The Edmonton Oilers are still trying to shake up one of the most enigmatic trends of the NHL season.
The Oilers have conceded the first goal in 22 of their last 26 games.
“The first time I heard the statistics. I did not think about it, “said goalkeeper Mikko Koskinen. “Hopefully I will forget it when I walk out here. It’s not going to get in my head.
“You can not start thinking about such things. We all know we need a better start. ”
Koskinen is expected to start in goal against the Florida Panthers on Thursday.
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The Panthers are, despite losing Tuesday night in Calgary, one of the NHL’s hottest teams. They are 8-1-1 in their last 10.
“It does not matter who enters here now. We got our full attention on everything. You recognize your opponent. You acknowledge their strengths, their weaknesses, but we have to worry about what we do here, ”said head coach Dave Tippett.
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The Oilers are at the other end of the spectrum for the Panthers, with 2-10-2 since December 3rd.
“We try to stay as positive as possible. It’s hard right now because we do not play many games. We are not in a rhythm, “said defender Cody Ceci.
“I like a lot of what I have seen in practice over the past few days. It was a very high level of competition. Hopefully we can translate that into tomorrow’s match, “said Koskinen.
The NHL released an updated schedule Wednesday afternoon. The Oilers have postponed nine games due to COVID. The new dates are:
February 8 vs. Vegas
February 9 vs Chicago
February 11 vs. New York Islanders
February 14 at San Jose
February 15 at Los Angeles
February 17 vs Anaheim
February 19 in Winnipeg
February 20 vs Minnesota
March 7 at Calgary
Defender Kris Russell is available to return Thursday from injury. Forward Brendan Perlini did not skate after being out of training early on Tuesday. Tippett said Perlini is not excluded for Thursday.
630 CHED will have all the action on Thursday, starting with the Face-Off Show at 5:30 p.m. The puck falls at 19:00
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