EDMONTON, AB - The waves from the arrival of the Vancouver Canucks hit Rogers Place tonight before returning to the coast on Sunday for the second game of a back-to-back set between the Oilers and Canucks.
Fresh off a 3-2-0 five-game road trip that featured four Pacific Division battles, the home-and-home with a Canadian foe is the next big test for an Oilers outfit sitting atop the division with a 16-8-3 record following the NHL's major junction of American Thanksgiving.
"The points just mean that much more," forward Zack Kassian said of the frequency of divisional tests. "Obviously when you play a home-and-home, it's kind of like a mini playoff series. We're looking forward to it."
It was a successful road trip, but the Oilers were left with a sour taste in their mouth.
A 4-1 defeat to the Colorado Avalanche in the concluding game of the lengthy road swing was a frustrating result when considering Mikko Koskinen's strong performance of 46 saves on 50 shots, but the locker room has learned to develop a short memory when it comes to defeat.
After their 11 losses so far this season, the Oilers have immediately answered back with seven victories in the following games.
"We've come out hard after losses that didn't go so well," defenceman Kris Russell, sporting a new set of stitches in his left ear, said. "Obviously, we didn't play the way we wanted to in Colorado at the end there and gave up a really good performance from our goaltender. When he's playing like that, you have to play better in front of him."
"We're looking forward to the game tonight and we know we have another team that wasn't happy with their game."
The Canucks share the Oilers sentiments when they were pegged to an 8-6 loss against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday after giving up three third-period goals to drop to 3-7-2 in their last 12 games after starting out 9-3-2.
"Obviously a tough opponent comes in here tonight, but at the same time we weren't happy with the way we played," Kassian added. "I'm sure they're not happy with the way their game ended, so it's going to be a good game tonight."
Head Coach Dave Tippett hopes to see the resilient group on the ice tonight that's been able to answer back many times this season after previous shortcomings.
"Hopefully it comes from hating to lose. When you lose a game, you have to get right back at it," the bench boss said. "We've had a couple of days to rest and hopefully that bodes well for our energy coming out for a big weekend against Vancouver."
LOCKER ROOM RECOVERY
When the going gets tough, you pick yourself and your teammates up.
Early on in the '19-20 NHL campaign, it's been a strength for the Oilers.
"I think we've shown it early in the year. It's been a focus of ours," Kassian said. "If we have a bad game, we want to go out and stop the bleeding quickly. I think we've done a good job so far."