The Edmonton Oilers had a three game winning streak snapped today by the Bruins. Normally, there wouldn’t be a reason for concern after a winning streak ends, but these last two games for the Oilers have been flat out pathetic. The team was embarrassed by the Bruins today, and should have been embarrassed on Wednesday night against the Sharks.
The Oilers gave up 100 shot attempts against San Jose, with 59 finding the net. Ben Scrivens stopped all 59 just to give the Oilers a shot in that game. Today, and trust me I saw it live, was just as bad.
The Bruins didn’t fire as many shots on the net, but they certainly had the zone time. The Oilers rarely got the puck out of their zone today and had next to no sustained zone pressure on the Bruins. Boston seemingly had every solid chance and rush, and never seemed to allow Edmonton to get anything.
This was the case for Edmonton against the Sharks, and seems to be the case for them against teams like that every time. It’s unacceptable and it certainly needs to change. If the Oilers are ever going to have success, they’ll need to at least compete with teams like the Sharks and Bruins. By compete, I don’t mean having your goalie make nearly 60 saves. That’s flat out unrealistic.
The Oilers have a lot of issues, and the top one is the blue line. Watching the Bruins today, it’s so easy to see how a guy like Chara impacts the game. You simply can’t get around him, and have to move the puck so quickly to create anything with him out there. The Oilers don’t have anything even remotely close to that, and it shows. Edmonton will need two top-four defenders, including a legit number one, to compete.
The Oilers still have too much of the same thing. These last two games it has become so clear. The Oilers are a small skilled team with nothing else. Teams easily defend against that and it has become a major issue. Guys like Sam Gagner are simply not getting the job done. I’m not saying move Gagner for peanuts, but move him for a different type of player that can actually play. That risk is a must.
The Oilers top-line has absolutely sunk, and it’s killing this team. Last season, the Oilers top-line was a free firing unit that created a ton of offense and helped keep the Oilers in the playoff chase until the bitter end. This year, the Oilers top-line is getting absolutely crushed in the scoring chance numbers, and is struggling to create offense against strong teams like the Bruins and Sharks.
The special teams is a mess. The PP has become a momentum killer, while the PK has floated down to the bottom half again. I’d argue the PK’ers are a better unit this season, yet their numbers have gone way south. Yes, goaltending has something to do with that, but they are giving up a ton of shots.
The PP? The Oilers have given up the most short-handed goals in the NHL for a reason. Disciplined PK units have eaten them alive, and we have seen that recently. Boston actually out-chanced Edmonton while down a man today. That simply can’t happen. The PP has a tough time sitting up, and seems to always try and make an extra pass or two. It kills momentum.
Some of the special teams issues are on the players, but these guys got it done last year. Some of this falls on the coaching staff, which needs to get a bit of a face-lift (something we’ll talk about later).
Leaving the TD Garden today, I heard a lot of people, including my old man, say how they have never seen another team come into the Garden and play THAT bad and show that kind of lackluster effort. Sadly, it’s far too often been the norm for the Oilers this year. That’s a huge red flag in my mind, and is a cause for concern.
I’m willing to say this is year four of the rebuild. If that is the case, then the Oilers are in deep trouble. They look like a team just embarking on a rebuild. They struggle against good teams and most of the time don’t look like they belong in the fight. That’s a huge problem that needs to be corrected.
After all this time, it’s highly doubtful these holes get filled by development, the Oilers now need to go out and make some big time moves. They won’t occur till the summer if they happen, but they absolutely need to happen.
The Oilers need defensive help in a big way, and they need some size up front that can play. Until they get that, you can all get used to these kinds of games.
The three game winning streak was nice, but these last two games are a very unfriendly and stark reminder that the Oilers are very, very far off from competing in the NHL. How long can this madness go on? Who knows, but after some fun times, we’ve been snapped back to reality.
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