Still reeling from the loss of Ryan Smyth, the Edmonton Oilers will at least be spared from seeing another of their jettisoned former stars.

Losers of five in a row — four of them after dealing Smyth to the New York Islanders on Feb. 27 — Edmonton visits Anaheim to play a Ducks team that will be without injured ex-Oiler Chris Pronger.

Dwayne Roloson and the Oilers have dropped a season-worst five in a row since trading away star forward Ryan Smyth.
(Mark Avery/Associated Press)

Edmonton (30-31-6, 11th in the Western Conference) has been outscored 19-4 during its season-worst slide while being hit with a slew of injuries.

Already down eight players, Edmonton lost defencemen Steve Staios (knee) and Jan Hejda (shoulder) during Wednesday's 3-1 home loss to Tampa Bay.

"It was another frustrating evening with some of the injuries," Oilers coach Craig MacTavish said. "It's a difficult time. We're totally running out of bodies."

Pronger would fit right in with his old mates. The rangy defenceman, who helped the Oilers to last year's Stanley Cup final in his only season with the team before being shipped to Anaheim, is out two weeks with a broken toe.

Soft schedule

As it completes an eight-game homestand, Anaheim (40-17-11, 2nd in the West) is slated to face conference doormats Edmonton, Columbus, Chicago and Los Angeles,  with a game against Vancouver mixed in. So the team has little reason to rush Pronger back.

In their first game without Pronger on Wednesday, the Ducks picked up their fourth consecutive home win by beating the lowly Phoenix Coyotes 2-1 on Joe DiPenta's goal with 8:02 to play.

"We definitely feel some pressure because Chris is a big-time player and it's impossible to fill his shoes completely," DiPenta said.

"But each one of us has to pick up our game a little bit and try to fill in until he gets back. It's part of being a hockey team."

With only one regulation loss in its last 11 games and a stellar 22-5-7 home record, Anaheim wants to prove it can roll on without Pronger, who is fourth on the team with 53 points and tops with a plus-26 rating.

The last time the mammoth blue-liner missed a lengthy stretch, with a broken foot in January, the Ducks went 2-5-2.

With files from the Associated Press