Predators at Oilers
THE STORY: As good as the Nashville Predators have been the past few seasons, they've had all sorts of trouble with the Edmonton Oilers. They will try to score their first win in three tries against the Oilers - and halt a four-game losing streak in the process - when the teams square off Monday night in Edmonton. Nashville has been outscored 9-3 in a pair of losses to the upstart Oilers, including a humbling 6-2 home setback in their last encounter six days ago. That defeat was the lowlight of an extended slump that has dropped the Predators out of the top eight in the Western Conference. Nashville already finds itself seven points back of division-leading Chicago in the Central, and with Detroit showing signs of life and St. Louis looking sensational under new coach Ken Hitchcock, things are going to get a lot tougher in Tennessee. Edmonton is coming off a 2-2-0 road trip that ended with a 5-2 loss to Colorado on Saturday.
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, FS Tennessee (Nashville), RS West (Edmonton)
ABOUT THE PREDATORS (10-8-4): It is tough to pinpoint exactly what is going wrong in Nashville, but defenseman Ryan Suter said he thinks he knows. "(We're) just playing soft," he said following a 4-1 loss to the Red Wings on Saturday. "We have to get back to playing hard and playing fast and aggressive. That's our style. We win a couple of games and we kind of forget about our identity." Monday marks the Predators' second trek through Western Canada this season. They finished 1-2-0 on their last trip.
ABOUT THE OILERS (12-9-2): Edmonton had a 3-1-0 road trip within its grasp, but saw a one-goal lead decimated by four unanswered Colorado goals. It was the only blip in what was an otherwise impressive stretch for the Oilers, who followed a one-sided win over Nashville with an equally dominant 5-2 triumph over the conference-leading Minnesota Wild. Rookie forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has been one of the hottest players in the league, recording 10 points in his last five games.
OVERTIME:
1. Edmonton has won four of the last five meetings.
2. Nugent-Hopkins has three assists in two career games against Nashville.
3. The Predators are only 1-4-0 against the Northwest Division.