Oh boy, that didn't quite go to plan did it? The Edmonton Oilers entered this season with heightened expectations, following last season's run all the way to a heart-breaking game seven loss to the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final.
Following an offseason of tweaking the roster -- albeit not all ideally -- the Oilers were set to begin the 2024-25 campaign showing everyone just why they are favourites to finally win it all again. Instead, they laid a goose egg and just couldn't get anything going in an embarrassing 6-0 loss to the Winnipeg Jets.
Making it even worse was that the humiliation came at home in front of their own fans, with 18,347 in attendance at Rogers Place. The arena was half-empty by the midway point of the third period, and we don't blame any of those who did decide to leave early - the team was lucky they stuck around as long as they did, on a night where there was nothing to cheer for.
If there was a reverse Three Stars of the Game being awarded, Stuart Skinner would have likely received the First Star. By no means was he the only culprit on the night, but ultimately he allowed five goals on only 13 shots and was replaced just past the halfway point of the contest.
Skinner acknowledges his part in the outcome
To his credit -- as is always the case with the guy -- Skinner was honest in the assessment of his play, when speaking to the media postgame. He said: "The game was a little too quick for me and I just wasn’t up to speed, and that is on me. I probably should have read the game a little bit better. I am going to look at all the video and see where I can improve. I made some big saves, but it doesn’t really do much when you let in five."
In fairness to Skinner -- at least as fair as you can be after a game like this -- he did make some big saves on the night. However, perhaps helping to sum up how the night went overall, the Jets were able to slot home the rebound for the opening goal following one of those big saves.
Again, Skinner wasn't the only culprit on the night, as the defensive effort in front of him was sorely lacking. Chief 'suspects' included the pairing of Darnell Nurse and Ty Emberson, although it should be stressed this was more on the latter.
Throw in one of the most timid offensive showings you could ever expect from such a talented and dangerous group of forwards, and the result was a miserable evening for everyone associated with Edmonton. Nothing went well ... at all.
Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch was asked by the media, about what went wrong on the night. He said: "It’s tough to rebound against this team, last year they were the best defensive team in the League, so when you’re giving them goals it’s tough to get them back."
Is last season still lingering?
On the subject of last year, Knoblauch was asked if the team was still struggling to get over how it ended. He said: "You had an incredible year that finished with disappointment and it’s tough to just say, ‘Forget about it, let’s think about now.’ But there is a point where we need to do that."
Along these lines, if there's one thing we learned about this Oilers team last season, it's their resiliency. Knoblauch referenced this, as he said: "We got punched pretty good tonight but we’ve always been able to respond. Last year, I was happy with our guys, when we did have a bad game we usually responded really well. ... It’s one game."
Which brings us nicely to the only silver lining from an utterly miserable night for the Oilers -they've effectively been here before. More specifically, last season's opening game which ended in an even more humiliating 8-1 loss to the Vancouver Canucks, albeit on the road.
A repeated ability to respond positively to adversity
Despite that horrific beginning to last season, which was part of a 2-9-1 start that was the worst in team history through 12 games, the Oilers did indeed respond. After Knoblauch arrived in Edmonton, they had the best record in the NHL the rest of the way and came within one win of claiming the Holy Grail of hockey.
Skinner spoke to the media about that similarly inexcusable start to last season. He said: "I feel terrible about what happened tonight. It sucks, especially when you do it two years in a row. You just don’t want to believe that you are going to have a crappy (performance) again. Then again, it is one game and we have some games coming up here where we can change that up. That is completely up to us and how we show up."
For Skinner specifically, he has showed time and again he can respond positively to adversity, with a prime example coming during last season's playoffs. He said: "I have been pulled before, I have let in five goals in a game before, obviously you just don’t want to do it the first game. You don’t want to do it ever. I’ll just get better from this and move on."
This is an approach which applies to the team as a whole, with Oilers fans now waiting nervously to see how the players respond. We'll find out on Saturday night, at home to the Chicago Blackhawks.