Last night the Edmonton Oilers faced one of the better teams in the league, the Winnipeg Jets. Even though both of these teams were coming into this game on losing streaks I know that this game could very well be a preview of the Western Conference Final.
Coming into this game the Oilers were losers of 2 straight and the Jets losers of 3. The Oilers had struggled with consistency and had moments where they let teams score quick goals while the Jets have been poor defensively as of late. One thing I can say is I am not too sure either team fixed their problems.
The Edmonton Oilers started the game well, gave up the first goal then took control of the game scoring the next three in a time when they completely controlled the game. Then their issue came into play, as they let the Jets score two goals over a minute time. This tied the game which forced overtime.
As for the Jets, a team that is know for its defensive game and goaltending it was not the showing they were looking for either. Allowing 42 shots on goal is not going to pave an easy path to victory. Getting that many shots is tough on a goalie, even if you have Connor Hellebuyck, Hellebuyck still had a solid game making 38 saves on 42 shots and ending up with an SV% of 0.905.
If these teams want to face each other in the Western Conference Final they are going to need to fix these issues. Although they had moments in the game where they both played well, the game is a full 60 minutes.
The Edmonton Oilers have another big game coming up this Thursday as they face the Los Angeles Kings, a team that is only three points behind the Oilers for second place in the Pacific. The Kings are playing well right now as they are 7-3-0 in their last 10 and are winners of 4 in a row. This is an important game in the standings and the Oilers will need to play a full 60 if they hope to come out with a win.