3 Takeaways as Oilers break losing streak with 4-1 win in Seattle
A breakdown of the Oilers game in Seattle, as they finally return to winning ways with a much-needed and impressive 4-1 victory over the Kraken.
Entering Saturday night’s game tied for the fewest points in the NHL, the Edmonton Oilers were undoubtedly in an extremely desperate situation. On a four-game losing streak and having equalled their worst ever start to a season through 12 games, surely the only way was up?
Fortunately for everyone concerned, the answer proved to be a resounding ‘Yes!’, as the Oilers finally broke out of their funk. Playing a Kraken team which has similarly started poorly compared to expectations — albeit not as poorly — they managed to (finally) win their third game of the season.
Whether the 4-1 win serves as a springboard to get the season back on track remains to be seen, but for one night at least, the fans had reason to cheer. Here are three takeaways from the game in Seattle, which we’re glad to advise will (mostly) be more positive than usual:
1) First period goal flurry sets the tone
No matter how poor the Oilers have played, they’ve also been extremely unlucky so far this season. Consider that they entered the Kraken game averaging the most shots on goal per game, but also tied just 27th in scoring.
This had been best exemplified during the four-game losing streak prior to the trip to Seattle. Despite 49 shots on goal versus Dallas, 35 against Nashville, 43 in Vancouver and 41 versus San Jose, the Oilers only scored a combined nine goals.
Surely, the team’s luck had to change soon? Well, that was exactly the case at Climate Pledge Arena on Saturday night.
Per the same as recent games, the Oilers came out firing in the first period, dominating the Kraken 17-5 in shots on goal. This time around though, they actually managed to take advantage of their opportunities.
It took nearly half the opening 20 minutes to get going, but when the Oilers did, the floodgates opened. Zach Hyman started the scoring spree at the 9:56 mark and by the end of the first period, the visitors had forged ahead to a four-goal lead from which the Kraken could not recover.
Hyman understandably got the majority of the offensive headlines, with his first hat-trick of the season and just the second natural first period hat-trick in franchise history. (Surprise, surprise, Wayne Gretzky has the other one.) However, Dylan Holloway also deserves credit, with both his best game and first goal of the 2023-24 campaign.
Admittedly there’s still plenty to be concerned about on offence. Most pressing of all, Connor McDavid has now not scored a goal for eight games, while Leon Draisaitl has just one in his last nine.
However, for one game at least, the Oilers were able to overcome this lack of production from their two superstars. In fact, as per Sportsnet, Saturday was just the eighth time the team has won since 2015 when McDavid and Draisaitl have been held without a point.
2) Best defensive game of the season
For how much the Oilers dominated the first period, there was a moment early on where the game could have gone the way of so many others this season. The crucial moment came inside four minutes, when Stuart Skinner made a strong save off a Yanni Gourde redirect.
If the Kraken had taken the lead at that stage, it could have easily set off a different sequence of events. Yes, this is how mentally fragile the Oilers have been thus far in 2023-24.
Instead, the save seemed to galvanise the team, as they went on to score the aforementioned four goals to put the game all but out of reach after 20 minutes. However, the defensive effort of the players was a big part of the reason too, with their best game of the season to date.
This was especially so in the final 20 minutes, when the Oilers were outshot 9-0 by the Kraken. It was just the sixth time in franchise history they failed to record a shot on target in a period, and only the second time they subsequently won the game.
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Even though Skinner only faced 18 shots on the night, he did what he was meant to do. In his defence, he had no chance on the one time the Kraken did get the puck past him, as it came via a deflected shot.
That goal came just 2:25 into the third period, and was soon followed by the goalie’s second crucial save of the night. If Adam Larsson had managed to score on a rebound to make it 4-2 with still around 15 minutes remaining, who knows what could have happened?
Instead, the Oilers held on to comfortably cross the finish line with an important 4-1 win. Asked postgame by the media about the defensive leadership displayed on the night, Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft said:
“I thought (Ryan Nugent-Hopkins) was a force defensively; he made some good plays with the puck. And then you look on the back end, that secondary leadership group. (Darnell) Nurse played a heck of a game, (Mattias) Ekholm played a heck of a game, so when those guys are helping lead the group, I think that’s very, very important.”
3) Still uncertain if win will save Woodcroft’s job
There has never been any indication that the players don’t like Woodcroft. And yet, how they performed on Saturday night in Seattle was still going to tell us how much they were willing to fight for their coach.
In this respect, the 4-1 win versus the Kraken spoke volumes about the team, as they responded positively with one of their best collective games of 2023-24. And yet, it might still not be enough to save Woodcroft.
Speculation has been rampant, that the organisation had already made up their mind about the embattled coach and were just waiting for the team to return from their three-game road trip. The prevailing rumor was that the 47-year-old was going to be fired, along with assistant coach Dave Manson and general manager Ken Holland.
We’ve already given our argument for Woodcroft keeping his job. In addition, the optics would just look terrible and make the organisation appear incompetent in having to turn to a fifth coach in just five seasons.
Of course, we also appreciate that when you own a professional sports team, you can do whatever you damn well please. However, it doesn’t change the thinking that Woodcroft does not deserve his seemingly inevitable fate of being fired.
The Toronto native was asked about a sign that read ‘Woodcroft’s warriors backing our coach’, and if he felt his players were playing for him against the Kraken. However, in typical fashion he deflected from this, as he said:
“I think our players played to win the game tonight, which is where their focus should be. Our players going to bat or whatever you want to call it, to me our players have a great batting average since I’ve been here and that speaks for itself. No one’s happy with what the overall record is, but in terms of the quality of the people we have in that locker room, the quality of players, we know we’re better than our record, but going back to Spec’s question, you stick together, you find a way, and it you can’t find a way, you make a way.”
If Saturday’s game turns out to be the last of Woodcroft’s tenure in Edmonton, at least he has the (very small) consolation of going out with a win. However, it will also be a shame, as it didn’t need to end like this.
Quote of the day
Woodcroft was asked by Sportsnet‘s Mark Spector if Saturday’s win is something the team can build off of and take forward. Perhaps alluding to some tension between the two men, the Oilers coach simply said: “Yes” and quickly moved onto the next question.
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The Oilers improve to 3-9-1 on the season with Saturday’s win in Seattle, but sit eight points out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference. Next up, they return home to face the New York Islanders on Monday night.