The Edmonton Oilers dropped yet another game, now their third in a row on their Eastern Conference road trip. The club's record goes to 2-3-1 on the season as they lost 4-2 against the Detroit Red Wings.
After a 2-0 shutout victory against the New York Rangers the Oilers looked like they were about to go on a heater. Unfortunately, that has not been the case as they have now lost three in a row and they are struggling to stop the bleeding.
The team's poor play has drawn plenty of criticism to all players of any position. The goaltenders has been subpar, the defence has made costly mistakes, and their forwards have struggled to produce. Even captain Connor McDavid has a goose egg in the goals column on the season.
There is plenty of blame to go around from top to bottom and even to the coaching staff. Are they still early season woes or a concerning trend?
Where the Oilers have struggled
Up front, the Oilers have struggled with their depth scoring.
They have scored 15 goals on the season, averaging 2.5 goals per game for with 11 of those goals coming directly from top-six forwards; Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Andrew Mangiapane, and Trent Frederic. Although this is bound to happen when your teams boasts some of the league's best talents like McDavid and Draisaitl, this year it is exceptionally bad.
On defence, there have been some costly mistakes with star defenceman Evan Bouchard taking a lot of flack for his recent performance that his left him as a team worst -5 plus/minus. He has also remained off the score sheet in the early stretch of the year. As well, the absence of Walman has been clear as the team lacks depth and specifically Darnell Nurse's pairing has struggled without him.
In net, the two goalies, Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard have not been able to give the team timely saves and aside from the shutout against the Rangers, have shown no signs of being able to steal a game. So far looking at their stats, Skinner holds a .909 save percentage and Pickard a .865. These performances do not inspire confidence, especially when this is the position that had the most scrutiny.
Although recently, head coach Kris Knoblauch praised their netminders, deflecting blame off the two men who often wear it the most.
Oilers have signs of life
Although a three game losing streak is not fun, the team's record is 2-3-1 with five points in six games or five out of a possible 12. It is still early and the season is far from a lost cause at this stage. Especially with the injury issues the Oilers have faced thus far.
The team is currently without top line winger Zach Hyman as well as top four defenceman Jake Walman. Adding one or both of these players to the lineup should have a drastic effect on the team's performance, especially on their respective lines.
Admittedly, the Oilers have been outshot and out chanced in some of their games this season, especially the past three (moneypuck.com). However, there have been some lines that have shown well in the early start to their season. The top line of Draisaitl-McDavid-Frederic has performed well and dominated possession in their time on the ice.
There have been a few other lines and pairings that have dominated possession like Ekholm-Bouchard as well as Howard-Henrique-Tomasek. Although this does not mean much in the short term, it indicates that the production should come with some patience.
There has also been some solid individual performances like the shutout victory from Skinner, as well as long time Oiler Nugent-Hopkins starting the season hot.
Now is not the time for the Oilers to panic
It is easy to get caught up in the results on a game-by-game basis but it is important to notice the trends. The Oilers are only six games into the season with a 2-3-1 record and if they can win on Tuesday against the Ottawa Senators, it will help to even out their record.
Although the lack of depth scoring is a concern, all it takes is a couple games and statistically speaking, it is no longer an issue.
There have been struggles and the club has hit a few bumps in the road but there needs to be patience. The Stanley Cup is not awarded in October, there is plenty of time for the Oilers to turn it around.