PDO
12-10-05, 6:26 PM
The Edmonton Oilers (16-11-2) play the second game of a three-game road trip through the eastern United States tonight as they travel to Nassau Coliseum to face the New York Islanders (14-12-2).
The Oilers have picked up points in six of its last seven games and currently sit in eighth place in the Western Conference, two points ahead of the Phoenix Coyotes. At the other end of the spectrum, the Oilers are only three points behind Calgary and Vancouver for second in the conference and top spot in the Northwest Division. The Oilers have a game in hand on the Flames and have played the same amount as Vancouver.
The Islanders have registered points in each of its last three games but are coming off a disappointing 4-3 shootout loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets this past Thursday. Tonight marks the tema's first home game since November 29. They are currently in ninth place in the Eastern Conference, three points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for the final playoff spot.
OILERS TO WATCH: Michael Peca makes his return to Long Island, where he spent the past three seasons of his career... Jarret Stoll has two goals and two assists in the last three games as he is heating up again. He leads the Oilers in road points with 16 in 17 games. Raffi Torres is second with 14 points...
ISLANDERS TO WATCH: Former Oiler Mike York has finally found his touch around the net with the Islanders, having scored four goals in the past three games, nine points in the past six. He had only 10 points in his first 22 games... The team's leading point getter, Alexei Yashin, has points in 22 of the team's first 28 games for a total of 29 points (12g, 17a)... Jason Blake and Miro Satan are tied for the team lead in goals with 13 apiece... Defenceman Alexei Zhitnik is dangerous from the back end with 22 points in 29 games...
ROSTER UPDATES: Edmonton: Radek Dvorak (groin) is out. NY Islanders: Oleg Kvasha (ankle) is day-to-day. Petteri Nokelainen (patella tendonitis) is out. Shawn Bates (hamstring) is out.
FAST FACTS: The Islanders have scored 19 power-play goals in their last 14 games... Mike Morrison is 4-0-0 in his four starts away from Rexall Place... The Oilers are also 4-0-0 in their last four road games, which matches a season high. They also were 4-0-0 from Oct. 28-Nov. 4... The team's 10 road wins is tied with Detroit for tops in the league... Ty Conklin was successful in his start Friday night with the Hartford Wolf Pack, earning a 4-3 shootout win while stopping 34 of 37 shots... The Oilers are 0-3-0-0 in their last three trips to Long Island and have not won at Nassau Coliseum since the 1999-00 season when Edmonton won 4-2 on Dec. 14, 1999... The Oilers are 1-0-1 versus teams from the Eastern Conference.
THEY SAID IT: "We don't often survive those lulls without paying some price. We played poorly in the first, yet we still got out 1-0. We've been crying the blues about the reverse of those situations for a long time, so it was nice to be on the other side. We got the lesson (Thursday) and we didn't pay the price. Hopefully we'll be back on our game tonight."
-- Oilers head coach Craig MacTavish on what the team needs to do to improve their game tonight.
"It's been a real challenge to get back in the swing of things-especially with the change in organization, change in conferences, moving the family away ... it's all been a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. Early in the season, I felt out of sorts. I know I looked out of sorts, and to some extent, offensively, I still am."
-- Oilers forward Michael Peca, who plays his former team tonight in New York.
Important game for the Oilers tonight. We're the better team, and can't afford to lose games where we are. A win here allows us to keep pace with the division and sets us up to finish the roadtrip very successfully in New Jersey on Tuesday.
The Oilers have picked up points in six of its last seven games and currently sit in eighth place in the Western Conference, two points ahead of the Phoenix Coyotes. At the other end of the spectrum, the Oilers are only three points behind Calgary and Vancouver for second in the conference and top spot in the Northwest Division. The Oilers have a game in hand on the Flames and have played the same amount as Vancouver.
The Islanders have registered points in each of its last three games but are coming off a disappointing 4-3 shootout loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets this past Thursday. Tonight marks the tema's first home game since November 29. They are currently in ninth place in the Eastern Conference, three points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for the final playoff spot.
OILERS TO WATCH: Michael Peca makes his return to Long Island, where he spent the past three seasons of his career... Jarret Stoll has two goals and two assists in the last three games as he is heating up again. He leads the Oilers in road points with 16 in 17 games. Raffi Torres is second with 14 points...
ISLANDERS TO WATCH: Former Oiler Mike York has finally found his touch around the net with the Islanders, having scored four goals in the past three games, nine points in the past six. He had only 10 points in his first 22 games... The team's leading point getter, Alexei Yashin, has points in 22 of the team's first 28 games for a total of 29 points (12g, 17a)... Jason Blake and Miro Satan are tied for the team lead in goals with 13 apiece... Defenceman Alexei Zhitnik is dangerous from the back end with 22 points in 29 games...
ROSTER UPDATES: Edmonton: Radek Dvorak (groin) is out. NY Islanders: Oleg Kvasha (ankle) is day-to-day. Petteri Nokelainen (patella tendonitis) is out. Shawn Bates (hamstring) is out.
FAST FACTS: The Islanders have scored 19 power-play goals in their last 14 games... Mike Morrison is 4-0-0 in his four starts away from Rexall Place... The Oilers are also 4-0-0 in their last four road games, which matches a season high. They also were 4-0-0 from Oct. 28-Nov. 4... The team's 10 road wins is tied with Detroit for tops in the league... Ty Conklin was successful in his start Friday night with the Hartford Wolf Pack, earning a 4-3 shootout win while stopping 34 of 37 shots... The Oilers are 0-3-0-0 in their last three trips to Long Island and have not won at Nassau Coliseum since the 1999-00 season when Edmonton won 4-2 on Dec. 14, 1999... The Oilers are 1-0-1 versus teams from the Eastern Conference.
THEY SAID IT: "We don't often survive those lulls without paying some price. We played poorly in the first, yet we still got out 1-0. We've been crying the blues about the reverse of those situations for a long time, so it was nice to be on the other side. We got the lesson (Thursday) and we didn't pay the price. Hopefully we'll be back on our game tonight."
-- Oilers head coach Craig MacTavish on what the team needs to do to improve their game tonight.
"It's been a real challenge to get back in the swing of things-especially with the change in organization, change in conferences, moving the family away ... it's all been a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. Early in the season, I felt out of sorts. I know I looked out of sorts, and to some extent, offensively, I still am."
-- Oilers forward Michael Peca, who plays his former team tonight in New York.
Important game for the Oilers tonight. We're the better team, and can't afford to lose games where we are. A win here allows us to keep pace with the division and sets us up to finish the roadtrip very successfully in New Jersey on Tuesday.