Oilers visit winless Predators in battle of slow-starting squads

The Edmonton Oilers will aim for back-to-back wins when they travel to Nashville to face the Predators on Thursday.

The Oilers snapped a three-game skid with a 4-3 overtime victory against the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night, concluding a four-game homestand. Edmonton had dropped three straight for the first time since the 2015-16 season -- Connor McDavid's rookie campaign.

Leon Draisaitl scored 56 seconds into overtime, while Evan Bouchard, Adam Henrique and Connor Brown also scored for the Oilers, who open a two-game road trip in Nashville. McDavid, who has yet to score this season, had two assists in Tuesday's win.

"Our best players really came up clutch," Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. "The game-tying goal, Leon makes a play on the wall, McDavid makes a pass and Bouchard scores. And obviously, those guys were on the ice again for the game-winning goal.

"We need those guys to make key plays in key moments, and they definitely did (on Tuesday)."

Draisaitl has two goals and an assist in four games this season, while McDavid has a team-leading four helpers.

Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner is 1-2-0 with an .845 save percentage and a 5.40 goals-against average in three starts this season. Skinner won his lone career start against the Predators last season.

Edmonton won two of three meetings against the Predators last season. The Oilers won 6-1 on Oct. 17, and Nashville picked up a 5-2 victory in Edmonton on Nov. 4. The Oilers concluded the season series with a 4-1 win on Jan. 27.

Like the Oilers did, the Predators have dropped three straight to open the season following a 7-3 home loss to the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday. Nashville lost to the visiting Dallas Stars 4-3 in Thursday's season opener before being shut out 3-0 at the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.

On Tuesday, the Predators entered the third period tied 3-3 but surrendered four unanswered goals to Seattle in the loss.

"We're trying to play fire wagon hockey here, and we've kind of lost a little bit of our identity with how we're supposed to play," Predators coach Andrew Brunette said.

"We're kind of playing how we want to play a little bit. I think there's still, again, a lot of summer hockey in our game and a lot of trying to be cute and make plays instead of being direct."

Forward Filip Forsberg has one goal and two assists through three games, while Tommy Novak has two tallies in three games.

Steven Stamkos, who signed a four-year deal with Nashville in the offseason, moved to center on Tuesday after playing left wing in the first two games. The 34-year-old has yet to find the scoresheet in a Predators uniform.

Nashville netminder Juuse Saros is 0-2-0 to start the season with an .855 save percentage and a 4.20 GAA. In 10 career appearances against the Oilers, Saros is 3-5-1 with a .916 save percentage and 3.06 GAA.

Thursday is the first of three meetings between the clubs. The Oilers travel to Nashville on Oct. 31 before the teams conclude the season series in Edmonton on Nov. 14.