The Tampa Bay Lightning havent lost three straight all season and are returning home to face a lowly opponent enduring the longest road slide in franchise history. The Edmonton Oilers, though, have given Tampa Bay problems in the past - including a victory this season. The Lightning can stretch their home win streak to six games Thursday night as they meet an Oilers team that has dropped 13 straight on the road. Tampa Bay (27-14-4) fell 7-3 at Philadelphia on Monday and 4-3 at Boston the next night. Star center Steven Stamkos had three goals in those defeats with four in the last three games, though his club has hit a bit of a rough patch after winning seven of its previous eight contests. We lost two in a row, coach Jon Cooper said. Its happened to us before. Big thing for us is we cant make it three in a row. The Lightning played Tuesday without All-Star forward Tyler Johnson and defenseman Victor Hedman after they suffered lower-body injuries versus the Flyers. Cooper said both were day to day. Johnson is among the NHLs leaders with a team-best 46 points while Hedman also missed 18 games earlier this season with a hand injury. One of the contests Hedman missed was a 3-2 defeat at Edmonton on Oct. 20. That marked the Oilers first victory after a 0-4-1 start as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored the winner with 3:25 remaining. Edmonton (10-25-9) improved to 5-1-1 in its last seven matchups with Tampa Bay. The Lightnings top point leaders - Johnson, Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov - combined for one assist. That score looks like an anomaly now since Tampa Bay is the NHLs highest-scoring team with 3.22 goals per game while Edmonton yields 3.32 per contest for the leagues second-worst mark. Oilers winger Teddy Purcell will return to Tampa Bay for the first time after spending the previous four-plus seasons with the Lightning. Purcell, who had dinner with some of his former teammates when Tampa Bay came to Edmonton in October, was traded in the offseason to give the Lightning salary cap room. His new team is 0-7-6 on the road since a 3-1 victory over the New York Rangers on Nov. 9. Purcell was part of the last Tampa Bay team to capture six straight at home - a seven-game run Oct. 24-Nov. 27, 2013. Edmonton began this four-game trip with Tuesdays 4-2 loss to St. Louis. Well-traveled former Tampa Bay winger Benoit Pouliot scored both goals, giving him four in a three-game run. Ben Scrivens made 25 saves as he fell to 0-5-5 with a 3.65 goals-against average in 10 road starts. Weve had those struggles at home, too, Scrivens said. Were struggling in almost every building were playing in, and its a frustrating thing to be going through. Scrivens has captured three of four starts against the Lightning, a club that backup Viktor Fasth has never faced. Tampa Bays Ben Bishop is 14-3-1 with a 2.00 GAA at home and 2-1-0 with a 1.97 GAA in four starts against the Oilers. Athletics Jerseys 2019 . - After three days of light, make that very light, workouts, Team Irvin and Team Carter are ready for tonights Pro Bowl. Oakland Athletics Shirts .com) - The San Francisco Giants delivered plenty of big hits to tie the World Series. https://www.cheapathleticsonline.com/.com) - The Miami Heat will try to close out the Charlotte Bobcats Monday night in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference first round series. Athletics Jerseys China . Bale has had a successful debut season in Spain, and Ancelotti appears ready to reward him with a starting role on Saturday. Ancelotti says "Gareth had some problems at the beginning (of the season) but when he found good physical condition he scored a lot of goals, he had a good impact on the team. Chris Bassitt Athletics Jersey . -- Colin Kaepernick insists he just happened to pull on a pair of socks with dollar bill prints all over them Wednesday morning -- before he learned he had struck a new fortune with the San Francisco 49ers.INDIANAPOLIS -- James Hinchcliffes tough IndyCar start is getting more clouded. E.J. Viso replaced the injured Canadian on Sunday in the opening practice for the Indianapolis 500 and its still unclear when the popular Hinchcliffe will turn his first laps on the famed 2.5-mile oval. Hinchcliffe, from Oakville, Ont., was injured Saturday in the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis when debris from Justin Wilsons car flew into the cockpit, striking Hinchcliffe in the head. He was taken away from the track on a stretcher, transported to a hospital and diagnosed with a concussion. He was hoping to be re-examined Sunday, but that never happened and now hes out until at least Tuesday. "Well have a better feeling then," team owner Michael Andretti said. "They just said rest and they dont want to see him again until Tuesday." Later, the team issued a statement saying that exam date has been scheduled. Traditionally, IndyCar drivers with concussions have missed a minimum of seven days off before being cleared to race. But series officials issued a statement Sunday night, saying concussions are handled on a case-by-case basis and that drivers with head injuries must pass an ImPACT test before theyre cleared to compete by series medical director Dr. Michael Olinger. If Olinger adheres to the strict timeline, though, Hinchcliffe would miss the only full week of Indy practice and might not be back in the No. 27 Honda until next weekend when the only two qualifying sessions will be held. Andretti brought in Viso, who hadnt even been in an IndyCar this season until completing 28 laps Sunday. Even Viso isnt sure what to expect next. He finished sixth on the speed charts with a fast lap of 222.105 mph. Twenty-four cars made it onto the track. Australias Will Power, who drives for Roger Penske, was the fastest of the 24 cars at 223.057 mph. Viso said he is pprepared to do whatever Andrettis team needs -- even if that means replacing Hinchcliffe for qualifying or in the May 25 race.dddddddddddd "Its too early to know. It just happened yesterday and nobody knows how hes going to recover. It 100 per cent comes down to his recovery," the Venezuelan said. "First of all, I just wish James a quick recovery. If he takes a little bit longer and Im able to drive and do the job for him Im, of course, not disappointed with that. But for me, the most important thing is to understand that hes recovering fast." He has made six straight starts in the 500, including a career best fourth last year. Viso finished 18th in 2013, matching his best career finish at Indy. The team said Hinchcliffe did make a brief appearance at the track to meet with his crew and have lunch with his family. He also spoke briefly with Viso but did not take questions from reporters. For the popular Canadian driver, its already been a challenging season. He started second at Long Beach and Barber but has not finished higher than seventh in any of this seasons four races. He qualified 11th for Saturdays race, then wound up 20th after leaving with the head injury. In Hinchcliffes three previous IndyCar seasons, hes had 14 top-five finishes in 50 starts and won three races -- with all three coming last season. What everyone wants to know now is whether hell get a chance at a third straight top-nine qualifying run at Indianapolis? "He seems in good shape and hes going to recover fast," Viso said. Andretti Autosport has five cars, including NASCARs Kurt Busch, trying to qualify for the May 25 race. Ryan Hunter-Reay had the fastest car of the bunch, turning a lap of 222.134 on Sunday. Busch, who is trying to become the fourth driver to race 1,100 miles in one day, at Indianapolis and Charlotte, was 12th at 220.352. ' ' '