Oilers at Ducks
Edmonton captain Connor McDavid finds himself in the longest scoring drought of his career - a stretch of eight contests in which his team is 2-5-1 - as the Oilers try to snap a three-game losing streak when they visit the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday. McDavid still contributed seven assists during that span, including six in the last four games, but the shine is wearing off Edmonton's star after a 7-1-0 start left many Oilers fans thinking Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2006.
"I think our team, as a whole, we created a lot of chances but we didn't really get any secondary stuff,'' Edmonton's Jordan Eberle told reporters after Sunday's 3-1 loss to the New York Rangers. "We need to try to get on the inside, get a little dirty and try and find some goals in and around the paint." McDavid (19) and Eberle (12) lead the Oilers in points but were separated during the New York game as coach Todd McLellan decided to replace Eberle on the top line with Tyler Pitlick (five goals), who scored twice in the three games prior to Sunday. Anaheim went 1-1-1 during a three-game road trip after a 5-0 loss to Nashville on Saturday as it tries for its fifth straight victory in games after allowing five or more goals. "Obviously, we have to shore up some things on the defensive side of it, because we're not feeling very good losing 5-0," coach Randy Carlyle told reporters as the Ducks begin a five-game homestand after playing 10 of its first 16 games on the road.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, Sportsnet Oilers (Edmonton), Prime Ticket (Anaheim)
ABOUT THE OILERS (9-6-1): Edmonton boasts five players with at least five goals that include lumbering forwards Milan Lucic (five) and Patrick Maroon (team-most six), who was traded to the Oilers last season after spending the first four-plus years of his career with Anaheim. The lower-body injury that has caused Kris Russell to miss the last five games is worse than feared and the veteran defenseman is reportedly "weeks away" from returning. Workhorse goaltender Cam Talbot (8-6-1, 2.57 goals-against average, .918 save percentage) yielded at least three goals in all six November starts and owns an .890 save percentage this month.
ABOUT THE DUCKS (7-6-3): Anaheim, which trails first-place Edmonton by two points in the Pacific Division, is 5-3-1 in its last nine games with seven of them (four wins, three losses) decided by three or more goals. The second line of center Ryan Kesler (six goals, plus-6 rating), Jakob Silfverberg (five, plus-5) and Andrew Cogliano (five, plus-4) continues to perform well at both ends of the ice as they are the team's top goal scorers and also own the top three plus-minus numbers. Captain Ryan Getzlaf (team-best 12 assists) played his 800th career game Saturday, one contest after becoming the Ducks' all-time assist leader with 532.
OVERTIME
1. McDavid leads the NHL with 14 assists - one more than Dallas' Tyler Seguin and Columbus' Alexander Wennberg.
2. Anaheim is 0-for-12 on the power play over the last three games after converting 6-of-12 in the previous four contests.
3. The Ducks won the last four of five meetings last season - three by one goal - and are 8-0-1 versus Edmonton since the start of 2014-15.