The Oilers will play the second half of a back-to-back tonight. With them winning their game last night against the Ducks, the Oilers have a chance to start a winning streak tonight as they look for their third win in a row as they host the Seattle Kraken at Rogers Place. The Kraken themselves are coming off a shootout loss against Vancouver Canucks on Thursday, so they will be looking to rebound, but it will not be easy against the Oilers.
For the Oilers last night, they got were lucky to skate away with a regulation win. The Oilers as of late have had some issues across the board. The good news the team is good enough to overcome some of their lapses. For their game tonight there are a few things they can do that will increase their chances of winning the game tonight
Learn How To Hold A Lead
This has been an issue for the Oilers for a long time, but for some reason it seems to be a lot bigger of an issue right now. I think it is because the Oilers are supposed to be a team that wins the cup and teams that win the cup don't tend to blow leads. While if this point happens, they obviously will end up winning the game, it is something this team must learn how to do moving forward and not just in this game.
Keep The Special Teams Rolling
In the last couple of games, the Oilers have been excellent on the special teams. Their penalty kill has been nearly perfect and their powerplay has gotten back into a groove after they had a slow start to the season. For the Oilers to get the win tonight the Oilers need to continue this streak going. I do not see any reason why it won't keep rolling tonight.
The Kraken powerplay is nothing special and is currently 22nd in the league at 18.3%, while their penalty kill is average in the league, coming in ranked 18th. This is a battle the Oilers should come out ahead on. While the current PK rankings have the Oilers below the Kraken the Oilers had a terrible PK to start the season, but it is on fire lately.
Winning the special teams battle doesn't always end in a win, but more times than not it does.
Can Calvin Pickard Steal The Show?
With Stuart Skinner playing last night, Calvin Pickard will be getting the start tonight. For the Oilers to have a great chance to win Pickard needs to play a solid game. The Oilers are a team that do not need a goalie to steal a game, but boy would it be nice to see every once in a while.
This game against the Kraken is a perfect opportunity for Pickard to steal a game. While the Kraken are a decent team, they don't really have an offence that scares you. So, for Pickard to steal this game it is definitely something that could happen. Either way I don't expect the Kraken to score more than 2 goals and if they do I don't think the Oilers will be winning the game.
If the Oilers can nail these three points, they should have no problem dispatching the Seattle Kraken tonight. With puck drop at 8pm tonight it is going to be a late night for the Oilers fans, but if they end up getting two points in the standings it will all be worth it.