The Edmonton Oilers are off to one of their worst starts in franchise history after falling 4-3 to the Dallas Stars at Rogers Place on Thursday (Nov. 2).
Edmonton fell behind 4-1 early in the third period, before a pair of goals by Sam Gagner made for an exciting finish. Evander Kane also scored for the Oilers in the first period to tie the game 1-1, before Dallas scored three unanswered goals on Edmonton netminder Stuart Skinner.
The loss was particularly deflating for the Oilers and their home fans. Edmonton’s 5-2 victory over the Calgary Flames in the 2023 Heritage Classic on Sunday (Oct. 29) sparked hopes that the Oilers had turned the corner after winning just one of their first seven games. They came into Thursday’s tilt well rested, while Dallas had played just 24 hours earlier in Calgary, where the Stars also won 4-3.
With a record of 2-6-1, the Oilers are now tied for the second-fewest points in the NHL and have the league’s fourth-worst goal differential, minus-1.22 per game. Here are three takeaways from Thursday night’s game in Edmonton.
Mistakes are Costing Edmonton
It’s easy to look at the stats and point fingers at the goaltenders for Edmonton’s dreadful start: Skinner has a save percentage (SV%) of .861, worst in the league among all goalies who have played at least four games; Jack Campbell has a goals-against average (GAA) of 4.35, second worst in the NHL among all goalies who have appeared in four or more games.
But the fact of the matter is, Edmonton’s goaltending tandem has been hung out to dry by the Oilers’ defence in just about every game, and that was no different on Thursday when Skinner could maybe be faulted for one of the Stars’ four tallies. Maybe.
Matt Duchene scored the game’s opening goal for Dallas on a two-on-one that was the direct result of a bad read by Oilers blueliner Cody Ceci. The second goal for Dallas, early in the middle period by Joe Pavelski, came following a weak backhanded dump-in attempt by Edmonton’s Philip Broberg that led to a three-on-one for the Stars. Roope Hintz potted what ultimately proved to be the game-winning goal, 2:37 into the third, by going to the net unchecked and burying a feed from Pavelski.
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Edmonton has been rightly criticized for a lack of effort in some of its losses this season, but that wasn’t the case Thursday. The Oilers peppered Dallas goalie Scott Wedgewood with 49 shots, but even that wasn’t enough to overcome their horrendous errors.
For everything that has gone wrong with the Oilers over their first nine games, this team could easily be above .500 were it not for the breakdowns and mental lapses that keep occurring defensively. It’s hard to see this team going on a hot streak unless these issues are eliminated.
McDavid Not Producing at Normal Rate
Thus far, Connor McDavid is not stuffing the stat sheet at the superhuman pace Oilers fans are accustomed to from the five-time NHL points leader. On Thursday, Dallas held Edmonton’s captain without a point for the first time in 2023-24.
On the heels of McDavid racking up a remarkable 153 points in 2022-23, many observers mused that he might be able to average two points per game this season, joining Hall of Famers Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky as the only ones to do so. But with two goals and seven assists so far, McDavid is barely on pace for 100 points this season.
McDavid missed a pair of games with an upper-body injury last week before returning at the Heritage Classic, where he picked up an assist. He has one point in two games since returning to the lineup, and it’s possible the captain is not completely healed from what sidelined him.
This won’t last for McDavid, but the Oilers could really use a breakout game from him, and they could use it right away. He may have to win a game or two by himself to keep this team afloat until the Oilers figure things out – assuming they are going to figure things out.
Gagner Delivers Feel-Good Moment
Gagner nearly single-handily led the Oilers back from down three goals in the third period. The center scored on a goal mouth scramble at 10:35 of the third, and then fired home an Evander Kane pass while going to the net at 13:36.
Thursday marked the first game in the NHL this season for Gagner, who was signed Tuesday (Oct. 31) by the Oilers to a one-year, two-way contract with an average annual value (AAV) of $775,000 at the NHL level. His heroics thrilled the Rogers Place crowd, who have been cheering for him since he was a teenager.
Related: Gagner Deserves a Break as He Looks to Return With Oilers
Gagner previously played for the Oilers from 2007 to 2014 and again from 2019 to 2020. His last goal as an Oiler came versus the Boston Bruins on Feb. 19, 2020. The 34-year-old made some history Thursday night, becoming the first skater or goalie in franchise history to play three times with the Oilers separated by stints with other NHL teams. He also became the fourth oldest player in Oilers history to score twice in one period.
The veteran of 17 NHL seasons has averaged about one goal every six games over the latter part of his NHL career, so don’t expect this kind of output from him every game. He might not score two goals in a game the rest of the season, but on this night, he provided reason to smile on an otherwise frustrating night in Oil Country.
Edmonton doesn’t really have time to wallow in this latest defeat: the Oilers will be back in action Saturday afternoon when they host the Nashville Predators in a matinee matchup at Rogers Place.