'We're in a dogfight': 8th place Oilers hit the road where they've played better lately

After a disappointing home stand, the Edmonton Oilers hit the ice in California and Nevada this week, where they hope to keep rolling on the road.

The Oilers are 4-1 in their last five away games.

Edmonton is 1-3-1 in its last five at Rogers Place, where the team most recently blew a 2-0 lead to the Colorado Avalanche in a 3-2 overtime loss on Saturday.

"Tough way to lose. I'm obviously pretty frustrated right now. Yeah, it sucks," goalie Stuart Skinner said after the game.

The Oilers also had a 2-0 lead on the Seattle Kraken Tuesday before losing 5-2.

Edmonton jumped ahead of the Vancouver Canucks 2-0 at home on Dec. 23 before giving up five straight goals to lose 5-2.

"I don't know if we call it a trend. I think it's just hockey and I think it's part of learning. If you're in the playoffs, you're going to be in situations where you have two-goal leads and you have to learn how to defend it and how to play against a good team that's going to push," forward Zach Hyman said on Saturday.

"I thought our team did some good things out there; obviously we would have liked to close them out. But they're the Stanley Cup champs, they pushed back, and as I said, there's lots of positive to take out of it," Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said.

In their last five home games, the Oilers have scored 11 goals and allowed 17.

In their last five on the road, they've scored 24 and allowed 13.

The Oilers have recently bounced in and out of a playoff spot, winning four of their last 10 games.

With a 21-17-3 record at the halfway point of the regular season, the Oilers were fifth in the Pacific Division Monday, occupying the final playoff spot in the Western Conference with the eighth most points.

Edmonton's road trip includes stops in Los Angeles on Monday, Anaheim on Wednesday, San Jose on Friday and Las Vegas on Saturday.

"We're in a dogfight right now for points every night and [L.A.] is directly in front of us, so we're just taking it one game at a time here," Woodcroft said Monday.

"That first half [of the season] is done. It's in the rearview mirror. It's about improving and improving on a daily basis."

Stuart Skinner will start for the Oilers again on Monday and defenceman Vincent Desharnais was recalled from the AHL's Bakersfield Condors.

The puck drops in L.A. shortly after 8:30 p.m. MT.