Oilers pointing fingers in different directions after recent blowout loss

The Edmonton Oilers' 7-3 shellacking at the hands of the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night sparked an uncomfortable debate about accountability with goaltender Tristan Jarry and head coach Kris Knoblauch offering conflicting assessments of what went wrong.

Jarry's evening ended prematurely after surrendering five goals on just 20 shots, a troubling .750 save percentage that left the Oilers chasing the game. But  the veteran netminder pointed his finger at the skaters in front of him.

In his post-game comments, Tristan Jarry suggested Edmonton's aggressive fast-paced style was creating self-inflicted wounds through careless turnovers.

"The way we want to play, we want to play fast, we want to play in their end. I think when we’re taking some of those chances, they come back at us. It’s tough so, I think we just have to make sure we’re managing the puck better," Jarry explained.

The goaltender's message was that they need to tighten up defensively before criticizing the last line of defense.

Kris Knoblauch had a different take

Coach Knoblauch, however, didn't mince words when asked about his goaltending. He acknowledged the team could limit high-danger opportunities but made it clear he expected more from between the pipes.

"We could get another save," Knoblauch said matter-of-factly. "I think we need to give up… fewer chances because I think we do a pretty good job of spending a lot of time in the offensive zone, and the amount of chances we give up isn’t that many."

The disconnect between coach and goaltender is telling and potentially problematic.

Tristan Jarry is not wrong

Advanced metrics, however, confirm that Edmonton surrendered an unusually high number of Grade A scoring chances. Jarry did make several excellent stops but crucially, none came at moments that might have kept his team competitive.

This also was Jarry's first genuinely poor performance since joining Edmonton via trade. For Jarry, the path forward requires both a short memory and perhaps a dose of self-awareness. 

While Edmonton's defense certainly shares blame for Monday's disaster, professional goaltenders understand the position's unwritten rule, own the soft goals and your teammates will have your back on the tough ones.

The Oilers need their new netminder to bounce back quickly  and maybe leave the defensive criticism for internal discussions rather than media scrums.