Penguins at Oilers
The Pittsburgh Penguins' road tilt versus the Edmonton Oilers on Friday night lost plenty of luster shortly after Connor McDavid suffered a broken collarbone earlier in the week. The 18-year-old McDavid will be sidelined for months as he recovers from the injury, preventing NHL fans from seeing the top overall pick of the 2015 draft face off against Penguins captain Sidney Crosby.
Speaking of Crosby, the two-time Hart Trophy winner scored to send Pittsburgh to its fifth straight victory and eighth in nine outings with a 3-2 triumph over Vancouver on Wednesday. Crosby is showing signs of once again getting comfortable in the offensive end, rebounding from a dismal start to collect one goal and two assists in his last three games and faces an Edmonton club against which he has recorded 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) in eight career encounters. Although the Oilers will be without McDavid, they are expected to welcome back last season's leading scorer in Jordan Eberle on Friday. "I'm as ready as I'm going to be," Eberle told reporters as he makes his way back from a shoulder injury suffered during the preseason.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, ROOT (Pittsburgh), RSN (Edmonton)
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (8-4-0): While Pittsburgh's early-season offensive struggles grabbed the headlines, Marc-Andre Fleury has provided the same old story by playing well in net. The veteran netminder has turned aside 110 of 114 shots during his four-game winning streak and has emerged victorious in each of his last seven meetings with Edmonton. The Penguins are 7-0-2 in their last nine meetings with the Oilers, including a 3-0-2 mark in the last five visits to Rexall Place.
ABOUT THE OILERS (5-8-0): Lost in the news of McDavid's injury was Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scoring twice versus the Flyers to extend his point streak to six games (three goals, six assists). The 2011 top overall pick set up a pair of tallies in Edmonton's 6-4 setback with Pittsburgh on March 12 and has three goals and as many assists in five career encounters with the Penguins. Leon Draisaitl, who is expected to move to center to replace McDavid, is off to a blistering start with three goals and four assists in just three games this season.
OVERTIME
1. Edmonton LW Taylor Hall has recorded two straight three-point performances during his six-game point streak (four goals, eight assists).
2. Pittsburgh has killed off 17 consecutive short-handed situations.
3. Oilers G Cam Talbot, who has yet to face the Penguins in his young career, has yielded 15 goals en route to losing three of his last four starts.