3 Takeaways as Oilers blanked 3-0 by Rangers
The Edmonton Oilers’ struggles go from bad to worst, as their pregame Hall of Fame ceremony was ruined by a poor effort in a 3-0 shutout by the Rangers.
The evening had begun so well for the Oilers and the fans in attendance at Rogers Place. The ceremony took place, to officially honour Charlie Huddy and Doug Weight going into the team’s Hall of Fame.
The atmosphere in the building was positive, but then the game started. It couldn’t have gone more differently than the ceremony which preceded it, and the team was deservedly booed off the ice at the end.
As a result of the 3-0 loss to the Rangers, the Oilers’ record dropped to 1-5-1 and they have the second-worse record in the NHL as of Friday morning. Here are three takeaways from a miserable night in downtown Edmonton:
1) Meagre offensive threat
Connor McDavid or not, the Oilers cannot be excused for being shutout for the first time this season. They’ve gone from the highest-scoring team in the NHL last season, to now ranking seventh-worst in average goals scored per game.
This team is lost, with far too many individuals not playing up to their offensive potential. Connor Brown is now pointless through seven games, and there just isn’t enough offensive production from the bottom-six in general.
Where is the sense of urgency, the desire, the creativity? Even when McDavid was playing, the lack of these three traits was evident for all to see.
Clearly the pre-game ceremony honouring Huddy and Weight, did little to galvanize the team. They were essentially second-best to the Rangers from the word go, mustering a paltry five shots on goal in the opening period.
The Oilers did generate more shots in the second period, but hardly any were quality chances. Meanwhile, the Rangers blew the game wide open with a three-goal blitz, which all but sealed the game with still 20 minutes to play.
Leon Draisaitl tried his best but still needs some help, as he was held pointless for the second time in seven games this season. Warren Foegele has been consistent so far, while Evander Kane is gradually improving, but overall, it’s just not nearly enough.
Zach Hyman made no excuses, fully acknowledging where the blame should be placed on the night. Speaking postgame to the media, he said:
“There’s not one guy off to a poor start, it’s collectively as a group. We’re an offensive team, (but) we scored zero goals today. A lot of the blame’s on our D-zone, our defensive system, our defence, (but) we didn’t score anything today.”
2) Stuart Skinner keeps the score respectable
So much for all the talk of the Oilers been a better defensive team compared to last season. To date, it seems all the talk of a new zone scheme, a full season of Mattias Ekholm, a revitalized Jack Campbell and so on is just that – talk.
In fact if anything, the Oilers’ defensive game is actually worse that last season thus far. As of Friday morning, they are ranked third-worst in the NHL in terms of overall goals allowed and goals-per-game average.
As a knock-on effect, you would be just in thinking the Oilers’ goalies are having a poor season so far. In this respect, Stuart Skinner’s save percentage of .913 the previous two campaigns has dropped to .846, while his 3.93 GAA is more than a goal higher than in either of the last couple of seasons.
And yet, along with Campbell, Skinner has actually managed to stop the damage being even worse at times, in his four appearances this season. It was more of the same on Thursday night, versus the Rangers.
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The 24-year-old was tremendous during the first period, almost single-handedly keeping the Oilers in the game. The Rangers outshot the hosts 10-5 during the opening 20 minutes, and only four key saves kept the score tied at 0-0.
It all started to fall apart for the Oilers in the second half, as the Rangers outshot them 18-13. Many of the visitor’s attempts were genuine opportunities, with Skinner still doing his best to keep them at bay.
Ultimately though, there was nothing the Edmonton native could do to maintain the shutout. The Rangers scored third times in the second 20 minute period, with him not really having any chance on any of the goals.
Again though, without Skinner it would have been even worse than 3-0 overall. (The Rangers also hit a couple of posts.) When it was all said and done, he finished with 29 saves out of 32 shots.
3) What’s up with Nurse, Ekholm and Bouchard?
Following on from Skinner keeping the score respectable, both he and Campbell do seem to have been left out to dry too many times already this season. While we won’t go as far as blaming the new defensive zone system as such, something just isn’t vibing on the blue line.
Players expected to lead the defensive play, are just not getting it done. Ekholm hasn’t been his usual reliable, strong presence, while Evan Bouchard has undoubtedly taken a step back from the progress he displayed last season.
At least both players were a +0 on Thursday night, although this doesn’t take away from the fact Ekholm in particular was poor once more. Regardless, Darnell Nurse continued with his own struggles.
Let’s be clear in stating that Nurse (as well as Ekholm and Bouchard), continues to put the effort in. However, it is proving to be fruitless to this point, as painfully shown on Thursday night versus the Rangers.
First up, the 2013 seventh overall draft pick must take the majority of the blame for the visitors’ second goal. He effectively blocked Skinner’s view, giving the goaltender no chance to see Braden Schneider’s shot until it was too late.
Then, Nurse didn’t do enough to stop a key pass deep in the defensive zone, which set up Alexis Lafrenière to fire home the decisive third goal. As much as he’s clearly a better defenceman than he showed versus the Rangers, it didn’t matter on the night.
The 28-year-old knows it starts with the blue line when it comes to defence, but added that it has to be a team-wide effort. Speaking to the media postgame, he said:
“I’ve been here for nine years, and it’s always the D. For us, we do have to be better. We can’t be relying on our goaltenders to make five, six two-on-one saves a night. (We) can’t be putting our partners in bad spots, but at the same point there’s six guys on the ice at all times, and we’ve got to be out there helping each other.”
Quote of the day
Hyman was asked about accountability and how the process works for the Oilers. He said:
“This league is too tight, that nothing gets done without putting in the work first. And that’s not on the coaches or management, it’s just on the guys in the locker room coming in and showing up and going out there and playing. There’s no finger pointing here, we have no time to feel sorry for ourselves.”
The Oilers have no chance to win the division. dark. Next
Overall, the Oilers remain confident in their abilities, but something has to give soon. While it remains a long-shot, if McDavid can indeed return for Sunday’s Heritage Classic, it would provide a much-need boost to the struggling team.