Edmonton Oilers take on Kings for second time this week

The Edmonton Oilers get another crack at the Los Angeles Kings Thursday night when the two teams square off at Rogers Place.

The Kings beat the Oilers 5-2 in L.A. on Sunday night.

“Their top players are playing now. They’re dug in. They’re making a difference every game,” said Oilers head coach Ken Hitchcock. “Before you can get anywhere, you have to find a way to stall some of their top guys from dominating.”

The Oilers are 2-1-1 since Hitchcock replaced Todd McLellan behind the bench, though they’ve scored only eight goals in those games. The line of Milan Lucic, Kyle Brodziak and Zack Kassian has earned Hitchcock’s praise for their forechecking, but they’ve yet to hit the score sheet.

“We think we’re close,” said Kassian. “We just have to keep working hard. We can’t dwell or get down on the fact we’re not scoring. We’re doing a lot of other good things that are helping us win hockey games.”

Get daily National news

Get daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you'll never miss the day's top stories.

Sign up for daily National newsletter Get Started

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

The Oilers expected lineup is:

Draisaitl – McDavid – Chiasson

Caggiula – Nugent-Hopkins – Puljujarvi

Lucic – Brodziak – Kassian

Khaira – Spooner – P. Russell

Klefbom – Larsson

Nurse – K. Russell

Gravel – Benning

Koskinen

The Oilers will wear blue “retro” jerseys for the first of four times this season.

Catch the Oilers and Kings on 630 CHED with the Face-off Show at 5:30 p.m. The game will start at 7 p.m.

Watch below: Highlights from previous Edmonton Oilers games and a look ahead at Thursday night’s game against the Kings