The Edmonton Oilers start their season-ending road trip with a stop in Arizona to face the Coyotes. This game will be pretty meaningless for the Edmonton Oilers because with their loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday coupled with the Canucks beating the Calgary Flames last night the Oilers are locked into second place in the Pacific Division.
Although this game means nothing for the Edmonton Oilers this game means quite a bit for the Arizona Coyotes as it looks like this is their last game as the Arizona Coyotes as they are reported to be moving to Salt Lake City after being unable to figure out an arena in the Arizona area.
The Coyotes, for most people who follow the NHL, have had many strikes against them in years past, but it finally looks like they are out. The fact that Arizona is one of the most populous cities in the US and was unable to make this team stick is slightly embarrassing, but I think if the Coyotes were a good team this wouldn't be happening.
That point aside the Oilers will be looking for some revenge for the loss they got given at the hands of the Coyotes less than a week ago. Even though this game does not affect the outcome of the Oilers' season I am sure they want to finish the season strong and make sure they have no wrinkles in their game heading into the playoffs.
In these latter games in the season, there is a tough balance between staying in game shape and staying healthy. There would be nothing worse than one of the Oilers' top players getting injured in a completely meaningless game, but I also understand that the players want to play. It is up to Knoblauch to figure out what he is going to do roster-wise.
No matter who plays tonight for the Edmonton Oilers I would expect them to try their hardest to further break the hearts of the Arizona Coyotes fans, by ending their franchise's history in Arizona with a loss. It won't be an easy task as the Coyotes players will be trying their hardest for their fans.