The Edmonton Oilers return from a tough road trip as they host the Chicago Blackhawks at Rogers Place on Monday night.
The Blackhawks have been among the best teams in the league to start the season and are looking as dangerous as ever heading into tonight’s contest with the Oilers as they have 13 wins to their name so far and stand a great chance to add to it on Monday. The Hawks possess one o the deepest forward groups in the league and have a winning pedigree as many of the guys on the roster have at least one Stanley Cup ring on their hand and if they can find a way to bring in a piece or two again this season they should have a very good shot at going on another deep playoff run. Corey Crawford is expected to get the call in the Chicago crease here as he will face off against Cam Talbot for an Oilers side who will be happy to hear the noise from their home crowd after an extended road trip.
The Oilers meanwhile got off to a red hot start to the season but have since fallen back on hard times as they are 3-6-1 in their last 10 games and need to right the ship in a hurry before they fall out of the race in the Western Conference before the turn of the calendar. Edmonton is still a very young group but they have the personnel to take the next step as guys like Milan Lucic and Patrick Maroon have been welcome additions to the likes of Connor McDavid, Jordan Eberle, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and if the blue line can step up their game and Talbot stays sharp this team can do some damage and finally snap their ugly playoff drought.
The Blackhawks are 8-1 in their last nine against the Western Conference and 10-2 in their last 12 overall while the Oilers are 5-2 in their last seven following a win and 16-41 in their last 57 in the Central. The Hawks are getting nice value here but Edmonton is returning home and always seem to play better in front of their fans and against one of the league’s best I think they show up here.