The Edmonton Oilers will look to avoid a third straight loss to open the season when they host their provincial rival Calgary Flames on Sunday night.
The Oilers dropped a 5-2 decision to the visiting Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday and were blanked 6-0 by the Winnipeg Jets in their home opener on Wednesday.
“Obviously, you give up five and six (goals), you’re not going to outscore that most nights, but at the same time, we have been around the net. I guess it’s a matter of battling and finding a way to put it in,” Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said.
Edmonton dropped its first two games to open last season and went 3-9-1, leading to the firing of head coach Jay Woodcroft before getting to within one win of the Stanley Cup championship.
“There’s no complacency. We want to go right now,” Nugent-Hopkins added. “We did not like the position we were in after the start (last season). We don’t want to find ourselves in that again. We talked about it. We know what’s at stake, and we’ve got to find a way to bounce back (on Sunday).”
Goaltender Stuart Skinner, who allowed five goals on 13 shots against the Jets before being replaced by Calvin Pickard, is expected to get the start Sunday. Skinner is 4-1-0 with a .946 save percentage and a 1.90 goals-against average in six career games against the Flames.
The Oilers took three of four meetings between the teams last season.
Calgary will head north to Edmonton on Sunday looking to make it three straight wins to open the season.
The Flames erased a 4-1 deficit to defeat the Vancouver Canucks 6-5 in overtime on Wednesday night and then doubled up the Philadelphia Flyers 6-3 on Saturday.
Calgary finished 2-for-5 on the power play in Saturday’s win and was 1-for-3 with the man advantage against the Canucks.
“Slow start; I thought we were a little bit too much east-west in the first and into the second period. I thought we played much better in the third period,” said Flames head coach Ryan Huska of Saturday’s win. “When you’re not playing your best, we’ve talked about it, and we have for years, that the power play you’d like it to contribute, and I thought when we weren’t at our best, it did that.”
Forward Jonathan Huberdeau has paced the Flames with three goals and two assists through two games.
“I think we’ve all bought (into) the systems and the way we play,” Huberdeau said. “I think it’s important early to get a good start. I feel like last year we dug ourselves a big hole so I think coming in and getting some good wins and feeling good about ourselves, that’s what we needed.”
Goaltender Dan Vladar, who made 19 saves in the season-opening win in Vancouver, is expected to on Sunday. Vladar is 2-1-0 with a .916 save percentage and a 2.69 GAA in three career games against the Oilers.
Sunday is the first of three meetings between the Pacific Division rivals. Calgary hosts Edmonton on Nov. 3 before the teams conclude the season series on March 29 on the Oilers’ home ice.
–Field Level Media