Penguins and Oilers are each looking to rebound after a slow start

EDMONTON – It may be early in the season, but desperation will be high when the Pittsburgh Penguins take on the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place on Friday (9 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN1, SN-PIT).

Edmonton (2-4-1) got off to a slow start after losing in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals last season and should be a contender again this season, while Pittsburgh (3-4-1). Traction is hoping for a win in its quest to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2022.

“I think that’s something we’ll see a lot, teams desperate to get their next win or excited to play us,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said Thursday. “There are teams where Connor McDavid comes into your building or you play against him. The boys are on their toes and want to do their best. It’s good that we get the best from other teams, it only makes us stronger and longer.”

The game will be the 14th direct meeting between McDavid and Penguins captain Sidney Crosby. Edmonton has won its last seven games after losing the first six (0-3-3) with both players in the lineup.

Both teams are looking for answers to get their respective seasons back on track. Pittsburgh sent starting goalie Tristan Jarry home on Wednesday to work on his game. Jarry had a 1-1-0 record in three starts with a goals-against average of 5.47 and a save percentage of .836.

“He works with Jon Elkin, one of our goaltending coaches there,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said Thursday. “He’s getting some individual time and that’s just part of the process we’ve put in place here over the next little while to help Tristan do his best.”

Joel Blomqvist is expected to start in goal for Pittsburgh against the Oilers. The Penguins are playing the second of a four-game road trip through western Canada. Earlier in the trip, they lost in a shootout to the Calgary Flames 4-3 on Tuesday and 6-3 to the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday. The finale will take place on Saturday at the Vancouver Canucks.

“They have a lot of quality players who have done this for decades,” Knoblauch said. “Obviously, (Evgeni) Malkin and Crosby are off to a good start, along with (Erik) Karlsson and (Kris) Letang on the back end, who are very dangerous on the blue line and like to get involved in the game and.” A lot of the generated offense starts with them, we have a lot of challenges that I mention and they also have a lot of other good players.

Edmonton lost 3-2 in overtime to the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday and 4-1 to the Dallas Stars last Saturday. The Oilers are 1-3-1 at home this season.

McDavid has eight points (three goals, five assists) in seven games this season and 27 points (nine goals, 18 assists) with a plus-15 rating in his last 13 games against Crosby and the Penguins.

Crosby has seven points (one goal, six assists) and seven points (three goals, four assists) with a minus-12 rating against McDavid and the Oilers in eight games this season.

Despite his recent struggles against Edmonton, Crosby still poses a difficult challenge for opponents, Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm said.

“He’s like you played before I got here [McDavid]“And it’s kind of a measure of where you are defensively,” Ekholm said. “Throughout my career I’ve played against some top lines and tried to shut them down.” [Crosby] has always been a challenge and (I) haven’t come close to accomplishing it, so it’s always been a humbling moment. It’s always been a benchmark and a challenge that I’ve always risen to and he’s a competitor and it’s always been a lot of fun playing against him.”