NY Islanders face-off with McDavid, Draisaitl and the high-powered Edmonton Oilers

The New York Islanders continue their Western Canada swing Thursday night when they visit the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place.

The Islanders are coming off a 5-4 loss at Winnipeg on Tuesday, their first regulation defeat in five games. Emil Heineman, Anthony Duclair, Kyle MacLean and rookie defenseman Matthew Schaefer scored in the loss, while Ilya Sorokin made 17 saves.

New York has won four of its last six games and opened the road trip with a win at Minnesota before dropping decisions in Nashville (shootout) and Winnipeg. The Islanders defeated Edmonton 4-2 at UBS Arena on Oct. 16 but have not won at Rogers Place since March 7, 2017.

Defenseman Ryan Pulock continues to provide offense from the blue line. Pulock recorded his 20th point of the season with an assist Tuesday and tied Noah Dobson for fifth-most assists by a defenseman in franchise history. He leads the Islanders with 88 blocked shots and has already surpassed his assist totals from each of the previous two seasons.

Forward Casey Cizikas has five points in his last four games and remains a key part of New York’s depth scoring.

Edmonton enters Thursday coming off a 4-3 overtime loss to Nashville and has surged into a tie for first place in the Pacific Division. Since Dec. 1, the Oilers are 12-6-3 after a slow start.

Captain Connor McDavid brings a 20-game point streak into the matchup, totaling 46 points during that stretch and leading the NHL with 82 points overall. Leon Draisaitl has 10 points in his last five games and ranks among the league leaders in scoring.

Edmonton owns the NHL’s top power play at 33.8 percent, setting up a key matchup against the Islanders’ penalty kill as the road trip continues.