The Edmonton Oilers dropped Thursday night’s game against the New York Rangers 4-3 in overtime. It is yet another loss in what is shaping up to be an up-and-down year for the club who now sport a 5-4-3 record and sit just inside the wild card picture for the Western Conference.
However, although some disagree, there can in fact be moral victories, especially in a close one-goal game that could have gone either way. Not to mention when your top rookie scores their first career NHL goal, marking the possible hint of a changing tide.
Matt Savoie scored the go-ahead goal in the middle frame to put the Oilers up 2-1. It has been a long time coming with him having struggled in the early goings to produce offensively. His goal came sandwiched between two from veteran blueliner Darnell Nurse, ending the night with his third on the season.
Unfortunately, the Oilers have had some clear struggles at 5-on-5 this year, not generating offence at a rate that you might expect from a team with this much fire power.
Has the dam now broken for the Oilers rookies?
In their last two contests, the Oilers top rookies in Savoie and Ike Howard have found the back of the net, producing three points in total between the two. This is a big step from their previous struggles to start the year.
Since the game against the Ottawa Senators on October 21st, they have been able to chip in offensively at an increased rate. Over the six games, Howard has three points (two goals, one assist) and Savoie has two (one goal and one assist). Although still not where everyone hoped at the start of the year, this shows definite improvements in their performance.
If they can continue scoring at this rate with gradual improvements, they could prove to be the valuable secondary offensive producers they were billed as. This would be great news for the Oilers as the club has both players locked up until at least 2027 at their entry-level contract rates of under $1 million annual average value.
The team plays again on Saturday night in a Hockey Night in Canada matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks. It will be an exciting battle featuring many hot young players from the Oilers and the Blackhawks like; Connor Bedard, Frank Nazar, Alex Vlasic, and Sam Rinzel amongst others.