After a strong start under new coach Ken Hitchcock http://www.redwingsshoponline.com/authentic-jimmy-howard-jersey , the Edmonton Oilers are proving to be a work in progress.With the league’s Christmas break in the rearview mirror, the Oilers have to figure out how to squeeze more production out of every player, starting with Thursday’s matchup against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Place.In the first 3 1/2 weeks under Hitchcock, Edmonton (18-15-3) picked up 20 of a possible 26 points, but the Oilers slumped recently.With a 6-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday, the Oilers have been outscored 14-6 during a three-game skid. The club also surrendered five power-play goals during that span, including three in a 4-2 loss at Vancouver on Dec. 16.Article continues below ...Lack of consistent production from players other than Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Alex Chiasson combined with injuries to defensemen Oscar Klefbom and Kris Russell have contributed to Edmonton’s slide.“We’re going to have to figure out who’s helping and who’s hurting for us to get to another level,” Hitchcock said. “We can’t keep doing it the same way over and over because it’s not going to work.”One core player — and a Stanley Cup winner — believes the team needs to show more mental toughness.“This group has to learn how to play in close games,” said Chiasson, who won a championship with the Washington Capitals last summer before joining the Oilers in October. “If you want to be a playoff team, a team that has the chance to go deep Jonathan Ericsson Jersey , you have to learn how to play down one goal and stick with it for 60 minutes.”Chiasson is third on the team with a career-best 16 goals, including four in his last five games.Edmonton has won four straight and is 6-0-1 in its last seven at home against the Canucks.Vancouver (17-18-4) kicks off a six-game road trip looking to continue its strong play away from home. After six consecutive road losses in November, the Canucks went 3-0-1, including a win over the Columbus Blue Jackets and a point against the Nashville Predators.Travis Green’s team comes off a 1-0 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday. After his team took three of five on the homestand, Green offered praise.“I like the way our team is progressing. I like the way they are playing. I wish we had a few more wins, I think we easily could,” he told the team’s official website.Vancouver is 10th in the Western Conference, but Green also points to a culture change for a club long linked to now-retired twins Daniel and Henrik Sedin and that hasn’t been to the postseason since 2013.“We’re still young in a lot of areas. Sometimes that shows. We’re in it right now. We’re playing to win,” Green said. “Our guys are believing in themselves. We talk about playing fast and hard and playing with confidence, and they are.” The team features young stars in Brock Boeser and Bo Horvat, who has scored 12 of his 17 goals this season on the road.However, rookie Elias Petterson may be the best of the bunch.The 20-year-old winger has points in eight of 11 games this month, including his second five-point effort on Dec. 9 in a rout of the St. Louis Blues.Petterson leads all rookies in goals (17) and assists (19). No other first-year player has more than 23 points.One of Petterson’s five game-winning goals came against the Oilers this month. GOTHENBURG Womens Justin Abdelkader Jersey , Sweden (AP) — Kyle Palmieri, Travis Zajac and the New Jersey Devils left the Edmonton Oilers behind in their season-opener, showing the form that helped them return to the playoffs last season.Palmieri and Zajac scored two goals each to lead the Devils to a 5-2 victory Saturday night in the NHL Global Series game at Scandinavium.“We feel like we have a good group, we have a strong culture,” New Jersey coach John Hynes said. “We have an identity of how we want to play, the types of players we want, how we want to be off the ice. Those are really the things that matter. We want be a tough team to play against.”Stefan Noesen also scored, Miles Wood had two assists, and Keith Kinkaid made 17 saves.“We played a pretty good hockey game from the start,” Zajac said. “Not too many lapses, in our play throughout the game, our speed eventually kind of took over. We played the right way, especially with the lead. It’s early in the season and it’s a good sign.”Milan Lucic and Leon Draisaitl scored for the Oilers.In the new season Luke Glendening Jersey , Palmieri didn’t waste time.He picked up the puck near the boards in the offensive zone, moved unchecked toward the net from the left and beat Cam Talbot inside the far post on the first shot on goal in the opening minute.The Oilers came back on a power play, with captain Connor McDavid setting it up. The star center used his speed to carry the puck up ice from his own zone and skated around the goal to feed Lucic in front for a one-timer to tie it at 4:01.New Jersey took control early in the middle period with goals from Palmieri and Zajac in a 1:09 span. Palmieri scored on a power play for his second, and Zajac doubled the advantage after Talbot lost the puck behind the goal. The Devils dominated, outshooting the Oilers 10-4 in the period.“Obviously, we weren’t good enough, they were good,” McDavid said. “We did some good stuff, we did some bad stuff, too.”Zajac added his second in the third period after a defensive blunder by defenseman Matt Benning, and before Draisaitl reduced the deficit to 4-2. Noesen finished it off with an empty-netter.“Give them credit, they pressured us in areas that give us a lot of headaches and we weren’t able to do the same for them,” Edmonton coach Todd McLellan said. “We had a tough night Martin Frk Jersey , it was evident. Our puck movement, our puck support, our ability to play fast and clean was not very good.”It was the 23rd NHL regular-season game played in Europe, the 11th in Sweden and the first in Gothenburg.Prior to Saturday, the Devils completed a training camp in Switzerland where they played SC Bern in an exhibition game, while the Oilers came from practice in Germany, where they faced Cologne in an exhibition.The NHL will return to Europe next month. On Nov. 1-2, the Florida Panthers and the Winnipeg Jets will play two regular-season games in the Finnish capital of Helsinki.NOTES: It was only the second time in NHL history that the last two Hart Trophy winners faced each other in a season-opening game. It was also only the third time that the reigning Art Ross Trophy winner (McDavid) and reigning Hart Memorial Trophy winner (Taylor) played against each other in a season opener.UP NEXTOilers: At Boston on Thursday night.Devils: Host Stanley Cup champion Washington on Thursday night.