The current rivalry between the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers needs no introduction. After preventing a historic comeback in the Stanley Cup Final, the Panthers have continued their winning ways against the Oilers, mounting a 6–5 third period comeback in December. Heading into their Thursday night match-up on a four-game losing streak, Edmonton was looking to not only avenge these losses, but to also get back to their winning ways.
Unfortunately for the Oilers, their chance for redemption would come up short in the final frame as the Panthers would go on to put the undisciplined Oilers away with a 4–3 score. What did we learn from the result of this game? Let’s dive in below.
Oilers (barely) survived their lack of discipline
The penalty kill trouble for the Oilers started early and continued to haunt them throughout the game. The Oilers took at least one penalty in each of the periods and would go on to collect six total penalties in the game. Florida came close to making Edmonton pay with a power play goal, which was later disallowed due to an offside.
Despite the Oilers losing this one, they were incredibly lucky to walk away without giving up a power play marker. As it currently stands, the Oilers have the league’s sixth worst penalty kill which includes giving up at least one power play goal in every game this month. While their game against the Panthers was an exception to this trend, the Oilers’ need to clean up their penalty kill and tighten up their discipline. After all, it’s hard to win when a fifth of your game time is spent killing the man advantage.
Draisaitl is giving this team a chance
If there is a bright spot in the midst of this five game losing streak and a 3–6–1 record in their last 10 games, it is Leon Draisaitl. Draisaitl has now scored in four straight games, has 44 goals on the season, and is leading the league in the Rocket Richard race. His tally to tie the game in the second period was a remarkable display of his ability to maintain puck control and keep it away from some of the best defenders in the league.
Draisaitl has undoubtedly been the Oilers’ MVP this season and he has continued to build a strong case for winning the Hart Memorial Trophy. Rather than solely relying on the German superstar’s performance, the Oilers players should use this inspiration and channel it into their own play to support Draisaitl with some secondary scoring.
Stan Bowman’s work is cut out for him
With the NHL Trade Deadline a week away, the Oilers have a lot of questions to ask themselves. Do they believe in their current roster to make another deep playoff run or are they looking for an upgrade? A case can be made for everything from a top-six forward to a starting goalie and Stan Bowman will have to decide how much urgency and panic to give to the Oilers’ current slump in his decision making this coming week.
Regardless of how the Oilers approach the trade deadline, I believe that a case can be made for Kris Knoblauch to temporarily turn off his lineup blender. Throughout the season, Knoblauch has attempted to mix his lineups to find the best possible match-ups. However, the inadvertent result of this coaching method is the lack of consistent time for players to develop chemistry together. The Oilers’ bench boss should simply give some of his players more time to play with one another, rather than capitulate to the panic mode of the losing streak.
What’s next for the Oilers?
The Oilers will now head to Raleigh, North Carolina to face their 2006 Stanley Cup Final foe, the Carolina Hurricanes. Heading into the Saturday evening tilt on a five-game losing streak, the Oilers will be looking to stop the bleeding and catch some momentum before they head back to Edmonton for a three-game home stand.
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