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Edmonton Oilers at Anaheim Ducks

Wed Oct 77:00 PM PTESPN+Anaheim, CA
By JR·2 min read
Oilers(2-0-1)
Ducks(2-0-0)
Wednesday 10/077:00 PM

TLDR: Edmonton shows up in Anaheim with 4 centers on injured reserve, its starting goalie out until maybe December and Zach Hyman in street clothes. The Ducks are 2-0-0 and getting healthy wins without Troy Terry, which makes Wednesday a real test for both clubs.

THU OCT 8, 7:00 PMESPN+
Oilers
(2-0-1)
WWL
Ducks
(2-0-0)
WW

Edmonton visits a 2-0-0 Anaheim team while missing Zach Hyman, Frederik Andersen and most of its center depth, with Devon Levi in net and Mike Babcock still testing combinations in his first season. The Ducks have won 2 close games but haven't scored in the 3rd period of either. The game likely depends on whether Anaheim's depth can beat a thinned-out Oilers lineup before Edmonton's top players take over late. The board hasn't posted a full set of prices yet.

Edmonton Oilers
  • Won 2 straight, capped by a tight 3-1 win over Seattle
  • Scored 17 goals in 3 games despite the injuries
  • Nugent-Hopkins, Dickinson, Savoie and Janmark all on IR
  • Hyman out about 2 weeks; Andersen out until maybe December
  • Allowed 13 goals in 2 games against Vancouver
Anaheim Ducks
  • 2-0-0 with 2 one-goal wins
  • Beat Vegas on the road and Florida in OT
  • Scoreless in the 3rd period of both games
  • Troy Terry on long-term IR with a hip injury
  • Florida win came against a Panthers team missing Barkov and Ekblad

Start with the Oilers' medical report, because that's where the story is. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jason Dickinson, Matt Savoie and Mattias Janmark are all on injured reserve, so Edmonton's center depth is basically gone. Then Hyman got hurt in the final preseason game against Calgary. Mike Babcock, in year 1 behind the Edmonton bench, called him day-to-day and then added that "day to day means two weeks." That puts Hyman out of this one.

The goaltending is just as thin. Frederik Andersen's knee has him out until "maybe" December, per Babcock, so Devon Levi got his first Oilers start in Vancouver. Edmonton has played 2 games against the Canucks so far and given up 13 goals in them. Babcock isn't taking the injuries as an excuse. He's calling it an opportunity for young and new players to win a role. In practice that means a lineup he's still sorting out, 3 games into his tenure.

Anaheim has the opposite problem. The Ducks keep winning games they probably should have closed out sooner. They won 4-3 at Vegas, then opened at home with a 3-2 overtime win over Florida. The Panthers played that one without Aleksander Barkov and Aaron Ekblad. Anaheim has also gone scoreless in the 3rd period of both games. It's 2-0-0 with Terry on long-term injured reserve with a hip, so the start is real. It just hasn't been comfortable.

Edmonton Oilers
(2-0-1)
10/03WvsKraken3-1
10/02W@Canucks9-7
09/30LvsCanucks5-6
Anaheim Ducks
(2-0-0)
10/05WvsPanthers3-2
10/03W@Golden Knights4-3

Edmonton has won 2 straight and is 2-1 in the last 3. Its most recent result was the cleanest one so far: a 3-1 home win over Seattle, where the defense finally looked like a defense. That's the version of the Oilers that should worry Anaheim. The version that traded 5-6 and 9-7 with Vancouver is the one Ducks fans would like to see, because these young Anaheim forwards will take a track meet.

The game comes down to the middle of the Edmonton lineup. With Nugent-Hopkins, Dickinson and Savoie out, the Oilers' stars are carrying a lot of minutes, and Babcock is trying out whoever is left to fill the gaps. If Anaheim's depth wins the shifts when the top Edmonton players are on the bench, the Ducks get another close win at home. If the Oilers' stars take over, Anaheim's habit of going quiet in the 3rd becomes a big problem. Puck drop is 7:00 PM PT on Wednesday, October 7.