The Oilers begin a brief two-game road swing with a match against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center.
You can watch the game on Sportsnet West or listen on the Oilers Radio Network, including 630 CHED.

YOUR GAME-DAY ESSENTIALS
GAME DAY VIDEO
OILERS TODAY | Pre-Game at DAL
PRE-GAME RAW | Nurse
PRE-GAME RAW | Klefbom
PRE-GAME RAW | Rattie
PRE-GAME RAW | Coach Hitchcock
BY THE NUMBERS
Stats Comparison: Oilers vs. Stars
Media Game Notes: Oilers vs. Stars
2018-19 Oilers Player Statistics
2018-19 Stars Player Statistics
Head-to-Head: Oilers vs. Stars
2018-19 NHL Standings
RECENT VIDEOS
THE DRILL | Chiasser
OILERS TODAY | vs. Golden Knights Post
RECAP | EDM 2, VGK 1
RECENT BLOGS & ARTICLES
IN DEPTH: The Chiass
GENE'S BLOG: Father's Trip
GAME STORY: Oilers 2, Golden Knights 1
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You can watch tonight's game within the Oilers region (AB, SK, NWT) on Sportsnet West.
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Inside The Oilers Blog

INSIDE THE OILERS

News and notes from the Oilers locker room including the club's recall of forward Patrick Russell.
>> READ MORE IN THE INSIDE THE OILERS BLOG

MORNING SKATE REPORT

DALLAS, TX - The Oilers typically have quite a bit of support in the stands on the road for a number of reasons.
Oilers fans from Alberta often plan their vacations around seeing their team in action away from home. The dynasty years created many lifelong Oilers fans who reside all over North America. And, of course, hockey supporters will gather from miles around to watch the NHL's two-time defending most outstanding player Connor McDavid do his thing.
This two-game roadie to Dallas and St. Louis has some extra fan flavour to it, though, as many of the players' dads are tagging along to cheer on their sons.
"It's awesome to have them on the road," said Darnell Nurse, whose father Richard is part of the patriarch contingent that watched Saturday's game in Edmonton before flying to Dallas with the team yesterday. "They get a little glimpse into what we do each and every day. These are guys who have sacrificed a lot for us to be in the position that we're in, so for them to be able to enjoy themselves and enjoy the trip is special."
"It's a lot of fun having the fathers on the trip," added Oscar Klefbom, whose dad Håkan travelled all the way from Sweden to be with the team this week. "We want to make them proud. We want to play some good hockey when they're here."
The Oilers will look to extend their winning streak to four games tonight when they take on the Stars, whom they started their streak against six days ago with a 1-0 overtime victory back on home ice at Rogers Place.
Defence has been the theme of the streak as they've surrendered just three goals in three games and they'll look to carry that stinginess into tonight's game against the Stars, who are led by their lethal trio of Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn and Alexander Radulov.
"We've been playing a solid defensive game," said Klefbom, who scored the sudden-death goal last Tuesday vs. Dallas and also netted the game-winner on Thursday vs. Los Angeles. "We'll have to play a tight game tonight. They have a lot of skilled offensive guys out there and we've got to be aware of them… We're coming out of a good homestand and we want to continue what we're doing."
"Our work habits were very good," added fellow blueliner Nurse. "We played within our structure and we made sure we checked before we looked for offence. That needs to continue. The offence will definitely come, but for us to be successful we've got to continue to compete, not be out-worked and check really well."
Edmonton brings its three-game winning streak and 13-11-2 record into tonight's matchup, while the Stars have won two in a row to bump their record up to 14-10-3 on the season.
HITCH'S HOMECOMING
Tonight is a special game for the Oilers players with many of their dads in attendance, but it's also a homecoming for their bench boss Ken Hitchcock, who coached the Stars from midway through the 1995-96 season until 2001-02 and then again last season.
After making a name for himself as a tremendously successful midget coach in Sherwood Park, the Edmonton native moved on to the Western Hockey League and coached the Kamloops Blazers for five seasons before making the jump to the NHL as an assistant with the Philadelphia Flyers from 1990 to 1993.
When the Minnesota North Stars relocated to Dallas for the 1993-94 season, Hitchcock became the head coach of the team's International Hockey League affiliate, the Kalamazoo Wings, before getting the call from Bob Gainey to take over the reins of the NHL club midway through the 1995-96 campaign.
Hitchcock guided the Stars to five consecutive post-season appearances in his first five full seasons as bench boss, highlighted by a Stanley Cup title in 1999. His years of dominance in Dallas accounted for a large chunk of his 827 career regular season victories - placing him third on the NHL's all-time list.
However, when asked about his local legacy, Hitchcock said he's most proud of the role he played in the grassroots development of hockey in the Lone Star State.
"We loved it here," he said. "We started the program here, that program led to minor hockey, it led to the building of rinks, it led to a great AAA program. I've got friends in the Western Hockey League that have a number of players from Dallas in their programs. It's not just winning championships or making the playoffs for me here, it's the growth of the game."
LINEUP NOTES
Two Oilers forwards were missing from morning skate as McDavid and Ryan Spooner were not on the ice at American Airlines Center. Coach Hitchcock said both players are "fighting ailments" and their absence from the skate was to ensure they'll be available to suit up tonight against the Stars.
"It's better that both guys don't practice and probably won't practice for a few days so that they're good to go during the games at night," said Hitchcock.
If Spooner is unable to play tonight, Patrick Russell would get back in the lineup with Jujhar Khaira and Ty Rattie. Russell was originally called up from the Bakersfield Condors on Nov. 15 and played his first NHL game two days later. He suited up four times before he was assigned back to Bakersfield on Friday to make room for waiver pickup Valentin Zykov.
The Dane picked up right where he left off in the AHL, scoring a goal and an assist for the Condors on Saturday before rejoining the Oilers in Dallas, since Zykov's arrival to the team has been delayed. Russell has 11 points in 12 AHL games this season but is still on the hunt for his first NHL point.
The Oilers will continue to ride the hot hand between the pipes as Mikko Koskinen will make his fourth consecutive start. The big Finn was magnificent during the homestand with three wins, just three goals against, a shutout against Dallas and a .968 save percentage.
Coach Hitchcock noted Cam Talbot is likely to start in St. Louis on Wednesday, saying it's "a big-time luxury" that the Oilers have two highly-capable goaltenders on their roster.
-- Ryan Frankson, EdmontonOilers.com

PREVIEW

OILERS (13-11-2) at STARS (14-10-3)
TV: 6:30 p.m. MST; Televised on Sportsnet West
Head-to-Head:
Tonight's game is the second of three meetings between the Oilers and Stars in the 2018-19 season. The Oilers eked out a 1-0 overtime victory over Dallas on Tuesday, Nov. 27, getting the game-winner from defenceman Oscar Klefbom. The two clubs will close out the season series on Thursday, March 28, at Rogers Place.
Oilers team scope:
The Oilers just completed a perfect home stand by going 3-0-0, defeating the Vegas Golden Knights, Los Angeles Kings and Dallas Stars.
Edmonton dispatched Vegas 2-1 on Saturday, snapping their opponent's five-game winning streak in the process. Ryan Spooner scored the game-winner in the third period while Connor McDavid tallied a breakaway marker and Mikko Koskinen made 31 saves to improve to 8-2-1 on the campaign.
Edmonton has gone 4-1-1 since Nov. 20, when Ken Hitchcock was appointed Oilers Head Coach. Five of six games over that span have been decided by one goal.
The Orange & Blue sit fifth in the Pacific Division with a 13-11-2 record and 28 points, three back of the San Jose Sharks with two games in hand.
Stars team scope:
The Stars just ended a four-game road swing which saw them go 2-1-1. In their last two outings of the road jaunt, the Stars overwrote third-period deficits to come from behind in wins over the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks.
Dallas continues to navigate the season without some of their top defenders including John Klingberg, Connor Carrick, Marc Methot, Stephen Johns as well as centre Martin Hanzal.
The Stars are fourth in the Central Division with 31 points. They are three back of the Winnipeg Jets for third place.
By the Numbers:
Oilers Captain Connor McDavid is fifth in League scoring with 35 points. ... Oscar Klefbom is fifth in shots by defencemen with 84. ... Mikko Koskinen's 2.15 goals-against average is sixth-best in the NHL while his .928 save percentage ranks 11th. ... Koskinen is tied for third in shutouts with two. ... Edmonton is 9-3 in one-goal games. ... The Stars are seventh in the NHL on the penalty kill with an 83.1 percentage. ... Dallas is also eighth-best in the League in the faceoff dot with a 51.3 rating. ... The Stars are 7-0-1 against the Pacific Division this season, with their sole blemish coming against the Oilers. ... The Oilers are 6-2-1 when tied after 40 minutes, while the Stars are 1-5-2.
Injury Report:
OILERS - Andrej Sekera (Achilles) is on IR; Tobias Rieder (upper body) is on IR.
STARS - John Klingberg (upper body) is on IR; Marc Methot (lower body) is on IR; Connor Carrick (foot) is on IR; Martin Hanzal (back) is on IR; Stephen Johns (undisclosed) is on IR.
-- Paul Gazzola, EdmontonOilers.com