After winning five of their last six matches, the Edmonton Oilers (15-10-2) will conclude a three-game homestand at Rogers Place on Tuesday night when the hockey club takes on a tough Tampa Bay Lightning (14-9-2).
“Tampa is a great team,” Oilers captain Connor McDavid said after Monday’s practice. “They’re going to get all of our attention.”
Just like the Oilers, the Lightning have found their way to victory lately. Both NHL teams are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games. Over that span, the Oilers have scored 3.5 goals per game, but the Lightning are finding the net at an even more impressive rate with 4.5 goals per game.
“We like the way we play,” McDavid said. “We find ways to score goals.
“The special teams are starting to go. The goalkeepers are making saves – those are all positive things.
Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm also spoke about the Oilers’ improved play of late.
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“We’re starting to find the way we want to play,” he said.
One of the improvements that has helped Edmonton lately is its penalty kill. Since November 12, the Oilers have eliminated 92.3 percent of their penalties, a higher rate than any other team in the league during that span.
The Oilers’ last game was a 4-2 win over the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night, the team’s second straight victory.
That same night, the Lightning saw superstar forward Nikita Kucherov return after an injury kept him out for a few games – he scored a goal and added two assists in Tampa’s 4-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks.
–with file from The Associated Press
Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid (97) passes his stick around Tampa Bay Lightning right winger Nikita Kucherov (86) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, February 23, 2022 , in Tampa, Florida.
AP Photo/Chris O’Meara
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