The Edmonton Oilers are feeling good of late, and they will look to keep rolling when they host the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday.
The Oilers enter the contest having won two straight and four of their past six games (4-2-0) after losing four of their previous five (1-3-1).
They skated to a 6-2 home victory against the Winnipeg Jets in their most recent outing on Saturday. That was preceded by a 9-4 triumph against the visiting Seattle Kraken on Thursday.
“We look a lot more connected, we look a lot faster,” Edmonton center Leon Draisaitl said. “Obviously, we’re looking to take steps and continue to get better. Sometimes you lose confidence in your own ability and the ability of the group a little bit, and then it takes a little (while) to get out of it. Hopefully, we can string a couple together here.”
Edmonton’s offense has come to life of late, scoring at least four goals in each of the past four wins and managing three in one of the two losses. At the end of their five-game struggle on Nov. 20, the Oilers were averaging 2.96 goals. Entering the Tuesday slate, their goals-per-game average of 3.31 has vaulted them up to seventh in the league.
“I think we’re starting to get that feeling back,” Edmonton forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. “You could see (during the skid) the way that we want to play creeping into our game, and it’s never gonna go super smooth, but we know what we’re capable of and it takes a lot of work. We’re at our best when it’s simple and we’re working hard, and then our skill takes over from there.”
The Sabres arrive in the Alberta capital having hit the halfway point of a season-high six-game road trip, still in search of a win on the trek.
Their latest setback came Monday in Calgary, a 7-4 defeat against the Flames. Buffalo cut a two-goal deficit in half four times but failed to pull even each time, and the Flames added a pair of empty-net tallies late in the third period.
“S–t game. Horrible game,” said Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin, who had a goal and an assist. “That’s all I can say. The result, how the game ended. A lot of errors.”
The Sabres are 2-9-2 on the road this season, the worst away record in the NHL. Both of their road wins went beyond regulation — an overtime decision against the Detroit Red Wings on Nov. 15 and a shootout triumph against the Minnesota Wild on Nov. 29.
“We need to win a game,” Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said.
The penalty kill has been a strength for the Sabres since the start of the season, ranking among the top three in the NHL. However, it has taken a bit of a hit on the trip, allowing four power-play goals on 11 opportunities. The Sabres took five penalties on Monday, and Calgary converted twice right after 5-on-3 opportunities became 5-on-4s.
“We’ve been pretty good all year not getting caught on 5-on-3,” Ruff said. “You’ve got to eliminate that. We know going into (Tuesday’s) game … we can’t give Edmonton five or six power plays.”
