The Edmonton Oilers travel to Chicago to face the Blackhawks on Saturday, looking to get back in the win column after their four-game winning streak ended in Pittsburgh.
The Oilers dropped a 5-3 decision to the Penguins on Thursday for their first loss since Dec. 29. Edmonton is 7-2-1 over its past 10 games and 12-3-1 in the past 16.
Leon Draisaitl scored twice for the Oilers at Pittsburgh. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had Edmonton’s other goal, and Connor McDavid assisted on all three.
Draisaitl, who had a 14-game point streak snapped in a win over the Boston Bruins on Tuesday, leads the NHL with 31 goals and is second with 61 points through 41 games this season.
Russian winger Vasily Podkolzin is benefitting from playing alongside the German center this season.
“I grow as a player, first,” Podkolzin said. “He tells me a lot. He’s obviously a player who makes this league special, and it’s a big opportunity for me to play with him.
“He’s told me to be confident playing with the puck and to move my legs — when you’re fast, you’re tough to play against. Little details — on a faceoff or offensive-zone plays — I’m always open to advice from him.”
McDavid, who missed practice on Friday in Chicago to be in Erie, Pa., as his junior hockey club retired his number, has four points over the past two games.
Oilers goalie Calvin Pickard, who could be in line to start Saturday, is 9-4-0 with a .898 save percentage and a 2.46 goals-against average in 15 games this season. In 10 career appearances against the Blackhawks, Pickard is 3-5-0 with a 3.08 GAA and a .909 save percentage.
On Friday, the Oilers announced that forward Evander Kane, who has been recovering from offseason abdominal surgery, underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on Thursday.
Saturday is the second of three meetings between the Blackhawks and Oilers this season. Chicago earned a 5-2 win on Oct. 12 in Edmonton.
In that contest, Teuvo Teravainen had two goals and two assists, Connor Bedard and Seth Jones each had a goal and two assists, and Philipp Kurashev also scored for the Blackhawks. Corey Perry and Draisaitl responded for the Oilers.
Chicago returns home to entertain the Oilers after falling 5-3 to the Red Wings in Detroit on Friday night.
The Blackhawks have just two wins over their past nine games.
Teravainen scored twice and Ryan Donato also found the back of the net on Friday. With an assist in the loss, Bedard extended his point streak to a career-high nine games (four goals, eight assists).
“We’re trying to find a way (to be more consistent),” said Teravainen, who has two goals and two assists over the past four games. “We’ve just got to prepare for every game. If the game starts going the wrong way, you’ve got to find a way to do something to help the team get better, win the battle. It’s not always a nice play.”
Tyler Bertuzzi leads the Blackhawks with 14 goals in 42 games this season, while Bedard has a team-best 38 points in 42 games.
Goaltender Arvid Soderblom, Chicago’s expected starter on Saturday, is 6-10-1 in 18 appearances this season with a .905 save percentage and a 2.92 GAA. He lost three of his past four starts.
–Field Level Media
