Tonight is the fourth and final game between these two teams this season. The Oilers lead the series 2-1, with wins October 21 (3-1) and November 18th (4-3 SO). The Wings won the November 8th meeting, 3-0.
The Oilers are 4-4-2 in February so far, with their wins coming against Colorado, Chicago, Atlanta, and Columbus. The win over the Blue Jackets, which came last night, halted a 0-2-2 stretch in which they lost to Boston, Buffalo (OT), Toronto, and Ottawa (SO), all on the road. Edmonton is nearing the end of a 7-game road trip that began on the 13th in Boston, and will end on Sunday in Minnesota.
They trail Calgary by 7 points for the last playoff spot.
Their leading goal-scorer is Ryan Smyth, who stands at the “when pigs fly” end of the Wings’ trade options spectrum. He scored his 30th goal last night and notched two assists.
Dwayne Roloson played last night and had 28 saves for his fourth shutout this season, but the AP suggests that Jussi Markkanen may play tonight.
The Wings have posted a 7-2-0 record in February thus far, with their only losses coming in St. Louis and Philadelphia. They have won their last three, including games in Dallas and Phoenix, and coming off a solid 4-2 win over Chicago on Wednesday. They’ll fly to Nashville after the game tonight to kick off a two-game road trip tomorrow night.
Because the Predators lost to the Habs in a shootout last night (6-5)*, the Wings remain on top of the Western Conference, though both teams have 84 points. Although the Preds have more wins (40), the Wings have won more (39) in fewer games (61 versus 62), so they win the tie-breaker.
The Free Press reports that Dominik Hasek will start tonight, but will not play tomorrow. The Wings are apparently not yet ready to start Dom in back-to-back situations, though there is talk that he will do so next month. Chris Osgood will be in net instead. I personally don’t have a problem any more with them going with Dom the first night because it’s all about keeping him healthy. The team doesn’t get a full workout tomorrow and since a good skate is a big part of a pregame routine that is designed to prevent injury, it’s better if Dom doesn’t play if he can’t go through that.
This is a important game for the Wings, who need to capitalize on the Preds’ loss last night and get some separation from the Preds going into the game in Nashville tomorrow night. The Oilers aren’t going to roll over, though, and so the concern is that the Wings will end up being too tired to handle the Predators tomorrow night. It’s going to be interesting to see how they deal with playing back-to-back games against such speedy and physical opponents.
*Update (12:16 PM): I just want to point out that Peter Forsberg wasn’t on the ice for any of the Preds’ five goals. Peter the Great has zero points and is minus-1 in three games with Nashville. That should make you feel happy. I know it makes me smile. - Matt