New Jersey Devils vs Edmonton Oilers
When: 9:00 PM ET, Thursday, January 12, 2017
Where: Rogers Place, Edmonton, Alberta

TV: 9 p.m. ET, MSG-Plus (New Jersey), Sportsnet West (Edmonton)
PREDICTION: Oilers 2, Devils 1

Oddsmakers currently have the NEW JERSEY listed as 160-moneyline favorites versus the EDMONTON, while the game’s total is sitting at 5.

EDMONTON, Alberta — Taylor Hall is doing what he was expected to do when the New Jersey Devils acquired him last summer. He’s tied for the team lead in points, even though he’s missed nine games.

Adam Larsson is doing exactly what the Oilers expected of him when he was acquired from the Devils. He’s a solid first-pairing defenceman that Edmonton badly needed.

Really, it’s a trade that is working out for both teams. But, when the Devils visit Rogers Place Thursday night, Hall’s return to the city in which he began his professional career will be the game story.

Hall, who the Oilers selected first overall in the 2010 draft, was traded to the Devils last July for Larsson. This season, Hall has 25 points in 32 games for New Jersey.

Hall had 328 career points in 381 career games as an Oilers, putting him 17th on the franchise’s all-time scoring list.

“For Taylor to come back here, and he obviously had roots here for many years, I’m sure it’s not easy,” said Oilers coach Todd McLellan. “The fans here, the organization, the coaches and even his teammates obviously appreciated all the things he did for us during his time here — and we recognize that and welcome him back. But, when it’s time to play, it’s time to play.”

“He’s a good player, it was tough to see him go,” said Oilers right-winger Jordan Eberle, who has known Hall when he was 10 years old. “But I think we’re better as a team — and he’s doing well there. It will be interesting to see him play.”

When speaking to reporters, Hall, though, spoke about the game in Edmonton not as a standalone event, but as the first of a massive four-game road trip for a team near the bottom of the Eastern Conference.

“We’re playing some teams that have some offense, are obviously going to pose a big challenge for us,” said Hall. “This is a road trip that’s probably going to define our season, and make or break it.”

The trip got off to an ominous start. The team’s charter to Edmonton was delayed five hours after the tow vehicle bumped the nose of the airplane the Devils were on.

The Devils go into Edmonton on a three-game losing streak, including a 2-1 overtime loss to the Oilers Saturday at Newark’s Prudential Center. That game was only close because of the play of Devils netminder Cory Schneider, who stopped 41 shots.

“This road trip is about getting our game back,” said Devils coach John Hynes. “We’ve lost three games. … So we have to get some things in order in our game and we have to a better job than we did in the last couple of games to be able to find a way to win games and get points.”

Since Saturday’s win over New Jersey, the Oilers have lost two in a row.

The Oilers can’t afford another slow start. Their two-game losing streak can be attributed to poor first-period efforts. In Sunday’s loss to Ottawa, they were down 2-0 by the 13:43 mark. In Tuesday’s loss to San Jose, the Oilers gave up a goal just 1:39 into the game.

“Not really ready to go, too slow, turnovers, no execution early in the game, then put your foot on the gas and go after a team,” is how McLellan categorized his team’s last two efforts.

So, while Hall’s return to Edmonton will create a buzz at Rogers Place, the Oilers can’t afford to get swept up in the moment and be on their heels for the first few shifts of the game.

On Wednesday, the Oilers recalled center Jujhar Khaira from their AHL affiliate in Bakersfield, Calif., sending center Anton Lander the other way. Khaira had two assists in 15 games with the Oilers in 2015-16.

The post New Jersey vs Edmonton Odds & Prediction appeared first on IdealCapper.

Winnipeg Jets vs. Edmonton Oilers
When: 9:30 PM ET, Sunday, December 11, 2016
Where: Rogers Place, Edmonton, Alberta

TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, TSN3 (Winnipeg), Sportsnet Oilers, Sportsnet West (Edmonton)
PREDICTION: Oilers 5, Jets 3

EDMONTON, Alberta — The Oilers’ four-game losing streak is an example of how fine the lines in hockey truly are.

Three of the four losses came in either overtime or the shootout; the one regulation loss of the four saw the Oilers establish 2-0 and 5-3 leads at Philadelphia before giving up a late goal to lose, 6-5.

So, you could argue that the Oilers were only a few breaks away from collecting eight out of a possible eight points out of those four games. They ended up with only three.

They will try to change the pattern when they host the Winnipeg Jets Sunday night at Rogers Place. The Jets will come in with tired legs, having lost 6-2 at Calgary Saturday night. It was the Jets’ third loss in a row.

“We’ve got to get the (Calgary loss) out of our mind and focus on tomorrow, and have that fire in our belly,” said Jets center Mark Scheifele, who has 27 points in 27 games this season. “(The Oilers) are a good team, they’re quick, they’re skilled and we’ve got to be ready for them.”

The hottest Oiler is center Leon Draisaitl; he has scored in five of the last six Oilers games, and has nine points over that span. He scored in Friday’s 3-2 shootout loss to the Minnesota Wild.

“I think I’m pretty confident right now,” said Draisaitl. “The puck seems to bounce my way a little bit, which didn’t happen in the first couple of games.”

But what’s been troubling for the Oilers is they held leads in each of the four straight losses. If the Oilers want to shake the decade-long pattern of missing the playoffs, the team will have to develop the mental toughness needed when it comes to getting up in a game — and seeing it through to the final buzzer.

“It’s been tough on us of late,” said Oilers coach Todd McLellan. “The schedule, the way we’ve lost some games, the frustration level goes up and, often, when it happens it sucks a lot of energy out of you.”

But he added that he thought the Oilers’ 3-2 shootout loss in Minnesota on Friday night saw all of his players come out with strong efforts.

Now, the challenge is to turn a strong effort into a winning effort.

The Oilers will face a Jets team that’s already playing back-to-back games for the sixth time this season. By contrast, the Oilers have played just three back-to-backs this year. The game will be the Jets’ fifth in seven games.

The diabolical schedule has not pleased Jets coach Paul Maurice.

“I don’t like our schedule at all. I’ve never seen one like it,” Maurice said. “It may be the new NHL, we just have to get used to it and deal with it.”

Maurice said his team will make full use of two days off at home after they head home from Edmonton.

The post Winnipeg vs. Edmonton Odds & Prediction appeared first on IdealCapper.

Edmonton Oilers vs Philadelphia Flyers
When: 7:00 PM ET, Thursday, December 8, 2016
Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

TV: 7 p.m. ET, Sportsnet (Edmonton), CSN Philadelphia
PREDICTION: Oilers 4, Flyers 2

PHILADELPHIA — Thanks to a powerful power play fueled by Wayne Simmonds, outstanding goaltending by Steve Mason and the steady progress of 19-year-old rookie defenseman Ivan Provorov, the Philadelphia Flyers carry a six-game winning streak into Thursday night’s home game against the Edmonton Oilers.

Simmonds is coming off back-to-back two-goal performances and leads the NHL with eight power-play goals. He is tied for third in the NHL with 15 goals.

“He’s been primarily pretty much a 30-goal scorer,” Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said. “He’s doing the exact same thing, doing exactly what he has always done. The thing with Simmer is that he doesn’t change his game, he doesn’t waver. I think you are seeing a very confident player right now, a very competitive player and a very focused player. He’s been very important for our group here especially in the first third of the season and that is going to continue.”

The Flyers’ power play has produced more goals this season — 24 in 28 games — than any team in the NHL. Claude Giroux is a big reason. He leads the NHL with 15 power-play points.

Mason has been the Flyers’ best player in recent games. He stopped 42 of 44 shots in Tuesday night’s 3-2 overtime win against the Florida Panthers, his fifth straight win. Florida recorded 85 shot attempts to the Flyers’ 51.

“Mase has been outstanding over the last three weeks,” Flyers right winger Jake Voracek said. “Sometimes you are going to have hockey games like that but Mase was great and we scored when we needed to.”

Mason’s 88 wins as a Flyer moved him past Pelle Lindbergh and into sixth in franchise history. Mason needs six wins to move into third place in franchise history.

The Flyers have also received steady play from Provorov, a 19-year-old rookie who picked up an assist and recorded a huge block on a 2-on-1 in overtime on Tuesday night.

“I think he has done a great job all year long and he is only going to get better,” Simmonds said of the 19-year-old rookie. If you watch him play he is getting better and better, not every game, but every shift.”

Provorov will draw the assignment of stopping the Oilers’ top line of Connor McDavid, Milan Lucic and Leon Draisaitl, who have combined for 30 goals and 78 points this season. McDavid leads the NHL with 36 points and all 11 of his goals have come at even strength.

The Flyers likely will try to match the checking line of Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Chris VandeVelde and Dale Weise against the McDavid line.

The Oilers are coming off Tuesday night’s 4-3 overtime loss in Buffalo. Jordan Eberle, Lucic (8 goals) and Draisaitl (11 goals) scored for the Oilers (14-10-4) while Cam Talbot made 22 saves.

The Oilers blew a one-goal lead late in regulation and lost on a power-play goal in overtime.

“We did a really good job taking that game over after the first,” McDavid told the Edmonton Journal. “Started slow, battled back, had the lead and weren’t really giving up much, especially in the third period. Give them credit. They found a way to get one, get it to overtime and their power play bared down.”

“It comes down to them pulling their goalie and executing and we have to live with that,” Oilers coach Todd McLellan said. “That’s going to happen in the game, that’s going to happen every now and then and it’s the next 22 seconds when you take a penalty that you don’t need to take and that sets you up for a loss.”

As for projected rosters, Flyers defenseman Radko Gudas is expected to return after missing three games with an illness. Oilers defenseman Dillon Simpson could make his NHL debut. The Flyers activated forward Boyd Gordon and placed Matt Read (upper body injury) on injured reserve.

The post Edmonton vs Philadelphia Odds & Prediction appeared first on IdealCapper.

The Montreal Canadiens and Edmonton Oilers made major moves in the offseason that have panned out so far, helping them build the largest divisional leads in the league.

Montreal began the season 9-0-1, creating a cushion in the Atlantic and re-establishing itself as a contender in the Eastern Conference. Edmonton won seven of its first eight, shooting to the top of the Pacific and making a rare appearance atop the Western Conference standings.

”It’s great that we’ve created a buzz back in Canada, where hockey is the No. 1 sport,” Oilers winger Milan Lucic told The Associated Press. ”There’s definitely a buzz in Edmonton, where it’s been a long time since fans have been able to root for a team that has won.”

Connor McDavid has made the Oilers relevant again, restoring pride to a five-time Stanley Cup-winning franchise that has endured a 10-season postseason drought. The 19-year-old center was named the NHL’s first star in October after opening the season with three points in each of his first two games, scoring two game-winning goals and having 12 points in nine games.

McDavid played in his 14th game of the season Tuesday night at Pittsburgh, a year after a breaking his left clavicle 13 games into his rookie season. He was out for nearly three months last season but didn’t miss a beat when he returned, finishing with 48 points in 45 games.

He draws attention from opponents like he’s already a superstar and responds like a savvy veteran, giving up the puck to open teammates as he did to set up a winning goal Sunday night in Detroit. McDavid, the No. 1 pick last year, simply shrugs his shoulders and gives aw-shucks answers when asked to explain his knack for knowing when to shoot and when to pass.

”I’ve done it my whole life,” he said.

Even though McDavid hasn’t played an entire season yet, Oilers coach Todd McLellan doesn’t hesitate to say he’s one of the NHL’s top players.

”The way teams are paying attention to him, checking him, and making him a focal point, I think that would indicate that a lot of the league agrees,” McLellan said.

McDavid can’t win alone, though.

Lucic has provided an instant return on the franchise’s $42 million, seven-year investment in him during free agency over the summer, giving the team an established veteran to lean on in his 10th season. Every good team needs at least a solid goaltender and the Oilers have one in Cam Talbot, who is in his second season with the team and fourth in the league.

The Canadiens might have the best goalie in the world, and he’s healthy again and so is the team’s outlook. A blockbuster trade that went their way has helped, too.

Price missed much of last year with a knee injury, tuned up for the season with a World Cup-winning performance for Canada and looks like he did when he won the Vezina Trophy two years ago.

Shea Weber has never won the Norris Trophy, but this might be the year he’s recognized as the league’s top defenseman in his 12th season after being acquired in a jaw-dropping deal with Nashville for P.K. Subban. Weber was named the league’s second star of October after leading all defensemen with 10 points, including a 10-day stretch in which he scored a league-high three game-winning goals last month.

Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin said Weber, ”changes everything,” for the franchise.

”What he brings, you obviously see it on the ice, but off the ice, in the room, everywhere, it’s his attitude, his behavior, the little details that show he’s a real leader,” Bergevin said.

SHARK ATTACK

The defending Western Conference-champion San Jose Sharks snapped a three-game losing streak by opening a six-game road trip with a 3-0 shutout of the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night. It was the kind of game coach Peter DeBoer wants to see from his team.

”Our foundation is being hard to play against and not giving up too much,” DeBoer said. ”We haven’t scored, but we don’t want to play a 6-5 game. I think even on the stretches where we didn’t score last year, you could always rely on that foundation.”

GAME OF THE WEEK

Montreal will get tested perhaps more than it has been this season Sunday night on the road against the Chicago Blackhawks, who have won six straight going into Wednesday night’s game at St. Louis.

—

AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno contributed to this report.

—

Follow Larry Lage on Twitter at www.twitter.com/larrylage

The post Oh, Canada! Canadiens, Oilers start strong north of border appeared first on IdealCapper.

When: 9:30 PM ET, Monday, October 27, 2014
Where: Rexall Place, Edmonton, Alberta
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, RDS (Montreal), RSN (Edmonton)
Prediction: Canadiens 5, Oilers 2
Join BetOnline and get up to $1,000 BONUS

Oddsmakers currently have the Canadiens listed as 148-moneyline favorites versus the Oilers, while the game’s total is sitting at 5½.

Viktor Fasth participated in practice Sunday for the first time since suffering a groin injury on Oct. 14 against Los Angeles. The 32-year-old Swede, who is 0-1-1 in two contests this season, still is unsure of when he will return to action. “(Sunday) was the first day with real practice,” Fasth told the team’s web site. “I’ve been skating and doing a lot of work with the goalie coach and the trainers here. But I hope to be back soon.”

The Oilers were a 6-3 winner in their most recent outing at home against the Hurricanes. That made winners of bettors who got Edmonton at -150 on the moneyline, while the total score (9) was good news for OVER bettors.

Team record: 3-4-1
Current Streak: won 3 straight games.
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Edmonton’s last 9 games
Edmonton is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games at home
Edmonton is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing Montreal
Edmonton is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games when playing at home against Montreal

Dale Weise, who made his NHL debut with the Rangers in 2010-11, recorded two assists Saturday for his fourth career multi-point performance – and second against his former team. The 26-year-old was playing in his second straight game after being a healthy scratch for the previous two. “Every game I play, I’ve got to give (coach Michel Therrien) a reason not to take me out of the lineup,” Weise said. “That’s just the situation we’re in here.”

In their last action, Montreal was a 3-1 winner at home against the Rangers. Bettors on Montreal at -134 on the moneyline collected their winnings from that game, while the total score (4) sent UNDER bettors home happy as well.

Team record: 7-1-0
Current Streak: won 4 straight games.
Montreal is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games
Montreal is 14-7 SU in its last 21 games on the road
Montreal is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Edmonton
Montreal is 3-8 SU in its last 11 games when playing on the road against Edmonton

The post Montreal vs. Edmonton Matchup appeared first on IdealCapper.

The contract is worth $3.675 million.

Schultz, 24, had a career year last season for Edmonton, collecting 11 goals and 33 points, both career highs.

The post Justin Schultz agrees with Oilers appeared first on IdealCapper.

The Oilers will miss the playoffs for a seventh consecutive season after losing 3-1 to the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday night.

Taylor Hall scored for the Oilers (17-20-7), who have lost seven of their last eight games and were officially eliminated from the playoffs for yet another season. The string of futility stretches back to their loss in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final against the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006.

“To have another season where we’re out of the playoffs, another season where we’re playing meaningless games at the end of the year, is very frustrating,” Hall said. “It’s something we’re not proud of.”

Oilers captain Shawn Horcoff, who has been with the team for the entire seven years, said it hasn’t been an easy process.

“It’s tough, it’s been extremely tough on me,” he said. “We made some steps and at least this year we got some meaningful games in, gave ourselves a chance to get in, but it fell off as of late.

“I think we’re moving in the right direction. It’s just a little slower than we’d like.”

It was a badly-needed victory for the Ducks (28-11-6), who got goals from Cam Fowler, Kyle Palmieri and Corey Perry to help the team snap a four-game losing skid and move closer to clinching the Pacific Division crown.

“It was a step closer to where we want to be,” said Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf. “There are still mistakes that we need to eliminate going into the playoffs, but this was a much-needed win tonight and one that I felt we deserved. It’s all about playing the right way going into the playoffs. This was a step in the right direction.”

The Ducks can clinch the division with another win over the Oilers in the rematch in Edmonton on Monday.

“It’s great to have a win again after what has been happening for the last little while,” said Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller, who stopped 27 shots. “We knew that we needed to play better, but sometimes it is not that easy. Tonight I think that everybody worked a little harder and that made the difference.”

Edmonton had a quick start, scoring exactly one minute in when Hall notched his 15th of the season as he came in off the boards to beat Ducks starter Jonas Hiller between the legs with a wrist shot from the right face-off dot.

The Ducks evened it up with just 1.1 seconds remaining in the period as Oilers center Jerred Smithson broke his stick on the faceoff and Fowler was able to pick up a rebound and bank in his first of the year off goalie Devan Dubnyk’s pads.

Anaheim took a 2-1 lead with just under a minute to play in the second period when Palmieri tried to get a pass through to Teemu Selanne on a 2-on-1, but the pass was blocked by a diving Ladislav Smid. However, Palmieri was able to dig the puck out from under Smid and deposit his 10th of the year behind Dubnyk.

The Ducks went up 3-1 midway through the third when Ryan Getzlaf made a great move to walk around Smid and then sent a backhand pass in front for Perry, who had an easy tap-in for the goal.

The Ducks hit the post twice with Dubnyk pulled for the final two minutes.

Game notes

It was the second of three meetings between the two teams this season. Anaheim came in as the winners of their last nine in Edmonton and 12 of the last 14 meetings overall. … The Oilers announced Sunday that 2011 first overall draft pick Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is out for the remainder of the season as he likely requires shoulder surgery. … Edmonton Fs Ales Hemsky (foot), Eric Belanger (groin) and Lennart Petrell (leg) are also probably done for the year. … Anaheim was missing Luca Sbisa (upper body) and D Sheldon Souray (lower body).

The post Ducks top Oilers, can clinch Pacific with win in rematch Monday appeared first on IdealCapper.

He helped them pick up two Wednesday night.

Couture scored twice in regulation and added a shootout goal, and Dan Boyle netted the tiebreaker winner in the Sharks’ 4-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.

After Couture pulled the Sharks within a goal on a power play at 6:50 of the third, Tommy Wingels tied it at 9:15. San Jose snapped a two-game losing streak with its second victory in eight games.

“It’s a battle every night,” Couture said. “There are no easy points in this conference, every single team is so good. To win the way that we were able to and come back with two goals in the third, hopefully that can get us going in the right direction.

“We needed something. We need all the points we can get right now,” Couture said. “We need to find ways to get points every single night right now.”

Sharks head coach Todd McLellan credited Couture for being a real spark for the team in the comeback win.

“Logan is always really determined, but he gets excited to come here and play in Edmonton, I don’t know why,” he said. “He had six shots on goal, a couple of goals, and an amazing shot in the shootout. We’re really proud of him and we’re happy to have him.”

Sam Gagner, Shawn Horcoff and Ryan Jones scored for Edmonton. The Oilers have earned eight points in their last five games.

The Oilers opened the scoring midway through the first period on a power play. Nail Yakupov fed the puck across the ice to Gagner, who had time to tee up a slap shot from the top of the circle that beat Antti Niemi to the glove side. It was Gagner’s 12th goal of the season.

“It is very disappointing losing the penalty shots,” Oilers coach Ralph Krueger said. “We are a good team at that.

“It’s painful, but we have to look at the fact that we have points in five games and move forward,” he said. “But right now of course the pain of giving up a 3-1 lead dominates.”

Couture tied it off a rebound with just under six minutes to play in the period.

Edmonton regained the lead with 8 minutes left in the second period. Nick Schultz picked up a pass as he stepped on the ice from the penalty box, raced in on a 2-on-1 and fed Horcoff.

The Oilers made it 3-1 early in the third period when Jones stole the puck from defender Matt Irwin behind the San Jose net and hooked around to send the puck through Niemi’s legs.

Couture scored his 14th goal of the season to make it 3-2, sending a shot through traffic and past Dubnyk, and Wingels tied it with a quick wrist shot.

Game notes

Both teams are off until Saturday. Edmonton closes out a four-game homestand against St. Louis, and the Sharks are at Minnesota for the fourth game of a five-game trip. … It was the last of three meetings between the two teams. The Sharks spoiled the Oilers’ home opener Jan. 22 by scoring six first-period goals in a 6-3 win, and San Jose won 3-2 at home in a shootout. … Edmonton’s Ryan Nugent-Hopkins missed the game because of the flu. … Defenseman Marc-Edouard played in his 500th NHL game, all with San Jose.

The post Logan Couture, Dan Boyle key Sharks in SO win vs. Oilers appeared first on IdealCapper.

Brent Seabrook and Jonathan Toews each had a goal and an assist to help the Blackhawks beat the Kings 3-2, extending their season-opening points streak to 15 games.

Patrick Sharp also scored for the Blackhawks (12-0-3), who matched the 1984-85 Edmonton Oilers for the second-longest season-opening points streak in NHL history. Chicago is one away from the tying the league record set by Anaheim in 2006-07 and will try to match the mark on Tuesday when it hosts Vancouver.

Mike Richards scored two power-play goals in the third period to pull the Kings within one after Chicago outplayed the Stanley Cup champions in the opening 40 minutes and built a 3-0 lead.

But the Blackhawks and goalie Ray Emery hung on.

“The guys wanted to get a good start, a good jump on L.A.,” Seabrook said. “Ray made the big saves when he needed to.”

The Blackhawks’ start to the season is beginning to reach historical proportions in more way than one.

Anaheim won the Stanley Cup in 2007 after its record-setting points start. The 1984-85 Oilers and Montreal, which opened with 14 straight in 1943-44, also won the Cup in those seasons.

Toews, Chicago’s captain, says the Blackhawks aren’t getting ahead of themselves, however.

“We’re 15 games into the season,” Toews said. “What’s important to us is getting home ice advantage, making the playoffs. Those are our goals. Once you get there, the real season starts.

“When you get to that point, no one really cares or remembers those streaks at the start of the season.”

Emery, Chicago’s backup, made 25 saves. He lost a bid for his first shutout in more than three years when Richards connected 56 seconds into the third period. Emery made back-to-back starts for the first time this season with Corey Crawford missing his second game because of an undisclosed upper-body injury.

And things got a little frantic for Chicago at the end after Richards notched his second goal — just his fourth this season — with 7:10 left. The Blackhawks spent the final 1:04 short-handed after Johnny Oduya was sent off for slashing, and Jonathan Quick was pulled for an extra attacker during that span.

“I thought we had a great first 40 minutes and they got some momentum off their power-play goal early in the third,” Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. “They had a great third period. We had 40, they had a great 20, and the clock ran out, which was nice.”

Not so for Los Angeles (5-6-2), which has struggled on offense and with injuries. The only bright spot for the Kings was their power play, which came in ranked 27th in the NHL before connecting twice in a game for only the second time this season.

“We probably didn’t play well enough to win this game,” Richards said. “The slow start kind of cost us. We gave them a lot in the first period with penalties and some turnovers and they scored some goals, which put us behind the eight-ball pretty quick.”

Sharp, who led Chicago with 33 goals last season, ended a 10-game drought without a score.

The Blackhawks outshot Los Angeles 37-27 and defeated the Kings for the second time this season to end Los Angeles’ two-game winning streak. Chicago won 5-2 in the teams’ season opener at Staples Center.

Quick started in goal and finished with 34 saves for the Kings after backup Jonathan Bernier was in net in Los Angeles’ previous two games.

Chicago was a step faster than the Kings in the first period and held a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes.

Seabrook opened the scoring 6:29 in to cap a Chicago flurry in the Kings’ zone, and after Quick had made several in-close saves.

Seabrook pinched down to the low edge of the left circle and took a pinpoint feed from Duncan Keith, who threaded a cross-ice pass from the top of the right circle. Seabrook then slid a shot into an open net before Quick could dive across.

Toews’ power-play goal 4 minutes later made it 2-0. Stationed in the slot, Toews first tipped Keith’s feed off the right post, but buried the loose puck before Quick could cover it.

Sharp exploited a Kings coverage breakdown and increased Chicago’s lead to 3-0 just 56 seconds into the second period. Quick dropped to the ice to block Toews’ stuff-in attempt at the side of the net, but the puck popped into the slot. Sharp was wide open and fired high into the net before Quick could recover.

The Blackhawks were in control for most of the second period and outshot Los Angeles 21-10. But Emery had to make several tough saves late in the period — including in-close stops on Dustin Brown and Jeff Carter — to keep the Kings off the scoreboard.

Richards cut it to 3-1 early in the third. With Brown providing a screen at the edge of the crease, Richards’ high shot from the top of the slot sailed past Emery. Richards’ second power-play goal trimmed it to 3-2 with 7:10 left. This time, he beat Emery from the top of the left circle with Brown screening.

Game notes

Before the game, Quenneville said Crawford was “progressing” and is day-to-day. When asked if Crawford’s condition might be long-term, Quenneville replied, “I don’t foresee that yet.” Crawford — who has a 7-0-3 record, 1.65 goals-against average and .935 save percentage — has not skated since sustaining his injury, apparently in a 3-2 shootout loss to Anaheim last Tuesday.

The post Blackhawks beat Kings to extend points streak to 15 games appeared first on IdealCapper.

The 40-year-old forward scored 1:46 into the extra period, lifting the Dallas Stars to a 3-2 victory over the injury-riddled Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night for their first winning streak of the season.

Jagr beat goalie Devan Dubnyk with a high wrist shot for his third goal of the year.

“That feeling never gets old,” Jagr said. “When you score in overtime, everybody is talking about it. That was a big goal for us.”

Jamie Benn and Derek Roy scored in regulation for the Stars (5-5-1), who have won two in a row.

Dallas coach Glen Gulutzan was relieved his team came away with the win but thought the Stars shouldn’t have allowed the Oilers back into the game in the third period.

“I liked the win in overtime, but I didn’t like the response after our two goals,” he said. “We kept on turning the puck over and over and putting the game in jeopardy. Until we realize that we are a team that has to grind out games — and even if it gets dicey out there, we have to play a certain way — we’re not going to get traction. We have to learn to do a better job.”

Ales Hemsky and Justin Schultz scored for the Oilers, who were without three of their top four centers: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (day to day with a shoulder injury), Shawn Horcoff (broken knuckle) and Eric Belanger (broken toes).

Adding to their woes, center Anton Lander left the game in the first period with a foot injury.

Oilers coach Ralph Krueger lauded his team for working through adversity and said he hoped help would be on the way soon.

“We’re in the pack and in the games with an opportunity to win, we just need to get a healthy lineup together,” he said. “We’re hoping to have Nugent-Hopkins back for our next game on Saturday and Belanger back by Sunday. We want to get back deep into our lineup again and to the four lines we were rolling earlier in the season.

“We’ve had a strange string of events. But the positive on it is that Horcoff is the only long-term injury.”

The Oilers (4-3-3) are winless in their past four games — although they have earned points in three of them.

“Down the middle we’re hurting, for sure, but we found a way to battle through that adversity and earn another point,” forward Jordan Eberle said.

There were few good chances in the first period, and most of them belonged to the Stars while they were short-handed. Dallas had several odd-man rushes late in the first and almost converted on one of them when Cody Eakin had Dubnyk beat but hit the post.

Edmonton broke the scoreless tie 3 minutes into the second following a mad scramble in front of the Dallas net. Nail Yakupov hit the post behind Stars starter Kari Lehtonen before Hemsky banked the rebound in off a defender.

Sam Gagner had an assist to extend his point streak to 10 games.

The sound of metal clanging rang out through Rexall Place with 7 minutes left as Loui Eriksson hit the post behind Dubnyk, leading immediately to a rush by Yakupov, who also hit the post on his shot.

A minute later the Stars tied the game as a shot by Benn appeared to deflect off Jeff Petry and into the Edmonton net. It was Benn’s third goal in six games since ending his contract holdout.

Dallas went up 2-1 with 1:16 left in the second period when Roy ripped a shot from the point during a power play that found the back of the net untouched. It was Roy’s first goal with the Stars.

Edmonton tied it 2-all 8 minutes into the third on a power play as Schultz let loose a slap shot from the point past Lehtonen. It was the third goal of the season for the Oilers rookie defenseman.

Jagr thinks it has taken some time for the Stars to find their footing, but they’re starting to come along.

“We had three new guys coming here, and Jamie wasn’t signed,” he said. “We didn’t really have much of a chance to play together and not even much practice. We have to learn during the games. It is going to get better and better. It is just taking some time.”

The Stars return home to play the Ducks on Friday. The Oilers start a two-game trip Saturday in Detroit.

Game notes

It was the first of three meetings between the teams this season. The Stars won all four meetings last season by a combined 14-4 margin, holding the Oilers to one goal in each game. … Dallas D Alex Goligoski was a surprise healthy scratch. Goligoski is the Stars’ highest-paid defenseman at $4.2 million and is second on the team’s payroll behind Benn. … With the three injured centers, Oklahoma City call-up Marc Arcobello made his NHL debut, playing on the Oilers’ top line between Taylor Hall and Eberle. … The latest injuries added to an already long list of hobbled players for Edmonton that includes Andy Sutton (knee), Ryan Jones (eye), Ben Eager (concussion), Mark Fistric (back) and Theo Peckham (hip). … Stars forward Ray Whitney is out with a broken foot. … The Stars went into the game having been short-handed a league-high 50 times this year.

The post Advertisement Jaromir Jagr’s overtime score shoots Stars past Oilers appeared first on IdealCapper.