EDMONTON, AB - Looking for their first win in this, the final game of their three-game road trip, the Devils will have a tough task ahead of them.
In addition to facing a red-hot Oilers team that has won four in a row, the Devils are battling an illness which is going through the team. It started with Jonas Siegenthaler, who was too sick to play on Tuesday in Vancouver to the point where yesterday Nathan Bastian, Jesper Bratt, Dougie Hamilton, Christian Jaros and Tomas Tatar all couldn't skate at practice due to illness. Head coach Lindy Ruff also wasn't at practice as the sick bug hit him as well.
"We've got a lot of them getting treatment right now. We're not going to have anything for the next hour. We'll see. The healthiest guys will play," a somewhat recovered Ruff said a few hours before today's game, adding that the team will need to change some of its strategies in order to compete against the Oilers.
"You have to make adjustments. We're hoping that three or four of the guys that aren't feeling well will be able to push through and give us a good game. Sometimes when you're not feeling well you can play a lot better than you think," he continued. "When your energy is low, the less time you spend out there if you don't get caught tired it's going to be better for us and the player.
"Quick shifts, changing on almost every whistle will be important today."
Ruff did add that Andreas Johnsson should be good to play after missing Wednesday's contest as a result of a high stick suffered late Tuesday in Vancouver. He also felt like the team would be able to dress 18 skaters, though perhaps not 12 forwards -- as was the case in Calgary when they only dressed 11.
"I'm concerned right now that we won't have enough forwards to play but we'll have enough to fill a roster, I believe."
LOOKING FOR THE W
Not lost in all the illness and injury, the Devils are trying to come away with some points on this three-game Western Canadian trip.
"It's definitely a focus," Ruff said of getting the win. "You want to win every game. We were disappointed, we thought we played a pretty tough 30 minutes in the Calgary game but then made poor plays (in the second half of the game."
Ruff outlined his strategy for defeating an Oilers team that has the NHL's top two scorers in Connor McDavid (87 points) and Leon Draisaitl (84 points).
"Counter attack, a lot of speed. There's two or three guys there who can create their own opportunities even just one-on-one," he said. "Puck management, staying above them. Making sure that we don't get caught in odd-numbered situations or rush opportunities.
"Their previous game against Buffalo they probably had six or seven two-on-ones. The counter-attack speed (can hurt you) if your defense aren't successful trying to pinch."
