Game 52 preview: Edmonton Oilers @ Ottawa Senators

A preview of the game between the Ottawa Senators and Edmonton Oilers on 4 February 2016.

Having been forced to settle for a singe point for the second straight game, Erik Karlsson will look to get the full two points in tonight's game against the Edmonton Oilers. After getting two points against the Devils and Islanders, Karlsson came away with nothing against the Rangers before getting a consolation point against the Sabres and the Penguins. Tonight's game will also feature a cameo by Mike Hoffman and 18 extras.

Marc Methot is expected to return to the lineup and Craig Anderson should start again. Here are the lines.

Hoffman - Zibanejad - Ryan
Smith - Pageau - Stone
Dziurzynski - Lazar - Chiasson
Prince - McCormick - Neil

Methot - Karlsson
Borowiecki - Ceci
Wiercioch - Wideman

Anderson (starter)
Hammond

Some notes for tonight:

  • Karlsson needs 26 points in the last 31 games to break his club record for points by a defenceman. Getting 28 points in the final 31 games will make him the first defenceman since 1995-1996 to get more than 80 points.
  • Karlsson has averaged 30:30 over the last 29 games and 31:15 over the last 18 games. If he was to average 30:30 over the remaining 31 games, he would end up with 29:31 of average ice time for the season. That would be the highest in the NHL since 1999-2000.
  • The last time Karlsson did not record a shot on goal or a point in a regular season game was 11 January 2014. He has played 169 games since then.
  • Oh right there are other players on this team. Mike Hoffman continued his battle with the crossbar/post with another two on Tuesday.
  • Mark Stone ended a run of eight straight games without a point with two points against Pittsburgh. He is still not getting many shots on goal with just 10 in the last nine games.
  • Jean-Gabriel Pageau is tied with Stone for fouth on the team with 12 goals, just one behind Kyle Turris.
  • Craig Anderson has a save percentage of just over 89% in the last 11 games. A struggling goalie on top of a porous defence is making a bad team look bad.
  • The Senators are five points out of a playoff spot and seven points ahead of 29th overall in the NHL.
  • The Oilers have won just six out of 26 games on the road this year./

Here are some stats for the two teams tonight. All stats are from NHL.com except Corsi and Fenwick are from www.puckon.net. Note that Corsi is now adjusted for score as well as the venue and event type.

Category Ottawa Edmonton
Player # Player #
Goals Mike Hoffman 22 Taylor Hall 18
Assists Erik Karlsson 42 Taylor Hall 31
Points Erik Karlsson 53 Taylor Hall 49
Shots Erik Karlsson 148 Taylor Hall 192
Average Ice time Erik Karlsson 28:55 Oscar Klefbom 21:53

Category Ottawa Edmonton
# Rank # Rank
Goals For 2.75 6th 2.41 22nd
Goals Against 3.08 29th 2.92 26th
Event, Score and venue adjusted Corsi % 46.7% 26th 47.5% 22nd
Event, Score and venue adjusted Fenwick % 46.1% 28th 47.0% 25th
Shots For 28.3 26th 28.9 20th
Shots Against 33.3 30th 31.2 25th

Not everyone can afford to pay for sports coverage right now, and that is why we will keep as much of the site's content free for as long as we can.


But if you are able to, please consider subscribing to help keep our articles free (and get a few extra perks).

Erik Condra
  • Ability to comment and participate in our community
  • Twice monthly newsletter available only to subscribers
  • Ad-free reading
  • Our undying love and appreciation
Brady Tkachuk
  • Everything from the Erik Condra tier
  • 10% discount on all merch
  • Access to any future paywalled content
  • A personal thank-you from the Silver Seven staff
Daniel Alfredsson
  • Everything from the Brady Tkachuk tier
  • Inner peace knowing you are supporting quality, independent coverage of your favourite sports team