Oilers must eliminate sloppiness from game after break
If it wasn’t Evan Bouchard dropping a puck right on to a Colorado stick for an Avalanche shorty, it was Zach Hyman passing backwards late in a 4-4 game, catching all his teammates skating the wrong direction on Colorado’s game-winning goal. The Oilers can’t play this way after the break.
admin
EDMONTON — Cabo Wabo came to Rogers Place on Friday, as two teams playing their last game before the 4 Nations Face-Off break swam up to the centre-ice pool bar and ordered up one last faceoff before everybody goes to the resort.
Loose?
How about four goals in 2:34 of the first period loose?
This one had the structure of an igloo in July, and the goaltending of the Murray Bannerman Blackhawks, and ended in a 5-4 win for the Colorado Avalanche, the team that took advantage of an extra mistake or two presented to them by the Edmonton Oilers.
If it wasn’t Evan Bouchard dropping a puck right on to a Colorado stick for an Avalanche shorty, it was Zach Hyman passing backwards late in a 4-4 game, catching all his teammates skating the wrong direction on Colorado’s game-winning goal.
Fun? You bet.
Anything resembling the type of game that could win a Stanley Cup four months from now? Well, David Copperfield couldn’t turn this Oilers performance into a win come April and May.
“Probably the most dangerous team off the rush, and we kept feeding that transition,” said Hyman, minus-3 on a pointless night. “I take responsibility for the last one. I try to force it in. They make a play.
“Probably not the right time to do that against that line. They go and capitalize, and we lose the game.”
/* if ( "1" == true && 'undefined' !== typeof window.getIndexAds ) { var so = {preroll:{1:{1:{siteID:191888},2:{siteID:191889}}}}; adServerUrl = window.getIndexAds( 'http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640x360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300x250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6368475895112&cmsid=384', so, permalink); } else { adServerUrl = "http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640x360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300x250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6368475895112&cmsid=384"; } */ adServerUrl = "http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640x360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300x250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6368475895112&cmsid=384"; var adServerUrl_result = adServerUrl.includes("cust_params"); var queryString=''; if(adServerUrl_result){ var gettheDUFI = false; if (localStorage.getItem("consent") !== null && localStorage.getItem("consent-targeting") !== null) gettheDUFI = localStorage.getItem("theRED_loc");
if(gettheDUFI){ queryString += "dufiid=" + gettheDUFI + '&'; queryString += "ppid=" + gettheDUFI + '&'; var ppid = "ppid=" + gettheDUFI + '&'; }
var DUFI_IP = false; if (localStorage.getItem("consent") !== null && localStorage.getItem("consent-targeting") !== null) DUFI_IP = sessionStorage.getItem("DUFI_IP");
if(DUFI_IP){ queryString += "dufiip=" + DUFI_IP + '&'; }
adServerUrl = adServerUrl.replace(/cust_params=/, ppid + 'cust_params=' + encodeURIComponent(queryString) ); }
$el.after( unescape("%3Cscript src=\"" + (document.location.protocol == "https:" ? "https://sb" : "http://b") + ".scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js\" %3E%3C/script%3E") );
$( document ).one( 'ready', function() { $( "#video_container-569625" ).SNPlayer( { bc_account_id: "1704050871", bc_player_id: "JCdte3tMv", //autoplay: true, //is_has_autoplay_switch: false, bc_videos: 6368475895112, is_has_continuous_play: "false", adserverurl: adServerUrl, section: "", thumbnail: "https://www.sportsnet.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/6368475895112-1024x576.jpg", direct_url: "https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/video/avalanches-makar-rips-shorthanded-goal-after-bouchards-tough-turnover/" }); });
Stuart Skinner was poor enough in the Oilers net in Period 1 that Calvin Pickard skated out the gate first to open Period 2. Skinner’s save percentage in the first period this season is .879, either the cause or effect of an Oilers team that seems like it’s been chasing games for a month or two.
Even Connor McDavid didn’t have any jam, going minus-3 without a point, and mishandling more pucks on one night than he does in a month, normally.
McDavid is on his way to the 4 Nations Face-Off along with Mattias Ekholm and Viktor Arvidsson. The rest of the team is headed for warm weather, with the next team function a practice here in Edmonton a week from Tuesday.
Did the Oilers play like they had one foot on the WestJet Vacations charter?
“No,” Hyman said. “But, obviously, the way we played seems like it.
“The mentality going in was to have a really good game to go into the break feeling good. Nobody was thinking about the break, but obviously that’s not the performance that you would want to have.”
/* if ( "1" == true && 'undefined' !== typeof window.getIndexAds ) { var so = {preroll:{1:{1:{siteID:191888},2:{siteID:191889}}}}; adServerUrl = window.getIndexAds( 'http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640x360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300x250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6368477399112&cmsid=384', so, permalink); } else { adServerUrl = "http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640x360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300x250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6368477399112&cmsid=384"; } */ adServerUrl = "http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640x360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300x250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6368477399112&cmsid=384"; var adServerUrl_result = adServerUrl.includes("cust_params"); var queryString=''; if(adServerUrl_result){ var gettheDUFI = false; if (localStorage.getItem("consent") !== null && localStorage.getItem("consent-targeting") !== null) gettheDUFI = localStorage.getItem("theRED_loc");
if(gettheDUFI){ queryString += "dufiid=" + gettheDUFI + '&'; queryString += "ppid=" + gettheDUFI + '&'; var ppid = "ppid=" + gettheDUFI + '&'; }
var DUFI_IP = false; if (localStorage.getItem("consent") !== null && localStorage.getItem("consent-targeting") !== null) DUFI_IP = sessionStorage.getItem("DUFI_IP");
if(DUFI_IP){ queryString += "dufiip=" + DUFI_IP + '&'; }
adServerUrl = adServerUrl.replace(/cust_params=/, ppid + 'cust_params=' + encodeURIComponent(queryString) ); }
$el.after( unescape("%3Cscript src=\"" + (document.location.protocol == "https:" ? "https://sb" : "http://b") + ".scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js\" %3E%3C/script%3E") );
$( document ).one( 'ready', function() { $( "#video_container-561289" ).SNPlayer( { bc_account_id: "1704050871", bc_player_id: "JCdte3tMv", //autoplay: true, //is_has_autoplay_switch: false, bc_videos: 6368477399112, is_has_continuous_play: "false", adserverurl: adServerUrl, section: "", thumbnail: "https://www.sportsnet.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/6368477399112-1024x576.jpg", direct_url: "https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/video/oilers-draisaitl-pots-40th-of-the-year-from-his-knees-for-tying-goal/" }); });
Last season, regular season and playoffs combined, Edmonton played 107 games. That made Friday’s game — No. 55 on the season — roughly a halfway point for a team with legitimate Stanley Cup aspirations.
Their game has waned over the past little while, though the Oilers have still managed to win enough to go into the break at worst in a tie atop the Pacific with Vegas: the Golden Knights trail Edmonton by two points but play in Boston on Saturday.
“I didn’t love our game the last couple of nights,” admitted Leon Draisaitl, who scored twice to reach the 40-goal plateau for the sixth time in his career. “Maybe it is a little bit of fatigue kicking in, or mentally we weren’t as sharp as we needed to be. I think the break is coming at the right time, for once. Obviously (we need to) get back to playing collective good hockey when we come back.”
/* if ( "1" == true && 'undefined' !== typeof window.getIndexAds ) { var so = {preroll:{1:{1:{siteID:191888},2:{siteID:191889}}}}; adServerUrl = window.getIndexAds( 'http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640x360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300x250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6368480597112&cmsid=384', so, permalink); } else { adServerUrl = "http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640x360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300x250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6368480597112&cmsid=384"; } */ adServerUrl = "http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640x360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300x250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6368480597112&cmsid=384"; var adServerUrl_result = adServerUrl.includes("cust_params"); var queryString=''; if(adServerUrl_result){ var gettheDUFI = false; if (localStorage.getItem("consent") !== null && localStorage.getItem("consent-targeting") !== null) gettheDUFI = localStorage.getItem("theRED_loc");
if(gettheDUFI){ queryString += "dufiid=" + gettheDUFI + '&'; queryString += "ppid=" + gettheDUFI + '&'; var ppid = "ppid=" + gettheDUFI + '&'; }
var DUFI_IP = false; if (localStorage.getItem("consent") !== null && localStorage.getItem("consent-targeting") !== null) DUFI_IP = sessionStorage.getItem("DUFI_IP");
if(DUFI_IP){ queryString += "dufiip=" + DUFI_IP + '&'; }
adServerUrl = adServerUrl.replace(/cust_params=/, ppid + 'cust_params=' + encodeURIComponent(queryString) ); }
$el.after( unescape("%3Cscript src=\"" + (document.location.protocol == "https:" ? "https://sb" : "http://b") + ".scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js\" %3E%3C/script%3E") );
$( document ).one( 'ready', function() { $( "#video_container-950171" ).SNPlayer( { bc_account_id: "1704050871", bc_player_id: "JCdte3tMv", //autoplay: true, //is_has_autoplay_switch: false, bc_videos: 6368480597112, is_has_continuous_play: "false", adserverurl: adServerUrl, section: "", thumbnail: "https://www.sportsnet.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/6368480597112-1024x576.jpg", direct_url: "https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/video/avalanches-lehkonen-praises-necas-i-can-only-see-him-getting-better/" }); });
As the Oilers scatter for some sun and sand — a 5-2-1 record in the eight-game segment leading into the rest, and a divisional lead with 27 games left in the season — they can’t be displeased with their lot.
There are a few questions — some would say in goal, though we don’t see any procurement at that position with the trade deadline ahead — but there have been far more answers.
New defenceman John Klingberg was not their worst blueliner Friday, and he looks like he could alter the deadline strategy somewhat. And Jeff Skinner had another strong game on Draisaitl’s flank, another option emerging today that wasn’t there even a month ago.
“It was always the goal to be up there, lead the division, win the division. That’ll be a fight until the end, we know that. This was always the game-plan for us in here,” said Draisaitl, who had some props for the persevering Jeff Skinner.
“Maybe he needed to learn how to be in a winning environment, play that type of hockey, and what it takes,” the Oilers assistant captain said. “His ice time has been limited at times, and that’s really hard if you’re a skilled player. If you’re not getting the looks and not feeling the way you normally feel, that’s a tough adjustment.
“But he’s done a great job with it … I’m looking forward to continuing to build some chemistry with him. Hopefully there is some more, and we can create a great line.”
OIL SPILLS — The Oilers have not swept a season series vs. the Avalanche since 2016-17 … Edmonton has won 14 of its last 19 home games (earned a point in 15 of 19) … Draisaitl’s 40 goals are his most through 55 games in his career. With two goals in this game, he becomes the fourth active skater to record 40-plus goals in at least six seasons.
