The Edmonton Oilers lost a 3-2 overtime thriller at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night (Oct 22). It was Frozen Frenzy in the NHL, meaning that all 32 teams were in action, and these two teams didn’t disappoint. This was a highly entertaining and fast-paced hockey game that saw some incredible goaltending on both sides. The Oilers managed to grab a hard-fought point, but this was a game that seemingly got away from them. With that said, here are five takeaways from this exciting contest:
Oilers’ Power Play Finally Clicks
The Oilers’ power play is currently 28th in the league at a measly 10.5 percent success rate. To put that into perspective, last season, they had the fourth-best power play in the league at 26.3 percent. They hadn’t generated nearly enough quality looks and only had one goal to show for it heading into this game. They recorded only 17 shots through their first 15 power-play opportunities. That obviously needs to improve. They need to generate more shots on net and create chaos in front of the opposition’s goalie.
They didn’t score on their first opportunity, but they looked really good. They had great movement and were zipping the puck around with urgency. They had three shots with some great chances. It was the best they’ve looked so far this season, and it carried over into the second period.
The power play finally scored courtesy of Connor McDavid on a beautiful give-and-go with Leon Draisaitl. This goal broke an 0-for-13 power-play drought. That was a massive goal for the confidence of this power-play unit, and hopefully, they can get back on track. It’s only a matter of time before this lethal power play starts to fire on all cylinders. This team is too talented for them to continue struggling, and they will eventually break through. They went 1-for-4 on the night and are now 2-for-19 on the man advantage this season.
Connor McDavid Was Buzzing Early
McDavid came out of the gates flying. He was moving his legs early and often. He opened the scoring 3:34 into the first period on a great burst of speed through the neutral zone and ripped the puck past goaltender Frederik Anderson. He looked like himself through the first two periods. He was winning puck battles, creating space for his teammates with his elusiveness and speed, and shooting the puck. He finished the game with five shots on goal, which was tied for second on the team with Evan Bouchard and one shot behind Jeff Skinner.
McDavid has eight points in his first seven games to start the season. He is off to a slow start by his standards, but hopefully, this game can help get him back on track. If he continues to move his feet and puts effort into retrieving loose pucks, he will generate chances for both him and his teammates. This team will go as far as number 97 will take them.
Zach Hyman Can’t Buy a Goal
Zach Hyman scored 54 goals last season, but he’s still pointless through seven games. It’s not due to lack of effort. He’s still generating chances in tight like usual, but nothing’s going in. He was robbed in the third period when McDavid feathered a pass through to Hyman as he tried to go backhand over the pad of the Hurricanes netminder, but he was denied. He also had a glorious chance in overtime on a backdoor play but to no avail.
He’s completely snake-bitten right now, but he’s on the cusp of breaking through, and in one of these games, the puck will find the back of the net. Once he scores one, he’s a player who has the ability to score in bunches. This current stretch may be getting in his head a little bit, so it’s important that he continues playing his game because he’s too good to be held off the scoresheet for much longer.
Stuart Skinner Was Great
This was Stuart Skinner’s best game of the season by far. He stopped 30 out of 33 shots with a 2.81 goals-against average (GAA) and a .909 save percentage (SV%). He made some spectacular saves, including a breakaway denial and a cross-crease one-timer where he went post-to-post and stuck out his left pad. The Edmonton netminder was dialed in through the first 40 minutes, and you could see his confidence growing after each save. He also made a sprawling save in the third period that would make Dominik Hasek proud. However, on that same sequence, the Oilers failed to clear the zone, which led to a one-timer goal by Shane Gostisbehere to get the Hurricanes on the board. Skinner did his part, but he needed the rest of the team to step up and help him out.
If he can play like this and consistently deliver a .900 SV% or better, the team will start racking up the wins. He held the team in this game, but his defense let him down. He played well enough to win, but unfortunately, Andersen was just as good at the other end, and the Oilers couldn’t bury their chances. Skinner doesn’t need to be perfect, he just needs to be solid. The offense will eventually come around.
Oilers Can’t Close it Out
The Oilers took a 2-0 lead into the third period but couldn’t find a way to hold on and finish strong. They were sloppy in their own zone throughout the third period and into overtime. Carolina’s first goal was on a failed clearing attempt by Mattias Janmark, and their second goal was because the defender didn’t pick up the backdoor player, which led to an easy redirection. Lastly, McDavid was caught cheating and blew the zone early without puck possession on the overtime winner, which resulted in an Evan Bouchard turnover and an easy one-timer by Sebastian Aho to seal the deal.
The Oilers need to buckle down in the third period, tighten up defensively, and pay attention to detail in their own zone. The little things are extremely important, and they need to clean that up moving forward.
The Oilers fell to 2-4-1 on the young season and are back in action Friday night (Oct. 25) when they host Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
