When will the Edmonton Oilers win again?
On Thursday evening, they faced off against the Florida Panthers in a 2024 Stanley Cup Final rematch, falling 4-3 and bringing their losing streak to five games. That’s the longest losing streak the Oilers have had since the 2021-22 season. Yikes. Let’s take a look at what happened in this game.
Just like in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals, the Panthers opened the scoring. The goal was scored with about seven and a half minutes left in the first period, coming courtesy of Uvis Balinskis as his shot from the half boards deflected off Brett Kulak and knucklepucked into the net.
Two minutes later, defenceman Brett Kulak threw the puck on the net and caught Sergei Bobrovsky napping. Good heads-up play by Kulak, as he had a solid game overall.
With four and a half minutes left in the period, the Oilers failed to clear it, leading to another chance for the Panthers. Aaron Ekblad’s shot from the point was deflected by Anton Lundell to give the Panthers a 2-1 lead.
Again, the Oilers had an answer for the Panthers two minutes later. This time, Leon Draisaitl used his body, shielding the puck with a strong drive to the net. Moving it to the forehand, he was able to flip it top shelf for his 44th goal of the season. What a goal.
With just under nine minutes left in the game, the Panthers took the lead as no back checker picked up the trailing Nate Schmidt. The defenceman was able to fire it past Stuart Skinner to take a one-goal lead and it’s one that Skinner needed to have.
With six minutes left in the game, Carter Verhaeghe overpowered Mattias Ekholm and beat Skinner for the Panthers’ fourth goal of the game, the game-winner.
The Oilers got some hope, as Zach Hyman scored his 20th goal of the season and his shot squeaked by Bobrovsky with 3:25 left in the game. However, penalties sunk the Oilers late in the game as they fell 4-3.
Takeaways…
- Leon Draisaitl has been nothing short of incredible this season. His goal in the second period gave him a league-leading 44 goals and a goal in each of his last seven games. Draisaitl is almost a lock for the Rocket Richard this season, but there’s a chance he will win the Hart Trophy and Art Ross Trophy.
- Connor McDavid looked good in this game. He picked up an assist at even strength play but he was flying all over the ice looking like his pre-4 Nations Face-Off self. The Oilers need more of this from McDavid to get out of their slump.
- For the first time since Jan. 30, the Oilers didn’t allow a goal on the penalty kill. Unfortunately, they took far too many penalties and it took them out of their rhythm. Early in the game, they took back-to-back penalties, and shortly before the Panthers’ third goal, they took another penalty that killed any momentum they had. Good kill on Thursday, far too many penalties.
- John Klingberg was solid, picking up two assists on the first two Oilers goals. It wasn’t a particularly good game for Mattias Ekholm though. He got undressed by Carter Verhaeghe on the game-winning goal and took a penalty after the Oilers got within one. Not great, and the Oilers should consider pairing Evan Bouchard with Darnell Nurse when the latter returns.
- Stuart Skinner once again finished with a save percentage below .900, allowing four goals on 36 shots for an .889 save percentage. Aside from the third goal, it’s hard to fault him on the goals and he kept the Oilers in it, especially through the first two periods. This is the fifth consecutive game the Oilers were outshot. Their problems right now extend far further than just Skinner’s ability in the net.
Thankfully, the month from hell is over, as the Oilers won’t play again until Mar. 1 against the Carolina Hurricanes – another tough game. With that being said, the division is far from lost as they are just two points back of the Vegas Golden Knights with an extra game played. They have to get going soon.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Oilersnation, FlamesNation, and Blue Jays Nation. They can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
