Their seven-game road gantlet finished on a winning note, and now the Edmonton Oilers will try to build on that momentum when they play host to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday.
The Oilers, with six of their next seven games at home, return to action after a solid 6-3 victory over the Florida Panthers on Saturday that completed a trip in which they posted a middling 3-3-1 record.
“It was massive,” said Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner. “That took a lot of guts from our team. It was a really long road trip with some tough travel and some really tough teams to play against, so the fact that we were able to come out and get a win is really important.”
The Oilers went to the past two Stanley Cup Finals and lost to the Panthers in both series, but retribution was not their only goal. More important is finding some traction in what has been a mediocre season.
Cobbling together a victory over the defending champion has the potential to be a springboard for Edmonton, which has played 16 of 24 games on the road.
“Every game there’s something to build off of, whether it’s learning or keeping momentum,” said forward Jack Roslovic, who scored twice.
The trip was positive in that it united the group for a lengthy period — both for some team building and to ensure they are all on the same page.
“We had some really good discussions as a group,” Skinner said. “We were able to come together, especially after a couple of tough losses, and just kind of find our rhythm and start finding our play. I think that’s starting to happen, and it’s going to continue.”
Dallas arrives in Edmonton to kick off the back half of a four-game road trip that opened with a 4-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks and a 3-2 shootout loss on Saturday at Calgary.
The Stars can take solace in the fact they erased a 2-0 third-period deficit to reach extra time, but they can also lament that Calgary, which sat last in the league going into the clash, staked that lead and then pulled off the win.
“We’ll take the point,” said Stars coach Glen Gulutzan. “I thought both goalies were fantastic. We pushed it to a shootout and we liked our chances. The shootout’s anybody’s game.”
Even with the setback, the Stars have only one regulation loss in their last eight games and two in 16 outings (10-2-4).
“Obviously, we don’t want to be putting ourselves in those situations, but that’s hockey right now for some reason,” said Stars captain Jamie Benn. “I like the way we’re battling back. We’ve been finding ways to win these games.”
Against Calgary, forward Jason Robertson extended his goal-scoring streak to a career-best-tying six games. Robertson also rides a seven-game point streak (10 goals, five assists) into Edmonton.
Dallas will be without forward Mikko Rantanen, who received an automatic one-game suspension after earning game misconducts in rapid succession for boarding the New York Islanders’ Alexander Romanov and Calgary’s Matt Coronato.
Rantanen was handed two majors in a three-game span for those hits, but he will not face further discipline.
