The Edmonton Oilers welcomed the NHL’s best, Washington Capitals, to Rogers Place for a Tuesday night tilt (Jan. 21). The Oilers were the better team in this one, but lost 3-2 thanks to another stellar performance from Logan Thompson in the Capitals’ net. That’s been the case all season, as he stopped 30 of 32 shots for a sparkling .938 save percentage (SV%), and improved his record to 22-2-3. The Oilers were without Connor McDavid as he served game one of his three-game suspension stemming from his cross-check to the head of Vancouver Canucks forward Conor Garland.
Despite missing their captain, this was a solid performance from Edmonton, but this is a results-driven business, and at the end of the day, a loss is a loss. This was the first time they’ve lost back-to-back games in regulation since Nov. 4-6 against the New Jersey Devils and the Vegas Golden Knights. With that said, here are three takeaways from this latest defeat.
Oilers’ Power Play Was Dreadful
McDavid is the best player in the league at gaining the offensive zone with speed, which was severely missed in this one. Viktor Arvidsson took his place, but the chemistry was not there. The same five players ran the power play for the past three seasons, so taking someone off that unit was a major disruption. The power play looked sloppy, disjointed and stationary. Nobody was moving their feet which resulted in easy kills for Washington. They were able to read the play and get into the passing and shooting lanes. “I thought we were a little too stagnant, not moving quick enough with our feet, and not making them move enough, getting them out of position so then you’ve got opportunities to attack,” coach Knoblauch stated about the power play during his postgame presser.
Related: Capitals Hold on for 3-2 Win Over Oilers
The Oilers had a glorious chance to tie the game on the man advantage with two minutes remaining in the third period, but squandered it. They kept passing around the perimeter and not generating enough traffic, or creating chaos in front of the net. They lacked urgency, and that was ultimately their downfall. Edmonton went 0-3 on their predictable power play, but if they scored at least one, they probably win this game.
Draisaitl Extends His Scoring Lead
Leon Draisaitl got on the board early in this one as his backhand went under the glove of the Capitals’ netminder just three minutes into the game. The Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy is firmly within his grasp as his 34 goals on the season lead the NHL, and is six more than William Nylander in second place. On top of that, he’s also in discussion for the Hart Trophy as the player most valuable to his team. It’s hard to get recognition for that award when he plays with McDavid, but Draisaitl has been the Oilers’ best player, and it’s not remotely close. The superstar forward can cement his case for the Hart Trophy if he has a dominant few games in McDavid’s absence. He’s off to a good start as he had two points on Edmonton’s only goals, despite the loss.
The German forward has points in 21 of his last 22 games, including 17 goals and 39 points during that span. He’s now up to 71 points, which is second in the league, only behind Nathan MacKinnon who has 74 points. This takeaway feels like a cop-out because it can be used in the majority of Oilers’ games this season, but the 29-year-old superstar has been that dominant and deserves appreciation. Oiler fans are extremely lucky to have him locked up for the next eight seasons.
Oilers Get Goalied
Simply put, Thompson severely outplayed Stuart Skinner in this one. According to Natural Stat Trick, Edmonton out-chanced Washington 37-20, including 18 high-danger chances to Washington’s 10 in all situations. The Oilers also had 5.24 expected goals, while only scoring two. Far too many times, Skinner is the second-best goaltender on the ice, and he needs to make more saves against high-danger chances.
This was a winnable game against the best team in the league, without your captain in the lineup. The Oilers’ netminder was unable to come up with a big save when his team needed it, and Thompson did. On top of that, Thompson also registered an assist on the third goal. As their name suggests, Washington capitalized on their opportunities, and Edmonton didn’t. When you only allow 14 shots in a game, you win more often than not. This was a disappointing outcome, but the grind continues.
The Oilers look to get back into the win column and continue their season-long six-game homestand with a highly anticipated rematch against the Canucks on Thursday night (Jan. 23).
