Post-Dallas Eakins Oilers Come To Arizona Tuesday Night

Dallas Eakins left behind a desperate, ravenous Edmonton Oilers for Tuesday Night’s matchup

So… did anyone else hear that Dallas Eakins got fired on Monday morning?

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Whether you heard the news or not, the bottom line remains the same — the Edmonton Oilers are becoming absolutely desperate. They’ve still only won one game against the Western Conference, and with a mere seven wins to their name, this franchise is headed to Glendale out for blood.

Don’t underestimate the desperation felt by either team, though — the roster that fails to record a win tonight might see some emptied out locker stalls by tomorrow.

Details for Tuesday night’s game:

DATE: Tuesday, December 16th
TIME: 7:00P.M. (MST)
LOCATION: Glendale, Arizona
ARENA: Gila River Arena
TV INFO: Fox Sports AZ, RSNW

Players to Watch:

1. Taylor Hall. The Edmonton Oilers had previously been adamant that the team’s ‘core’ would remain unchanged, but it’s no surprise that this week’s big announcement regarding Dallas Eakins started a stream of rumors that Hall could be shopped around following a lack of significant improvement. He was accused of being ‘uncoachable’ and hard to work with — although he’s been the source of a number of iffy turnovers over the past few weeks, expect a Taylor Hall that’s determined to show why he was drafted ahead of Tyler Seguin. He could even get aggressive, which might disintegrate the entire game.

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2. Sam Gagner. Arizona’s summertime roster addition sat out his first healthy scratch game with the franchise this weekend, when he was relegated to the press box for a 4-3 SO loss to the Minnesota Wild. He’s excited to be back in the lineup, but expect more than just an eagerness out of him — expect the team’s front office to track his every move all sixty minutes. A healthy scratch for a player with a history of inconsistent performance on an unstable team is never good news… so if Sam Gagner wants to remain a Coyote, he’ll have to play like the point producer we all know he can be.

3. Crease Control. Ben Scrivens has kept his temper in check a bit more effectively than his backup Viktor Fasth, but Edmonton’s netminder tonight is nearing the end of his rope with the franchise, as well. He’s facing off across the ice from his former starter, Devan Dubnyk — needless to say, those sitting in the crease will be as exciting to watch as the players flying up and down the rink.

4. Tobias Rieder. Coming off a disappointing loss Saturday night, rookie phenom Tobias Rieder might have a serious case of nerves due to his missed shootout attempt costing the team the game. Rieder plays his best game against the team that drafted him, though — for those who don’t remember, Speeder Rieder made a name for himself with back-to-back shorthanded goals in under a minute the last time these two franchises squared off. Just like Gagner, Tobias Rieder has a chance at redemption tonight — expect him to use it.

5. Justin Schultz. This blue-liner was one of the most hyped players coming out of the NCAA system in recent years — but so far, Schultz hasn’t done much for the team that snagged him out from under the Anaheim Ducks. He’s as likely to get shuttled around as anyone else considered movable on the Edmonton Oilers, but that’s not the only reason to watch him — as his possession numbers go down, teammate Mark Arcobello tends to pick up the slack. The Arizona Coyotes need to pray this isn’t the case tonight.

Projected Line Combinations:

Forwards:
Mikkel Boedker – Antoine Vermette – Shane Doan
Tobias Rieder – Martin Hanzal – Martin Erat
Joe Vitale – Sam Gagner – Lauri Korpikoski
Brandon McMillan – Kyle Chipchura – David Moss
Potential Scratches: Alexandre Bolduc, B.J. Crombeen

Defense:
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Zbynek Michalek
Keith Yandle – David Schlemko
Chris Summers – Michael Stone
**Brandon Gormley and Connor Murphy both likely out for injury

Goal: Devan Dubnyk

Predictions:

I actually quite liked watching the defensive corps skate out on Saturday as they’re projected to today — David Schlemko has been really stepping it up, and Michael Stone is an absolute lethal weapon for the franchise.

Look for Gagner and Rieder to search for redemption, but expect the Edmonton Oilers to look like they’re playing for their lives… they, in a way, are. Don’t be surprised if they yank Scrivens prematurely in an attempt to salvage the game in the instance that the Coyotes start off scoring early, but this game is really an all-bets-off kind of matchup. Desperation does crazy things to men — and these are two seriously desperate teams.

Fingers crossed that the Coyotes can pull off a win, though — it’s someone’s birthday!

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