The past few weeks the Edmonton Oilers have not been able to catch a break. They have lost five straight games including contests against the Kraken and Kings, two divisional rivals. There are a handful of players that need to step up for the team but first let’s talk about the five losses.
The Oilers are a better team than what they are showing on the ice. I think everyone expected them to drop off from their great play to begin the season, but falling as far as they have as of late was definitely not expected. Losing five straight games is not good for their position in the standings, and is going to take some time to build back up momentum. The only issue is their next matchup is against the Maple Leafs, which is going to be another tough game.
At the root of the issues the past few games has to be their lack of offence. Edmonton has scored three goals just once in the last five games, something they did pretty much every night up until this losing streak. In the previous 21 games prior to this losing streak, they only scored two or less five times. The offence has definitely hit a rough patch.
One of the biggest reasons for the losing streak has to be the lack of power play success as of late. Power plays hit rough patches as the season goes on and teams figure out their plan. For the Oilers that is evident in their last five games as they have gone 3/18 in their last five games on the man advantage.
This seems to be a team issue, the Oilers are just not getting that top-end scoring right now. McDavid has just a goal and Leon Draisaitl has three in their past five games. Let’s go over five players that need to step up to get the team back in the win column.