EDMONTON — When there are so few special teams in a game, their importance can be elevated beyond the norm.
When there are just two power plays — one per team — and neither has the desired outcome in a defeat, it’s clear what the major issue was.
When that result serves as a microcosm for the season, well, the problem is only exacerbated.
Such is life for the Edmonton Oilers. They lost 3-0 to the New Jersey Devils on Monday as their porous penalty kill gave up a goal on its only attempt and their ineffective power play didn’t come close to scoring on its sole try.
“We lost the special teams battle again,” coach Kris Knoblauch said.
They sure did.
The Oilers now have the worst penalty kill in the NHL, shutting down opponents at a 60 percent clip. They also have the 26th-ranked power play, scoring just 14.7 percent of the time.
A solid cumulative total is 100, and the Oilers are nowhere close at 74.7. For context, they were at 123.6 in the playoffs thanks to a 29.3 percent power play and a 94.3 percent penalty kill.
“Special teams are huge,” Knoblauch said. “You look at our run through the playoffs. There’s no way we’re going to the Stanley Cup Final if we didn’t have an unbelievable power play and an unbelievable penalty kill. That got us through a lot of series. It wins you hockey games.
“We know our power play’s going to get better. We know our penalty kill’s going to get better. It’s just finding the execution.”
They’re not executing right now. It’s hard to know which facet is worse.
It was the penalty kill that got burned first against the Devils.
Already down 1-0 late in the second period, the Oilers were penalized for having too many men. The Devils made quick work of their top PK unit of Darnell Nurse, Mattias Ekholm, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Adam Henrique.
They gained the zone with ease and worked the puck around until Nico Hischier was able to find Jesper Bratt wide-open in the slot. He made no mistake as goalie Calvin Pickard got a piece of the puck but couldn’t squeeze it.
The Oilers were in chase mode from the moment the Devils crossed the blue line. Henrique didn’t like how he played it.
“That one’s on me, just taking a bit of a wrong turn,” he said. “Those little details, when it’s not going your way, just seem to find the back of the net.”
There were significant departures from the amazing playoff penalty kill. Vincent Desharnais and Warren Foegele signed with Vancouver and Los Angeles. Cody Ceci and Ryan McLeod were dealt to San Jose and Buffalo. That’s four regulars gone.
There are also players learning how to work with new partners like Nurse and Ekholm and even Nugent-Hopkins and Henrique. The latter two got some PK time together but Nugent-Hopkins mostly skated with Derek Ryan.
“I think early on it definitely was — pressure points, knowing when to go,” Knoblauch said about whether personnel changes are contributing to the struggles. “The pressure has been pretty good, the clears have been much better, but we’ve got to find it. It’s close, but we’re going to find it.”
There should be enough capable players familiar with the system run by assistant coach Mark Stuart. A dip compared to the playoffs makes sense. But cratering the way they have has been astounding.
“There’s no trends,” Knoblauch said when asked to identify the causes. “A lot of the metrics are pretty good on the penalty kill side of it, on zone denials, shots from the slot, preventing. It’s just some mistakes and they’re going in.
“Tonight, one mistake (and) it went in. Usually, you say that’s on the goaltender, but it came from the slot. It’s doing a lot of good things, and there will be a time where we’re talking about how good it looks.”
That time certainly hasn’t come.
And then there’s the power play, the more perplexing aspect of the Oilers’ special teams woes.
Their work in that capacity has been the best in the league over the last six seasons. They set an NHL record for their proficiency in 2022-23 when they had the same personnel as they have now — or at least until Connor McDavid sustained an ankle injury last week.
The Oilers can’t use McDavid’s departure as an excuse, either. They were scoring on just 13 percent of their attempts in the first nine games. (McDavid was injured 37 seconds into the 10th contest.)
Their power-play inefficiencies are a big factor in why they’ve scored just 2.38 goals per game, better than only the New York Islanders and Anaheim Ducks.
Ekholm has taken McDavid’s spot on the first unit, and he started the play that led to Zach Hyman’s winning goal Sunday in Calgary.
The revamped group looked out of sync Monday, even though it managed three shots on Devils goalie Jake Allen on the one attempt, which came in the second minute of the third period.
“Unfortunately, I don’t think we generated very much,” Knoblauch said.
It doesn’t help that the Oilers aren’t getting a lot of time on the power play. The two minutes they spent on it Monday dropped their game average to 4:38, per Natural Stat Trick — ninth lowest in the league. They are 23rd in penalties drawn.
“The referees are out for us,” Knoblauch said, in jest, when asked for a reason. “No, I have no answer for that.”
This game could have been so different. After all, the Oilers outshot the Devils 31-16.
It’s not like the special teams were the only reason they lost.
Pickard probably should have stopped at least one of the first two goals. Puck management was iffy, especially apparent when Hyman turned over a puck at the offensive blue line and the Devils’ Timo Meier scored moments later. The Oilers had tons of quality offensive looks at even strength.
“Especially early on, we had our chances,” Knoblauch said. “In the third period, not as many. But overall, I thought it was good enough to score a few.”
“We have to find a way to find an ugly one there,” Henrique said. “I thought we had good pressure, good opportunities to do that, but we just couldn’t seem to get that first one.”
Hyman had at least three excellent tries. Henrique hit the crossbar early in the first period. Vasily Podkolzin missed an open net in the second after Leon Draisaitl set him up.
“I have to score this,” Podkolzin said. “I feel bad for Leon and even for myself, as well.”
For all the things that didn’t work out, it was how poorly the Oilers fared on the penalty kill and power play that was the most glaring issue.
It’s become that way for many of the first baker’s dozen games, too — a large part of why the middling Oilers are 6-6-1.
“That’s that game within the game every night,” Henrique said. “Special teams can win you games. Special teams can lose you games at times.
“Special teams play a big part in every team’s role throughout the season — and where you can end up at the end of the year.”
(Top photo of goalie Jake Allen making a save on the Oilers’ Zach Hyman: Perry Nelson / Imagn Images)
