Game Fifty-Four: Oilers vs. Habs

OKAY %U{& THIS $*)T

So we had a little Habs practice today. And this is what happened:

- Lars Eller got moved to the left wing.
- Jacob de la Rose got moved to centre.
- Dale Weise still plays on the first line.
- Jiri Sekac appears set to be a healthy scratch.

Is as though the coach is living in a totally different universe, watching a completely different game. I have no other explanation.

More later.




OVERTIME:

- Gotta favor the road team to collect the extra point, for a variety of reasons (Habs iffy goaltending, being roundly outplayed, etc.)

- Yup. Thar we go. Habs implode and get their just deserts. Is there some reason why neither Markov or Subban got a shift before the winner? Anyone?

THIRD PERIOD

- Yakupov gets nailed by Emelin, with knees hitting. Stays down on the ice for a couple of minutes. Hit appears to be legal. Oilers are seething, though.

- Pacioretty has flung plenty of rubber on Fasth tonight. Passing? He's been pretty terrible.

- Plekanec carelessly flings his stick at the puck, and hits faces. Big question. Will it be 2 or 4?

- Habs have controlled a good chunk of this period's tempo, but are still compelled to dump the punk in from long distance. It's basically surrendering all of the hard work happening in the neutral zone.

- Oilers totally dominating the Habs four on four, and then just one little mistake at the blue line springs Pacioretty free down the wing. Boom. 3-2. Heartbreak for Edmonton who really had the Habs on the ropes.

- Habs really giving up some sloppy breaks to the Oilers, Tokarski with two near miracle saves this period. Hendricks flubs a chance he totally should have concerted with Tokarski belly down in his crease.

- Eberle looked great in the 1st, has been pretty muted and contained since then. 

- Our nightly dose of Emelin stupid, this time he makes a ridiculous and sloopy pinch at the line, resulting in a two man break, Yakupov and Hamilton, the later hitting the post off a beautiful pass. Once again, this game should be tied.

- Five minutes left, and Habs are holding to a semi-miracle one goal lead. That's how poorly they've played, and that's how much the Oilers deserve a tying goal in the waining minutes.

- And here's their chance after Plekanec takes a very dumb penalty gloving the puck off a faceoff. Com'on guys, you can tie this.

- There we are. First Plekanec can't bury an empty net, then Tokarski can't cover a very open puck, then seconds later, Nugent-Hopkins buries a loose puck. So many things done wrong by the Habs, so many things done right by the Oilers, who indeed, get a well-earned point. Maybe more.

SECOND PERIOD

- P.K. doing what P.K. does so well, freewheeling and carrying the zone. A perfect cross ice pass for a Galchenyuk one timer that's totally unstoppable. Pure brilliance. Subban has really lately been playing like he was during his Norris Trophey season - that is, under his terms utilizing his style. 2-0.

- Dale Weise gets plenty of compliments for playing hard, but he's still soft along the boards. Case in point how easily he was bumped off the puck, and within seconds, the Oilers' Hendricks tips in a point shot. 2-1.

- Habs first powerplay doesn't generate any goals, but puck control was good, and more than one attempt was made to carry, instead of dumping the zone. All positive indicators.

- Since the eight minute mark of the period, the Oilers have dominated this game, and just now Nugent Hopkins has tied the game, mainly because Tokarski fails to cover the puck. Tie game.

- Oilers' control of the period couinsides with Habs going back to their bad old dump and chase ways. Shocking.

- Two Habs powerplays, more good puck movement, more shots generated, Fasth with a couple of nifty saves. Again, the man advantage looks functionally effective, it's simply a matter of beating the opposing netminder.

- Goos rebound period for the Oilers, who took control over possession and held on for a good period of time, generating two goals. Tokarski looking very much who he is - a backup goaltender. But before we all jump on his case for a possible loss, we should all recall that he's the second string. He's no where close to Price. Now, or forever. It's up to the Habs offense to win this.

FIRST PERIOD

- Sportsnet Edmonton crew, which is just his far away from being unlistenable, really pumping up how hot Eberle is, averaging a point per game over his past 7. I tell you, if that's all you've got, then you ain't got much.  

- Habs game plan seems pretty simplistic - take shots, mostly long range tries, on Fasth. I guess looking for rebounds?

- Man, four Oilers surround a loose puck in the crease, and get zero shots on goal. The Edmonton Oilers.

- Christian Thomas with a beauty snap shoulder over Fasth's right shoulder for his first career NHL goal. Habs are ridiculously blessed with young talent. 1-0.

- Not for lack of effort by Edmonton, but they're such a collection of young individuals. Generating solo scoring chances, but little coordination between teammates. Besides that, good period for the Habs, the 4th line, which has played so well for the past two weeks since Malhotra was yanked out, finally hit the scoresheet. Not for the first time, I'm very certain.

GAMEDAY GAME PREVIEW:

So, are we going to win one of these games we have no business losing? Is that going to happen this year?

It's a oddity. The Montreal Canadiens have strung together a downright mediocre record against the League's five worst teams this year, posting a cumulative 5-4-1 record. It's a stat pretty much identical to that against the top five other teams in the NHL, where the Habs have put together a 4-3 record.

So why the struggles? Well, beyond statistical anomalies, mitigating factors (road weariness), there are the intangibles that go with playing teams that really have very little to lose. So on any given night, you might find your hands full combating powerhouse teams from Buffalo, or Edmonton, Or Raleigh.

But that's a touchy-feel explanation. More likely a main reason why this Habs team struggles with lower tiered clubs might have more to do with who's playing in goal, than anything else. Of the 10 games the Habs have played this year against the teams currently ranked in the bottom 5 of the NHL, Carey Price started 4 of the games, winning two. Dustin Tokarski started 6, putting up a 3-2-1 record. Not great.

Tonight, the Habs will get one more shot at beating the Oilers this season, as they host Edmonton at the Bell Centre, with Tokarski in goal. The Oilers, who are in a fierce tanking battle with the Buffalo Sabres for the best shot at the first overall pick, are just four points ahead of Buffalo for last overall.

We all know the Edmonton story to death. So let's just look at how they're playing right now. In comparison to their dreadful play the first 3 and 1/2 months of the season, not too bad, actually. Recent wins over Washington and San Jose have helped "keep" them out of the League's absolute basement.

Even so, the odds aren't much in Edmonton's favor tonight. They're now having to deal with injuries to a couple of important forwards, namely Benoit Pouliot and more critically, Taylor Hall, who's on IR for the next 4-6 weeks. To match Tokarski, the Oilers will also be going with their backup tonight in Viktor Fasth (+3 GAA and sub .900 SV%). Yeah, there's really no way the Habs should be losing this game.

Over in Habsland, Michel Therrien appears to be going with the same lineup as Tuesday night's game against the Flyers, which includes the high-flying 4th line, which includes the ridiculously impressive Jacob de la Rose, which means that for yet another game, Manny Malhotra will be watching the game from the press box.

Puck drops at 7:40 EST.

Game Nine: Habs vs. Oilers

Third Period:

- I realize it isn't particularly original to harp on the officiating, but Emelin gets two minutes for simply delivering a hard body check. I can't fathom what the official was thinking, but it once again puts the Habs a man down.

- Pretty lame Oilers powerplay all night - the Oilers with a meager 13 shots on goal, and the Habs still not rewarded for their efforts. A strange game.

- Habs pushing here, Oikers can ill afford to sit on this lead.

- Habs now regressing, playing as though they have a 2-0 lead. Game rapidly going. Nowhere fast.

- Eberle dives, ref gets suckered. Desharnais to the box.

- Schultz with blatant goaltender interference on Tokarski, no call. Abysmal.

- Wonder how different the result might be if Gallagher doesn't interfere, costing the Habs the Pacioretty no-goal? I'm figuring completely different.

- Boyd Gordon must be insane, throwing his limbs point blank in front of a Subban slapper.

- Oilers blocking everything in sight, suffocating the Habs to death tonight.

- Kind of embarrassing to get shut out by the worst defensive team in hockey, but here we are.

- The Pat Roy three minute pull. Desperate times. Desperate times.

- Okay, so let's see if Calgary works out better. It sure looks like the lucky charms that fed the Habs 7-1 start were eaten up tonight.

Second Period:

- Galchenyuk has amazing speed, he seems to actually get faster each game.

- Oilers defense looking ragged and vulnerable, there an awful lot of open ice in the slot while Habs are attacking. Can't foresee the score staying at zero much longer.

- Annnnnmd Yakopov scores. The guys that can't score contributing. Against us, of course. Beaulieu totally out of position, that's all part of the learning curve, I suppose. 2-0.

First Period:

- Really marginal hooking call on Markov, sets the tone for a micro managed game.

- Oy. Call on Prust truly preposterous. Here we go.

- Pacioretty doesn't get nearly enough credit for the contribution he makes to the PK. Positionally he's just so solid.

- Tokarski with some fine work so far - he's very well set in his crease, helps him to make easier saves.

- Don't know what Desharnais was thinking but that high stick kills a Habs powerplay before it even gets started.

- I still think Prust is this lineup's weakest link, and when Sekac returns he ought be the odd forward out.

- I love Gallagher to death but this isn't the first time his aggressive push to the net has resulted in a waved off goal. Sigh.

- incredibly hard hit by Yakopov on Emelin. I felt that through my TV set. Well if he can't score I suppose he has other good uses.

- Questionable call on Subban. Therrien is fuming. 

- And Poiliot buries. Blah. Tokarski probably would like that one back. 1-0 Edmonton.

- Good news for Edmonton. They lead after one. Bad news for Edmonton. They lead after one against the Habs.

Gameday Game Preview

Read it and weep Habs haters. READ IT AND WEEP. Number one in the League! PLAN THE PARADE.

Okay, so these moments are fleeting, so might as well milk it for all it's worth. Indeed, our beloved Montreal Canadiens stand atop not just Division or Conference standings, but on top of the whole damn League. The Habs are off to their best season start in 53 years, which is actually before I was born, which means it's been a LONG time.

What's the reason for all this success? The heck if I know. The offensive ranking is a mediocre 12th. The defensive ranking is very mediocre 17th. The powerplay ranking is not even good enough to be called mediocre. Rated 23rd currently. The PK? Eh. Not bad. 11th.

But really, if you examine the major metrics that influence the bottom line, it doesn't add up, does it? All those sub-par figures, and yet, seven wins in eight games. The big elephant in the room question is, how much of this is fluke? It's pretty hard to not deduce that the Habs have gotten off to an incredible start - in the luck department.

So now, the Habs have left the comforting confines of the Bell Centre, for a western Canadian road trip that as history will indicate, has not been kind to Montreal. The last time the Habs swept all three pegs of the Edmonton/Calgary/Vancouver hop was back in 1998. For the arithmetically challenged, that's 16 years ago. Since then, the Habs have played 30 combined games in those cities, winning just 8 times. Two of the eight wins came last season.

So maybe the trend is shifting back in the Habs direction? Maybe we're slowly returning to western feasts, rather than famines? Is it too much to ask?

Tonight, hop number one in the journey begins in Edmonton, against the (wouldyabelieve?) streaking Oilers. Three straight wins for Edmonton. It should be noted that two of the three wins came against less than stellar opponents, the Caps last Wednesday, and the Hurricanes last Friday. But one did come against the Lightening, and we all remember what happened a couple of weeks ago when the Habs visited Tampa, right? Or have we mercifully forgotten?

SO TONIGHT. With both teams riding nice little winning streaks, the Oilers will send out their usual lineup of "young guns" against Dustin Tokarski. The Oilers' scoring sheet is led, unsurprisingly, by Taylor Hall (7 pts) and Jordan Eberle (6 pts). Of concern to Edmonton is the continuing production (or lack of) Nail Yakupov, who's netting just one goal in eight games, and has generated a -6 +/-. It's been more or less the same ol' story for Nail, the sure-fire, can't-miss first overall draft choice, underwhelming viewers and paid customers with listless performances.

 Even though they're self-proclaimed guns, the Oilers offense isn't off to much of a start, winning streaks considered. 14th ranked offense,  12th rated powerplay. The big albatross, as usual, is their defense and suspect goaltending. At 3.88 goals surrendered per game average, the Oilers find themselves ranked dead last in the League. Much like last year. And the year before that. And the year before that. You know what? You gotta go back to 2008-09 as the last time Edmonton's defense wasn't at or near the bottom. That season, they finished a stellar 21st in the League. Oilers hockey. Be there!

Nathan Beaulieu will get a start tonight for the Habs. Jarad Tokarski will enjoy a few drinks up in the press box.

Puck drops at 9:40 EST.

Game Nine: Oilers vs. Habs

Wednesday Notes:

- Coach Therrien just answered a few Qs, and indicated that Tinordi's demotion was to provide him with more playing time than he's currently receiving in the bigs. So ... why not just give him more, and say, Bouillon less? /snark.

Therrien added that the club is considering bringing up Greg Pateryn from Hamilton, which is making me go "hmmm ...", with Emelin and Murry on the horizon for return, I find it curious that Therrien is considering rotating in another young defender. Organizational depth is a wonderful luxury, but there comes a point of excess. So I'm thinking ... trade in the works? UPDATE: Indeed, Pateryn has received the call-up from Hamilton. This *could* mean that he'll be slotted in as the #6, while Beaulieu will platoon on the 4th, pushing Holland on to the scratch list tomorrow night.

- Jarred Tinordi was assigned to Hamilton this morning. Which means Nathan Beaulieu can probably count on not getting sent back to southern Ontario - at least for awhile. Tinordi had a strong pre-season, but has struggled in many of his regular season starts. Hopefully the Hamilton stint will help to recapture that physical edge that caught so many eyes when he was called up for the post-season series against the Sens.

Practice lines this morning were exactly as the starting lines from last night's game:

Gallagher-Eller-Galchenyuk
Ginota-Plekanec-Bournival
Bourque-Desharnais-Moen
Holland-White-Blunden

- Interesting little quip this morning about that fight last night between Moen and Acton Gadzic that was interceded by the linesmen, apparently because the League front office has sent a directive that officials are to stop fights whenever possible (or so that's the word). Moen this morning said that one of the linesmen apologized to him afterward about stopping the fight, and explained that he was following League orders. Interesting.

 

Final Score: Edmonton 4, Montreal 3

Let's break it down:

Corsi (all): Habs 54.1% Oilers 45.9%
Moen: 65.2%
Eller: 61.5%
Galchenyuk: 60.0%
...
Desharnais: 45.2%
Holland: 38.5%

Fenwick (all): Habs 50.6% Oilers 49.4%
Moen: 61.5%
Plekanec: 58.3%
Gionta: 58.3%
...
Desharnais: 35.0%

No surprises here. After cooling off the past couple of games, the Eller line rebounded nicely last night, and were by far the most dangerous line for the Habs. However, for whatever reason, coach Therrien doesn't seem to be rewarding their performances with increased icetime. His bench management stubbornly continues to give the Eller and Plekanec lines equal time, including the insistent deployment of Plekanec as the first line powerplay. It (again) hurt the Habs last night, who had two man advantages that went nowhere that could have drilled a stake into the OIlers' coffin.

Defensively, the Plekanec line was on the ice for three of the Oilers first goal (much of that can be blamed on Rene Bourque's lackadaisical defensive play), but they weren't the only culprits. The Habs defense was particularly porous last night, allowing the Oilers speedy forwards free reign to attack the Habs slot in the 3rd, resulting in two goals from high percentage shooting positions. Francis Bouillon continues to be over deployed, and the Oilers were skating circles around him - posting team defensive low 42.1% Corsi combined. That's bad. Bouillon is a coaching favorite, but his presence beyond a 12 minute game is hurting this team, especially in the defensive zone.

Price didn't have his "A" game going last night, but he wasn't the differing factor in the loss.

Two other matters. First, Desharnais. I know, broken record, but we're now entering inexcusable performance territory. One measly point in nine games for the guy who was supposedly the team's #2 center. He isn't that anymore. He's now degenerated into a marginal NHL forward. This is Scott Gomez territory, except that Desharnais is smaller and even more ineffective in the opposition zone. Last night's performance was particularly dismal - Deshairnas' passing to his wingers was atrociously inaccurate. At some point, the Canadiens will have to make some kind of an intervention, because his production simply cannot continue to be overlooked anymore.

Finally, the Oilers post-game comments singled out Eller's "junior team" quip as their inspiration for victory. That's wonderful. Congrats to Edmonton for their inspired play. But one win does not preclude Eller's apt description of the Oilers' style. They *are* a freewheeling, disorganized collection of raw talent. This means they do have tremendous potential of winning games that resemble shootouts. But when it comes down to putting together quality victories over quality opponents, the Oilers aren't a quality team. They lack cohesion and discipline. That makes them at best, an average team, and at worst, a franchise that's likely headed nowhere.

Third Period:

- Stats check, Habs are now -3 in the 2nd period this season. Way above even first and third periods.

- Subban and Markov are probably both going to cross past the 27 minute mark through 60 minutes.

- White, Eller and Gallagher on the ice. Wonder if Galchenyuk is getting a little punishment for dogging it back on the Oilers' first goal?

- Looking at the line, it's been a pretty dreadful night for Desharnais. His passing has been terrible - this might be his worst game in what has already been a very poor start to the year.

- Bouruqe has had a decent night, but he's not gaining any favours saddled with Desharnais. At this point, I'd almost be tempted to move him next to Plekanec.

- Sometimes P.K. Subban just takes your breath away. At this moment, there is nobody better on the blue line in hockey. Absolutely nobody.

- Ryan White. How do you not teach foolishness? Oilers with open ice now with a 4-on-4.

- Petry. Pretty pass from Nugent-Hopkins. Plekanec again. Oilers take lead.

- So the "junior team" factor. How much is inspiring the Oilers towards winning this?

- It's all come apart. Perron. Guess who's on the ice? Plekanec line.

- That shot was stoppable, from Price's POV. But it still doesn't excuse the wretched turnovers by the Habs in the neutral zone.

- Plekanec, Gionta, Galchenyuk, Bourque, Bouillon are combined -10 so far. The first four listed have not been covering their assignments tonight. That's a big part of the story.

- Habs defense doing a fine red carpet impersonation. The team is more or less in collective shambles.

- Habs now look like the team at the end of a six game road swing.

- So who looks like the junior team tonight?

- Habs put in 20 minutes of decent hockey tonight. The rest was shambles. Only the EGG line and Subban showed up. And Bournival. The rest of the crew, let's hear the excuses. 

- Stats breakdown and post-mortem later, It doesn't get much easier for the Habs. The Ducks Thursday, and then ... gulp ... Sharks on Saturday. 

Second Period:

- First period line wasn't totally lopsided, Corsi +3, Fenwick +2. But Habs had shot advantage 14-8', and completely dominated the faceoff circle winning 15 out of 19. Yikes.

- Decent rebound by Edmonton to start the period, but you can't fake your way through tired legs. 

- If trend continues, Markov and Subban might clock in the high 20s tonight for icetime. Predictably, Therrien has the short leash on the new guy - Holland barely has 2 minutes so far.

- Rousing applause as Roman Hamrlik's attendance is announced. Classy response by those in attendance.

- Desharnais for holding, inexcusable since Edmonton is the chasing team. Habs getting into some penalty trouble, seemingly looking for ways to let the Oilers back into this game.

- Nice little confidence vote by Therrien, as Holland gets some PK time (and does well).

- Gallagher fearless driving the Oilers net, but not so enthusiastic (as well as Galchenyuk) coming back to cover his assignment, as Hemsky with loads of room to waltz right to the slot, cuts Habs lead in half. 2-1.

- Habs were coasting, tempting fate by taking a passive attitude controlling the tempo. Oilers quietly have wrestled themselves back into contention. Therrien won't be pleased.

- Oy. Plekanec can't clear the zone, Nugent-Hopkins with a wrister that causes Price to surrender a sweet rebound, which is buried by Smid coming in off the point. Tie game. Shades of Columbus all over again where the Habs had total control, took their eyes off the ball, and have let the opposition wrestle control. No way this tired Edmonton team should be on even terms. But here we are.

- Wow. Habs combined Corsi was 66% before the Smid goal. Crazy lobsided except for the scoreboard.

- Eller line is totally (and I mean TOTALLY) dominating possession tonight, but still isn't getting more time than the Plekanec line. 

- Great reaction save by Dubnyk to keep Gallagher off the scoresheet. That line is motering.

- Hugely disappointing period for the Habs, but it continues a disturbing trend for Montreal this season - their second periods have been pretty terrible. If Edmonton somehow wins this, Habs fans are going to be mighty grumpy.

First Period:

- Second shift White line is put out. Signal that Therrien wants Habs to be physical?

- Reportedly many scouts are in attendance tonight - teams are smelling blood in Edmonton's waters already, and might be seeking a bargain.

- Solid shift for Bouruqe, working hard for the puck along the boards, generally not being invisible.

- Excellent pad save by Dubnyk on Gallagher. That could set the tone for the evening.

- Oilers Arconello line looks fired up tonight. See if they'll make a mark on the scoresheet.

- Beating dead horse watch: Habs first powerplay, Therrien stubbornly sticks with Plekanec/Gionta/Bourque to start. By the time Eller line is sent out, Subban/Markov combo is off. 

- Oilers 3rd and 4th lines really struggling to contain Habs attack. Saw plenty of hooks and slashes until finally a trip was called. Habs go back to the powerplay.

- Plekanec one-times off a sweet cross ice pass from Markov. 1-0.

- Oilers look tired out there. Makes sense, last game of a long trip.

- Oilers are an exhausted mess. Chasing the puck, sloppy turnovers, and Gallagher intercepts an ill-advised and silps a sweet wrister past Dubnyk. Habs already in command.

- Oilers Acton Gadzic drops the gloves with Moen, looking to stop the bleeding. Officials intercede, no fight. Fans are miffed, but good work from the lines to break that up before it started.

- Oilers' defense is incredibly passive. Just backing up and giving Habs forwards free reign to come right at Dubnyk.

- Ugly period for Edmonton. Game started eveny enough, but from the 10 minute mark forward, Habs were all over Edmonton like an ugly coat. Advanced stats shortly.

Pre-Game Lineups:

Habs:
Galchenyuk-Eller-Gallagher
Bournival-Plekanec-Gionta
Moen-Desharnais-Bourque
Blunden-White-Holland

Markov-Subban
Gorges-Diaz
Bouillon-Beaulieu

Oilers:
Yakupov-Nugent Hopkins-Eberle(?)
Perron-Arcobello-Hemsky
Pitlick-Gordon-Jones
Gazdic-Acton-Enger

Smid-Petry
Belov-J. Schultz
N.Schultz-Ference

Not that the Habs should be chest-beating, but that's a pretty thin Oilers lineup. After the 2nd line ... hmm ... it's looking pretty rough.

In other gameday news, Lars Eller ruffled a few feathers today after making comments about the Oilers' "junior" style of play:

Gameday Game Preview:

So this oughtta be interesting.

The underwhelming Edmonton Oilers will take on the Habs tonight at the Bell Centre, puck drop around 7:40 EST. The game will be the only visit of the year by the oil, their final destination in what has been a relatively disastrous six game road trip. The swing through the east has produced an underwhelming 1-4-0 record for Edmonton, although they did manage to grab a W in Ottawa Sunday afternoon, following a strong performance by their first-string (?) netminder Devan Dubnyk.

The road trip has been especially tough on the Oilers, not only because they've lost 4 out of 5, but they've also seen a couple of critical offensive weapons hitting the injury list. Ryan Smyth, who strained his groin last week in a heartbreaking 6-5 loss to the Leafs, is gone for at least another week. Meanwhile club scoring leader Taylor Hall had a knee-on-knee collision with Eric Gryba of the Sens this weekend, and he'll be out of the lineup for at least a month.

Can we make it even worse? There's no confirmation as of this writing that Jordan Eberle is able to start tonight. He's got an undisclosed injury.

Ouch.

If there's any consolation for Edmonton fans, it's that Habs fans can relate to having a depleted roster. The Canadiens have lost not only Max Pacioretty for at least another couple of weeks, but also key grinder Brandon Prust with a shoulder injury until late November, and Daniel Briere for ... who knows how long? Briere is sidelined with concussion from a head hit taken Saturday night.

Oh yeah. Can't forget George Parros - he's still indefinite from concussion. And Alexei Emelin (not due back for another month). And Doug Murry (not due back for another month).

Have I left anyone out?

In response to the rash of hurtin' bodies, the Habs called up Nathan Beaulieu (who might get some 4th line action), Mike Blunden (ditto) and Patrick Holland (double ditto). This all means that Travis Moen will probably get bumped up to 2nd or 3rd line duties, Ryan White will probably stay 4th line centre, with Bluden and Holland on the wing, and Beaulieu as the 6th defenseman, possibly rotating in for some 4th line shifts depending on how well Holland performs. Jarred Tinordi will be a healthy scratch.

So .. lots of juggling happening here. New lineups, different line mates, it all creates the heightened potential for a sputtering, sloppy game.

The teams. Well, the Oilers are off to a pretty disappointing start, we've rehashed this before about how entering the season, Edmonton was *finally* going to be a competitive force in the Western Conference. However, team defense and inconsistent starting goaltending has resulted in a string of close loses. The Oilers play so far reminds me quite a bit of the Habs' dreadful 2010-11 season of countless one-goal losses. Edmonton, like that Habs team, aren't awful - they're just not quite good enough to eek out close-margin victories.

Even with all their injuries, the Habs enjoy the luxury of depth - Blunden and Holland are quality replacement players, and while replacing someone like Prust is difficult, if not impossible, it still doesn't compare to the situation Edmonton is facing in having to replace Smyth, Hall, and Simon Gagne (and maybe Eberle as well).

So roster-wise, major advantage to the Habs tonight.

No announcement yet on starting goaltenders. Probably it's Carey Price and Dubnyk.