LAS VEGAS, NV -It's been a good road trip for the Oilers. It can be a great road trip with a win on Saturday.
After a tough start to the four-game jaunt to California and Sin City with a 6-3 defeat to the Los Angeles Kings, Edmonton outscored the Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks by a combined 13-3 margin to pick up a pair of wins and give the squad plenty of confidence heading into tonight's showdown with the Pacific Divison-leading Golden Knights.
"We're going to take on a team that's at the top of our division," Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said last night in San Jose. "That's in front of us, and we're going to try to take two points from them on the road."
It's a tall task for teams to win the second game of a back-to-back set, but the Oilers have actually been pretty good at it, taking three of four this season and holding a 21-9-1 record since the start of 2019-20.
"That's a good team over there," forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said of the Golden Knights. "Coming off a back-to-back for us, but I think sometimes coming off a back-to-back can help. We seem to play a little simpler early and just rely on our work and I think that's kind of going to be our mindset."
The typical goaltending protocol for back-to-backs is that your goalies split the games. However, with Stuart Skinner not yet back with the team after returning to Edmonton on Tuesday for the impending birth of his and wife Chloe's first-born child, the Oilers could opt for Jack Campbell once again.
The 31-year-old has a .920 save percentage over his last five apperances, including turning aside 46 of 49 shots in the wins over Anaheim and San Jose. He said he's ready and willing to tend the twine again on Saturday if that's what the coaching staff decides.
"I love playing any time I can and love playing in that building too," Campbell said after Friday's win. "It's a big game for us and guys are playing well. I'm trying to do my job whenever I get called."
Calvin Pickard is Edmonton's other option between the pipes as he was recalled from the AHL's Bakersfield Condors on Tuesday and has backed up Campbell the last two games.
Kailer Yamamoto was an unexpected scratch on Friday and Coach Woodcroft said post-game the winger "woke up this morning and declared himself that he couldn't go" vs. San Jose.
With no morning skate today, the Oilers lineup will be made available during pre-game warmup.
-- Ryan Frankson, EdmontonOilers.com