Sabres at Oilers
The Connor McDavid Sweepstakes have become a two-team race - and those flailing franchises will face off Thursday night in Edmonton as the Oilers host the Buffalo Sabres. Buffalo owns the worst record in the NHL thanks to a 12-game losing skid during which it has been outscored by a ridiculous 53-17 margin. The Oilers sit just two points ahead of the Sabres, but are coming off a heart-wrenching 2-1 loss to the visiting Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night.
Edmonton looked to be building momentum on the heels of back-to-back shootout wins in Florida and Washington, but missed out on a three-game point streak when Charlie Coyle scored the game winner for the Wild with 4:23 left in regulation. They'll look to rebound against a Sabres team that ranks last in a handful of categories, including goals per game (1.8), goals against (3.5) and power-play percentage (10.5). Edmonton ranks 28th in all three categories.
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, MSG-B (Buffalo), SN-Oilers (Edmonton)
ABOUT THE SABRES (14-31-3): Buffalo's franchise-record losing skid looked like it might be history after 40 minutes against Calgary on Tuesday night, but the Sabres proceeded to go without a shot for the first 10 minutes of the final period while the Flames banged home three goals en route to a 4-1 win. It was the latest in a series of bad third-period efforts for the Sabres, who were outshot 15-3 by the Flames in the final stanza. Buffalo has scored the second-fewest third-period goals in the NHL (61) while allowing the ninth-most (79).
ABOUT THE OILERS (12-27-9): Edmonton had to do without high-scoring wing Taylor Hall for Tuesday's loss to Minnesota, and he may be out even longer. Hall took a puck off his lower leg during Monday's practice and didn't recover sufficiently to play versus the Wild, but he's expected to undergo further testing to see whether the damage is more extensive than first thought. Hall, who missed six games earlier in the season with a knee sprain, was replaced on the Oilers' top line by Benoit Pouliot.
OVERTIME
1. Buffalo has won seven of the last nine meetings, though Edmonton prevailed 3-2 in the previous encounter Nov. 7.
2. The Oilers have been outscored 86-72 in the third period this season.
3. The Sabres have power-play goals in three straight games for the first time all season.