After a strong start under new coach Ken Hitchcock Authentic Julio Jones 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, 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 Julio Jones Jersey Limited , 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. NEW YORK — These are enjoyable times for the Columbus Blue Jackets, who are starting to get on a roll and getting outstanding goaltending from Sergei Bobrovsky.The Blue Jackets attempt to get their season-high fifth straight victory and Bobrovsky likely will be in nets Thursday night when they visit the New York Rangers.Columbus is trying to get its fourth winning streak of at least five games since the start of the 2016-17 season. The Blue Jackets also are 6-2-1 in their last nine games since a 9-6 home loss to the Calgary Flames on Dec. 4.Article continues below ...Bobrovsky is 4-0-0 with a 1.00 goals-against average and a .970 save percentage during Columbus’ winning streak. He is facing an average of 33.5 shots per game and his performances helped the Blue Jackets win three straight one-goal games before Sunday’s 3-0 win at New Jersey when Bobrovsky made 39 saves, his second-highest total of the season.His recent performances helped him get named as the NHL’s first star Monday. Since allowing eight goals to Calgary http://www.atlantafalconsteamonline.com/julio-jones-jersey , Bobrovsky is 6-1 with a 1.77 GAA and .942 save percentage.“There are ups and downs,” Bobrovsky said. “It’s a long season. You never know what’s going to happen, so you just play by the moment and do your things.”While Bobrovsky was stopping 19 shots in the third period, his teammates helped by scoring twice in the opening 5:31 and adding a second-period tally. Cam Atkinson scored the first goal, giving him 17 goals in the last 20 games while Artemi Panarin scored an unassisted tally, marking the third time he scored in consecutive games this season.“It’s always good to get the first one, especially in the away barn,” Atkinson said. “We knew we’d see their best and to feel good right away, it’s good for us. We can enjoy this and get a little bit of a rest here and be ready for the Rangers.”Besides their overall streak, the Blue Jackets will be attempting to get a fourth straight road win and improve on their 7-4-1 record against Metropolitan Division opponents.One of New York’s wins during a 10-3-1 surge from Oct. 23-Nov. 21 was a 5-4 shootout win in Columbus on Nov. 10 when Jimmy Vesey scored the game-tying goal in the final minute of regulation and scored the winner in the fifth round of the shootout against Joonas Korpisalo.The last game of New York’s hot streak was a 5-0 home win over the New York Islanders on Nov. 21. Two days later, they were handed a 4-0 loss in Philadelphia that started their 3-6-4 slide.During the skid, the Rangers have lost four one-goal games and are 2-2-4 at home. They also have been outshot on nine occasions and allowed at least 40 shots on goal four times.In their last game, the Rangers did not allow 40 shots or get outshot but wound up with a 3-2 shootout loss at home to Philadelphia on Sunday. Chris Kreider scored in the first period, Boo Nieves tallied in the second but Mats Zuccarello Authentic Matt Ryan Jersey , Mika Zibanejad, Pavel Buchnevich, and Kevin Hays were unable to score in the shootout against Michal Neuvirth.“I took a look this morning at the standings, and obviously the separation is getting bigger,” New York goaltender Henrik Lundqvist said. “We have to start winning here if you want to be part of that race. Take this break and regroup and realize how desperate we need to be coming back.”While the Rangers are 13-8-5 in games by decided by two goals or fewer, they also have faltered against some of the Eastern Conference’s top teams. They took a 6-3 loss at Tampa Bay on Dec. 10 after scoring the first two goals, allowed four goals in the second period at Toronto on Saturday and are 0-1-1 against the Washington Capitals.“In the last few weeks here, it’s been hard to get the wins,” Lundqvist said. “So when we get back, we really have to dig deep.”While wins are difficult for the Rangers after last month’s hot streak, getting points is not for Hayes.Hayes is on a career-high seven-game point streak that is also the longest by a Ranger this season. During his streak, Hayes has accumulated five goals and eight assists and in his last 24 games, he has eight goals and 19 assists.The Rangers are 11-6 in the last 17 meetings against Columbus while 11 of the last 12 encounters with the Blue Jackets have been decided by two goals or fewer.