EDMONTON — It may be early in the season, but the level of despair will be high when the Pittsburgh Penguins take on the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place on Friday (9 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN1, SN-PIT).

Edmonton (2-4-1) is off to a slow start after losing in Game 7 of last season’s Stanley Cup Finals and should be a contender again this season, while Pittsburgh (3-4-1) is looking to gain traction in its quest to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2022.

“I think it’s something we’re going to see a lot of teams that are either desperate for their next win or ready to take on us,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said Thursday. “There are teams when Connor McDavid comes into your building or you play against him, guys are on their toes and want to play their best. It’s good that we get the best from other teams, it just makes us stronger for longer.”

This will be the 14th meeting between McDavid and Penguins captain Sidney Crosby. Edmonton has won the previous seven games after losing the first six (0-3-3) with both players in the lineup.

Both teams are looking for answers to try to get their respective seasons back on track. Pittsburgh sent starting goalie Tristan Jarry home Wednesday to work on his game. Jarry was 1-1-0 in three starts with a 5.47 goals-against average and .836 save percentage.

“He works with Jon Elkin, one of our goaltending coaches there,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said Thursday. “He’s getting some individual time and that’s just part of the process we’ve put in place here over the next few years to try and help Tristan be the best he can be.”

Joel Blomqvist should get the start in goal for Pittsburgh against the Oilers. The Penguins are playing the second of a four-game road trip in Western Canada. They lost 4-3 in a shootout to the Calgary Flames on Tuesday and 6-3 to the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday to start the trip. It ends at the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday.

“They have a lot of top players who have been able to do this (win) for decades,” Knoblauch said. “Obviously with (Evgeni) Malkin and Crosby and them getting off to a good start, with (Erik) Karlsson and (Kris) Letang in the back who are very dangerous on the blue line and like to get involved in the play and A lot of the offense generated starts with them, we have a lot of challenges Those are four guys I mention, and they have a lot of other good players as well.

Edmonton lost 3-2 in overtime to the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday and 4-1 to the Dallas Stars last Saturday. The Oilers are 1-3-1 at home this season.

McDavid has eight points (three goals, five assists) in seven games this season and 27 points (nine goals, 18 assists) with a plus-15 rating in his previous 13 games against Crosby and the Penguins.

Crosby has seven points (one goal, six assists) in eight games this season and has seven points (three goals, four assists) with a minus-12 rating against McDavid and the Oilers.

Despite his recent struggles against Edmonton, Crosby still poses a tough challenge for opponents, Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm said.

“He’s kind of, before I was here, you played (McDavid), and he’s kind of a measuring stick for your defensive situation,” Ekholm said. “Throughout my career, I’ve played against some of the best lines and tried to take them down. (Crosby) has always been a challenge and (I) haven’t come close to succeeding, so this has It’s always been a humbling moment. It’s always been a measuring stick and a challenge that I’ve always taken on. He’s a competitor and it’s always been a lot of fun to play against him.