SAN JOSE, CA - The Oilers are looking to continue their recent success against the San Jose Sharks tonight as they aim to salvage one victory from their three-game road trip.
The team is coming off, essentially, back-to-back 3-2 road losses to the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks, though the Kings added a pair of late empty-netters for an ultimate 5-2 decision.
Edmonton fell behind 2-0 in both previous games and battled back with a pair goals but were unable to secure any points when the final buzzer sounded. As is to be expected, they're frustrated by those results, but they're looking to leave them in the rearview mirror and head home on a positive note against the Sharks.
"We've reviewed the games we played in LA and Anaheim, and there was a lot of good in those games but we did come up short, and that's what it's all about when it's all said and done," said Oilers Head Coach Todd McLellan. "We've got to turn that around, and tonight against San Jose maybe that will happen for us."
"We've been pretty resilient, but we just have to keep getting better and limit our mistakes," added defenceman Kris Russell. "There are some scoring chances that we've got to bear down on and make sure we put in the back of the net. It's a big test tonight against a good team, so we're looking forward to it."
"We've played hard and given ourselves a chance to win the last two games," added Oilers forward Milan Lucic. "But it's the same old song and dance where bounces don't go our way and we aren't able to capitalize on chances… It's disappointing we didn't get anything out of the first two games, but we still have an opportunity to get something out of (the trip) with a big game tonight."
San Jose could be the perfect opponent to get the Oilers back on the winning track, as they've posted a 5-0-1 record in their last six regular season meetings, in addition to beating the Sharks 4-2 in their first-round playoff series.
"It's turned into a bit of a rivalry against the Sharks," Lucic said. "It'll help us get up for this game and what we need to do in order to win. We've had success against this team in the near past, but we can't take that for granted. We need to do what we did in those last couple games that have given us success."
"They bring out some of our better hockey and they're usually very competitive games," McLellan added. "They're in a fight, we're scrambling and it should be a good matchup."
The Pacific Division rivals have only squared off once since the Oilers eliminated the Sharks from the playoffs last spring, as Edmonton beat San Jose 5-3 on Dec. 18 at Rogers Place.
Ryan Strome scored twice that night while Pat Maroon also lit the lamp and chipped in with an assist. Coach McLellan said the team will need more of that secondary scoring if they want to have success tonight.
"It takes a whole team to get the job done," he said. "The teams that are winning and having constant success are getting a lot more out of (secondary) players on a consistent basis... Hopefully tonight is a night where one or two of those guys find a way to contribute."
The Oilers will be without two of their regulars tonight, as Drake Caggiula and Andrej Sekera both suffered facial injuries due to errant pucks last night against the Ducks.
"Neither of them will play today and they'll have to be re-evaluated quickly when we get back tomorrow," McLellan said. "We'll see how they respond to their treatments and their injuries."
Edmonton recalled defenceman Keegan Lowe from the AHL's Bakersfield Condors on Saturday, but it's expected Yohann Auvitu will draw into Sekera's spot on defence and Michael Cammalleri will replace Caggiula up front.
Between the pipes, the Oilers will go with Al Montoya after Cam Talbot played three games in a row including last night's matchup in Anaheim. Montoya is 1-0-1 with an impressive 1.98 GAA and .921 save percentages in four appearances since he was acquired from Montreal. This will be his second start with the team.
-- Ryan Frankson, EdmontonOilers.com
