Talk about an embarrassing loss.
On Tuesday evening, the Edmonton Oilers returned home for the first time in 25 days and were blown out 6-2 by the Anaheim Ducks. Now, this isn’t the Ducks of yesteryear who were an automatic win for Edmonton, but it’s a team that isn’t in a post-season position and is one the Oilers should beat. Instead, they got spanked.
Things started well for the Oilers. They looked good coming off their win on Saturday against the Carolina Hurricanes. After dominating play for the first 10 minutes against the Ducks, Leon Draisaitl scored his 14th goal in his last 16 games to take the 1-0 lead. The tally came on the power play and was the German’s 45th goal of the season.
And then it all went sideways. About two minutes later, Draisaitl made a crucial turnover from behind his own net. Leo Carlsson capitalized on the loose puck, burying it past Calvin Pickard. Two minutes after that, the visiting team scored another thanks to a snipe from Mason MacTavish, giving the Ducks a lead they’d never relinquish.
The Ducks added another goal thanks to a weird bounce off a faceoff with about 90 seconds left in the first frame. On the next shift, McTavish was left all alone and he roofed it on Pickard to make the score 4-1.
Allowing four goals on ten shots in the first period resulted in the end of Pickard’s night, but not the end of the Ducks’ scoring. Another defensive lapse on an odd-man rush with about six and a half minutes left and former Oiler Ryan Strome scored his 10th of the season.
Four minutes into the third period, the Oilers allowed Alex Killorn to sneak behind both of their defenceman, with the two-time Stanley Cup winner beating Skinner for Anaheim’s sixth goal of the game.
It was far too little, far too late by the time Connor McDavid scored with just over 15 minutes left in the game on the power play. Nice to see him get on the scoresheet, though.
Takeaways…
For the first time since February 5, the Oilers outshot their opponents, plastering Lukáš Dostál with 35 shots. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get a save of their own, as Calvin Pickard allowed four goals on 11 shots. Stuart Skinner had a bit more success, saving 14 shots on 16 goals, neither of which you could blame on him.
Still, this team has had the same problem it always has, when they take their foot off the gas, they go on a lengthy losing streak. In 2021-22, they went 2-11-2, ending with Dave Tippett’s firing. The next season, they went 4-5-3 but got themselves out of it. Of course, last season they went 2-9-1 to start their season. Now you have this season, as they’re mired in a 3-7-1 record in their past 11 games.
The good news is that it’s not done. In 2021-22, the Oilers responded with a 31-11-4 run to help them into the post-season. The next season, after three fights in the same game in a 6-3 loss to the Kings, the Oilers went 29-5-6 to end their season. After the Oilers’ 2-9-1 start, they finished the season 47-18-5 (46-18-5 with Kris Knoblauch). It’s obvious they can get out of it and get back to their norm, but they have to do it soon.
Two things need to happen. First, Connor McDavid has to go supernova. In fairness, he had a solid game, scoring a McDavid-esque goal we have seen many times in the past. The other thing is that this team needs to make a splash at the trade deadline. Trent Frederic is a nice add, but they need another penalty killer, a defenceman, a backup netminder, and clarity on the Evander Kane situation. Essentially, they need to go all-in. This is the year.
Edmonton’s last game before the trade deadline is on Thursday, as they host the Montréal Canadiens at 9:00 PM ET. What kind of performance will the team bring on deadline eve?
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Oilersnation, FlamesNation, and Blue Jays Nation. They can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
