PREVIEW: Oilers at Senators

The Edmonton Oilers close out their five-game road trip on Tuesday at Canadian Tire Centre against the Ottawa Senators as they look to end a three-game losing streak.

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PREVIEW: Oilers at Senators

KANATA, ON – A chance to turn things around in the nation's capital.

Having dropped three consecutive outings, the Edmonton Oilers are aiming to close out their lengthy road trip with a victory when forward Adam Henrique plays his 1,000th NHL game on Tuesday night against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre.

After opening their five-game roadie with a 2-0 shutout win over the New York Rangers one week ago, the Oilers have been outscored by a combined 13-7 over three straight losses to the New York Islanders, New Jersey Devils and the Detroit Red Wings, where they've been forced to fight from behind each time.

Sunday's 4-2 defeat in Detroit saw Red Wings forwards Dylan Larkin and Emmitt Finnie open the scoring 3:03 apart in the second period en route to their respective four-point and three-point performances, with Oilers centre Noah Philp scoring his second career NHL goal to make it 2-1 before Larkin answered back in the final three minutes of the frame.

Leon Draisaitl potted a power-play goal 7:33 into the third period for his fourth goal of the season, but ultimately, the Oilers were only able to register 18 shots on netminder John Gibson, while turnovers and mistakes continued to play a factor as the Red Wings were able to skate away with their fifth straight win.

Playing the second of a back-to-back, the Oilers went 0-for-1 on the power play while taking no penalties, but the Red Wings were able to do all their damage at even strength by forcing Edmonton's hand to deliver them to their third straight loss. After going 2-for-4 on the power play in their season opener against the Flames, the Oilers have struggled to score with the man advantage by going 1-for-13 (7.7 percent) in their previous five contests.

"Yeah, it's tough," said defenceman Brett Kulak, who recorded two assists to reach 99 career helpers in the defeat.

"I thought we started really well like we did the last few games, and they're a good team. They're skating hard, and they've got some momentum rolling over there. I think it was just a case where they kind of stuck with their plan longer than we did. We started forcing plays, turning more pucks over, and it made the night easier on them."

Head Coach Kris Knoblauch and his players are hoping to see them get back to generating offence the way they have shown in recent years, and that will come from an extra level of connectedness, execution and simplicity that's currently lacking in their game at this early stage of the 2025-26 NHL season.

"I think a lot of it is just the way they feel, having the confidence and executing passes and moving it up together nicely," Knoblauch said.

"A lot of missed passes, execution not being there, and then it just ends up being a safe play; getting in on the forecheck rather than having a bunch of series of good passes to get in the zone. You saw that several times, and I think when guys are feeling more confident and just better about their game, then we'll execute those and build a little more momentum."

The Oilers are expected to be bolstered on the back end by the return of defenceman Jake Walman, who was activated off Injured Reserve on Monday morning after missing the first six games of the season due to an undisclosed injury he suffered during the preseason.

Kasperi Kapanen left Sunday's game in the second period due to injury, so the Oilers will await the status of their winger before puck drop against the Senators, with David Tomasek or Curtis Lazar being options to return to the lineup after being healthy scratches in Detroit.

It will be a historic night for forward Adam Henrique when he skates in his 1,000th NHL game on Tuesday, becoming the 409th member (405th skater) of the League's century club and the first in franchise history to reach the milestone while wearing an Oilers uniform.

The 35-year-old has spent 109 of his 999 career NHL games with the Oilers (19G, 19A), 435 games with the Anaheim Ducks (135G, 129A) and 455 games with the New Jersey Devils (122G, 135A).