The Edmonton Oilers are back home after two ugly road games.
The Oilers were outscored 13-5 in losses to Vegas and St. Louis as they’ve seen their playoff hopes shrink to microscopic levels.
“We got to get back to playing the way we know we can,” said forward Sam Gagner as the Oilers open a five-game home stand against Columbus Thursday night.
“We’ve had discussions in here about what’s it going to take for us. I think if we’re a group that’s passionate and playing with intensity and working hard for each other, we have success more often than not.”
The Oilers beat the Blue Jackets 4-0 on March 2.
“It was one of our best games,” said head coach Ken Hitchcock. “I think it’s typical of our team. When we’re able to occupy the offensive zone, that’s how we play defence.”
The Oilers expected lineup is:
Nugent-Hopkins – McDavid – Kassian
Lucic – Draisaitl – Chiasson
Gambardella -Brodziak – Currie
Rieder – Cave – Gagner
Klefbom – Larsson
Nurse – Russell
Sekera – Benning
Koskinen
Jujhar Khaira didn’t skate after being a late scratch before Tuesday’s game. Hitchcock said he’s day-to-day.
Catch the Oilers and Blue Jackets on 630 CHED with the Face-off Show at 5:30 p.m. The game starts at 7 p.m.