Oilers at Blackhawks
THE STORY: The wheels have begun to come off the Edmonton Oilers' swift early-season start. Getting back on track won't be easy Sunday as they face a Chicago Blackhawks side looking every bit as good as when it rolled to the 2010 Stanley Cup championship. Edmonton opened with eight wins in 12 games to jump to the top of the Western Conference table, but has since lost three of four as its league-leading defense struggles to maintain form. It was the offense's turn to struggle Friday as the Oilers managed just a handful of decent scoring chances en route to a 3-0 defeat at the hands of the Detroit Red Wings. Chicago has won two straight games and has outscored its opponents 10-4 along the way. Granted, the Blackhawks did their damage against Columbus (2-11-1) and Calgary (7-7-1) - but with the offense hitting its stride and a stumbling Oilers team visiting Sunday, Chicago looks good for its division-best 11th win of the season.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Rogers Sportsnet East, WGN
ABOUT THE OILERS (9-5-2): Sunday marks the end of a six-game, two-week-long road trip on which the Oilers have gone just 2-3-0. Fatigue may be playing a role, as Edmonton looked entirely outclassed in consecutive defeats to the Boston Bruins and Red Wings. Nikolai Khabibulin will likely start in goal for the Oilers on Sunday night. Fresh off his first regulation loss of the season, the 38-year-old has had success against Chicago in his career, going 14-8-1-0 with a 2.38 goals-against average and three shutouts in 25 games.
ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS (10-4-3): Early-season stumbles by the Red Wings have allowed Chicago to seize early control of the Central Division standings. To hold on to that edge, the Blackhawks will need to continue to improve on the power-play. They've struck three times in seven man-advantage opportunities over the past two games, but remain a dreadful 26th overall at 12.5 percent. Edmonton's penalty kill is seventh in the league with an 88.3-percent success rate.
OVERTIME:
1. Blackhawks forwards Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews have a combined 27 points (12 goals, 15 assists) in their past eight games against the Oilers.
2. The teams split four head-to-head encounters last season, with the road team prevailing each time. Edmonton outscored Chicago 9-5 in two games at the United Center.