EDMONTON — When a low-scoring game that had the makings of a high-scoring one ends in defeat, the negative tends to get emphasized.
As Edmonton Oilers defenceman Mattias Ekholm said, goaltender Stuart Skinner was their best player in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday. That means those in front of him didn’t defend sufficiently or score enough.
It’s probably a stretch to say it’s one step forward and two back with this group — now at 2-4-1 through seven games — but it’s not too far off. The latest setback was blowing a two-goal lead that they had entering the third period.
“To be honest, I don’t think we were playing that well,” winger Mattias Janmark said. “We were probably lucky to be up 2-0.”
The Oilers opened that two-goal advantage 2:30 into the second period thanks to a pair of goals from Connor McDavid.
The captain made a nice stick check to prevent Sebastian Aho from getting a slot chance before skating down the ice and blasting a wrist shot by Hurricanes goalie Frederik Andersen. He then doubled the lead, walking in tight to stuff a puck past Andersen on an Oilers power play.
Give ➡️ Go ➡️ Goal 🚨 #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/3TXHstyx2s
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 23, 2024
Despite that, the Hurricanes were carrying the action at five-on-five until that point. The score would have been closer, or even in their favour, had they cashed in numerous chances.
“We spent too much time in our own end. They were rolling around us, making plays,” Janmark said. “It wasn’t always bad, but it definitely felt like we should have played better.”
It’s not like Janmark was being dramatic or venting after another loss. He was simply speaking candidly.
Skinner had to stop Andrei Svechnikov on a breakaway. Jack Drury and Jack Roslovic whiffed on open nets. Jordan Martinook backhanded a chance in tight over the goal. All that was just in the first period.
The Hurricanes had another half dozen or so good scoring opportunities, too. Skinner held the fort for as long as he could.
“I thought the first (period) we got away with some mistakes and were fortunate to be up one,” McDavid said. “I thought the second was better, and the third we just can’t find a way to hold on.”
“We can’t just play offence all game,” Ekholm added. “We’ve got to be able to defend a little better and deter their chances. I thought they had too many, especially in the first.”
Compounding the problem was the Oilers couldn’t extend their lead.
Winger Jeff Skinner had at least three glorious chances. One came in the second period off a rebound from a Darnell Nurse shot and two happened in quick succession in the third — first after being set up by Leon Draisaitl and then a missed wraparound.
At least he’s scored twice this season.
Zach Hyman, the guy who scored 70 goals in 105 games in the last campaign, was stopped on a backhand try in the third after receiving a pass from McDavid on a two-on-one. It was the type of play and move he scored on in his sleep in 2023-24. He was robbed by Andersen, his old Toronto teammate, too.
Hyman has yet to score through seven games. He doesn’t even have a point. Viktor Arvidsson is in the same boat. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has a goose egg in the goals category, too. That’s three top-six forwards that just have to get going.
The two goals from McDavid got him to three on the season, matching him with Draisaitl for the team lead.
“I don’t see any other option than to keep plugging away,” McDavid said. “Guys are getting chances. Guys are getting looks they want. Eventually, it’s going to go. It’s just the law of averages.”
Until it does, the lack of production is straining other aspects of the Oilers’ game.
“I’ve been on this team now for a year and a half, and I know that when we get hot, we get really hot,” Ekholm said. “Then sometimes when we don’t score some goals, it can linger a little bit.
“It’s about now — just kind of resetting and not letting it linger too long. We have a good team in here and we show it. We get our looks. We get our chances. But it’s about that last little percentile to bear down and to score those goals.”
Perhaps it was no surprise given all this to witness the Oilers relinquishing their lead.
The cushion they built was halved in the third period when Shayne Gostisbehere beat Stuart Skinner on the power play, a goal that occurred moments after the Oilers goalie made an acrobatic save off Martin Necas. It then vanished when Necas tapped in a pass from Eric Robinson after a progression of poor rushing defending culminating with Janmark, who’d just stepped onto the ice following a line change, letting Necas go unfettered to the net.
“I came off the bench and they were flying through the neutral zone a little,” Janmark said. “Not one you want to give up. I’ll just have to look at it and try to get better in those moments.”
Aho getting the winner with 6.1 seconds left in overtime courtesy of a beautiful shot only capped the Oilers’ misery. They wasted Skinner’s best performance between the pipes this season. He made 30 saves.
“I told him after the game if he can play close to that, we’re going to have a lot of wins here coming our way,” Ekholm said.
Probably. Not Tuesday, though.
Close, but not close enough. Progress, yes, but nowhere near an adequate amount to make the difference on the scoreboard.
Not awful, but more bad than good.
“We can be better, absolutely,” Ekholm said. “But right now, it’s just a matter of finding wins — and we can’t really do that right now. It’s back to the drawing board a little bit.”
(Photo: Codie McLachlan / Getty Images)
