PREVIEW: Oilers at Bruins

The Edmonton Oilers head to the East Coast to continue their four-game road trip against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Tuesday night.

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PREVIEW: Oilers at Bruins

BOSTON, MA – From the West Coast to the East Coast, the Edmonton Oilers continue to cruise along following back-to-back weekend victories as they get set to encounter the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Tuesday night.

The Oilers have won seven of their last 10 games (7-2-1) and 14 of their last 18 (14-3-1) after winning on consecutive nights against Pacific Division opponents in the Anaheim Ducks and Seattle Kraken on Friday and Saturday to push their current win streak to three games.

Leon Draisaitl tied his career-best point streak of 14 games (11G, 14A) with an assist on Vasily Podkolzin’s early marker before adding an empty-netter in the final two minutes for his league-leading 29^th goal of the campaign in a 4-2 win over the Kraken – their seventh straight winning result against Seattle.

Jeff Skinner scored a beauty during the first period for his seventh goal of the season, giving him points in consecutive games since coming out of the lineup for one game in Edmonton’s 5-3 defeat to Anaheim on Dec. 29 as the 32-year-old winger shows signs of resurgence from his slow start to his season.

“I'm sure he was excited to join our team, and we were excited to have him, but things hadn't worked out as well as anticipated,” Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said of his side's off-season signing. “I think he's been working hard to get his game back to where it should be, so hopefully, he builds on that and gets rewarded with some more ice time and opportunities.”

When the Oilers visit the Bruins, Skinner will get his next chance to build on his recent performance on the third line next to Adam Henrique and Zach Hyman after being elevated in the lineup during Monday’s practice at TD Garden in Boston.

“He’s starting to build some confidence through this game. I think that's the biggest thing,” Knoblauch added. “I think his work ethic has been what it needs to be. He’s been working hard on the defensive details, but the most important thing to any player – whether you're a goalie, defenceman or forward, and especially a goal scorer – is confidence.

“You're starting to see him enjoying the game, smiling, having fun and feeling better with the puck.”

After beating Seattle, Edmonton made the long five-hour-plus flight to Boston the next morning to continue their long four-game road trip, which will take them across all four time zones before they return to Rogers Place on Jan. 13 to host Los Angeles in a one-off homestand.

The Oilers will play six of their next seven games on the road – all of which will be completed over a 12-day span that begins on Tuesday in Boston.

Coach Knoblauch said their heavy travel schedule underscores the importance of every player getting the rest they need to compete at the highest level, starting with how they remained in Seattle overnight before making the lengthy trip to the East Coast.

“There's the opportunity after the game to leave right after, but the most important thing is the players being able to get their sleep,” he said. “If we were to leave after the game to Boston, we're probably looking at 4 or 5 AM, and obviously, that's not optimal for the players to get their sleep.

“Everyone hopefully got a good night's sleep and we left the next day. It was a long day, but it was formidable. It's nothing crazy. We got in at a decent hour, guys are here for dinner, and they have an excellent opportunity to get another good night's sleep, so sleep is very important.”

The Oilers still have plenty of road (or air) to cover this regular season beyond their current four-game road trip, including upcoming visits to both New York and Florida, but the schedule is what the schedule is, and it’s hard to complain about travel when you’re in the NHL, the bench boss said.

“A lot of cities and a lot of time zones,” Knoblauch said after Monday’s practice in Boston. “I just remind myself of the Western Hockey League and the travel that we used to do, so no matter what I see here in the NHL, this is nothing in comparison.”

The Oilers took to the ice for practice on Monday at TD Garden to shake off the previous day’s travel and prepare themselves to meet a perennial contender in the Bruins, who’ve lost four straight games (0-3-1) and five of their last six (1-4-1) after losing back-to-back matches this past weekend to the Maple Leafs and Islanders.

David Pastrnak notched two goals for the second straight game in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Islanders on Sunday and leads the Bruins with 17 goals and 25 assists in 42 games this season for a double-digit lead on their next closest player in captain Brad Marchand (32 points in 42 games).

Despite their recent struggles, the Bruins still find themselves third in the Atlantic Division with a 20-17-5 record.

Oilers defenceman Brett Kulak celebrated his 31st birthday on Monday and is looking forward to his side continuing to build towards getting back to the Stanley Cup Final for the second straight season, which begins on Monday with a hard matchup against Boston.

"Every day, you're moving forward with the thought in your mind you want to win the Cup, so that's the mindset every day," Kulak said. "It's been that way for a few years and we came close last year. We're really hungry to get back there and get the job done, so we're playing good hockey, but that's what we expect out of ourselves and we're moving forward day after day."

The Oilers have won all four of their previous visits to Boston and have already earned victory over the Bruins this season back on Dec. 17 at Rogers Place. Defenceman Mattias Ekholm scored the winner, and Leon Draisaitl had three assists in a 3-2 overtime triumph that saw them recover from a 2-0 deficit in the first period with three straight goals.