After a disastrous homestand, the Edmonton Oilers are embarking on a three-game road trip that could present a perfect storm for a continued losing streak.

It begins tonight in Dallas, where the Oilers will try to overcome sustained struggles against the Stars while beating a Western Conference opponent for the first time this season.

A five-game homestand extended Edmonton's losing streak to 0-5-1, with Saturday's loss of the embarrassing variety, 7-1 to Chicago. The Oilers have matched their longest losing streak of last season and another defeat will give the team its worst slide since going 0-8-3 from March 8-31, 2011.

Viktor Fasth will start in net for the Oilers. He has a 2-1-0 record with a 1.65 GAA in four games against Dallas.

All three of Edmonton's opponents on the trip are from the West, against which the Oilers are 0-10-1.

It only gets more difficult after the Dallas matchup with stops in Nashville and St. Louis, but even the Stars (8-9-4) have dominated the Oilers (6-13-2) with 13 wins in 16 meetings.

Edmonton hasn't given itself much of a chance with 23 goals in a 2-9-1 stretch. David Perron scored against the Blackhawks, but it was just his second in 21 games after scoring a career-high 28 a season ago.

Fellow forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has gone four games without a point and has two in eight career games against Dallas.

"We've got to find a way to not get too frustrated or else the negativity really seeps into your game," Nugent-Hopkins told the team's official website. "It just makes things a lot worse and I know the past few years there have been instances where it has been like that. We've shown a lot more promise this year than in the past couple of years, I know that for sure. We've just got to find a way to get ourselves motivated and get back on track."

The Stars were probably having similar thoughts after opening a five-game homestand with a third straight loss. They've since won two in a row, including Sunday's 5-4 victory over Los Angeles.

They'll need more time to improve a 3-5-4 home record, and possibly have more success while playing with a lead after nearly blowing a 4-0 advantage. Dallas has allowed 17 goals in four games.

"It's hard to stand here and talk about how well we played for almost 40 minutes," Ruff told the team's official website. "We've got some guys that have to grab hold of moments in a game and be able to change it."

Defenseman Jason Demers, acquired from San Jose on Friday, scored in his first game with the Stars, while Jamie Benn had two goals and an assist. Benn has three goals and three assists in three games.

Kari Lehtonen faced 41 shots and allowed at least four goals for the third time in four games - a 2-1-0 stretch with a 4.17 goals-against average. He's been considerably better against the Oilers with an 11-2-1 record and 1.92 GAA in 14 starts since joining the Stars.

Ben Scrivens' struggles have been far more sustained. He's posted a 4.27 GAA in a 0-6-1 span and has allowed five goals in each of his past two games - he faced only 13 shots against the Blackhawks before being pulled in the second period - culminating in the firing of goaltender coach Frederic Chabot prior to the trip.

Luke Gazdic is scheduled to make his season debut against his former organization.

 

Game Notes:

DAL was 2-0-1 vs EDM last season, 1-0-1 at home
EDM has gone 2-1-0 past 3 games in DAL

Dallas:
won 2 straight, have not won 3 straight this season
tied for 2nd worst team sv% .893
Benn (3G, 3A) 3 game PT streak

Edmonton:
0-5-1 past 6 games, outscored 23-11
leagues worst sv% .883
Eberle 0G, 1A past 3 games, 5 shots on net