The Edmonton Oilers fell 2-1 to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night, once again failing to capitalize on the opportunity for a three-game win streak.
This game follows an incredible back-to-back effort by the entire team winning 6-0 over the Vancouver Canucks and 5-0 over the St. Louis Blues on the weekend. Still, allowing only two goals over the span of three games while scoring 12 is nothing to be disappointed in.
The Oilers were bested by a Russian Rookie in their loss vs the Devils
Arseny Gritsyuk is a 24 year old playing in his first NHL season and has found a roster spot on the Devils. He has played 45 games for the Devils scoring 18 points coming into the game against the Oilers on Tuesday night.
It was a low shot percentage game with only 40 total shots in the game and 3 goals. Gritsyuk found his mark on a set up from Cody Glass and Dougie Hamilton at 14:37 of the second period surprising Tristan Jarry with a one-timer snap shot. Jarry was not positioned well for this and the sequence of play for this goal started with a giveaway from Andrew Mangiapane at 14:52 of the second period.
As the Oilers capitalized on giveaways in the games against Vancouver and the Blues, the Devils did exactly that in the 2nd period. Not too long after that, Gritsyuk got the puck from the Devils defenseman, passed it to former Oiler, Connor Brown, who then quickly passed it to Cody Glass for the snap shot up high past Jarry. This was a great passing play, but Darnell Nurse is to blame for this goal as he had Glass tied up on the boards and then headed to the bench for a change thinking the play was headed back towards center ice. Glass got free and scored.
Once again, this should not have been the mistake of a $9.2 million per year defenseman. Make sure the puck is headed out of your defensive zone before leaving the play. Gritsyuk had a great night with 2 points, +2 rating for 13:05 time of ice.
Oilers depth continues to score
The Oilers have outscored their opponents 15-7 in the past 5 games with an average goals against of 1.4. In this time, their bottom two lines have contributed to the scoring with Kasperi Kapanen leading the charge. He, unfortunately, got hurt playing only 2:53 of ice time before exiting the game versus the St. Louis Blues in the first period. He did not return for the game and his injury should not keep him out of the line up too long from what has been reported.
In the game last night, the Oilers lone goal was from a hard shot by Jake Walman that somehow made it though several bodies. Matt Savoie was credited with the goal although it looked like it went straight in off the Walman shot. Isaac Howard picked up an assist to add to the contributions of the 4th line. With Leon Draisaitl still away on a leave of absence and Kapenen hurt, the Oilers will need the 3rd and 4th lines to contribute in the remaining games before the Olympic break in early February.
Jarry and Ingram tandem continues to impress for Oilers
Since acquiring Jarry, the Oilers have juggled the goalie responsibilities between all three goalies, Jarry, Connor Ingram, and Calvin Pickard. With Jarry hurt soon after he arrived, Ingram was brought in and has played exceptionally well with a 2.22 goals against average and 0.917 save percentage in nine games. Jarry has also played well with a 2.61 goals against average and 0.908 save percentage in 20 games this season.
These are very good statistics that would argue that Jarry-Ingram is our goaltending tandem that will take us to the Stanley Cup playoffs. Pickard, as many of us have written about, has had a disappointing season with a 3.68 goals against average and 0.817 save percentage in 16 games. Not a small sample size and it makes the point that he should not be part of the goaltending tandem that will take us to the Stanley Cup playoffs. Time will tell what management decides to do with Pickard, but his play has been disappointing this season.
Jarry has shown signs of his original form during his early days with the Pittsburgh Penguins with goals against average below 2.50 and 0.920-plus save percentage. We all hope that once he gets going into a routine he may get into his previous form to justify trading him for Stuart Skinner.
In the game last night, he kept Edmonton in the game, making some spectacular saves on several 2-on-1 rushes and an amazing glove save on a shot by Cody Glass at 8:33 of the second period. Timely saves when you need them is what Jarry and Ingram have given the Edmonton Oilers, saves that you will need once the playoffs start.
Oilers still have time to break the three game curse
This season has been filled with many celebrations and a three game curse. Draisaitl scored his 1,000th NHL point and Nugent-Hopkins played in his 1,000th NHL game. McDavid scored a point in 20 straight games. There has been many new additions to the Oilers this season and many of the new additions have contributed well to the scoring.
However, a few unusual facts - McDavid opted out to be the highest paid player in the NHL, only signed a two year deal and the situation of the three game curse! The Oilers are yet to win three games in a row, one of only two teams to have failed to do so in the 2025-2026 NHL season (St. Louis being the other team).
However, the Oilers are second in their division with 58 points while the Blues are 8th in their division with 46 points, so they are doing something right. There are only seven games left before the 2026 Milan Olympic break, will we see a three game win streak? We all hope they will break this curse, challenge Vegas for 1st in the division and fans can happily go into the Olympic break ready to cheer for Team Canada.