What do Nashville Predators, Toronto Maple Leafs, and New York Islanders have in common? To be honest, I cannot think of a current player or fun trivia to answer this one. As an Edmonton Oilers fan, the obvious answer to this question is that all three teams have managed to overcome a third-period deficit to push the game to overtime against Connor McDavid and Co.
Two of these three games still resulted in Oilers’ victory, though Edmonton was less lucky on Saturday when Mitch Marner put it away for the guys in the wrong shade of blue. What has been going on these last three games and is this a trend that Oilers should be worried about? Let’s explore below.
The loss to Islanders
There is absolutely no denying that Ilya Sorokin was putting on a clinic that day. Led by McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, the Oilers peppered the Islanders’ netminder before Evan Bouchard broke the tie early in the third period. McDavid scored halfway through the frame to seemingly put the game away before New York scored two unanswered goals to tie the game.
So what went wrong? Oilers defence’s positioning started to forget their good habits. On the first of the two goals, Brett Kulak seemed out of position and unaware of where the puck or players around him were as Anders Lee burst in and pounced on a rebound to score.
When it came to his game-tying goal, Lee was able to finish on a clean tape to tape pass from Jean-Gabriel Pageau right in front of Stuart Skinner. Mattias Ekholm tried to block the shot but Lee’s proximity to the net combined with the failure of an Oilers’ player from physically pressuring or putting a stick in front of the shot allowed Lee to get a clear shot on net.
Couldn’t beat the Predators again
Facing a team they have already beat twice this season, Oilers were up 2–1 heading into the final frame. One of the two goals for the Copper and Blue was scored by none other than McDavid, who registered his 1000th NHL point. The opposition’s netminder was once again having themselves a game with Scott Wedgewood standing tall shot after shot, giving his team a chance to create a come back. And that is what they did.
With the game seemingly looking like it was slipping away from the Predators, Nashville began to put more shots on Calvin Pickard late in the third. Finally, after a blocked Oilers’ shot in the Nashville zone, Cole Smith was sent on a breakaway, skating past Brett Kulak and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to put the puck away and tie the game.
The Oilers defence was unable to cope with the speed of the opposition while also looking quite out of place, both factors allowing the game-tying goal to occur.
An overtime loss to the Leafs
This was supposed to be the first meeting in this year’s Auston Matthews versus McDavid match-up. While the game was missing Matthews, there was plenty of excitement and talent to go around—especially at the nearby Rogers Centre as Swifties took over Toronto as part of Taylor Swift’s tour.
Unlike the past two games where the Oilers gave up third period leads but mounted victories, the Oilers were unable to shake it off this time and lost in over time. So what happened?
First goal was an unlucky bounce Bouchard as his pass across the high danger slot in front of Skinner hit McDavid’s shin before being left perfectly for Matthew Knies to pounce on and score. Close to a minute later, Oilers’ defence was no match for Bobby McMann’s speed. A bounce off the boards was coming towards the middle of the ice when McMann put on the jets and blew past Ekholm and Bouchard, with the latter of the two appearing to give up on the play. McMann would then put the puck past an out of position Skinner to put the Leafs ahead 3–2. Toronto would go on to eventually win the game in overtime despite a late Edmonton comeback.
What does this tell us about the Oilers?
The most evident culprit in the Oilers’ late lead giveaway seems to be the play of the defence. The first major evidence is in the form of their positioning. The Oilers defensive core seems to be at times simply unaware of where the opposing player on the ice is, as is the case with Anders Lee’s first goal. In addition, the poor position has also allowed their opponents to get a half-step in front and skate past the defence on a breakaway, as in the case of McMann’s and Smith’s goals.
Second, and perhaps an even more concerning feature, is the Oilers’ difficulty dealing with the opponent speed. In their game against the Leafs, the Oilers seemed to have some problems containing McMann’s speed which allowed him to score twice against Skinner. This was also the case against Nashville’s Cole Smith. Certainly, poor positioning makes it difficult to catch up to a player who blows past you. However, breakaways and odd man rushes happen; any team should be properly prepared to neutralize opponents’ speed and deal with them the best they can.
Final aspect of Oilers’ play to consider is their physicality. In the three games discussed here (as well as in the game against Montreal on Monday), Oilers were outhit by their opponents. Oilers’ lack of physicality this season has been a trend and one that they do not seem eager to improve on or correct, at least not at this moment. Constantly looking to make a big hit can certainly have its’ downsides but there is something to be said about using your body to separate your opponent from the puck.
The early play of the Oilers’ goaltending duo has led to some discussion and questions around their overall performance but I do not believe that these late lead give aways are something that can solely be blamed on the netminders.
What should the Oilers do?
As mentioned, this trend of late lead collapses largely raises concerns about the Oilers’ defence. Heading into the season, the defensive core was perhaps the biggest question mark and so far, it has remained this way. There are a lot of things that they have worked to improve but unfortunately, their positioning and the ability to deal with opponents’ speed still has room for improvement.
Time will tell if this is simply a team trying to iron out its’ early season kinks and correct the sloppy mistakes before the meaningful mid to late season games begin to take place. However, as we approach the quarter season mark of the season, the Oilers’ defence will need to show whether it can be relied on in the big moment and Stan Bowman should not hesitate should the defence choose to shy away from the spotlight.
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
