EDMONTON — A sluggish start to the season for the Edmonton Oilers is one thing, and maybe even predictable after reaching Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.
But getting outscored by nine goals in two losses — the latest a 5-2 defeat to Chicago on Saturday? Come on — no one saw this coming.
It’s hard to make sense of it inside the dressing room, too.
“It’s a new season. There’s new guys. Guys left. It’s not the same team,” veteran Corey Perry said. “We have to figure out how we want to play and the style we want to play.
“This is not the recipe.”
The Oilers haven’t led for a single second this season. They’ve scored just one five-on-five goal, credited to Perry after a power play expired and was knocked into the net by Chicago defenceman T.J. Brodie.
“Everyone has to look themselves in the mirror and start to bear down and make those plays hard,” Perry said. “It’s frustrating.”
Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said simply that “everything needs to get a little bit better.” He’s got that right.
Here are five reasons for the Oilers’ early-season plight.
They’re not playing quick enough
This was a major talking point postgame. Perry addressed it best.
“We can be a lot better,” he said. “We can be a little crisper. It just looks like we’re slow with the puck right now and we’re not moving it up the ice quick enough.
“We’ve got to figure that out.”
Moving the puck faster is one thing, but the Oilers also need to play with more pace.
There was a glaring example of that on the second shift of the third period when Jeff Skinner passed the puck to linemate Leon Draisaitl at centre. Draisaitl was quickly hampered by an opponent and looked to his left in the hopes of advancing the puck to Skinner. But Skinner didn’t move his feet to join the rush and remained behind Draisaitl.
The Oilers lost three of their fastest forwards in the offseason in Ryan McLeod, Dylan Holloway and Warren Foegele. To Perry’s point, they’re going to have to play faster to offset that loss.
“You can have all the speed in the world. But if you don’t move the puck, you’re going to be slow,” he said. “It’s about moving the puck quick, moving the puck hard and tape to tape. That’s what makes your team look fast. We’re not doing that right now.”
Leo from the… left circle?! 🧐 #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/liruwb2feK
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 13, 2024
The penalty kill is a mess
For all the unbelievable offensive exploits from players like Draisaitl, Connor McDavid, Evan Bouchard and Zach Hyman in the playoffs, perhaps an even bigger reason why the Oilers almost won the Stanley Cup was their short-handed work.
The Oilers allowed just four opposition power-play goals in 25 postseason games. There were stretches where they looked impenetrable in that situation. They look anything but now.
“Everyone was locked in and in sync in the playoffs,” Knoblauch said. “Right now, obviously, we’re not in sync.”
After allowing Chicago to score on all three of its opportunities with the man advantage, the Oilers have surrendered five goals against on six chances through two games. It’s an almost incomprehensible reversal.
“We know we’re better than that,” regular penalty killer Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. “We’ll rectify that.”
Timing is an issue, Nugent-Hopkins said. A change in personnel hasn’t helped matters, Knoblauch added.
The Oilers lost four regulars on the PK — McLeod, Foegele, Cody Ceci and Vincent Desharnais. The latter two players, both defencemen, seem to have caused the largest void.
The Oilers have yet to iron out their PK defensive pairings. For instance, Chicago’s first power-play goal, scored by Seth Jones, came with lefties Darnell Nurse and Mattias Ekholm on the ice. Those two weren’t a tandem on the PK at all last season.
“It’s just everyone getting on the same page,” Knoblauch said.
The Jones goal squeaked through goalie Calvin Pickard. It’s one he should have stopped.
Really, the Oilers could use any save on the PK. Winnipeg and Chicago recorded a combined five shots on their power plays. They’ve all gone in.
The goalies must find another level
Stuart Skinner was pulled just after the midway point of the season opener after allowing five goals on 13 shots. Pucks were banked off him and went through him. He couldn’t have played much worse.
Pickard was better Saturday, but the bar was raised only slightly.
The Jones goal wasn’t good. The second power-play goal by Teuvo Teravainen wasn’t much better.
“I know those two can play better than they have,” Knoblauch said. “But I know our team in front of them can play a lot better in front of them.”
Their defending needs work
Turnovers. Giveaways. Unexecuted passes. Ineffective coverage. Sloppiness.
This has been the Oilers’ MO in their zone through two games — albeit worse against Winnipeg on Wednesday.
“You give up five and six (goals) and you’re not going to outscore that most nights,” Nugent-Hopkins said.
It’s less than ideal that the plan to use Ty Emberson next to Nurse in the top four was abandoned just 40 minutes into the season. At least for now, Travis Dermott occupies that spot, whereas Emberson is with Brett Kulak.
Troy Stecher is still waiting to make his season debut.
Regardless of who’s in the lineup, the defensive details, including the forwards, must be sharper.
“We’ve got to clean that up and then I think it’ll lead to more offence,” Nugent-Hopkins said.
They lack polish in the scoring areas
It’s not like the Oilers haven’t had their chances through two games. Far from it, especially Saturday.
In the first period alone, Hyman had a backhand try in tight and put his shot wide. Derek Ryan was stopped in close. McDavid had a couple of quality attempts go off-target. Draisaitl was turned aside once and then hit the post.
“We’ve been around it,” Nugent-Hopkins said.
“We had our chances,” Knoblauch said. “We need to finish them.”
That’s just it. The game could have been much different if even one of those goes in — which is so often the case for this team.
“They’re not going in the net, so you can put that out the window,” Perry said. “It’s all about hard work.”
(Photo of Edmonton goalie Calvin Pickard defending against Chicago’s Patrick Maroon: Perry Nelson / Imagn Images)
