With an 8-2 report up to now in December, the Edmonton Oilers (21-11-2) are able to play their first recreation after an almost week-long vacation break and intention to place much more distance between the place the hockey membership is at now and the place it was when it obtained off to a lacklustre begin to the NHL season.
The Oilers will face off towards the Los Angeles Kings (19-10-5) at Crypto.com Area on Saturday afternoon and can attempt to develop their present profitable streak that already sits at three video games.
Of their final 10 video games, the Oilers are scoring a median of three.9 objectives per recreation whereas giving up simply 2.2 objectives per recreation. The Kings have been good of late as properly, placing collectively a 6-2-2 report of their final 10 video games. In that timeframe, the workforce has been scoring a median of three.3 objectives per recreation and permitting simply 2.1 objectives per recreation.
Of their final recreation earlier than heading on their vacation break, the Oilers earned a 3-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators. Winger Viktor Arvidsson, who missed 15 video games earlier this season on account of damage, had a purpose and an help within the recreation, and is discovering his type because the workforce additionally begins firing on all cylinders.
“I used to be simply making an attempt to play my recreation, play with the puck and work laborious. I feel I created quite a lot of probabilities, so I’m pleased with that,” Arvidsson stated after the Dec. 22 win.
“I attempt to be prepared after I come again. I’ve been harm loads within the final two years. I feel I’m prepared and I really feel prepared, so it feels good.”
Edmonton Oilers’ Viktor Arvidsson (33) celebrates his purpose towards the Vancouver Canucks through the second interval of an NHL hockey recreation in Vancouver, on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
When the Oilers play in L.A. on Saturday, it should mark Arvidsson’s first recreation towards his former teammates since signing as a free agent with Edmonton within the offseason. Arvidsson spent three seasons with the Kings together with his greatest season in L.A. coming in 2022-23 when he scored 26 objectives and put up 59 factors in 77 video games.
Saturday’s recreation may also be the primary time Kings ahead Warren Foegele performs towards his former Oilers teammates since signing with L.A. within the offseason. Foegele scored 45 objectives and chipped in 50 assists over 231 video games with Edmonton and helped the Oilers make all of it the way in which to Recreation 7 of the Stanley Cup remaining through the 2024 playoffs.
The final time the Oilers performed the Kings was within the 2024 postseason when Edmonton eradicated L.A. from the playoffs with a 4-3 win in Recreation 5 of their opening spherical collection.
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Stuart Skinner is prone to begin in purpose for the Oilers on Saturday. After Edmonton’s win over Ottawa on Dec. 22, the netminder stated he was impressed by his teammates’ defensive play. That victory marked the Oilers’ eleventh win of their final 13 video games.
“I feel we’re in a great place,” Skinner stated after the win. “We’re discovering methods to win video games. We don’t need to lose two in a row, and we’ve been doing a fairly good job of that these days.
“I feel the way in which we’ve been enjoying in all ends of the ice has been fairly constant. Heading into the break we’re going to chill out a bit and kick the legs up so we will really feel rested coming into the remainder of the season.”
Whereas many Oilers gamers have discovered their groove on the ice of late, winger Zach Hyman has been significantly efficient since getting back from an damage within the fall. Over his final 10 video games, the 32-year-old ahead has scored 10 objectives and put up an help as properly.
Previous to his damage, Hyman had gotten off to a sluggish begin this season by way of his offensive statistics. Final yr, he scored a profession excessive 54 objectives.
“So long as you stick along with your course of and also you’re enjoying the identical approach, when you’re enjoying properly and getting appears, when you proceed to keep it up and in case your workforce has the boldness to stay with you which of them clearly the teaching workers did … it was only a 20-game form of blip,” Hyman stated final week.
“I believed I used to be enjoying properly, I simply wasn’t scoring.”
–with recordsdata from The Canadian Press and The Related Press
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