A critical, series-shifting Game 3 between the Oilers and Chicago Blackhawks takes place Wednesday night at Rogers Place.
You can watch the game on Sportsnet or listen on the Oilers Radio Network, including 630 CHED.

YOUR GAME-DAY ESSENTIALS
GAME DAY VIDEO
OILERS TODAY | Pre-Game 3 vs. CHI
PRE-GAME RAW | Coach Tippett
PRE-GAME RAW | Koskinen, Athanasiou, RNH
PRACTICE RAW | Coach Tippett
BY THE NUMBERS
Oilers Playoffs Statistics
Blackhawks Playoffs Statistics
Game Notes: Oilers vs. Blackhawks
Stats Comparison: Oilers vs. Blackhawks
Oilers '19-20 Playoff Media Guide
2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers
RECENT VIDEOS
HUB | Bounce Back
McDavid's Playoff Hat Trick
RECENT BLOGS & ARTICLES
BLOG: Athanasiou draws praise
BLOG: McDavid inspires
MORE INFORMATION
You can watch Wednesday's game on Sportsnet beginning at 8:30 p.m. MT
MORE
EOCF Online 50/50

INSIDE THE OILERS

News and notes from Tuesday's Oilers availability, including a closer look at Connor McDavid's Game 2 performance and more.
>> READ MORE IN THE INSIDE THE OILERS BLOG

PRE-GAME REPORT

EDMONTON, AB - James Neal put it so perfectly in an article he scripted for The Players' Tribune:
You've got to want it.
It being the ever-present pressure of the playoffs.
Wednesday's Game 3 confrontation with the Chicago Blackhawks will see the same, if not more, urgency from the Oilers - who will look to get ahead in what is now a best-of-three circuit.
Expect a push from the Blackhawks, too. Chicago's lineup is replete with playoff performers who have experienced high-stake matches.
The 'Hawks have come out as the winners in 11 of 19 post-season series that have been split after two games and are 5-2 in their last seven series that have tied 1-1. Overall, the franchise is 52-48 in Game 3.
However, the Oilers are sticking to the words preached by Neal and embracing the chaos - or pressure - that derives from playoff hockey.
"He's one of the more experienced guys when it comes to the playoffs on our team," Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said on Tuesday.
"He's definitely a leader in that aspect."
Neal appeared in consecutive back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals in 2017 and 2018 with the Nashville Predators and Vegas Golden Knights. The journeyman's teammates are well-aware of his track record and abide by his advice.
"James, he knows what it takes to get deep in the playoffs so we got to listen to him," Nugent-Hopkins added. "There's a lot of young guys on this team who haven't been in the playoffs or that far in the playoffs.
"We definitely look to him for his experience."
CALL IT CONSISTENCY
Oilers Captain McDavid did everything but wear a cape during his superhuman heroics in Game 2, recording his first-career National Hockey League post-season hat trick to grant the Oilers a 6-3 victory.
During the regular season, the Oilers could use their latest outing as a launchpad for their next.
Not in the playoffs.
Momentum lives and dies by the buzzer during post-season puck. Oilers Head Coach Dave Tippett knows as much.
"I believe momentum in the playoffs is game-to-game," Tippett said Wednesday. "You have to recognize what you've done well, you recognize what the other team's mindset is and you come into the game and have to play accordingly.
"You can call it 'momentum' but I call it 'consistency.'"
Momentum or not, the Oilers will undoubtedly want to replicate their effort from Game 2. McDavid inspired, Mikko Koskinen battled, players sacrificed the body and the scoring depth was balanced throughout the lineup.
"When you play well, you want to continue to play well," Tippett continued. "When you don't play well, you got to get up and going in a hurry. I'm not a big believer in momentum.
"I'm a big believer in reality."

LAY IT ON THE LINE
If parts of your skin aren't soft and purplish during the playoffs, you just aren't laying it all on the line.
Oilers players embodied sacrificing the body in Game 2 - no pun intended. The club blocked 22 shots Monday, many of them coming while the Oilers were on the penalty kill in the second period.
Ethan Bear, Josh Archibald, Darnell Nurse and Kris Russell are keeping the ice packs close after eating incoming pucks. Head Coach Tippett - a known grinder and penalty killer during his playing days - illustrated just how impactful sacrifices as such can be and what it symbolizes for the group.
"The fear of losing becomes the trump of anything," Tippett started. "If you don't block shots, you're not going to win.
"It's a fear of losing."
It's all or nothing in the post-season and pain gets put on the back-burner. That unselfish attitude will need to persist if the Oilers want to clutch the series edge in Game 3.
"You've got to have a gut instinct that's driving you to do everything you can to help the team win," Tippett continued. "That's what good players and players that are all in about winning do.
"That's just guys that are doing whatever it takes to win and laying it on the line."
LINEUP NOTES
After capping his first NHL post-season win with 23 saves and an .885 save percentage, Koskinen will get the nod in net for the Orange & Blue in Game 3.
Tippett did not disclose whether he has made changes to his forward lines during his pre-game availability. Stay tuned for an update on the lines during warmups.
Lines from Game 2:
Nugent-Hopkins - McDavid - Archibald
Ennis - Draisaitl - Yamamoto
Athanasiou - Sheahan - Kassian
Neal - Khaira - Chiasson
Defence:
Klefbom - Larsson
Nurse - Bear
K. Russell - Benning
Goal:
Koskinen
Smith
-- Paul Gazzola, EdmontonOilers.com

PREVIEW

OILERS (1-1-0) vs BLACKHAWKS (1-1-0)
TV: 8:38 p.m. MT; Televised on Sportsnet
Series Scope
Game 1 between the Oilers and Blackhawks saw Chicago's top line of Jonathan Toews, Brandon Saad and Dominik Kubalik combine for 10 points en route to a 6-4 Chicago win.
Czech rookie Kubalik set a National Hockey League record for most points in a playoff debut (2G, 3A), and became the first rookie to register three points in the opening frame of a post-season debut (3A).
McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, James Neal and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored for the Oilers, whose late offensive push fell short. McDavid, Draisaitl and Nugent-Hopkins each had one goal and two assists in the series opener.
Mike Smith started in goal but was eventually replaced by Koskinen. Smith stopped 18 of 23 shots in 26:32 of ice time while Koskinen made 18 saves on 19 pucks.
In Game 2, McDavid led the way.
No. 97 needed less than five minutes to score two goals, lifting the Oilers to a 6-3 double-up with his first career playoff hat trick. The win tied the series at 1-1, reducing it to a best-of-three.
Nugent-Hopkins collected three assists while Tyler Ennis, James Neal and Alex Chiasson chipped in with a goal each. Between the pipes, Koskinen proved solid in his first career post-season start, parrying 23 of 26 shots.
Chicago's trio of Toews, Kubalik and Saad were held off the scoresheet as Patrick Kane (1G, 1A), Kirby Dach (2A) and Alex DeBrincat (2) provided offence upfront with two points apiece.
Corey Crawford recorded an .829 save percentage, blocking 29 of 35 pucks.
Regular Season Head-to-Head:
The Oilers dropped their two visits to the United Center in 2019-20, yet both losses came at the tail end of road trips. Chicago snapped the Oilers flawless 5-0-0 season start, 3-1, on Oct. 14, then weathered Edmonton's late storm with a one-goal 4-3 win on March 5.
In the only meeting at Rogers Place, Draisaitl collected one goal and three helpers en route to a 5-3 victory on Feb. 11.
Draisaitl topped all skaters in points over the three-game season series, scoring one goal and six assists. The German has seven goals and 17 points in 15 career games against the 'Hawks.
Chicago kept McDavid off the scoresheet in the two outings he appeared in but the Oilers Captain has two goals and 10 points in 11 career matches.
Goalie Mike Smith is 12-11-1 with a .909 S% and .310 GAA vs. CHI in his career.
Kane collected two goals and two assists against Edmonton this season while Toews (2G, 1A), Saad (2G, 1A) and Adam Boqvist (1G,2A) had three points apiece.
Kane has 18 goals and 56 points in 43 career outings vs. Edmonton, while Toews has 19 goals and 42 points.
Crawford stopped 48 of 52 shots in two outings against EDM in '19-20, registering a goals-against average of 2.01 and .923 save percentage. The netminder is 11-7-0 in 20 career appearances versus the Oilers, tagged with a .911 S%, 2.47 GAA and one shutout.

Franchise Playoff Head-to-Head
The Oilers and Blackhawks have met four times in the NHL playoffs ('83, '85, '90, '92), with Edmonton winning three of the four matchups. This is the first time that the two organizations won't be meeting in the Western Conference Finals.
The Oilers are 13-9 all-time in the post-season versus Chicago. After sweeping the 'Hawks 4-0 in '83, Edmonton erupted offensively when the two clubs met again in the '85 West Final. The Orange & Blue outscored the Blackhawks 44-25, establishing the NHL record for most goals by one team in a Stanley Cup Playoff series. In their last post-season affair in 1992, Chicago swept Edmonton 4-0.
By the Numbers:
McDavid has four goals on six shots in two Play-In Round games for a 66.7 shooting percentage. ... Two of McDavid's markers have come on the power play. ... Riley Sheahan is 20-for-28 in the faceoff dot, owning a 71.4 rating. ... The Oilers are plus-four in the 3rd period this series, while the Blackhawks are minus-four. ... Koskinen stopped all six shots he faced on the penalty kill in Game 2. ...
Kubalik has three power-play points in two games. ... Olli Maatta and Slater Koekkoek both have one goal, one assist and a plus-three rating this series. ... Kane leads all 'Hawks with 12 shots on goal and Toews is behind him with seven. ... Crawford owns a 5.00 goals-against average and .844 save percentage in two games, making 54 saves on 64 shots against.
Injury Report:
OILERS - No injuries to report.
BLACKHAWKS - No injuries to report.
-- Paul Gazzola, EdmontonOilers.com