PRE-GAME REPORT: Oilers at Devils

The Edmonton Oilers head to Prudential Center on Saturday afternoon for the first of back-to-back games against the New Jersey Devils.

You can watch the game on Sportsnet at 1:30 p.m. MDT or listen live on the Oilers Radio Network, including 880 CHED.

Subscribe to Oilers+ to unlock exclusive live and behind-the-scenes content from inside the locker room.

PRE-GAME REPORT: Oilers at Devils

NEWARK, NJ – A chance at redemption at the Rock.

The Edmonton Oilers will continue their five-game road trip against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Saturday afternoon, looking to rectify their tough 4-2 defeat to the New York Islanders on Thursday night with a victory in the first of back-to-back matinée games this weekend.

"Just being too sloppy," said Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who scored his second goal of the season in Thursday's loss on Long Island.

"I thought it was the same at the start of the Rangers game, too. We obviously talked about it and wanted to address it, but didn't do a good enough job of that tonight. But obviously, we'll move on and look to keep it simpler, especially at the start of the game.

The Oilers were able to manage in their road trip opener versus the Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday thanks to some stellar goaltending from Stuart Skinner, who made all 30 saves for his eighth career shutout, while their penalty kill turned aside three power plays for the Blueshirts on Broadway.

Trent Frederic scored the game-winning goal on a breakaway that night, but the forward's high-sticking call in the final five minutes on Long Island two nights later that produced the decisive goal for Islanders centre Bo Horvat that was the culmination of an undisciplined and mistake-filled 60 minutes for the Oilers.

Defenceman Evan Bouchard turned a puck over to Mat Barzal in the neutral zone during the first period to produce the opening goal before Leon Draisaitl got it back 1:17 later to make it 1-1 entering the second period, where Ryan Nugent-Hopkins gave the Oilers the lead with a snap shot from the left circle.

But the power play backfired later in the middle frame, with Horvat finding wide-open space behind Bouchard to steam in on another breakaway and fire the equalizer through Skinner's five-hole to erase Edmonton's advantage that'd already seemed slightly fortunate considering their errors through 40 minutes.

In the third period, three minor penalties from the Blue & Orange broke up any momentum they had left, with the final infraction on an accidental and errant high stick from Frederic allowing Horvat to fire home from the slot for the 3-2 lead before he added an empty-netter in the final seconds for his hat-trick.

"In the third period, we got in a little bit of trouble, taking three minors," Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said. "Obviously, that's not helping us try and score a go-ahead goal, let alone keeping them off the board, and our penalty kill can only kill so many. They got their opportunity and they scored on their third one, and fifth on the night. I thought that was the story of the game."

"We had already taken two penalties in the third period, and the third one was there in the offensive zone, high-sticking. All penalties are tough, but that one especially is tough."

Knoblauch said that discipline will be a significant discussion topic for the Oilers moving forward as they look to correct course on this road trip from what was a very winnable game from their standards, having received stellar goalkeeping from Skinner for a second straight night, while the offence also struggled.

"We've got to address it as a team," he said. "We always talk about things that we're doing well, and things that we need to improve on. Giving up the odd man rushes, that's obviously one of them, and the penalties, we gotta sort that out and not be on the kill as often like tonight."

While it is still very early in the 2025-26 NHL season, the Oilers have not been capitalizing on their high-danger scoring chances, owning a 8.3 percent shooting percentage in those situations that ranks the lowest in the League. But they've been aided by impressive goaltending from Stuart Skinner, who's 3.2 Goals Saved Above Expected (GSAx) ranks seventh among netminders who've made at least two appearances this season, as per MoneyPuck.

Skinner is one victory away from reaching 100 career wins, which would make him the third-fastest goalie in Oilers franchise history to reach the mark ahead of Cam Talbot (212), with his next appearance being the 177th of his career.

Skinner is 0-3-0 in his career against the Devils with a 4.08 GAA and .871 save percentage, but Pickard has enjoyed more success in five games versus New Jersey that've seen him post a 4-1-0 record, 1.79 GAA and .929 SV% with one shutout.

Skinner and Pickard are expected to split this weekend's matinées against the Devils on Saturday and the Red Wings on Sunday, with the projected starter at Prudential Center to be revealed during warmups after the Oilers had a scheduled team day off on Friday with no full-team practice.

Jake Allen will likely be between the pipes for the Devils on Saturday because of the injury sustained by Jacob Markstrom, which is expected to keep him out of the lineup for two weeks. Allen pitched a 31-save shutout against the Oilers at Rogers Place last season in a 3-0 victory before backstopping them to a 3-2 win at Prudential Center, completing the season sweep that saw Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard score two goals apiece in both head-to-head meetings.