Series Review: Edmonton Oilers Are Swept By The Winnipeg Jets

Alright, one last time. Let’s talk about the Winnipeg Jets sweep of the Edmonton Oilers in round one of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Edmonton Oilers just couldn’t get the bounces they needed. Their season ended in a sweep, but it didn’t feel that way with three of the games going to overtime and one the other game being basically a one-goal game until the empty netters at the end.

This is not the result the Oilers wanted or needed. The team needs to find another level because a season-ending like this is not acceptable, even if it does come down to just bad bounces.

Here is how the series ended up shaking out:

Game 1: Winnipeg 4 – Edmonton 1

Game 2: Winnipeg 1 – Edmonton 0 (OT)

Game 3: Winnipeg 5 – Edmonton 4 (OT)

Game 4: Winnipeg 4 – Edmonton 3 (OT)

If Edmonton just managed to capitalize on one extra chance in overtime we would be talking about a game five and a game six possible. It is crazy how close things can get in the playoffs.

Playoff MVP:

Mike Smith

Mike Smith was not perfect, I will be honest about that. He did let in a few goals here and there, but overall in this series, Mike Smith was the most valuable player on the ice. Edmonton was lucky to have Smith in the net. Without him, this series would have gone a lot differently. Personally, I believe Smith could be the Oilers guy another season, even if he is not the long-term answer, he showed that he has a lot more hockey in him.

Everyone else on the roster needs to be better, and I do mean everyone. From top to bottom the Oilers did not show up to play against Winnipeg. While the games were close, it wasn’t that close when considering the expectations of these two teams.

The players are not the only ones to blame for this defeat. A lot of it could fall on the head coach Dave Tippett. Tippett made some mistakes with this roster, when it comes to ice time and who plays with who. Maybe it is time to bring in a new voice, especially when considering it was Winnipeg’s defensive system and strategy that really beat Edmonton in the end.

With the season officially over now the Oilers move into off-season mode. Personally, I am intrigued by where the team could be a year from now. Do they decide to change up their lineup and not bring back some of their free agents? Or do they stay the course with this group and chalk this bad series up as a bad batch of games?