3 Reasons For Edmonton Oilers Loss Against Tampa Bay Lightning
Just when you think the Edmonton Oilers have turned their season around they turn around and lose a game when they had an early 2-goal lead to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Every game has many things that could have led to a win instead of a loss.
In yesterday’s game I have determined what I thought were the three main issues in the loss. The Edmonton Oilers should be able to fix most of them internally. There is one though that has been a common theme all season so far.
23. Final. 4. 148. 6
Powerplay Woes Contuine
While the Edmonton Oilers do have a 22.81% powerplay percentage, which is still good enough for 12th in the NHL, as Oilers fans, we are much more used to that number being closer to 30% than 20%.
Last night was a perfect example of a game where a powerplay goal would have made a big difference. They went 0-5 on the powerplay in that game. If they even went 1-5 the game would have been tied late if everything else stayed the same.
The powerplay for the Edmonton Oilers in the past has always built momentum for the team. In last night’s game though it seemed to take momentum away from the team. Even worse than that, Lightning seemed to gain momentum from the kill.
I think if the Edmotnon Oilers score on one of their 5 opportunities the Oilers come out of Tampa Bay with 2 points instead of none.
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The Stars Were Not Shining
A storyline going into this 4 game road trip was the lack of depth scoring. This season when the Edmonton Oilers had success it was because the top 6 came out and took control of a game. Last night was the exact opposite of that.
Last night Leon Draisatil, Connor McDavid and Evander Kane were all left pointless. If any of these three get on the score sheet once again the Edmonton Oilers would likely have won this game. A big part of why these players didn’t get any points ties into my previous point.
The powerplay is a large part of McDavid and Draisaitl’s success, so when it struggles there is a high chance that their full-strength games will also struggle. The nice thing about last night’s game is the bottom six picked up their game and kept this game close.
Edmonton Oilers Goaltending Woes Contuine
Consistent goalie tending has been an issue so far for this team and there few are arguments that can be said against that fact. So far this season all the Edmonton Oilers have a combined save percentage of 0.869%.
If you expect to be a team that not only makes the playoffs but competes for a Stanley Cup you need consistent goaltending. Now the defence in front of the goalies hasn’t been spectacular, but you still need to have a save percentage above 0.900%.
The Oilers have already sent Jack Campbell down to the minors in the hope he would find his game. That hasn’t seemed to help. I think this is the number one issue for this team. Either they need to bring in another goalie or they need Skinner to get back to his A-game if this team wants to improve.
Next. Oilers reportedly still looking for goalie help but won’t panic. dark
The Edmonton Oilers are running out of runway to try and turn this season around. They get another chance to do so tomorrow as they take on the Florida Panthers. To make the playoffs the Oilers can’t afford to lose back-to-back games anymore, so this game is another must-win.