Devils at Oilers
Two struggling teams look to create a little momentum in the first of back-to-back games when the New Jersey Devils visit the Edmonton Oilers on Friday night. New Jersey has managed to score only 14 goals while going 2-6-0 over its last eight contests and no one has been able to top 42-year-old Jaromir Jagr’s 12 points in the first 19 games. Edmonton is winless in four games and has gone 2-7-1 over its last 10 after dropping a 5-4 decision to rival Vancouver on Wednesday.
The Oilers, who host Chicago Saturday, lost their last four games by one goal and has had to play catch up in all of them. “We’ve been inconsistent and we haven’t been able to find a way to push the game the other way,” Edmonton center Boyd Gordon told reporters. “Until we do that, we’re going to have a tough time winning games.” The Devils, who play at Calgary on Saturday, managed only 22 shots on goals in a 3-1 loss at Winnipeg on Tuesday to start a four-game Canada trip.
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, MSG-Plus and MSG-Plus 2 (New Jersey), SNET-West (Edmonton)
ABOUT THE DEVILS (8-9-2): Left wing Mike Cammalleri recorded five goals on 25 shots in the first five games of the season and has notched two in eight contests since while getting 12 shots combined on net. No one else on the team owns more than four goals as the Devils have fallen near the bottom of the league in scoring after a fast start. Cory Schneider has started all 19 games and boasts a decent .910 save percentage while allowing seven goals in his last four games, including a shutout at Washington.
ABOUT THE OILERS (6-11-2): Taylor Hall collected a goal and an assist in two games since returning from a knee injury and the Oilers’ four tallies against Vancouver was their most since Oct. 24. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is scoreless in two games after posting five points in three games while Jordan Eberle saw his four-game point streak end Wednesday. While Edmonton is giving up almost three fewer shots per game than last season, neither Ben Scrivens (.895 SP) or Viktor Fasth (.885) has taken control of the No. 1 job.
OVERTIME
1. The Devils led the NHL in penalty killing last season at 86.4 percent and has dropped to 29th in 2014-15 at 72.0.
2. Edmonton D Mark Fayne, who has four points in 19 games, spent his first four seasons in the league with the Devils before signing as a free agent.
3. Jagr boasts 708 career goals, tied for sixth in NHL history with Mike Gartner, and 1,767 points - four shy of Marcel Dionne for fifth.