Game Preview: Edmonton Oilers vs. Seattle Kraken | 01/18/2024

The Oilers didn’t play with three-game road trip fatigue, and the Maple Leafs didn’t play with back-to-back weekend games fatigue. Tuesday night was a fast-paced and intense game throughout all of its 60 minutes. Canadians love hockey more than the rest of the world, and the conflicting atmosphere from two different chants by two different fanbases felt like a Playoff game between two Canadian franchises that see each other only twice a year. But in the end, the Oilers came up with the victory after coming back from a two-goal deficit. This now extends their current winning streak to 11 games. The Oilers have made comebacks in seven of those wins, showing that there is no quit to their game as opposed to earlier in the season. Only two minor penalties were called all night, one for each team. Neither team scored on their lone powerplay, but there was no chance of us seeing more offensive flare on both sides of the rink. The officials let them play, as they say.

Congrats to Derek Ryan for recording his 200th career point with the 2-2 tying goal and Mattias Ekholm for recording his 300th career point with an assist on Leon Draisaitl’s goal that cut Toronto’s two-goal lead in half. In my last article, I forgot to mention Connor McDavid passing Glenn Anderson on Edmonton’s all-time point leader position with his 907th point. He added his 908th point on Tuesday with an assist. McDavid has 17 points during this 11-game winning streak. That’s it? You look up his game log on the TSN website, he’s been getting just one point per game after his five point night against the Flyers. He could’ve easily gotten more points on Tuesday because he was absolutely everywhere on the ice, making so many things happen. Even with just one point, he’ll never go unnoticed. Ryan McLeod came back for this game after sitting out the Montreal game. He had great chemistry with Draisaitl and Warren Foegele as a second-line winger. With Evander Kane taking that spot for now, McLeod was given third-line duties and made good use of them, setting up the 2-2 goal as well as scoring the 3-2 goal late in the third period.

The Oilers have five games, including tonight, before the All-Star break. Although their long winning streak has to end eventually, these games range from very crucial to should be a win. They’re hitting just the halfway mark of the season, not having lost in 2024 yet, but the standings can still change against your favor on any given night. We’re now looking for win #12 in a row against another red hot team. The keys to the game are…

The Battle Of The Win Columns: Kraken fans were enjoying a franchise-record winning streak of their own. They won nine straight games before losing their last two in regulation. The third-year expansion team wasn’t built on an insane abundance of superstars, but they got the job done with enough hard work. In order to get themselves back on track in the Wild Card race, Seattle will want to snap Edmonton’s long winning streak and make them feel the disappointment that they felt.

Motivation From The Past: Evander Kane’s inconsistencies this season have been pointed out heavily by Oilers fans. Before Edmonton’s winning streaks were coming along, he and Zach Hyman were the team’s best forwards. In the last meeting between these teams, Seattle had a two-goal lead late in the game. Then Kane tied it up with two late third-period goals and completed the hat-trick in Overtime. Whether he remains on the second line or switches places with McLeod again, what if he remembers that game in order to get his spark back?

Getting It Dunn: After a 64-point season last year, Vince Dunn continues his great play with 35 points in 42 games and is tenth among defensemen in total points. How on Earth is he not going to the All-Star Game? He has been for the Kraken, what Evan Bouchard has been for the Oilers. They may be 26th in goals, but their PP is pretty good at 14th, and he has 13 points with the man advantage. Should Edmonton take a penalty, Dunn will be someone to respect on the other side.