The Edmonton Oilers had another loss last night at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. They came out flat and were beaten early on a 2-on-1 with a goal by former Oilers and now captain of the Kraken, Jordan Eberle. It was clear, again, that the Oilers were not ready to play and were down 2-0 buy the 7th minute of the first period with two goals 5 minute apart.
Throughout the game, the Oilers led in shots fired at the Seattle goalie, offensive zone percentage (42% to 37%) and high danger chances (13 vs 7 by Seattle). Thus, the offense was there and NHL stats stated that every member of the Oilers offensive list has 1 or more shots on net except for Andrew Mangiapane and, surprisingly, Connor McDavid. Leon Draisaitl led the way with 5 shots followed by David Tomasek with 4.
What let the Oilers down this game was the defensive play of Bouchard (-3) and Ekholm (-2). The +/- statistic was still in the negative even though Bouchard had a powerplay goal and Ekholm had an assist on the second Oiler goal by Nurse.
We have seen magnificent play by this pairing in the past 2 years including the playoffs. But, we have also observed lots of giveaway plays by Bouchard, blinded behind the back passes and many intercepted pass to opposition players. Ekholm has not returned to his form prior to his major injury after the four nations tournament earlier this year.
Head coach Kris Knoblauch has been resistant in separating them away from the Connor and Leon and from each other. After tonight’s tough loss to the Kraken, I think it was evident that they have both lost their edge and have to play separated in the near future. I think they will benefit from playing with Walman or Nurse to build back their confidence. Jake Walman has been the Oilers best defenseman this year. The poor play of Bouchard and Ekholm partial resulted in the loss to the Kraken tonight.
The other cause I think, was the play of Stuart Skinner stopping 20/23 shots for a 0.870 save percentage, not playoff quality, and not the 0.939 save percentage that Seattle Kraken goalie, Joey Daccord had tonight. In most of the games the Oilers have played this year, the other team has had the better goalie.
We often hear that and the general manager and coach need to start to listen to that comment. Skinner is still playing his old ways with constantly lowering his stance to “save” goals instead of facing shooters upright to force them to shoot low. I hope this changes as the season progresses but this is a concern. I think Pickard has played better but he also has made some mistakes. Should we give Connor Ingram a chance? The goalie position is still a concern for the Oilers.
Oilers special teams continue to improve
I mentioned in an earlier article that the special teams will have to get better this year and they have been. After the game against Seattle that saw a 50% powerplay and a 100% penalty kill, the Oilers are now have a 29.6% powerplay overall for 6th place and an 83.3% penalty kill for 13th. This is a major improvement from last year and the new coaches and player personnel are contributing to this improvement. If the Oilers can improve their 5 on 5 play scoring more goals that will help with getting more wins as they currently sit 17th place with 5 on 5 scoring (according to statmuse.com).
A significant part of the 5 of 5 play is on the top line driven by Connor McDavid. It has been an interesting start of the season for him with his first goal in game 7 and, tied for 16th in lead scoring at 11 points in 9 games and not shooting as much as he said he would (he had no shot on net in the loss to the Kraken).
Looking at highlights of the powerplay against Seattle, it is clear that the Oilers are still looking for the perfect shot to score and McDavid circles at lot. It is amazing to watch that no one often challenges him, but last night but he could not find that perfect pass to get the perfect shot. The year he had 64 goals was when he just shot the puck more and it worked. He has a great shot, including a one timer shot, so best to use it. As the season progresses, we all hope that McDavid continues to shoot as the Oilers could use him getting > 1 point a game and more goals.
Oilers beaten by former players
Jordan Eberle and Adam Larsson were key components to the Oilers team just before the appearance of Connor McDavid. They have both settled in well on the Seattle Kraken team and now Eberle is their captain. They are both in their 30s and are still very significant contributors to the line up. Jordon Eberle demonstrated his scoring skills but beating Skinner on the high glove and blocker twice in the game and Larsson did not have any assists but was involved in getting the puck to Eberle.
Ex-Oilers always find a way to elevate their game when their former team comes to town and that showed last night. It is early in the season, but Seattle is doing well and now tied for the top spot in the Pacific with the Golden Knights and sits 11th overall in league standings. The Oilers have a lot of work to do to get into form to challenge for the top spot in the Pacific. October is almost over and that means the possible return of Zack Hyman and help for the McDavid line.
The Oilers have a lot of upcoming road games
The Oilers only have 6 home games in the next month. Their schedule is not favorable for them by far with lots of road games ahead. The hope is that all the road games will allow the new players and rookies to get to know each other well and possibly improve their performance on the ice. We all hope that by December 1st the Oilers will have a winning record > 0.5, improved 5 on 5 play and McDavid will have more goals and push for top spot in the scoring race.
The Oilers have outshot the other teams they have played but only have a 4-4-1 record in 9 games played. We know they can improve and the next month will be a good early test of the character of the 2025-2026 version of the Edmonton Oilers.