The Edmonton Oilers hosted the San Jose Sharks at Rogers Place last night. In an ugly game, the Oilers beat the Sharks 5-4 in overtime.
If you watched this game you likely agree with me in that the Oilers were lucky to get even one point last night let alone the two they did get. The Edmonton Oilers had many defensive breakdowns and Jack Campbell didn’t play very well in the first two periods.
This game did show that the Edmonton Oilers are the better team. When they need to score they did score. It almost looked like they weren’t playing to win, but playing not to lose. They may have gotten more shots on Reimer than the Sharks got on Campbell, but I wouldn’t say Reimer had to make an overwhelming amount of miraculous saves. Reimer did rob Draisaitl one that one diving save though.
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The Points For The Edmonton Oilers Is All That Matters
Even though this wasn’t the best game for the Edmonton Oilers they did eventually win the game. At this time of year, you would like to see the team play better going into the playoffs, but these two points are important in clinching a playoff spot.
The remainder of the schedule is very important for the Edmonton Oilers points-wise if they want to have home-ice advantage in the playoffs. The problem for the Edmonton Oilers right now is their last 10 record is 8-2-0, but the teams they are trying to catch either have the same or better record.
It is going to end up coming down the head-to-head games for the top of the Pacific Division I think. They still have two games left each against the Kings and Golden Knights. If the Oilers win that would bring them 4 points closer to each team. If they lose them though it is going to be tough to catch either of them.
Jack Campbell Needs To Be Better
This was another tough outing for Jack Campbell. He let in a couple of goals that I am sure he would like back. His 0.875 SV% is not going to be good enough for the Edmonton Oilers if he wants to start more games down the stretch. The worst part is that save percentage doesn’t include the goals he let in that were waved off due to the offsides.
If those goals were to have counted the Oilers likely would have lost and Campbell would be catching a lot more flack than he is right now. As I mentioned above when it really comes down to it the win is all that matters, but Campbell isn’t making things any easier on the team to get the wins.
Back At It Tomorrow
The Edmonton Oilers host another weaker team tomorrow in the Arizona Coyotes. This is another game that the Oilers should be able to win easily. As we learned last night they can’t take any team lightly.