheim, California

Time: 8:00 PM MT

Where to find it: TV – Sportsnet West, Radio – 630 CHED

Edmonton Oilers Preview:

As the Oilers prepare to play game two of their three-game roadtrip, they used an emergency recall to bring G Tyler Bunz up to meet the team in Anaheim as G Richard Bachman is dealing with a death in his family.

Bunz appeared in 17 games for the ECHL’s Stockton Thunder, where he posted a 2.97 GAA and .890 sv%.

The Oilers are in for it tough against an Anaheim team that is leading the NHL in wins, as well as points. All-time, the Ducks have done very well against the, going 48-35-7.

Taylor Hall could help contribute in a big way tonight, as he has five points in the five games he has played since returning from injury. He also plays well against the Ducks, scoring three goals and seven assists for 10 points in 16 games.

The Oilers will again be without Hendricks, Gordon, Ference and Fayne as they all are recovering from injuries.

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• Pacific division predictions

The otherside: 3 Questions with Pucks of a Feather contributer, Jason Byun:

Q:As the Ducks prepare for the playoffs, what’s the big concerns around the team?

A: There have been numerous concerns regarding the Ducks this season. There is no true No. 1 defenseman or anchor on the blue-line, and despite the volume of moves at the trade deadline, it only shored up defensive depth. Another issue is stability in net. Frederik Andersen and John Gibson have each had their share of terrific outings, but it is still largely undecided who will be the Ducks’ Game 1 starter. And while both have had flashes of brilliance, both have also had a share of lackluster outings recently .

But overall, the biggest issue has to be consistency. The Ducks have played 40 one-goal games this season and are a whopping 32-1-7 in those contests. That contributes to 71 of their 105 points in the standings. The Ducks tend to sit back and watch multi-goal leads evaporate, or they start slow and then roar back in the third for a lot of those games.

Q: Who’s been the hottest for you guys lately?

A: The hottest player on the most recent five-game road-trip was Corey Perry, who had three goals and four points on the trip. Ryan Getzlaf and Ryan Kesler have been huge as well (one goal, two assists from Getzlaf, two goals from Kesler in that span).

Q: When you look at the Edmonton Oilers, what’s the first thing you think of?

A: When I think of the Oilers, the first thing that comes to mind is Kevin Lowe. With how the Oilers have done recently, I look for the constants in the organization’s misery, and the biggest one is Lowe and how he has run the organization. At times, I question what Craig MacTavish is doing and if he knows what he is doing (as I am sure many others do as well).

I see the Oilers as an inherently flawed team, in terms of roster construction: there are so many forwards and not enough quality players on the back-end. I’m of the mindset that the wing position is the least integral position in terms of team-building, yet the Oilers are loaded on the wing, with players such as Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, and Nail Yakupov (though who knows if the trade rumors come to fruition soon). Yes, the “glory days” of the Oilers are no more. But even if the first thought of the Oilers is not Wayne Gretzky, I wish the “face” of the Oilers to me were Hall or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Instead, it is Kevin Lowe, and that is probably a very apt representation.

Line Combos c/o Daily Faceoff:

Oilers:

Benoit Pouliot – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle
Teddy Purcell – Derek Roy – Nail Yakupov
Taylor Hall – Anton Lander – Andrew Miller
Luke Gazdic – Rob Klinkhammer – Matt Fraser

Justin Schultz – Oscar Klefbom
Martin Marincin – Nikita Nikitin
Keith Aulie – Brandon Davidson

Ben Scrivens

Ducks:

Jiri Sekac – Ryan Getzlaf – Corey Perry

Tomas Fleischmann – Ryan Kesler – Kyle Palmieri

Patrick Maroon – Rickard Rakell – Jakob Silfverberg

Andrew Cogliano – Nate Thompson – Chris Wagner

Hampus Lindholm – Francois Beauchemin

Cam Fowler – Sami Vatanen

Simon Despres – James Wisniewski

John Gibson