Oilers Look To Keep Wins Flowing In Nashville

Finn Marceau

Oct 17, 2024, 17:19

Finn Marceau

Oct 17, 2024, 17:19

The Oilers look for their second consecutive win on the road against the 0-3 Predators.

It'll be a battle of the greybeards tonight as the league's two oldest rosters face off in Tennessee.

Coming off their first win of the season, the Oilers are facing off against one of only two other NHL teams with an average age of over 30 in the Nashville Predators.

That's thanks in part to Nashville GM Barry Trotz's offseason spending sprees, adding Steven Stamkos, Ryan O'Reilly, Jonathan Marchessault, Brady Skjei, Gustav Nyquist, and Luke Schenn over the past two summers.

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Both of these veteran teams have had rocky starts to the year. The Oilers are still just 1-3 with an abysmal -11 goal differential, while the new-look Predators are still looking for their first win of the Steven Stamkos era, sitting at 0-3.

Things came to a head for the Predators on Tuesday night, when they gave up four third-period goals against Seattle on their way to a 7-3 loss. That debacle led to some choice words from head coach Andrew Brunette, calling out their "careless" pay and "firewagon hockey".

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Tuesday night went better for the Oilers, as they finally notched their first win with a comeback overtime thriller over the Philadelphia Flyers that featured two highlight-reel connections from Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

Considering their recent history with McDavid, Draisaitl, and the Oilers, things might get worse in Nashville before they get better.

Edmonton has absolutely owned Nashville this decade, sporting a 10-1-1 record against the Predators since 2019-20. The Oilers took the season series 2-1 last year, featuring one of their only wins that October.

That sparkling record is thanks to the Oilers' biggest stars. Since 2019-20, Leon Draisaitl has scored 19 goals (12 on the powerplay) and 33 points in 12 games against the Predators, while Connor McDavid has contributed his own 31 points.

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For a Predators team coming off a brutal defensive performance and still looking for an identity to start the year, this is a dangerous matchup. Toss in the fact that McDavid and Draisaitl seemed to finally unlock their games on Tuesday, and we could see some real fireworks in Music City tonight.

Tonight's game gets underway at 6:00PM MT, on Sportsnet West.

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