Oilers at Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings look to avoid a third straight loss when they host the Edmonton Oilers on Monday. After edging the New York Rangers in overtime for its third consecutive victory, Detroit allowed five goals in setbacks to Calgary on Friday and at Boston two days later. The Red Wings currently are third in the Atlantic Division, five points behind second-place Tampa Bay and seven ahead of the Bruins.
Edmonton suffered its fourth loss in a row Sunday, falling 7-4 at Carolina in the second contest of its five-game road trip despite a four-point performance from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins that included his second career hat trick. The Oilers are tied with Toronto for the second-fewest road wins on the season with seven, one more than Buffalo. Despite its struggles away from home, Edmonton still can escape the league basement as it trails Arizona by only two for the lowest point total.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, RSN West (Edmonton), FSN Detroit
ABOUT THE OILERS (18-37-11): Edmonton hopes to have Benoit Pouliot back in the lineup after the left wing missed Sunday's contest due to an illness. The 28-year-old Pouliot is third on the team with 13 goals, four shy of his career high set in 2009-10 with Minnesota and Montreal. Nugent-Hopkins' hat trick against the Hurricanes was his second multi-goal effort of the season, as he tallied twice on the road against the Canadiens on Feb. 12.
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (36-17-11): Marek Zidlicky is proving to be a solid addition to Detroit's blue line, especially from an offensive perspective. The 38-year-old Czech has scored two goals in three games since being acquired from New Jersey at the trade deadline, with both coming on the power play and one being the overtime winner against the Rangers in his team debut. Pavel Datsyuk has collected 19 points over his last 16 contests, a stretch during which he hasn't gone more than one game without landing on the scoresheet.
OVERTIME
1. The Red Wings have lost two straight games in regulation for the first time this season.
2. The seven goals allowed by Edmonton on Sunday matches its season high. It was the fourth time the team yielded that many tallies and first since Feb. 14 at Ottawa.
3. Detroit G Jonas Gustavsson suffered an undisclosed injury Sunday, meaning Petr Mrazek likely will be recalled from Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League to back up Jimmy Howard.