Morning Skate: Friday, 3/20

Tonight’s Slate:
Wild @ Devils, 7:00 ET
Islanders @ Hurricanes, 7:00
Flyers @ Sabres, 7:30
Kings @ Penguins, 7:30
Red Wings @ Thrashers, 7:30
Oilers @ Blackhawks, 8:30
Blues @ Flames, 9:00

Game of the Night:
Edmonton Oilers @ Chicago Blackhawks
8:30 ET… TV: Local Networks

Records:
Overall: Oilers (34-27-9) … Blackhawks (37-22-10)
Last Ten: Oilers (4-2-4) … Blackhawks (3-5-2)
Away/Home: Oilers (18-15-3) … Blackhawks (18-8-6)
Season Series: 3-0 Blackhawks

Players to watch:
EDM- Sam Gagner
Gagner is really starting to get hot, and had a hat trick in Denver last night.
CHI- Patrick Kane
I’m expecting a big game in the stat column from Kane.

Projected Goaltenders:
EDM- Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers (08-09 stats: 3-2-0, 3.57 GAA)
CHI- Nikolai Khabibulin (08-09 stats: 17-7-5, 2.45 GAA)

Injury Report:
EDM- Lubomir Visnovsky (shoulder, out)
CHI- Patrick Sharp (knee, out), Brent Sopel (elbow, out)

Game Thoughts:
The Blackhawks have lost 4 straight… they’re mad, they’re upset… everything you can think of. Vancouver has passed them for 4th in the conference. I’m expecting a big win for the ‘Hawks tonight, especially after Edmonton put 8 on the board last night in Colorado. Also, the ‘Hawks have dominated the Oil this season. It’ll be a tough turn around for the Oilers, so go with Chicago…

Prediction: Blackhawks 5, Oilers 2
The rest of tonight’s predictions:
Devils over Wild
Hurricanes over Islanders
Flyers over Sabres
Penguins over Kings
Red Wings over Thrashers
Flames over Blues

For more predictions and analysis on the NHL like this, stop by the Red Light District.