Anaheim Ducks 3 Things To Keep An Eye On Tonight In Edmonton

The Ducks take on the Edmonton Oilers tonight and there plenty to keep an eye on, here’s 3 things to look for.

The Anaheim Ducks and Edmonton Oilers will meet tonight for the third time this season. The Oilers took the first game with an overtime victory in Anaheim but the Ducks evened the season series with a 1-0 win in Edmonton on the final day of December.

However both teams will have a bit of a new look tonight with some players returning to full health and a big two points are on the line in this pacific division matchup.

Here’s 3 things to look for tonight in Edmonton.

How Do Boudreau and Yawney Gameplan For Hall and McDavid?

Connor McDavid was not in the lineup during the first two meetings between the Ducks and Oilers as he was healing from a broken collarbone. Tonight will be the Ducks first look at the 2015 first overall pick and if they don’t pay close attention to him, McDavid will burn them.

So how do Boudreau and Yawney want to stop not only McDavid, but Taylor Hall who ranks 7th in the NHL with 50 points on the season.

The Oilers have primarily been using Hall on the first line with Leon Draisaitl as his center and McDavid centers the second line with Jordan Eberle on his wing. So two talented lines that the Ducks must account for.

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In the previous matchup, Hampus Lindholm and Josh Manson drew primary responsibility for shutting down Taylor Hall’s line. If that trend continues tonight it could mean that Cam Fowler takes responsibility for slowing down McDavid.

It makes some sense, McDavid is incredibly fast and can blow by defensemen in the blink of an eye, so using Fowler, the Ducks most elusive skating defensemen, against McDavid would make sense.

The only issue is that Kevin Bieksa may have some trouble containing the speed and skill of McDavid and Eberle.

In terms of which line will be getting the Ryan Kesler treatment, that is also tricky. You have to believe that it will be McDavid who see’s a lot of Kesler but if Oilers head coach Todd Mclellan tries to keep McDavid away from Kesler, then Boudreau may be forced to use Kesler against Taylor Hall.

Ryan Getzlaf, David Perron and Mike Santorelli (if this line stays intact) could play against Hall or McDavid as well.

Keep an eye on how things shape up from a matchup standpoint in the first period.

Mike Santorelli

I wrote about this earlier, but with Stewart out it will be interesting to see how Santorelli continues to play on the Ducks top line. Stewart, Getzlaf and Perron were developing some good chemistry before the injury and Santorelli has not dissapoited filling in.

Santorelli had two goals last night in Calgary and his reliable defensive nature makes him a responsible top six forward.

There’s no question the Ducks will be looking for a top six winger at the deadline but if Santorelli continues to contribute offensively (he quietly has 9 goals on the season) does it change Bob Murray’s deadline approach? Will he feel more comfortable with keeping this team as is instead of overpaying for a rental player like Andrew Ladd or Loui Eriksson?

Who Plays On The Second Line, Ritchie?

Nick Ritchie played with Rakell and Perry last night and that line contributed a ton offensively. Ritchie did not register a point but made his presence felt on the forecheck with some booming hits and he did a great job of getting to the front of the net.

Pat Maroon got a quick look on that line and he found some success there, but Ritchie obviously adds a bit more skill and he has an elite shot that he can get off quickly.

The Ducks take on the Edmonton Oilers tonight and there plenty to keep an eye on, here’s 3 things to look for.

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