Last Encounter:
PREVIEW
OILERS at BLACKHAWKSSTREAM: 7:30 p.m. MT; televised on Sportsnet West & 360
Oilers Team Scope
The Edmonton Oilers commence back-to-back games on Wednesday against the Chicago Blackhawks after securing another dramatic comeback win on Monday night over the Florida Panthers to make it two wins in a row for the Blue & Orange.
After erasing a three-goal deficit in the third period at Madison Square Garden on Saturday to defeat the New York Rangers, the Oilers equalized through Evan Bouchard with 4.4 seconds remaining in regulation of Monday's meeting with the Panthers at Rogers Place before the Dynamic Duo of Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid connected 22 seconds into extra time.
"We did it in dramatic fashion in New York and we did it in dramatic fashion here today against a good Florida Panthers team, a well-coached Florida Panthers team, that gave us everything we could handle," Coach Woodcroft said.
The Oilers held the Panthers, the only team in the League this season to average over 40 shots per game this season, to only 28 shots while the defence held strong in front of Stuart Skinner with some solid minutes from Edmonton's depth contributors -- including James Hamblin playing just shy of 10 minutes in his NHL debut.
The Oilers were missing four of their top nine forwards in the last-gasp win and will continue to rely heavily upon names like Mattias Janmark, Devin Shore and Dylan Holloway to help carry the load for Edmonton up front.
"I thought that commitment to defending the heart of our D zone helped us get the win, and that is the way we're going to have to play here," Woodcroft said. "We're missing four of our top nine forwards, and I thought the players that went in to take some of those minutes gave us everything they had. They played a great game and they committed to playing the game properly defensively and allowed us to win."
Forward Kailer Yamamoto has participated in the last three practices for the Oilers and could provide a boost to the lineup if the Spokane, Wash. product is able to return on this quick two-game trip.
Blackhawks Team Scope
The Chicago Blackhawks gave up a touchdown in a 7-2 defeat to the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday to sink to their seventh straight defeat, losing by two-plus goals in six of seven of those losses.
Andreas Athanasiou had the puck in the back of the net early in the game before the call was overturned by video review for offside. Things never improved for the Windy City side from there despite some chances to get back into the game in the second and third periods as defending and mental fortiutude became the downfall for Chicago according to Head Coach Luke Richardson.
"We had lots of good chances in the O-zone," Richardson said. "We are sometimes just unaware in certain areas defending and it's just seems like you play good teams with [Mark] Scheifele and [Kyle] Connors and they're going to score. We have to obviously score more goals to win a game, but we can't give up the goals that we're giving up right now."
The Blackhawks had the day off Monday in hopes of clearing their minds before regrouping at Tuesday's practice, where Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews were reunited on the same line.
"You just gotta feel that [the wins] are coming," forward Patrick Kane said. "For the team and myself personally, it just seems like something good is gonna happen here soon. So [we're trying] to make that happen sooner rather than later."
Chicago has failed to score four or more goals in a game since their last meeting with the Oilers back on Oct. 29 that ended in a 6-5 win for Edmonton after both teams combined for 17 powerplays. Leon Draisaitl scored the game-winner with 38 seconds left in the third period. Including that loss to Edmonton, Chicago had scored five goals or more in all five of their previous games prior to this tough stretch.
By The Numbers
The Oilers look to win two straight road games vs. Blackhawks for the first time since 2017 and have not won two straight road meetings vs. Chicago in the same season since 2010-11 (October 29, 2010 & November 7, 2010)... Edmonton's eight comeback wins this season are tied for the most in the NHL... The Oilers have five wins this season when trailing after the first period, tied for the most in the NHL... Edmonton's powerplay has scored in 16 of their 22 games this season...
The Oilers allowed their 23rd power-play goal against this season vs. Florida and have now allowed a PPG in 16 of 22 games... Connor McDavid recorded his 11th multi-point game on Monday for his 90th career game with 3+ points... McDavid has been involved in 39 of the Oilers 74 goals this season... Draisaitl's game-winning goal on Monday in overtime was his fifth game-winning goal this season & his 34th since the start of the 2019-20 season...
The Blackhawks have scored first in just four games this season and are 2-0-2 in those games... The Blackhawks have gotten 34 points (8G, 26A) from their defencemen this season... The Blackhawks have lost five straight at home and eight of their last nine on home ice... Patrick Kane needs one assist to move into sole possession of fourth most among U.S.-born players... Kane is four points shy of becoming the 4th U.S.-born player to reach 1,200 career points
Injury Report
OILERS - Oscar Klefbom (shoulder) is on IR; Mike Smith (undisclosed) is on IR; Evander Kane (wrist) is on IR; Ryan McLeod (undisclosed) is on IR; Kailer Yamamoto (undisclosed) is on IR.
BLACKHAWKS - Jarred Tinordi (undisclosed) is day-to-day; Sam Lafferty (upper body) is day-to-day; Alex Stalock (concussion) is on IR; Tyler Johnson (lower body) is on IR; Jalen Luypen (torn rotator cuff) is on IR.
-- Jamie Umbach, EdmontonOilers.com
