The Trade Deadline is approaching and players are on the move so be sure to watch the transactions over the next few days before making a play.
Edmonton Oilers at Minnesota Wild
February 25, 2007 2:00 PM EST
2* Under 5 EDM/MIN +100
If the Oilers hope to keep their Playoff hopes alive todays game in Minnesota is nearly a must win. The Oilers currently trail the Flames and the Wild by seven points for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference with less than twenty games to go in the season.
Edmonton, fresh off a 4-3 shootout victory over Detroit, is playing in their final game of a long seven game road trip. Although the road has been less than kind to the Oilers they have been excellent at the Excel Energy Center. They are 10-2-2 with a tie over their last 15 games in Minnesota including a 2-1 victory on January 16.
The Oilers may give the Wild problems at home but they are one of the few. Minnesota possesses one of the best home records in the league at 21-5-4 and are in the midst of a hot streak that has moved them within three points of division leading Vancouver.
Their current streak is very impressive considering it has been accomplished with a young backup between the pipes. Niklas Backstrom, who will make his tenth straight start today, took over for regular starter Manny Fernandez after Fernandez went down with a knee injury. The rubber Backstrom faces today should be limited against an Edmonton squad that is among the worst in the league at putting shots on goal.
Game Notes:
- Both teams have outstanding penalty killing units. Edmonton ranks 2nd in the league killing off the man advantage while the Wild rank 4th. On the other side both teams rank in the bottom half of the league on the power play.
- The Under is 5-1 in the last six meetings between the two, 30-12-4 in Edmontons last 46 road games, and 6-2-1 in the last nine meetings in Minnesota.
- The Oilers have one of the best road Goals Against and one of the worst road Goals For. The Wild have one of the best home Goals Against and one of the worst home Goals For.
- Todays probable starting netminders are Dwayne Roloson for the Oilers and Niklas Backstrom for the Wild. Roloson has posted a stellar 1.99 GAA and .924 save percentage over his career against the Wild while Backstrom has never faced the Oilers but has a 2.28 GAA and .923 save percentage this season.
- The outcome of this game could decide the fate of Edmonton winger Ryan Smyth. The Oilers have been contemplating dealing Smyth and this becomes very likely if the Oilers lose today and fall further out of the Playoff chase.
League Notes:
- The Atlanta Thrashers have been busy over the last twenty-four hours. First dealing promising young defenseman Brandon Coburn to the Flyers for an aging Alexei Zhitnik and then further mortgaging their future this morning by dealing a plethora of high round picks to St. Louis for rental Keith Tkachuk.
- Looks like Marty Brodeur will finally get a day off today. Scott Clemmensen will get the call today after sitting and watching Brodeur start the last 32 straight including a 4-2 loss yesterday to the Capitals.
- With the Trade Deadline coming up Tuesday afternoon the rumor mill is churning. Some big names, Forsberg and Tkachuk, have already changed colors but several others are rumored to be on the move including Bill Guerin, Sheldon Souray, Gary Roberts, Ryan Smyth, and Rob Blake. So far the price for these big name rentals has been high so we'll see how it plays out over the next few days.
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