Oil On Whyte
Fansided

Edmonton Oilers: Previewing the Anaheim Ducks Matchup

By Warsame A

EDMONTON, AB - JANUARY 04: Edmonton Oilers Center Connor McDavid (97) is stopped by Anaheim Ducks Goalie John Gibson (36) in a shoot out during the Edmonton Oilers versus the Anaheim Ducks at Rogers Place on JANUARY 04, 2017 in Edmonton Alberta: (Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
EDMONTON, AB - JANUARY 04: Edmonton Oilers Center Connor McDavid (97) is stopped by Anaheim Ducks Goalie John Gibson (36) in a shoot out during the Edmonton Oilers versus the Anaheim Ducks at Rogers Place on JANUARY 04, 2017 in Edmonton Alberta: (Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Edmonton Oilers are facing the Anaheim Ducks tonight for the second time this season. In their last encounter, Edmonton walked away with a shootout win.

The last time the Edmonton Oilers squared off against the Anaheim Ducks was at the beginning of January. Luckily for the Oilers, they beat the Ducks in a shootout at Rogers Place. Their game tonight will be at the Honda Center in Anaheim.

The Oilers sported a mediocre road record of 11-12-2 and based on how they performed against the LA Kings on Wednesday night; they need a win to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Ducks are also a few wins away from gaining ground on a wild-card playoff spot, so this game is critical for both teams.

Playoff implications

The reason why this game is critical is that both these teams will face off two more times after tonight. These games not only would help down the line with collecting points but also potential tiebreakers down the line.

The Anaheim Ducks are in a more prominent position compared to the Edmonton Oilers in possibly qualifying for the playoffs come late March or early April. Many Oiler fans believe that the season has been over for a while now, but they can’t be pessimistic at a time like this.

More from Oil On Whyte

The Edmonton Oilers have an excellent opportunity to recreate the performance they had in their last matchup against the Anaheim Ducks. Remember at that time the Oilers were riding a 4-game losing streak. They used that as motivation and played like a desperate team trying to earn a win to calm the media storm surrounding them.

A month later and the Oilers have been playing above water but haven’t escaped the disappointment of their previous failures. Also, remember that this game is the first of a back-to-back set of games since they do face the San Jose Sharks tomorrow night.

Power Play

The one thing the Edmonton Oilers will need to capitalize on against the Ducks must be the power play. In their previous game on Jan.4, the Oilers had five opportunities on the power play and didn’t have not one goal that needs to change tonight.

The power play has been the Achilles heel for the Oilers all year-long, and they need to take advantage of when it’s presented to them. They seem to click on the power play when there is a concerted effort to crowd the net and look for missed bounces and rebounds for potential scoring opportunities.

This game against the Anaheim Ducks is a game that is winnable for the Edmonton Oilers. This team is excellent on face-offs and seem to do a great job on generating a lot of offense from giveaways and takeaways. They will need to be consistent and aggressive for all three periods to walk away with the win.

Next: Oilers: Analyzing the LA Kings Loss

There have been times the past few weeks where anytime the Oilers lose a game is when the opposition take multiple shots on net or get on the power play at least two times. We’ll see if the Oilers can pull off a much-needed win over the Ducks and try to steal one tomorrow night against the San Jose Sharks.

Home/Editorials