The Edmonton Oilers started their four-game Eastern Conference road trip with a disappointing 3-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday. They’ll now play back-to-back games against the New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders on Thursday and Friday.
1. With Edmonton falling in regulation time in Buffalo and the Vegas Golden Knights picking up a loser point against the Pittsburgh Penguins earlier this week, the Oilers are now five points back of first place in the Pacific Division. The Los Angeles Kings are on a three-game winning streak and are now only one point back of the Oilers for second place with one game in hand.
The top three teams in the Pacific Division standings will all be in action on Thursday. The Oilers are in New Jersey to play the Devils, the Golden Knights are in Columbus to face the Blue Jackets, and the Kings are hosting the Washington Capitals.
2. The Devils are in third place in the Metro Division, six points back of the Carolina Hurricanes and six points up on the Blue Jackets. Columbus has two games in hand, so they may bump New Jersey into a Wild Card spot in the final few weeks of the season.
The team is dealing with a pair of injuries suffered by key players at the beginning of March. Top centre Jack Hughes will be out for the remainder of the 2024-25 season and playoffs after having surgery on his right shoulder. Top-four defender Dougie Hamilton is on the Injured Reserve with a lower-body injury and might be able to return in the playoffs.
Hughes suffered his injury during a loss to the Golden Knights and Hamilton’s came during the team’s next game.
3. After Hughes was injured, the Devils dropped two games to the Dallas Stars and Winnipeg Jets and bounced back with wins over the Philadelphia Flyers and Blue Jackets.
Helping drive the offence in those two wins was newly-acquired centre Cody Glass, who the Devils picked up from the Penguins on trade deadline day last week. The sixth overall pick from the 2017 draft is playing on New Jersey’s second line with Jesper Bratt and Erik Haula on his wings and he has three points in his first two games with the team.
The Devils also added defenceman Brian Dumoulin ahead of the trade deadline to add some veteran depth to the team’s blueline. With Hamilton injured, Bress Pesce has seen his playing time increase. He logged a season-high 25:16 in New Jersey’s win over the Flyers and 24:34 against the Blue Jackets, well above his 21:03 average on the year.
4. New Jersey ranks 13th in the NHL with 197 goals scored. Hughes and Nico Hischier, New Jersey’s top two centres, lead the Devils with 27 goals each, and winger Jesper Bratt leads the team with 73 points. Bratt, Timo Meier, and Stefan Noesen are all closing in on the 20-goal mark.
The Devils have allowed 167 goals against this season, which is the fourth fewest in the NHL. Jacob Markstrom has posted a .906 save percentage over 40 games and Jake Allen has a .908 save percentage in 24 appearances.
5. The first meeting between the Oilers and Devils of the 2024-25 season came in Edmonton in early November. Calvin Pickard allowed three goals on 16 shots and Jake Allen stopped all 31 attempts from the home side in a 3-0 shutout victory. Connor McDavid was on the sidelines for that loss with an ankle injury.
With a win, the Devils would sweep their season series with the Oilers for the second time in three years. New Jersey won both of their games against Edmonton in 2022-23 and the Oilers responded with two wins over the Devils in 2023-24.
