The Edmonton Oilers dropped a 6-5 decision to the Boston Bruins at Rogers Place on Wednesday (Feb. 22) when Bruins defenceman Charlie McAvoy scored 3:10 into overtime. They trailed 4-1 late in the second period, and were down 5-4 with just over seven minutes remaining in regulation before Oilers winger Zach Hyman scored to force sudden death.
Warren Foegele scored twice for the Oilers, who also got goals from Mattias Janmark and Corey Perry. Boston’s other goal scorers included Jake DeBrusk, Trent Frederic, Mogan Geekie, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak. Oilers netminder Stuart Skinner stopped 30 shots, while Jeremy Swayman made 37 saves between the pipes for Boston.
After winning 16 straight games before the All-Star Break, Edmonton is 4-3-1 since. The Oilers went nine days without a game from Jan. 28 to Feb. 5, and the extended layoff clearly zapped their incredible momentum.
But the Oilers have been back in action for over two weeks now and have yet to discover the form that made them so successful over their franchise-record win streak. There are some glaring differences in Edmonton’s play before and following the break, and they were on full display in the loss to Boston on Wednesday.
Oilers’ Goals Against Average Skyrockets
During their run of 16 consecutive victories, the Oilers had a minuscule 1.50 goals-against average (GAA). Over the last eight games, the team’s GAA is 4.00. Edmonton didn’t allow more than two goals in any of the final 14 games of its win streak. They’ve given up at least three goals in all eight games since.
What’s happened? Defensively, the Oilers aren’t playing the sound structure that they appeared to have mastered before the All-Star Break. Edmonton’s rearguards have fallen back on tendencies that plagued them early in the season; giving away the puck and getting caught out of position.
There has also been a significant drop-off in the performance of Skinner: Between U.S. Thanksgiving and the All-Star Break, he went 19-2-0 with a 1.76 GAA and a .935 save percentage (SV%); In Edmonton’s eight games since, he’s made six starts, going 2-3-1 with a 3.85 GAA and .871 SV%.
Oilers’ Penalty Kill Percentage Plummets
Boston went one-for-two with the man advantage in Wednesday’s game, which was the seventh straight that Edmonton has conceded at least one power-play goal. Over that span, the Oilers are just 11/22 on the penalty kill.
That’s a stark contrast to Edmonton’s play during the winning streak, when the Oilers’ penalty kill had a 93.6% success rate. The Oilers conceded just three power-play goals over those 16 games. They’ve given up three power-play goals in the last two games alone.
Edmonton’s power play has at least continued to click at a pretty decent rate since the All-Star Break, over 20%, but it failed them on Wednesday; The Oilers were zero for three with the man advantage against Boston, and couldn’t convert a golden opportunity to win the game with a power play for the last 20 seconds of regulation and first 1:40 of overtime.
Oilers Playing Catch-Up Too Often
The ability to rally has become a hallmark of the 2023-24 Oilers, who have earned a reputation as a third-period team. They’re tied for second in the league this season with seven wins when trailing after two periods, and their third-period goal differential of plus-23 is also No. 2 in the NHL.
But the Oilers can’t keep digging themselves a hole and expect to find a way out every time. Eventually, that catches up with a team, which is exactly what seems to have happened to Edmonton: in eight games since the All-Star Break, they have not once held the lead after 40 minutes.
On Wednesday, Boston led 4-2 at the second intermission, making it three of the last four games that Edmonton has trailed going into the third period. While the Oilers showed tremendous resilience coming back to force overtime and at least salvage a point, one can’t help but wonder: A) how many more wins Edmonton would have if they didn’t trail going into the third period so often, and B) where is this kind of explosiveness earlier in the game?
Oilers Can Get Back on Track
But perhaps the most telling stat is that Edmonton is averaging more goals per game (4.00) over the last eight games than it did during the 16 straight wins (3.81).
Related: Oilers’ Success During Win Streak Is Sustainable Over Long Term
That would suggest that the Oilers just need to get back to the fundamentals, discipline and defence, that have been lacking the last couple of weeks. The hockey world has seen previous versions of the Oilers that try to win every game by outscoring the opposition, and that has only taken this team so far. But when Edmonton focused on playing smarter, more responsible hockey, the Oilers had their greatest run of success.
Edmonton remains in the thick of the race for second place in the Pacific Division standings and can make hay with their upcoming schedule. The Oilers play four home games over the next week, all against opponents below them in the standings. First up is a visit from the Minnesota Wild on Friday (Feb. 23).
