The Oilers' next game is against the Detroit Red Wings at home Tuesday (9 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN1, SNE, SNO, SNP, NHL.TV), their final one before 2019 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend, which will be followed by a mandatory five-day break.
"We know we're in the mix," defenseman Adam Larsson said. "These two games aren't what we wanted, but we're still right there and it's too early to hang your heads when it comes to the standings. You just have to keep battling."
The Oilers went 9-2-2 immediately after Ken Hitchcock took over as coach Nov. 20. Two months into his tenure, the record stands at 14-13-2.
"This is the time of year where if you can kill penalties and you can play 5-on-5, you can win every game," Hitchcock said. "And we're not killing penalties (six power-play goals against in the past five games) and we're not playing good enough 5-on-5 and it costs us too many nights."
The Oilers are 5-9-0 since Dec. 20, and in that span their 5-on-5 shot attempts are 543 for and 679 against. The 543 shot attempts are the fewest in the NHL in that span, and the differential of minus-136 is second worst, ahead of only the Los Angeles Kings, who are minus-148.