The Edmonton Oilers vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins might be the must-see game of the night in the NHL, if only because of the many storylines surrounding this matchup.
Usually it’s Connor McDavid versus Sidney Crosby. No matter how exciting that superstar match remains tonight, it is perhaps the least talked about story.
Crosby has a chance to catch Mario Lemieux for 8th on the all-time NHL points list, exactly 20 years to the day after Lemieux retired. Crosby needs two points to tie Lemieux for the most points by a Penguins player (1,723).
Meanwhile, Leon Draisaitl is looking for his 1,000th NHL point. Draisaitl is one point away from the career milestone, becoming the first German-born player to reach the milestone in history. Tonight is Game 824 for Draisaitl. He remains on the line with Vasily Podkolzin and Matt Savoie. Some might argue that the Oilers were too focused on getting Draisaitl’s point in Sunday’s loss to the Montreal Canadiens. Edmonton can’t make that same mistake again.
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When Draisaitl scores his 1,000th point, the Oilers will become the first team in NHL history to have five players score 1,000 points for the franchise. Wayne Gretzky (1669), Connor McDavid (1134), Jari Kurri (1043) and Mark Messier (1034) are also on target.
Then of course there is the matchup in goal. Stuart Skinner will start for the Penguins after being cleared to play. It will be his first game as a member of the team and he will be playing against his former team that just traded him. Tristan Jarry will get his second start for the Oilers after earning a win against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. Who will win the goalkeeper duel? Both have a lot to prove, even if what they’re trying to show isn’t the same.
Skinner wants to prove he is a legitimate starter that the Oilers should have retained. Jarry wants to show that he is stable and can be trusted as the starter in Edmonton for the next three seasons.
Brett Kulak will also be playing his first game against the Oilers after being part of the goaltending job. He’s the piece the Oilers were reluctant to give up in the deal, and there’s some concern the decision could come back to bite Edmonton.
Next: Latest NHL Trade Buzz: Oilers, Penguins, Quinn Hughes Fallout
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