Oilers at Stars
The Edmonton Oilers had a few stretches of strong play that could have sparked a turning point for their disappointing season, but hope their last effort will be the one that finally does it as they visit the Dallas Stars on Saturday afternoon. The Oilers, who pulled out a 2-1 shootout victory at home over Anaheim on Thursday, are kicking off a string of five straight on the road, where they have posted a winning record (9-8-2) this season.
“At Christmas, we were four points out (of a playoff spot). That’s two wins, that’s not very much,” Edmonton captain Connor McDavid told reporters. “We slipped a little bit here, and some teams found a way to get wins, but it is so tight in the West that nobody is really out of it. It is easy to say and harder to do, but we’ll find a way.” The Oilers won’t have it easy against Dallas, which has earned points in seven of its last nine games (5-2-2) after recording a 4-3 home victory over New Jersey on Thursday. “It’s huge,” Stars defenseman Marc Methot told reporters after the win. “From here on out, we can’t let anything slip by, because we know how hard it is to get your foot in the door and play in the playoffs.” Ben Bishop, who has allowed 13 goals in his last seven contests, is expected to make his 10th straight start for Dallas.
TV: 3 p.m. ET, Sportsnet West (Edmonton), FS Southwest (Dallas)
ABOUT THE OILERS (18-20-3): McDavid, who registered two goals and two assists in the first two meetings with Dallas this season, notched his first point in four games on Thursday (assist) and has recorded a team-leading 46 overall. Leon Draisaitl (32 points) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (29) both have been kept off the scoresheet for three straight games while Milan Lucic snapped a four-game drought against Anaheim. The Oilers added goaltending depth on Thursday, acquiring Al Montoya from Montreal for a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2018 draft.
ABOUT THE STARS (23-16-3): Dallas is getting plenty of production from its top players as captain Jamie Benn has notched nine of his team-leading 38 points over his last eight games while Tyler Seguin (37 points) has scored six of his club-high 20 goals in his last seven contests. Defenseman John Klingberg has recorded five of his 36 points in his last four games while Alexander Radulov has collected three goals and three assists in the same span to push his total to 35 points. Mattias Janmark is one of six members of the Stars to reach 20 points (21) after tallying three times and setting up a pair of goals over his last five contests.
OVERTIME
1. Methot (knee) logged 15 minutes, 32 seconds of ice time while recording two shots and a plus-1 rating on Thursday in his first game since Nov. 6.
2. Edmonton LW Patrick Maroon (nine goals, 21 points) will serve the second contest of the two-game suspension he received for an illegal hit.
3. The Oilers and Stars split two meetings earlier this season, combining for nine goals in each contest while the home team emerged victorious.