Vegas Golden Knights (19-7-3) at Edmonton Oilers (17-10-2)
TV: Sportsnet. Radio: 880 CHED.
TIME: 2 p.m. Saturday
Odds: Wild + 130, Oilers – 156
THE SETUP
The Oilers are riding on a season-high four-game win streak and have won seven of their past eight, with the only interruption coming in a 1-0 loss at the hands of the very same Golden Knights on Dec. 3. Otherwise, the stretch would have mirrored an eight-game win streak from exactly one year ago. Vegas, meanwhile, have won their past three games, and come in on a run of 7-2-1.
LEON ALONE ON TOP
Leon Draisaitl is coming off a four-point game in a 7-1 win over the league-leading Minnesota Wild on Thursday, adding to his NHL-best 21 goals on the season. He has four goals in his past four games. Vegas, meanwhile, is led by forward Jack Eichel’s 39 points (nine goals, 30 assists) to sit tied for eighth overall in league scoring, behind Connor McDavid (40 points) in seventh and Draisaitl (42 points) in sixth.
BOUCHARD A MAYBE
Evan Bouchard leads all Oilers defencemen with 22 points (six goals, 16 assists), but will be a game-time decision after being forced from Thursday’s 7-1 win over the Minnesota Wild by a frightening hit from Ryan Hartman that sent Bouchard’s head into the net before he hit the end boards.
THE POLL
Was the hit on Evan Bouchard by Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman dirty?
- Yes
- No
- An injury on D is the last thing the Oilers need
THE QUOTE
“It could have been really bad if Picks (goalie Calvin Pickard) hadn’t been there, it looks like he probably would have put his head off the post. But again, Picks made another big save, so he just got banged up a little bit.”
• Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch
THE LINEUPS
VEGAS
Forwards
Barbashev – Eichel – Stone
Howden – Karlsson – Dorofeyev
Holtz – Hertl – Olofsson
Pearson – Roy – Kolesar
Defence
McNabb – Theodore
Hanifin – Pietrangelo
Hague – Whitecloud
Goalies
Hill
Samsonov
EDMONTON
Forwards
Nugent-Hopkins – McDavid – Hyman
Podkolzin – Draisaitl – Kapanen
Skinner – Henrique – Janmark
Perry – Ryan – Brown
Defence
Ekholm – Bouchard
Nurse – Stecher
Kulak – Emberson
Goalies
Skinner
Pickard
INJURIES
GOLDEN KNIGHTS: None
EDMONTON: None
E-mail: [email protected]
On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge
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