The Edmonton Oilers begin 2023 with their second of a four-game home stand versus the Seattle Kraken. This will be the second time in five days these teams will face each other. They play again in Edmonton two weeks from now on January 17. The Oilers will look to replicate their effort from last week and I would expect the Kraken to respond with a solid effort after being blown out at home. The game tonight is crucial as both teams have 42 points on the season while the Kraken have three games in hand. I understand there is still half the season to go but these divisional matchups do have four-point implications.
The good news for the Oilers is that Leon Draisaitl and Klim Kostin practiced yesterday and both will play tonight. During Draisaitl’s availability yesterday he mentioned that his injury healed faster than expected and he is feeling good. The Oilers had mixed results while Draisaitl was out going 1–1–0. The team sure could have used the all-star against a depleted Jets team as the Oilers could only muster one goal.
The Oilers had an optional skate today so we have to go off of the lines that were running in yesterday’s practice. It appears Jay Woodcroft will go with a balanced line up with Philip Broberg replacing Markus Niemelainen.
Oilers lineup
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
| Zach Hyman | Connor McDavid | Jesse Puljujarvi |
| Warren Foegele | Leon Draisaitl | Kailer Yamamoto |
| Mattias Janmark | Ryan Nugent-Hopkins | Klim Kostin |
| Dylan Holloway | Ryan McLeod | Derek Ryan |
| DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS | |
|---|---|
| Darnell Nurse | Cody Ceci |
| Brett Kulak | Tyson Barrie |
| Philip Broberg | Evan Bouchard |
| GOALIES | |
|---|---|
| Stuart Skinner | Jack Campbell |
Avry Lewis-McDougall from our very own Oil Rig Radio Podcast confirmed that Draisaitl is available for tonight and noted that Evander Kane is still week-to-week.
Ryan Rishaug was able to capture some footage of Kane skating.
Kraken lineup
The Kraken are coming off a 4–1 win versus the New York Islander’s on New Year’s Eve and their trip to Edmonton means the return of three former Oilers: Jordan Eberle, Adam Larsson, and Justin Schultz.
| Player | G | A | P | CF% | HDCF% | Giveaways | Takeaways |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jordan Eberle | 6 | 13 | 19 | 54.28 | 53.75 | 13 | 27 |
| Adam Larsson | 3 | 10 | 13 | 53.13 | 49.81 | 15 | 11 |
| Justin Schultz | 2 | 5 | 7 | 50.27 | 49.22 | 9 | 4 |
Jordan Eberle is having an excellent year at 5v5 posting the second best CF% of his career and an eye popping 27 takeaways with only 13 giveaways. It’s also worth noting that all three former Oilers have CF% above 50. Losing Larsson to free agency has truly hurt the Oilers blueline and the franchise has had a difficult time replacing him ever since.
Daily Faceoff has the Kraken line up as follows.
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
| Andre Burakovsky | Matthew Beniers | Jordan Eberle |
| Jaden Schwartz | Alexander Wennberg | Jared McCann |
| Eeli Tolvanen | Yanni Gourde | Oliver Bjorkstrand |
| Brandon Tanev | Ryan Donato | Daniel Sprong |
| GOALIES | |
|---|---|
| Martin Jones | Philipp Grubauer |
Martin Jones started in the win against the Islanders and Philipp Grubauer was pulled after allowing three goals in just under four minutes last Friday against the Oilers. Jones has been confirmed the starter.
MoneyPuck.com has the Oilers has home favourites with a 55.7% chance of winning.
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
