Oilers, Stars relying on Giants
Koskinen, Bishop stand tall, writes Jim Matheson.
Call it The Tale of the Tall ’Tenders when Ben Bishop and Mikko Koskinen tangle once again on Monday.
Dallas netminder Bishop stands 6-foot-8, while Edmonton’s Koskinen tops out at 6-7, so both cover lots of twine.
Last time they met, Bishop got the hook after giving up three goals on 15 shots, with Anton Khudobin coming in to stem the tide.
Koskinen was very good, even though he gave up five goals in the 5-4 OT win for Dallas.
What the Oilers need is a goalie to steal a game, especially limping into the Christmas break with four straight losses.
Bishop doesn’t get the same run support but he has a .933 save percentage and 2.07 goalsagainst average on the season.
Here are five things to watch for when the Oilers face the Stars in the Lone Star State:
1 New guy behind bench Rick Bowness, who has coached more games than anybody in NHL history (mostly as an assistant or an associate to a head man), is now calling the shots after Dallas fired Jim Montgomery for conduct unbecoming off the ice. Bowness was once sounded out for an associate coach job with the Oilers when Craig Mactavish was general manager.
2 Any 5-on-5 scoring? The Oilers really need Ryan Nugent-hopkins and James Neal to help out at even-strength on the second line. RNH has two 5-on-5 goals in his 29 games, while Neal has five in 35. The Connor Mcdavid-leon Draisaitl-zack Kassian line has 38 evenstrength goals, but it’s a dry hole after that. The Oilers are getting trounced 5-on-5, outscored 12-6 in the last three games.
3 Bearish on Ethan Oilers rookie D Ethan Bear has been a revelation as a partner for Darnell Nurse, but he’s minus-5 in the last two games against Minnesota and Toronto. Maybe he has hit the wall playing 21 minutes a game in his first pressure-cooker NHL season. Bear is a respectable minus-6 on the season, playing against the other team’s big guns on many nights. But he has looked off his game the past two outings.
4 Two terrific Finns In the Stars’ 5-4 OT win in Edmonton, Esa Lindell and Miro Heiskanen on the back end were difference-makers. Heiskanen, an effortless skater, played 28 minutes, while Lindell played 261/2. Heiskanen has a more all-around game, while Lindell is a good shutdown guy who will likely be out against Mcdavid and Draisaitl.
5 What about Jamie Benn? The Stars captain got the overtime winner in Edmonton with a nice backhand a month ago but only has 16 points as their first-line LW. He has just four even-strength goals in 34 games. He always plays aggressively and looked good against the Oilers alongside Tyler Seguin. Benn is way better than this. He’s averaging almost 17 minutes a game.