Oilersnation Pre Game Podcast with Tyler Yaremchuk

The Oilers kick off a two-game set against the Calgary Flames tonight in the fifth Battle of Alberta of the season. The Oilers have won the last three meetings between these two teams but with six more head-to-head matchups this season, they'll need to continue to beat up on their provincial rivals if they want to hold onto a playoff spot. These games are going to be huge and winning games in regulation will go a long way in the playoff race. The Flames will have their new Head Coach Daryll Sutter behind the bench tonight. It'll be just his third game behind the bench since being re-hired by the Flames. The team has won both of the first two games and only allowed two goals against. Look for them to play a hard, defensive game tonight as they look to stop McDavid and Draisaitl.

The Oilers completed the sweep of the Ottawa Senators last night with another convincing victory and now, they'll hit the road and head out to the coast for a matchup against the Vancouver Canucks. It's the start of a three-game road trip that will see them head to Calgary for a pair of games next week before returning home. In total, the Oilers will play five games in the next eight days. It all starts tonight though as they take on a Canucks team that has won just four of their last ten games. The Oilers have also been a very good road team this season with a record of 8-3-0 away from Rogers Place. The Oilers have also been very good in the second half of back-to-backs over the past few years. There are definitley plenty of reasons to feel optimistic heading into this one.

The Oilers will be gunning for their fourth straight win tonight as they wrap up a three-game series against the Ottawa Senators. To say the Oilers have had Ottawa's number this season would be a little bit of an understatement. In six games against the Sens, the Oilers are 6-0-0 and have outscored them 28-13 in the process. Of course, Wednesday's 7-1 beatdown certainly did a lot to boost their stats. For the Oilers, they'll be looking to keep the pedal to the floor and keep on racking up the points against the last-place team in the North Division, something that surprisingly not a lot of teams have been able to be.

We are officially at the halfway point of the NHL's 56-game schedule and to say this season has been a rollercoaster for the Edmonton Oilers would almost feel like an understatement. They got off to a bad start in January but quickly turned things around with some strong play in February before losing three straight games to the Toronto Maple Leafs. However, the Oilers have recovered nicely from those two losses to Toronto and tonight, they'll be looking for their third straight win overall and sixth straight victory over the Ottawa Senators.

The Oilers will be looking for the second win in a row tonight as they kick off a three-game set against the Ottawa Senators from Rogers Place. The Oilers got a big win on Saturday night over the Calgary Flames and now, with the basement-dwelling Senators in town, they have a great chance to build up another winning streak here. With that being said, this Senators team has come a long way since the Oilers last faced them. The Oilers beat the Senators four times earlier this season but since that fourth win, the Senators have a record of 7-6-0. They're playing good hockey right now and this will not be an easy two points for the Oilers to grab.

The Oilers will be looking to turn the page on a rough stretch of hockey that saw them get swept by the Toronto Maple Leafs over the last seven days. Luckily for them, they can make that string of losses feel like a bit of a distant memory with a convincing win over their provincial rivals, who are looking to get themselves back into the playoff picture. The Flames have had an eventful week as well. They fired Head Coach Geoff Ward after a 7-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night and replaced him with Daryll Sutter, who is back for his second stint as the Flames bench boss. He won't be behind the bench tonight since he is going through the NHL"s COVID Protocols but his arrival is expected to spark a struggling group in Calgary. The Oilers have a chance to really bury a vulnerable opponent tonight.

The Oilers will be looking to avoid the sweep tonight at the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs as they finish off their three-game set. Not only have the Oilers failed to get a win in the first two games, but they haven't even gotten a goal. Not that you needed me to remind you of that. Considering the injuries that the Leafs were dealing with, this series has been a huge missed opportunity for the Oilers. However, they can save things a bit with a win tonight. A third straight flat performance from the Oilers would certainly be a concern.

The Oilers will be looking to avoid a second straight loss against Toronto as they host the Leafs for the second of three straight games at Rogers Place. The opening night of this set was not great for the Oilers. To put it simply: they just looked kind of flat. They didn't create very many high-danger chances and for the most part, they made life pretty easy for Jack Campbell, who made 30 saves in the shutout victory. Edmonton played some great hockey pretty much for the entire month of February but the final game of the month was not their best. Now, we get to see how well they can bounce back from a bump in the road.

The red-hot Oilers will look to continue their streak tonight as they begin a massive three-game set against the Toronto Maple Leafs. With a regulation win tonight, the Oilers will be just two-points back of the Leafs for the top spot in the North Division. The Oilers are feeling good and playing their best hockey of the year, there's no arguing against that. The Leafs, on the other hand, are 7-2-1 in their last ten games but are currently dealing with a pile of injuries to key players. There are a lot of reasons to be confident in the Oilers' chances heading into tonight's game and I went through them on today's podcast!

One big piece of injury news ahead of this one: Auston Matthews will miss this game with a wrist injury. The Leafs are also still without their number one goalie Frederick Andersen. That could bode well for the Oilers as they look to win their sixth straight game.

The Oilers will be gunning for their fifth straight win tonight as they wrap up a two-game set in Vancouver. Connor McDavid and company should be feeling very good about where their game is at right now. They've won ten of their last twelve and just proved that even if they spot the opposition three goals off the start, they can come back and win the game. For the Canucks, it's hard to imagine they have much confidence at all. Tonight, I really think that if the Oilers can get off to a good start, the Canucks won't have much fight in them. The first period tonight will be huge.