EDMONTON OILERS VS BUFFALO SABRES 01/02/2020 LIVE 7:00 PM ET

It's been well over a month since the Edmonton Oilers won back-to-back games. For the Buffalo Sabres, it might only seem that long since they last experienced victory.

Following their most productive, and nearly most devastating, contest of the season, the visiting Oilers look to extend the Sabres' losing streak to five games on Thursday night.

Edmonton, owner of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference, closed 2019 with a 7-5 home win over the New York Rangers on Tuesday. While the Oilers set a season high for goals, they nearly blew a 6-0 lead as the Rangers scored four times in the third to get within a goal.

"At the end of the day, we won the game and we'll never turn down two points," Oilers forward James Neal, who recorded a hat trick with an assist, told NHL.com. "You just move on and take the positives out of the game.

"Obviously, our mind wandered and we kind of got ahead of ourselves (late) ... It's a fast league and that's what happens sometimes."

Edmonton is 5-10-1 since winning back-to-back games on Nov. 23-24. Repeating that feat to open a five-game road stretch could provide a major confidence boast for the Oilers, who are looking to avoid a third straight defeat away from home.

They'll also aim to avenge a 3-2 overtime home loss to Buffalo from Dec. 8. The Oilers rallied from 2-0 down, but the Sabres' Colin Miller won it at 1:13 into the extra session.

Edmonton's Mike Smith made 19 saves on just 22 shots in that contest. It's part of his current 0-3-1 slide as a starter that includes a 4.53 goals-against average. Teammate Mikko Koskinen (14-8-2, 2.85 goals-against average) has not been much better of late while allowing nine goals in the last two contests.

The Sabres have won five of seven from Edmonton, but they're mired in a 1-6-1 rut -- with that lone victory coming versus the Los Angeles Kings on Dec. 21. Tuesday's 6-4 home defeat to Tampa Bay might have been the most frustrating of the stretch for Buffalo, which led 4-1 midway through the second period.

Buffalo has yielded 28 goals over the last seven games, and allowed opponents to go 5 of 15 on the power play in the three most recent contests. The Sabres, meanwhile, are 0 for 14 with the man-advantage over a five-game stretch.

"Just looks like (we're) squeezing it, trying too hard, forcing it. I'm not sure," coach Ralph Krueger told the Sabres' official website. "The guys are working hard, but we're not working right in some ways. We've got to get back to the fundamentals, and we've got to get back to the basics."

This is another matchup for two of the league's biggest stars and Nos. 1 and 2 picks in the 2015 NHL Draft in Edmonton's Connor McDavid (NHL-leading 64 points) and Buffalo's Jack Eichel (tied for seventh with 53 points). McDavid was held without a point against the Sabres last month after recording four over his previous two meetings. Eichel, who scored his 25th on Tuesday, has five goals and five assists in eight games versus Edmonton.

Buffalo's Linus Ullmark made 26 saves at Edmonton, but has a 3.11 goals-against average during his four-game losing streak. Backup Carter Hutton owns a hefty 4.19 goals-against average during his 0-6-4 stretch.