Oilers, Devils looking for 'special' play during matchup

Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner (74) reacts as the New York Islanders celebrate a goal by Bo Horvat during the second period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Explanations for a losing streak are rarely as easy as the one that explains the current slumps for the Edmonton Oilers and New Jersey Devils.

Both teams will be looking to improve their special teams play Thursday night, when the Oilers continue a season-long six-game road trip by visiting the Devils in Newark, N.J.

Both teams were off Wednesday after suffering defeats Tuesday, when the Oilers lost to the New York Islanders 3-1 in the opener of the trip and the host Devils fell to the Philadelphia Flyers, 3-2, in overtime.

The loss was the third straight following an eight-game winning streak for the Oilers, who have outshot their opponents 127-84 during the skid. Edmonton outshot the Islanders 31-21, including 15-3 in the third period, but was done in by its second period special teams struggles. New York scored a pair of power play goals before Simon Holmstrom added a short-handed tally.

"We've got to be better as a penalty kill unit, we've got to be better as a power play unit as well," Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm said.

The Oilers are just 2-for-10 on the power play in their last three games, a span in which they've allowed four power play goals in nine penalty kills. Edmonton scored on 44 percent (11 of 25) of its power play opportunities during the eight-game winning streak while limiting opponents to just one goal in 26 power plays.

"You look at our winning streak -- the eight games, we never lost a special teams battle," Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said. "It so often comes down to that. I thought 5-on-5 we out-chanced them. Spent a lot of time in the offensive zone. This is one of the nights where we got beat on the special teams, which doesn't usually happen."

The Devils are 5-2-1 in their last eight games despite scoring two goals or fewer five times in that span. New Jersey scored two goals or fewer just four times in its first 23 games.

Jesper Bratt gave the Devils a 2-1 lead in the second by scoring on the power play -- just the second man-advantage goal in 19 opportunities over the last seven games for New Jersey. Still, the Devils entered Wednesday tied with the New York Rangers for the most successful power play in the league at 31.3 percent (30 of 96).

The Devils showed improvement on the penalty kill by holding the Flyers scoreless in three power play opportunities. It was just the fourth time this season that New Jersey, which entered Wednesday 24th in the NHL on the penalty kill at 76.53 percent, kept an opponent scoreless in at least three power plays.

"Guys were desperate, I thought -- when they went to clear the puck, they cleared it and when they needed to get in a lane, they blocked shots," Devils right winger Nathan Bastian said. "It's great that the penalty kill did well tonight, because in the past we've struggled a little bit. So hopefully that's something we can take away from tonight."