[10:00 PM] Ducks @ Oilers

Who will WIN this matchup?

Anaheim Ducks (12-8-4)

@ Edmonton Oilers (13-10-2)

 

Starting Goalies:

John Gibson(ANA): Confirmed

Cam Talbot (EDM): Confirmed

 

• Connor McDavid is trying to take Edmonton on a ride it hasn’t experienced since 2006 and hopes to keep the Oilers on track when they host the surging Anaheim Ducks on Saturday. More importantly, the play of Edmonton’s 19-year-old captain and owner of NHL-bests 23 assists and 34 points is starting to rub off on his teammates – most notably Leon Draisaitl, whose nine goals are on pace to shatter the 19 he scored in his first full season of 2015-16.

• Anaheim gets production from many places these days including rookie Ondrej Kase, the 205th overall pick in the 2014 draft who scored his first NHL goal Thursday. It’s been coming frequently from Rickard Rakell (nine goals in 15 games), and the line of Ryan Kesler (eight) Jakob Silfverberg (eight) and Andrew Cogliano (six) with Silfverberg and Cogliano each scoring Thursday. One player who hasn’t joined the party is Corey Perry, as the author of 334 career goals hasn’t scored in 16 games – the longest drought since his rookie season of 2005-06.

• Draisaitl’s goal total is second only to McDavid’s 11 on the club, which boasts six players with at least six. Hulking left wing Milan Lucic skates with McDavid and Draisaitl, providing muscle, seven goals and a six-game point streak in which he’s scored twice and provided eight assists. Cam Talbot (12-9-2, 2.58 goals-against average, .915 save percentage), who started 23 of Edmonton’s 25 games, is expected to play Saturday.

• The Ducks play 11 of their 15 December games on the road.

• Edmonton’s inconsistent power play sprang back to life Thursday with three goals – McDavid assisted on two of them – after going 0-for-12 in the last three games, 4-for-10 in the previous pair and 0-for-15 in the six before that.

• Anaheim won its last five games and 18 of the past 22 in Edmonton, and claimed 26 victories in the last 31 overall meetings.

 

StreakSmarts Pick: Edmonton Oilers

Confidence: 5/10

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