Sam Gagner, who has four assists in the last two games, said the Oilers won't underestimate the New York Islanders. Sam Gagner, who has four assists in the last two games, said the Oilers won't underestimate the New York Islanders. (Dale MacMillan/Getty Images)

The Edmonton Oilers will look to establish some much-need momentum at home on Monday night when they take on the floundering New York Islanders.

It is the second game of a five-game home stint at Rexall Place, where they are a pedestrian 7-6-3. The Oilers got the homestand off on the right foot, however, with a 4-1 victory over Dallas.

The result continued a trend of rising to the occasion on Saturdays, with Edmonton 5-0-1 on the day since the beginning of November.

Sheldon Souray, Erik Cole, Dustin Penner and Andrew Cogliano scored for Edmonton (18-16-3), while Shawn Horcoff and Sam Gagner chipped in with two assists apiece.

Dwayne Roloson outplayed counterpart Marty Turco in goal, as the Oilers were outshot 39-19.

Souray and Cole continued to impress on Sunday, when the club held its skills competition before thousands of young fans. Cole, 30, bested speedy teammates a decade younger than he is to take the fastest skater event, with Souray unsurprisingly hammering his way to first in the hardest shot category.

Edmonton on Monday will take on the NHL-worst Islanders, who haven't won on the road since Nov. 24. Since that time, the Islanders have gone 0-11-1 away from home, being outscored 49-25 in the process.

"You can't underestimate any team in this league," Gagner told the Edmonton Sun. "Every team is good, they're in the NHL for a reason, it's the best league in the world and every team is going to come in here and put up a fight. "

The visitors face numerous problems. The leading point getters are defenceman Mark Streit and soon-to-be-38 former Oiler Doug Weight. The team also lost its best shut-down defender, Andy Sutton, to a broken foot in December.

Late rally

New York (12-24-4) has lost the first two games of the current four-game road streak.

The Islanders fell 5-3 to Western kingpins San Jose on Saturday, but the outcome was only in doubt after a late rally in the third. The Sharks jumped out to a 3-0 lead by the midway point, and New York goalie Joey McDonald was required to make 42 saves to keep the score close.

Richard Park led the Islanders with a goal and two assists, while Thomas Pock and Tim Jackman also scored.

The outcome was consistent defensively with New York's season. The team is tied with Atlanta for the most goals allowed and only three clubs have allowed more shots.

Talented but oft-injured goalie Rick DiPietro played the previous night in a loss in Phoenix, a game in which Weight notched his 1,000th career point. DiPietro joked afterward about making it through in one piece. The netminder has been bothered by hip, knee and groin injuries in the last 18 months.

The two clubs have played just once in the last three years, with the Oilers coming way with a 4-0 result almost exactly one year ago. Horcoff and Ales Hemsky each had a goal and assist, with Mathieu Garon recording the shutout.

Hemsky is still doubtful to play after taking a hit to the head on Dec. 28 against Nashville.

Edmonton continues their homestand on Wednesday with the fifth meeting of the season against Vancouver. The clubs have split the first four.