Oilers look to disrupt Kings' home success
Fresh off putting an end to one winning streak, the Edmonton Oilers will look to halt another more under-the-radar run. The Oilers will be in Los Angeles on Thursday to face a Kings team that might be struggling on the season but has been in something of a groove in its own building with four consecutive victories. The Oilers will bring their fair share of momentum, coming off a victory at San Jose on Tuesday that ended the Sharks' winning streak at six games. It gives Edmonton a victory in the first game of its five-game road trip that also will include stops at Vegas, Arizona and Colorado. "We talked about the importance of the trip and getting a good start," Oilers head coach Dave Tippett said on NHL.com. "It was a good win. Now we got to move onto the next and figure out what we have to do to be at our best that night." Edmonton will enter Thursday's game with a Pacific Division-leading 31 points. The Kings are last in the Western Conference with 17 points, yet they have still managed to go on a home winning streak that includes all three games during a homestand last week against the Minnesota Wild, Detroit Red Wings and Vegas Golden Knights. The Oilers have won four of their last six, while earning points in five of those six games. Against the Sharks, Connor McDavid was at it again with a goal and two assists, extending his point streak to eight games. Leon Draisaitl had an assist against San Jose, giving him a point in 13 consecutive games, delivering 10 goals and 18 assists in that run. McDavid's own run has been nothing short of impressive. While he has nine goals and 11 assists in his point streak, he also has at least three points in three consecutive games. In addition, he has at least one point in 21 of the Oilers' 23 games this season. "Obviously our top-two guys have been really good, but if you look at the rest of our game, our goals against is good, our (penalty-kill has) been good, our goaltending's been good, and a lot of little factors that are less heralded but have actually gone alright for us," Tippett said. When Edmonton and Los Angeles met early in the season -- a 6-5 Oilers victory at home on Oct. 5 -- McDavid had a goal and three assists. The Kings were a goal-scoring threat early in the schedule, with 18 in their first four games. But that type of offense is gone now. The Kings will enter Thursday's game coming off a 3-0 defeat at Arizona on Monday and have scored 2.1 goals per game in their last seven. The Kings tried to look at the late chances they created in Monday's defeat to the Coyotes as a reason for hope, but Los Angeles will need more of a finishing touch against the Oilers. "We didn't go away, which can be a little bit of a moral victory for us," Kings head coach Todd McLellan said, according to the Los Angeles Times. "But we can't rely on those at this point. We've got to show up and be ready to play from period one on and not put ourselves in that situation." --Field Level Media |