Music: {allcanada} Edmonton (8-12-4) at Toronto (8-11-4)

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

{allcanada} Edmonton (8-12-4) at Toronto (8-11-4)

Game info: 7:00 pm EST Thu Dec 2, 2010
TV: RSNE, LTV

Consecutive strong efforts through two games in eastern Canada have the Edmonton Oilers in position for their longest winning streak this season.

The Oilers look to conclude a sweep of their three-game trip by handing the struggling Toronto Maple Leafs a fourth straight loss Thursday night.

Edmonton (8-12-4) opened the swing with a 4-1 win at Ottawa on Monday then rallied from a two-goal, third-period deficit to beat Montreal 4-3 in overtime on Wednesday.

It's the first time since starting 2-0-0 that the Oilers have won consecutive games.

"Our team delivered as you hoped they would in terms of their effort and making it entertaining, all those things," Oilers coach Tom Renney said Wednesday. "The bottom line is that we really gutted it out here when we could have maybe just gone south and said, `You know, that's good enough. We're OK.' These guys clearly understand that that's not good enough any more and that's the beauty of a team growing up before your eyes."

Edmonton is 5-6-3 on the road this season after winning nine games away from home in 2009-10.

The Oilers benefited from the return of Ales Hemsky (notes), who had a goal with two assists in his first game after missing three straight with a groin injury.

Dustin Penner (notes) scored the winner, notching his fifth point in four games. Sam Gagner (notes) tied the game and added an assist, giving him two goals and three assists in three contests.

Penner and Gagner combined for a goal and three assists in a 6-4 loss at Toronto in the teams' last meeting March 13.

The Oilers assigned goaltender Martin Gerber (notes) to Oklahoma City of the American Hockey League on Wednesday, meaning Nikolai Khabibulin (notes) is ready to return after missing seven games with a pulled groin muscle.

Khabibulin is 4-10-1 with a 4.07 goals-against average this season, but has a 2.66 GAA during a three-game winning streak against Toronto.

Devan Dubnyk (notes), however, could start again after making 36 saves Wednesday to improve to 2-2-3 with a 3.20 GAA. He stopped 18 of 19 shots off the bench during the loss to Toronto in March.

The Maple Leafs (8-11-4) have dropped four of their last five and 15 of 19 since opening with four straight victories.

After scoring five goals in its previous four contests, Toronto was productive in the offensive zone but allowed three straight goals to fall 4-3 in overtime against Tampa Bay on Tuesday.

Nikolai Kulemin (notes) scored twice and Kris Versteeg (notes) added a goal with an assist. Kulemin, who has nine goals after posting 16 last season, had a goal and assist against the Oilers in March.

Though Jean-Sebastien Giguere (notes) appears ready to return after a strained hamstring has sidelined him the last two weeks, Jonas Gustavsson (notes) will start after making 35 saves versus Tampa Bay.

"(Gustavsson) will be in (Thursday) and we'll decide after that," coach Ron Wilson told the Maple Leafs' official website.

Gustavsson, 3-6-2 with a 2.58 GAA, stopped 25 shots in his only previous appearance against the Oilers in March.