Devils at Oilers
Friday's matchup pitting the New Jersey Devils against the host Edmonton Oilers features one team off to its franchise-best record after 11 games versus another that resides second to last in its respective conference. The surprising tales of the upstart Devils and leaking Oilers will be on display when the clubs meet at Rogers Place.
Cory Schneider turned aside all 37 shots he faced in Wednesday's 2-0 victory versus his former team of Vancouver to improve New Jersey's unblemished road record to 5-0-0, marking the second time in franchise history that it has won its first five games away from the Garden State. The 31-year-old has won four straight starts overall and owns a stellar 7-3-2 career mark versus Edmonton with two shutouts and a rail-thin 1.72 goals-against average in 14 career appearances. While the Devils have been ascending in the Eastern Conference standings, the Oilers - a trendy Stanley Cup pick by several publications - have dropped two in a row on their five-game homestand and eight of 10 overall. "Honest to God, I have nothing left to say. We just have to find ways to win hockey games right now," Patrick Maroon told reporters following Wednesday's 3-2 loss to Pittsburgh on Wednesday.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, NHL Network, MSG-Plus (New Jersey), Sportsnet, TVA (Edmonton)
ABOUT THE DEVILS (9-2-0): Brian Boyle did not dent the scoresheet in his season debut, but the very fact that he was on the ice after being diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia speaks volumes. "The guys in here, the last six weeks, whether they know it or not ... it's just been a tremendous boost of energy for me. I can't thank them enough," said the 32-year-old Boyle, who logged 15:19 of ice time in his first game since April 23. Former Oiler Taylor Hall had a pair of assists versus Vancouver to give him 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in the past six games.
ABOUT THE OILERS (3-7-1): Reigning Hart Trophy recipient Connor McDavid extended his point streak to four games (two goals, three assists) by setting up a pair of tallies on Wednesday and has four assists in three career encounters with New Jersey. While McDavid has been an offensive force, the rest of his team would have trouble making that same claim as it is averaging an NHL-worst 2.2 goals per contest this season and has two tallies or fewer in eight of 11 contests this season. A porous penalty kill isn't helping matters as Edmonton yielded two power-play goals to the Penguins to drop its season percentage to an NHL second-worst 68.3 percent heading into Thursday's action.
OVERTIME
1. Edmonton C Leon Draisaitl scored on Wednesday to extend his point streak to three games (one goal, four assists).
2. Devils F Jimmy Hayes recorded his second goal and third point in three games on Wednesday, but has been held off the scoresheet in each of his last five encounters with the Oilers.
3. Edmonton G Cam Talbot has dropped his last two starts in his bid for his 100th career win.