PRE-GAME REPORT: Oilers at Canadiens

The Edmonton Oilers will finish a back-to-back when they continue their five-game road trip at the Bell Centre on Sunday against the Montreal Canadiens.

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PRE-GAME REPORT: Oilers at Canadiens

MONTREAL, QC – Milestone watch in 'La Belle Province'.

After last night's three-assist performance in a 6-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs, forward Leon Draisaitl will be looking to record his 1,000th career point on Sunday night at the Bell Centre when the Edmonton Oilers complete a back-to-back set against the Montreal Canadiens.

Draisaitl could become the first German-born player and the fifth in Oilers franchise history to reach the milestone tonight with a point – behind Wayne Gretzky (1,669), Connor McDavid (1,133), Jari Kurri (1,043) and Mark Messier (1,034) – with the 30-year-old currently sitting on 999 points (416 goals) in 822 career games.

With his next contribution, he'll become the 103rd player in NHL history and the fifth-fastest player outside North America to reach the century point mark. And with the way he's currently playing, along with the rest of the Oilers, we don't think it'll take that long for him to get on the scoresheet on Sunday.

Draisaitl was one of three multi-point scorers against the Maple Leafs on Saturday night, with Connor McDavid contributing two goals and an assist – scoring a terrific solo goal in the first period – while Vasily Podkolzin potted two goals as part of five unanswered for their fourth win over their last five games (4-0-1).

On a two-on-one late in the third period, it looked like Draisaitl might hit the milestone when he passed over to McDavid for a one-timer, but the captain fanned on his effort, and it would be their last chance of the night as his search for 1,000 career points extended to Sunday night in Montreal.

McDavid & Draisaitl are once again in the NHL's top five for scoring after their big showings at Scotiabank Arena to push each of their respective point streaks to five games, with the Oilers captain on a tear with multiple points in each of those contests, posting a whopping seven goals and eight assists.

Goaltender Tristan Jarry made 25 saves in his Oilers debut after being acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday and looked composed in the crease, improving to 10-3-1 this season with his first win wearing Blue & Orange. It's never easy being traded, but the 30-year-old was happy to be playing for the Oilers on Saturday and a part of this group that has high aspirations with him between their pipes as they push for a Stanley Cup.

"It's obviously a lot of emotions," Jarry said. "You never really think that this would happen, and you're obviously shocked when it does. The last game I played was in Pittsburgh, so you never really think that's going to end. But to be here and to be part of this group is special."

Jarry said his teammates helped ease the transition on the ice with the way they controlled the play in their own zone, helping him settle into his new crease and keeping the traffic going Toronto's direction after the Maple Leafs temporarily took a 2-1 lead during the second period.

"I think as the game goes on, it's a lot of the same game, but just a different place with a different uniform," he said. "I think that's the biggest thing, just trying to settle in as quickly as possible and play my game and just kind of be sound for them. I thought that they obviously did a great job possessing the puck, backchecking, holding onto the puck, and I think that led to a lot of opportunities for us tonight."

Defenceman Spencer Stastney, who was picked up from Nashville the same day as Jarry, played 16:33 alongside Ty Emberson on the third pairing in his first appearance with Edmonton, and Head Coach Kris Knoblauch thought their additions provided extra excitement to the locker room for Saturday's win.

"First of all, anytime you add somebody to the team, it adds a little juice, a little excitement to the group," he said. "Spencer and Tristan played really well tonight, played really well for us, and hopefully we can continue building on that. Overall, I thought our. The team played well, and of course, Leon and Connor were part of the scoring and really got us on the scoresheet. But I'm very happy with the group."

With the Oilers 5-1-1 in their last seven games, Knoblauch says there's a lot to feel good about with the Oilers right now as they look to sweep a back-to-back to begin this important five-game road trip that'll move on to Pittsburgh on Tuesday after we're finished in Montreal on Sunday.

"It's nice to be able to win some games, but I think we're winning games because we're playing better hockey, and it's not just by chance," he said. "Whether it's special teams or five-on-five play, but probably most importantly, it's just being able to defend better. Anytime you defend better, if you defend well, you give yourself a chance each night, and I think for the most part we've been doing that."

The Oilers have won each of their last four road games and will now venture into Montreal to face the Canadiens, who've lost seven of their last nine on home ice and currently sit one point outside the Wildcard spots in the Eastern Conference with a 16-11-4 record.

"We're finding our game," added Darnell Nurse, who scored on Saturday in Toronto. "I think we've been consistent with our game, believed in ourselves to this point, and we're starting to put that foundation and those pillars that we've been trying to build to this point. We're starting to put them together a little bit, so there's still a lot of room for us to grow and get better, but it's a good start."