Oilers at Jets
The Edmonton Oilers have just one game between now and Sunday night - and if things go poorly, it could be the final contest behind the bench for embattled head coach Dallas Eakins. The Oilers look to halt a miserable 10-game losing streak as they visit the Winnipeg Jets in an all-Canadian battle on Wednesday. The Oilers have earned just three points during the skid, and won't get any sympathy from a Jets team coming off a tough 2-1 overtime loss in Boston.
Speculation is running rampant that Edmonton is on the verge of a shakeup, with the upcoming four-day break seen as a perfect time to execute it. Eakins' Oilers have been dismal in all facets of the game, coming into the night ranked near the bottom of the league in goals per game (2.2) and goals against (3.4). Winnipeg has also struggled to put the puck in the net, but is riding one of the league's best defenses (2.2 goals against per contest) to mild success.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, SportsNet, SportsNet One
ABOUT THE OILERS (6-15-4): Teams will often engage in meetings or talks in an effort to shake themselves out of prolonged slumps, but the way captain Andrew Ference tells it, Oilers players may be all chatted out at this point. "We've talked everything to death, honestly," the veteran defenseman told the Edmonton Journal. "Especially guys that come from different organizations - they know the difference between what works and what doesn't and what's positive and what's not. It's there, it has to be done (on the ice)."
ABOUT THE JETS (12-9-4): Winnipeg head coach Paul Maurice knows his team will never possess the flash of the Sidney Crosby-led Pittsburgh Penguins, but he is impressed with the way his players continue to grind out victories. "We have a very competitive group," he told the Winnipeg Sun prior to Monday's practice. "In the games that we haven't been technically sound or our execution hasn't been great, we've covered those off or made up for any mistakes that we've mad through compete. It takes off those rough edges."
OVERTIME
1. The teams have split the last eight meetings, with the home team prevailing both times last season.
2. Jets F Bryan Little isn't expected to miss any time after he was hurt blocking a shot against the Bruins.
3. Edmonton has outshot its opponents seven times during the skid.