Stanley Cup Playoffs: Edmonton Oilers vs. Chicago Blackhawks series preview

Matchups

How do the Oilers and Blackhawks matchup with each other?

Forwards

The Oilers’ greatest strength lies in their top two forward lines. Down the middle, they have McDavid and Draisaitl. Few teams outside of Pittsburgh can match that. Zack Kassian’s season wasn’t without drama, but he earned a contract extension and notched 34 points in 59 games. James Neal was better than expected, though 17 of his 31 points came on the power play.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Kailer Yamamoto flanked Draisaitl, with the former picking up 61 points in 65 games and the latter picking up 26 in 27. Though trade deadline pickups Tyler Ennis and Andreas Athanasiou should give Edmonton some more depth scoring options, their bottom-six forwards aren’t much to write home about.

Much like the Oilers, the Blackhawks rely quite heavily on their top two forward lines, led by Toews and Kane. Toews’ line is the shutdown line. = Kubalik provided a much-needed offensive spark there, which helped Toews have 60 points in 70 games. Brandon Saad provided his usual steady two-way play.

Kane’s line also featured Dylan Strome and Alex DeBrincat. They form a pretty effective scoring line. Unfortunately for Chicago, much like Edmonton, their options after their top two lines are a bit weak. Alexander Nylander had 26 points, with 23 of those coming at 5v5. But he struggled to produce this season when he didn’t play with Toews and/or Kane. Kirby Dach needs to be an x-factor for the Blackhawks to have a chance.

Advantage: Oilers

Defense

Neither team’s defense was that great. Yes, the Oilers were much better than they were last season, but they still ranked 17th in goals against and gave up the sixth-most goals against per hour at 5v5. Even if you look at their expected goals against, they were still a bottom 10 team. Darnell Nurse and Ethan Bear are a solid pairing. Oscar Klefbom needs a better partner than Adam Larsson.

As far as the Blackhawks, they could only get better after last season, when they were downright dreadful. But they didn’t improve that much. The Blackhawks finished 21st in goals against despite getting some impressive goaltending from Robin Lehner (until the trade deadline) and Corey Crawford. Getting Calvin de Haan back should help, but Chicago’s defense is still a significant concern.

Advantage: Oilers

Goaltending

The Blackhawks still have Crawford, but his status for this series isn’t known, as he has been deemed “unfit to play”. That could mean any number of things. If Crawford doesn’t play, the Blackhawks are going to have to turn to Malcolm Subban, who they got from the Vegas Golden Knights in the Lehner trade.

Edmonton has two capable goalies. The big question is who will start. Mike Smith did well with the Calgary Flames in last year’s postseason despite losing to the Avalanche in five games. Koskinen put up the better numbers this season. It’ll be fascinating to see who Tippett goes with and how short of a leash Edmonton’s goalies will have.

Advantage: If Crawford plays, the Hawks have the advantage. The Oilers have it if he doesn’t.