Oilers at Coyotes
THE STORY: Nikolai Khabibulin has found the fountain of youth - or at least a good surgeon. After posting just 10 wins all of last season, the 38-year-old Russian netminder underwent back surgery in the summer and has returned with a flourish. Khabibulin improved to 6-0-2 on the young season after turning aside all 19 shots he faced as the Edmonton Oilers skated to a 3-0 triumph over the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday. "I definitely feel a lot better," Khabibulin said after recording his 45th career shutout. "After the surgery last year I was sore and achy, and I thought that was the way I was supposed to feel." Now, Edmonton is making its opponents feel the pain. The Oilers will vie for their seventh straight win for the first time in over a decade when they travel to the desert to face the Phoenix Coyotes on Saturday. The stae of Arizona doesn't hold positive memories for Khabibulin, who was traded from the Coyotes in 2001 and spent time behind bars there this summer following a drunk driving conviction. For its part, Phoenix will look to bounce back after having its three-game winning streak come to an end with a 3-0 loss to the Nashville Predators.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, CBC
ABOUT THE OILERS (8-2-2): Edmonton opened a pronounced road trip in convincing fashion. With 10 of the next 12 games away from home, the Oilers saw veteran Ryan Smyth net his fourth goal in three contests in a shutout of the Predators. "This is a big run for us, this road trip might make or break our season," Edmonton's Taylor Hall said. "And by the end of November we're playing 14 games in 27 days; it doesn't get any easier."
ABOUT THE COYOTES (6-4-2): Phoenix's offense was clicking on all cylinders until it ran into Pekka Rinne, who celebrated his 29th birthday on Thursday with a seven-year, $49 million contract extension. The Finn capped off his special day by handing the Coyotes their second shutout loss in their last five home games. Martin Hanzal, who is sidelined with a lower body injury, may return to the lineup on Saturday.
OVERTIME:
1. Oilers D Cam Barker is expected to return for Saturday's game. The third overall pick of the 2004 draft, Barker has been sidelined since Sunday with a shoulder injury.
2. The Coyotes have successfully killed off 40 of their last 43 shorthanded situations. After a sluggish start, Phoenix now sits at an 87.0-percent efficiency rating in that regard.