3 Takeaways from Oilers’ disheartening overtime loss to Jets
A look into the Oilers’ most demoralizing defeat yet, with the key loss potentially being one which will last longer than this one game versus the Jets.
Well, it’s safe to say no one anticipated this beginning to the season for the Edmonton Oilers. Yes, it’s still early, but it doesn’t make the early returns any less concerning.
Something just doesn’t seem right so far in Edmonton, for a team which entered the 2023-24 with lofty aspirations. The question is, does the 1-3-1 record just represent a slow start, or the sign of a bigger underlying issue?
In truth, even this question may become irrelevant, if an apparent injury on Saturday night to a certain superstar proves serious. Let’s get to our three takeaways from the 3-2 overtime loss to the Jets, with no prizes for guessing what we’re leading off with:
1) Connor McDavid’s potential absence
We hate to do this to Oilers fans, but where else can you began than with Connor McDavid? His leaving the game was the defining moment of Saturday night’s game.
At the risk of sounding like hyperbole, what remains to be seen is if McDavid’s apparent injury subsequently becomes the defining moment of the season. There is no denying him missing an extended period of games for the Oilers would be catastrophic.
The 26-year-old’s final shift of the night concluded with 4:20 left in the third period. This was preceded by a seemingly innocuous tussle with the Jets’ Mark Scheifele, after which he grabbed his left lower side.
McDavid did not return to the game for the remainder of the third period or overtime. He was understandably requested for a postgame interview, but this was denied due to being evaluated by the Oilers’ medical staff.
Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft was unable to offer much information, other than saying the issue appeared to be muscular. A proper update is expected sometime on Sunday.
There is a certain irony in the incident coming during what was arguably McDavid’s best performance of the season to date. Aside from recording an assist on both Oilers goals, he just generally looked locked in and full of energy versus the Jets.
Now, Oilers fans must wait anxiously for an update on the status of the three-time Hart Memorial Trophy winner – a period of hours which will probably feel like days to them. To say a long-term absence would be huge, is an understatement.
The Oilers are already faltering under the weight of expectation which comes with being labelled preseason Stanley Cup favourites. If McDavid is out for a lengthy period of time, it could be game over in 2023-24 for the team from Edmonton.
2) Fast start turns into a slow finish
Rewind a few hours, and the game couldn’t have began much better for the Oilers. Unlike the lacklustre effort in Philadelphia, they started with renewed purpose and heart versus the Jets.
The result was a goal just 1:25 into the contest, courtesy of Darnell Nurse firing home his first of the season. He was set up wonderfully by McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
The star duo were at it again less than five minutes later, this time combining during a power play to provide Evan Bouchard with his own first goal of the campaign. With a 2-0 lead on home ice after just 6:11 of the first period, the rout looked on.
Unfortunately for the Oilers and their fans, fate had other ideas. The Jets responded with a power play goal of their own at the 10:18 mark of the first period, to halve the home side’s advantage to 2-1.
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The goals dried up after this, although the Oilers seemed to be in a promising position on another power play, as time was ticking down in the second period. Instead, disaster struck.
Stuart Skinner — who for the most part was solid on the night — came drifting out of his crease when it really wasn’t necessary. The miscalculation proved fatal, as he couldn’t get back in time and Vladislav Namestnikov tied the game at 2-2 with a short-handed goal.
The Oilers would dominate the third period, as evidenced by a 13-4 advantage in shots on goal. However, they could not capitalize and went into overtime sans McDavid.
Skinner made some key saves in the extra period, but ultimately he only delayed the inevitable. Scheifele completed the comeback with just 1:07 left in overtime and the Oilers had gone from a seemingly certain win, to having to settle for one point.
3) No production again by Kane or Brown
We appreciate we’ve written almost ad nauseam about the production — or lack thereof — from Evander Kane and Connor Brown so far in 2023-24. However, this doesn’t make it any less important, as evidenced by their respective performances on Saturday night.
During preseason, we predicted both Kane and Brown would step up this season and help the Oilers in their quest to finally return to Stanley Cup glory. Instead, they have both been poster boys for everything that has gone wrong in Edmonton thus far.
Kane has been providing lots of physicality in games, always getting stuck in and looking for the big hit (in every respect). However, he’s had minimal influence on the scoreboard, with just a solitary assist through five games.
This is nothing like the player the Oilers saw prior to the winger’s wrist injury early last season. There is some concern he still hasn’t fully recovered from the surgery, but whatever the issue, he’s not even providing average support up to this point.
If nothing else, unlike Brown, at least Kane can say he has a point this season. His fellow winger has had even less impact on the team so far, with similar concerns he is not over an injury which limited him to just four games last season.
Helping sum up the lack of positive influence, Kane has a team-worst -6 plus/minus rating through five games, while Brown is third-worst with a -4. Bouchard is in between them with a -5 rating, but at least he has five points as opposed to their combined total of just one.
If McDavid is indeed out for any period of time, the Oilers really need the likes of Kane and Brown to prove their worth. However, if Saturday night is any indication, the fans are in for a huge disappointment.
We know the duo are both capable of so much more, but it doesn’t matter if they don’t actually play up to their respective talent levels. Many more repeat performances like the one versus the Jets, and you can expect Woodcroft to consider other options to help the forward lines.
Quote of the night
The Jets’ first goalscorer Jim Morrissey, discussing McDavid’s absence during overtime. As per Derek Van Diest of NHL.com, the defenceman said:
“I think we noticed, that’s probably the understatement of the century. I don’t know what’s going on there, but 3-on-3 overtime you’re looking for him, so we did notice, yeah.”
Next. Are the Oilers an option for Kessel?. dark
Overall, we’re still loathe to press the panic button, despite the underwhelming start to the 2023-24 season. However, this could change dramatically, pending the result of McDavid’s injury evaluation.