Oilers at Penguins
Last season, Connor McDavid pried away some of the hardware that typically has been the property of Sidney Crosby, but the NHL's reigning MVP and his team have work to do if they hope to hoist the sport's ultimate trophy. McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers have a measuring-stick game on deck when they visit Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night.
McDavid won both the Hart Trophy and Art Ross Trophy last season as the NHL's leading scorer - Crosby tied for second - and enters his third career matchup against Pittsburgh's resident superstar with the Oilers having dropped five of their last six. Stunningly, Edmonton ranks last in the Western Conference in scoring with an average of 2.00 goals per game despite the presence of McDavid, who has three goals and eight points in the first seven games. The two-time defending champion Penguins are last in goals allowed (4.33) and are coming off a 7-1 beating at Tampa Bay, prompting coach Mike Sullivan to call his team "flawed." Crosby, tied with Evgeni Malkin for the team scoring lead with 10 points, was held off the scoresheet for the second time in Saturday's drubbing.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TVA, Sportsnet One (Edmonton), AT&T SportsNet-Pittsburgh
ABOUT THE OILERS (2-5-0): McDavid opened the season with a flourish, registering a hat trick in a 3-0 win over Calgary, but he has not scored since and Edmonton managed just two goals or fewer five times in the past six games. After squeezing out a 2-1 overtime win at Chicago on Thursday, the Oilers lost in Philadelphia by an identical score two days later after coughing up the winning goal with just over two minutes to play. "We're cleaning up the defensive part of our game, which is a start for us," coach Todd McLellan told reporters. "But now we've got to get the offensive part going."
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (5-3-1): Pittsburgh won three in a row, all by one goal, before the mauling in Tampa - the fifth straight time and seventh in nine games it has allowed at least three tallies. The Penguins made a move to address some of the defensive deficiencies while adding a third-line center by acquiring Riley Sheahan from the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday. "He can play against other team's top guys, he can play certainly against the bigger, stronger guys," Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford told reporters. "He's a strong skater, but down low, he can handle those bigger, stronger guys."
OVERTIME
1. The Penguins on Monday placed G Antti Niemi on waivers after he fell to 0-3-0 with a 7.49 goals-against average.
2. McDavid has one goal and three assists in his two matchups against Crosby and Pittsburgh.
3. Penguins F Carter Rowney, injured in Saturday's loss, was not at practice Monday along with D Matt Hunwick.