NHL Grind Down: Thursday, November 12th - Page Three
Edmonton Oilers at Arizona Coyotes – 09:00 PM EST
| Edmonton Oilers | Arizona Coyotes | ||||||||
 | Cam Talbot |  | Mike Smith | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 5-10 | 8-6 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.60 | 3.13 | 22.90% | 79.20% | Team Stats | 2.80 | 2.87 | 11.50% | 82.10% |
As the Toronto-based rock band Rush states in their song “Circumstances,” “they more that things change, the more they stay the same.” Edmonton has been a team touted for years as up and coming, but as of this writing hasn’t materialized. The injury to first round pick Connor McDavid doesn’t help much, especially in terms of cohesion, as we find the Oilers with a 6-10 record, just a point above Calgary for last place in the Pacific division. They still turn over the puck in their own end too much and are still giving up the most goals in the league (63). Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins are what they have been the last few years, the brightest spots on a bad team
Since losing to the Los Angeles Kings in the Conference finals in 2012, the Arizona Coyotes have not made a playoff appearance. After a few minor adjustments, it does look like the team may be on the right track as their 8-6-1 record has them currently in third place in the very competitive Pacific division. With Edmonton playing their second game in two nights, Arizona would appear to be in line for the win.
Elite Plays
EDM: None
ARZ: Martin Hanzal, Max Domi, Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Secondary Plays
EDM: Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
ARZ: Tobias Rieder, Anthony Duclair, Mikkel Boedker
New York Islanders at Los Angeles Kings – 10:30 PM EST
| New York Islanders | Los Angeles Kings | ||||||||
 | Jaroslav Halak |  | Jonathan Quick | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 8-5 | 9-6 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.75 | 2.38 | 21.90% | 88.20% | Team Stats | 2.47 | 2.13 | 21.30% | 85.70% |
The Islanders look to keep pace with the rest of the pack in the Atlantic division as their 8-5-3 record has them sitting in 4th place, with the surging Devils close behind. The hardest thing for the Islanders seems to be settling on linemates for their point per game player John Tavares. Last year they tried Anders Lee with Kyle Okposo and while this year Okposo has stayed, they have tried Nikolay Kulemin as well as the current winger Brock Nelson. The Kings are sixth in the league in terms of giving up minor penalties so if we take any New Yorkers, the top power play line would be about it.
As stated above, the Los Angeles Kings have won seven of their last ten, games catapulting them into second place in the Pacific division with a 9-6 record. The Kings are obviously a bit upset after not making the playoffs last year and seem to be on the right track to rectify that problem. The only concern here is their 5-5 home record as they have dropped games to both Columbus and Arizona on the current five-game homestand.
Elite Plays
NYI: John Tavares
LAK: Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli
Secondary Plays
NYI: Kyle Okposo, Nick Leddy, Frans Nielsen
LAK: Drew Doughty, Jake Muzzin, Milan Lucic