Oilers at Coyotes
The Edmonton Oilers attempt to make a quick recovery from a thorough beating when they visit the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday. Edmonton fell to 0-1-1 on its three-game road trip on Tuesday as it suffered a 6-1 defeat against the reigning Stanley Cup-champion Los Angeles Kings. The winless Oilers, who have allowed 15 goals over their first three contests, avoided being shut out when Matt Hendricks scored with 20.9 seconds remaining in the third period.
Arizona is 1-1-0 on its season-opening four-game homestand after posting a 3-2 overtime victory over Los Angeles on Saturday. The Coyotes fell behind 2-0 less than 13 minutes into the game but battled back before Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored a power-play goal at 4:46 of the extra session. Fellow defenseman Keith Yandle set up each tally in the triumph, giving him the team scoring lead with three points.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, RSN West (Edmonton), FSN Arizona
ABOUT THE OILERS (0-2-1): Edmonton was without top forwards Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle on Tuesday due to undisclosed injuries and lost goaltender Viktor Fasth, who played just one period before leaving with a pulled groin. Center Bogdan Yakimov and defenseman Darnell Nurse - the seventh overall pick in the 2013 draft - made their NHL debuts and were a combined minus-2 with three shots on goal. "It was a great feeling to get out there and get my first game under my belt," the 19-year-old Nurse said. "It's a dream to play in the NHL and really a privilege to have this opportunity."
ABOUT THE COYOTES (1-1-0): Devan Dubnyk made 26 saves Saturday to notch the victory in his debut with Arizona, but it wasn't enough to earn him the start against his former team as coach Dave Tippett announced Mike Smith would get the nod. The 28-year-old Dubnyk was drafted 14th overall by Edmonton in 2004 and spent parts of five seasons with the Oilers, posting a 61-76-21 record with eight shutouts and a 2.88 goals-against average. Smith looks to bounce back after surrendering six goals on 27 shots in Arizona's season-opening loss to Winnipeg.
OVERTIME
1. Arizona went 4-0-1 against Edmonton last season and is 10-0-3 in the last 13 meetings between the Pacific Division rivals.
2. Smith is 8-1-1 with a .915 save percentage in 12 career games against the Oilers.
3. Edmonton was 0-for-3 on the power play Tuesday after going 3-for-6 over its first two games.