OILERS GAME DAY

The Oilers will be looking to snap a five-game losing skid when they take on the Arizona Coyotes today in Glendale, Az. (2 p.m., MT at Gila River Arena, TV: Sportsnet, radio: 630 CHED).

1. Bet the over

Just a hunch, but there should be a few goals scored in this one. Arizona and Edmonton are currently 28th and 29th in the NHL in goals-against average this season at 3.24 and 3.31 respectively. Arizona also has the worst goal differential in the league at minus-58. So there’s a pretty good chance the floodgates will open for both sides in this one.

2. Coyotes howling

If you only judged things by the standings, the Oilers would be slight favourites in this game, but this is a meeting between two teams at opposite sides of the momentum spectrum. While the Oilers have lost five games in a row, the Coyotes are riding a five-game point streak (4-0-1) and are 5-4-1 in their last 10 to Edmonton’s 3-6-1.

3. Duck!

There was some speculation goaltender Al Montoya might get the start against Arizona, considering he came off the bench to beat them last month. But he took a hard shot on the collarbone/neck in practice Friday and was down on the ice for several minutes before leaving in considerable discomfort. He seemed OK in the dressing room but will be evaluated again Saturday.

4. Hot hands

Former Oilers player Tobias Rieder has been lighting it up lately for the Coyotes with two goals and three assists in his last three games. But he’s still not as hot as rookie Clayton Keller, who turned in a four-point night Thursday against Montreal for seven points in his last four games. For the Oilers, Leon Draisaitl has a three-game goal-scoring streak on the go, and has five goals in his last six games.

5. Perfect tonic

The Oilers will ride a fivegame losing streak into this game, but if recent history holds true the slump should be over soon. While Arizona holds an incredible 27-6-5 edge over the Oilers in their last 38 meetings, the Oilers have won the last five headto-head and earned points in seven of the last 10.

Oilers: C Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (chest), D Andrej Sekera (jaw); Coyotes: None.

KEY MATCHUP

Arizona power play vs. Oilers penalty kill

The Coyotes are clicking with the man advantage lately, scoring four times in the last three games, including a pair of man advantage markers against the Montreal Canadiens last game. Rieder has two of them and given Edmonton’s history of former Oilers scoring against them, another power play goal could be in the cards Saturday.

The Oilers penalty kill, meanwhile, has given up four goals in the last two games, three of them coming at home to the Florida Panthers. Edmonton is much better on the PK on the road than they are at home, but power plays tend to be streaky and if the Coyotes are hot right now it could be trouble.

SPECIAL TEAMS:

Edmonton: PP 14.9 per cent (30th in league), PK 70.7 per cent (31st in league)

Arizona: PP 18.1 per cent (23rd in league), PK 79.2 per cent (21st in league)