Edmonton Oilers (4-8-1) @

New York Islanders (8-5-1)

Barclays Center - Brooklyn, NY

5 PM MDT

TV: Sportsnet Oilers

Radio: 630 CHED

SB Nation Opponent: Lighthouse Hockey

BREAKDOWN

All of the goodwill that flourished after Friday’s 6-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils seemed to float away quickly after a clunker against the Red Wings on Sunday. The Oilers scored a mighty zero goals against an Eastern Conference Team that’s predicted to fall out of the playoffs by a hefty margin, and the questions continue. When will this team start banking wins? Will this team start banking wins?

The Oilers begin a four game road trip this evening against the Islanders, where they’ll again meet with an old friend. Can the Oilers get back to their goal scoring ways?

Let’s go to the tape.

The Oilers are saying

”I didn’t think they were particularly as strong as they’ve been in the past...I thought Letestu’s line was perhaps our best, packed with gas and they got a little bit more ice time, especially after we gave that third one away..

Source

That’s Oilers head coach Todd McLellan on how the McDavid line wasn’t as strong as they’ve been in previous games.

McDavid played a season-low 15:55 in Edmonton’s 4-0 loss to Detroit. Out of all the things you could’ve done, decreasing McDavid’s ice time wasn’t the first, second, third, fourteenth, or seven hundred sixtieth thing that entered my mind.

The Islanders are saying

“We were sharp, we did the things we’d talked about beforehand...We did none of that today. It’s two points, but we’ve got to get better from this. I refuse to just put it in the cabinet”

Source

That’s Islanders coach Dough Weight on his team’s performance after a 6-4 win on Sunday.

Oh darn, another win. The Islanders are now 5-0-1 at Barclays Center to start off the year.

Have some of this

• Oilers are four games under a Bettman .500 early on. 7% of a very scientific poll suggest the club can go 4 for 4 on this road trip. I believe in you, 7%.
• The Oilers miss Jordan Eberle. I don’t care if he didn’t back check, I don’t care if you say that he didn’t care. Eleven points in fourteen games would make him second on team scoring, something this club is badly lacking right now.
• After sending Kailer Yamamoto down to Spokane (and subsequently recalling Brad Malone), the Oilers have Leon Draisaitl on the right side and a whole lot of top six question marks. Maybe Jussi Jokinen finds himself there, or Drake Caggiula can mix things up on the 2LC. Not sure Lucic gets moved anywhere. Spice it up, you guys.
• In order to spark some scoring, the Oilers can put Leon Draisaitl on 2C. Can Zack Kassian play top six? Do we want to see Zack Kassian play top six?
• Has Chris Kelly signed his deal with the club yet? Now that there’s 48 contracts with Yamamoto in Spokane, the club can seal the deal here.
• Matthew Barzal had a five point night for the Islanders on Sunday during New York’s 6-4 victory over the Avalanche. That’s pretty good, yeah?
• NET GAINS: Cam Talbot is probable (4-7-1, .903 SV% / 3.17 GAA / 1 SO) for the Oilers. Thomas Greiss (3-2-1, 3.21 GAA / .896 SV%) is likely for the Islanders,
• The Oilers will be missing defenceman Andrej Sekera (out til December/January) as he recovers from ACL surgery. The Islanders are without defenceman Adam Pelch with an undisclosed injury.

This road trip either brings the Oilers back from the brink, or it could knock them out in November. What’s in store?

#GOILERS