Oilers at Penguins
One night after being victimized by Alex Ovechkin, the Edmonton Oilers have to deal with another former Hart Trophy winner in his own building. Sidney Crosby looks to build on an incredible start to the season as he and the Pittsburgh Penguins welcome the sagging Oilers to town Tuesday. Edmonton fell to 1-4-1 with a 4-2 loss to the Capitals on Monday and now has to contend with a Penguins team off to a sizzling 4-1-0 start.
Despite two major shakeups by Edmonton head coach Dallas Eakins - starting backup netminder Jason LaBarbera in place of Devan Dubnyk and making second-year forward Nail Yakupov a healthy scratch - the Oilers couldn't build on an early lead and ultimately fell apart during a five-minute stretch of the second period. They can ill afford to do the same against Pittsburgh, which is averaging four goals per game through the first two weeks.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, RSN West (Edmonton), ROOT (Pittsburgh)
ABOUT THE OILERS (1-4-1): Eakins has raised eyebrows with some of his early-season calls - including the decision to bench former No. 1 pick Yakupov in back-to-back games. Yakupov stewed in the press box on Monday, and Eakins predictably stood by his guns after praising his team's play in Saturday's 6-5 loss to Toronto. "I think it's fairly disrespectful to the guys you rely on every night to do that job and you're suddenly going to just take them out," he said. "It's such a privilege to play in this league, you want to give everything you have every night."
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (4-1-0): That Pittsburgh has racked up the goals despite being without top defenseman Kris Letang should worry opponents. Letang, who is nursing a lower-body injury and has yet to appear in a regular-season game, has rejoined his teammates in practice, but his return date remains a mystery. "Kris is still in the progression of getting back to playing, so this was another step up and ramp up in his practice and where he is at," head coach Dan Bylsma told reporters following Monday's practice. "(He) still needs to continue to progress to move toward a game."
OVERTIME
1. Edmonton defeated Pittsburgh 2-1 in a shootout in their previous encounter Oct. 9, 2011, ending a stretch of four straight Penguins victories in the series.
2. Crosby earned the NHL's Third Star of the Week honor after racking up three goals and four assists in three games.
3. Yakupov has zero points and a minus-3 rating through four games.