After the high of last Thursday’s 4 Nations Face-Off, it was reasonable to expect a bit of a let down when returning to games in the middle of the regular season not featuring a large collection of the best players in the league on the ice at the same time. What we may not have expected though was a complete implosion on the return to Edmonton Oilers hockey this past weekend.
Two games, back-to-back, in the early afternoon. It’s not the greatest recipe for success. But you’d think the team that has been in or hovering near the top spot in the Pacific Division would at least have kept it competitive. That was not the case.
The first game back, Edmonton got stomped by the speed of the Philadelphia Flyers 6–3. Countless bad giveaways and sloppy play led to an endless stream of odd man rushes (and goals) against. The second game back, Edmonton got stomped by the Washington Capitals by a score of 7–3. The Capitals scored five unanswered goals to put this one out of reach.
Heading into the trade deadline season, the Oilers are making it difficult to pinpoint any one specific need. In fact, it appears there are a few that need to be addressed soon if they want to challenge for the Stanley Cup come June.
This week will be crucial for some players to step up and show they deserve to be on this roster and they can fill the holes in the lineup. Let’s take a look at the week ahead for the Edmonton Oilers!
Edmonton Oilers schedule for the week of February 24 to March 2
Still in the middle of their East Coast road trip, this week will be a major test as they will be going up against some of the best in the East. The Florida road trip followed by a stop in Carolina. Edmonton’s track record recently against top 10 teams is less than stellar, so with games against the seventh ranked Florida Panthers, the Carolina Hurricanes in ninth, and the Tampa Bay Lightning in 13th, we could be in for a difficult week.
| Opponent | Date | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Tampa Bay Lightning | Tuesday, February 25 | 31–20–4 |
| Florida Panthers | Thursday, February 27 | 34–21–3 |
| Carolina Hurricanes | Saturday, March 1 | 33–20–4 |
Can Edmonton break Tampa Bay’s streak?
Despite their slowly dropping out of competitiveness as the years go on, there is no disputing the strength of the Lightning. Multiple eventual Hall of Famers and some of the best scoring talent in the league with Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, and Jake Guentzel in the lineup. The Lightning were on a five-game win streak heading into Sunday and have been playing well lately.
With four players playing at or above a point per game pace, it will be difficult to contain the offence of the Lightning, especially given the 13 goals given up in two games this past weekend. Tampa Bay can disperse high end offensive talent throughout their entire lineup, which creates a challenge in matching lines meaningfully.
Another revenge game in Florida
The Florida Panthers are still one of the best teams in the league. And we still do not like them one bit here in Oil Country. Any chance to exact revenge for last season’s bitter Cup Final defeat brings a ton of attention and energy to the forefront. The Panthers won the first game between these two back in December, so the Oilers will have to bring their A-game to this to not get swept in the season series.
With an incredibly deep lineup filled with scoring talent and physical domination, the Panthers can wear their opponents down and capitalize at will, it seems. However, they will be without one of their leaders and the catalyst for this style of play as Matthew Tkachuk seems destined for a long-term absence following the 4 Nations tournament. This will leave a massive hole in the lineup, one the Oilers can hopefully capitalize on.
Showcasing for Mikko Rantanen in Carolina?
In a shocking turn of events, Mikko Rantanen is apparently still on the trade block, depending on how the season and contract negotiations are going in Carolina. This could be the perfect time for the Oilers to showcase what the team is like for Rantanen to start facilitating a trade to Edmonton at the deadline.
Pipe dreams aside, this is yet another difficult matchup that the Oilers are bound to struggle with, given recent trends. The Hurricanes always have a deep, fast, and defensively sound roster that can cause problems for any team. Their depth has taken a bit of a hit with them losing Martin Necas and Rantanen not producing at the same level quite yet, but they are still playing above .500 hockey despite that.
Keys to the week
Since we have yet to introduce memory wiping devices to the mainstream population, we can take “forget the weekend happened” from this list. That leaves a few other things that the Oilers need to focus on if they have any hope of rebounding this week.
Tighten up the defence
This was an unusual trend from the weekend games, the defence was struggling. Normally that is not an issue with this team, they are often one of the more defensively sound teams and do not give up many grade-A chances against. But against the Flyers specifically, the amount of odd-man rushes and breakaways Philadelphia generated off of turnovers, bad passes, and slow defence was astounding.
The Oilers need to settle back down into their game that had worked so well for them earlier this season.
A solution in net
Who or what will step up and provide the solution in net? Will Stuart Skinner find some consistency and stability? Will the Oilers need to make a trade? Whatever the answer is, the Oilers need it now.
The trade deadline is less than two weeks away and they need to make a decision. Does the problem in net require an external solution?
These three games this week are going to be the attempt to find an internal solution. The attempt to see if Skinner can provide the stability and performance in net required for a Cup contending team.
Channel some inner physicality
In a week with a game featuring the Panthers, the Oilers will need to find some physicality in their game to help guide them to victory. According to NHL.com, Florida is the most physical team in the league in terms of hits per 60, while Edmonton is the least.
| League Rank | Team | Hits per 60 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florida Panthers | 28.27 |
| 27 | Carolina Hurricanes | 18.39 |
| 28 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 17.96 |
| 32 | Edmonton Oilers | 13.13 |
Mostly to match up and help counter the momentum that Florida generates from their physicality, Edmonton may need to step it up a bit this week. Against Carolina and Tampa Bay, it will at least help them gain an edge over two similarly less-than-physical teams.
Earlier this season, there was a stretch where the Oilers did not win a game unless someone fought. Maybe in this recent string of games where the team looks a bit out of sorts, they need to find a way to reengage physically to jump start everyone’s game.
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
