Just 3:34 into the second period at Canadian Tire Centre on Sunday (March 24), Zach Hyman scored to give the Edmonton Oilers a 3-1 lead over the Ottawa Senators. The goal was his 50th of the 2023-24 season, and the Oilers were elated. Their teammate had reached one of the greatest milestones in hockey. They were leading by two goals. Life was good.
But it was all downhill from there, as the Oilers went on to lose 5-3, giving up four unanswered goals to a Senators team that has a dozen fewer wins than Edmonton this season.
Jakob Chychrun scored twice for the Senators, who also got goals from Drake Batherson, Parker Kelly and Tim Stutzle. Leon Draisaitl and Adam Henrique tallied for Edmonton in addition to Hyman. Goaltender Joonas Korpisalo made 33 saves for the Senators, while Oilers netminder Calvin Pickard stopped 11 shots.
It was the second loss in 24 hours for the Oilers, who were beaten 6-3 by the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday (March 23). Edmonton hadn’t given up more than five goals in consecutive games since mid-December.
With the result, Edmonton stays 10 points back of the Vancouver Canucks for first place in the Pacific Division, and remains just three points ahead of the third-place Los Angeles Kings.
While it may seem inexplicable that the Oilers blew a crucial two points by losing to an inferior opponent that they outshot 36-16 in a game they held a multi-goal lead, it’s pretty easy to see how it happened. It just might not be easy for Oilers fans to read about it.
Oilers Fail on Penalty Kill
The Oilers were a horrendous one-for-four on the penalty kill Sunday, as they conceded three power-play goals to the Senators, including the game-winner by Chychrun at 16:57 of the third period.
Ottawa came into the game with the 26th-ranked power-play in the NHL, converting just 16.7% of opportunities with the man advantage through its first 69 games of the season.
The three power-play goals allowed ties a season-high for the Oilers, who hadn’t allowed more than two goals while short-handed in a game since Nov. 6.
Defensive Breakdowns Cost Oilers
Playing short-handed is precarious enough to begin with, but the Oilers only compounded matters with some egregious brain cramps on defence.
On Batherson’s power-play goal late in the second period, which tied the game up 3-3, he was allowed to walk in on Pickard, while Henrique and Edmonton teammates Sam Carrick, Brett Kulak, and Darnell Nurse looked on. And on the winning goal, three Oilers over-committed to one side, leaving Chychrun wide open to fire the pack past Pickard.
Meanwhile, on Ottawa’s first goal, 6-foot-7 Oilers blueliner Vincent Desharnais left his feet and went down to defend in front of Edmonton’s net, creating an opening for Batherson to make a nice pass to Chychrun who made no mistake scoring his first of two goals on the night.
It was a particularly unfortunate outing for Desharnais, who was in the penalty box for two of Ottawa’s three power-play goals and on the ice for the other.
Pickard Can’t Make Key Stop
While none of the four goals he allowed (Ottawa’s fifth goal was scored into an empty net by Kelly) were necessarily his fault, Pickard also didn’t take any goals away from the Senators and couldn’t make a timely save when his team needed it. By contrast, Korpisalo robbed the Oilers at least a couple of times.
With a save percentage (SV%) of just .733, this was Pickard’s worst performance as an Oiler. The 31-year-old has otherwise played quite well this season, with a record of 10-5-0 to go with a 2.32 goals-against average (GAA) and .913 SV%, which is more than anyone could have hoped for from a netminder who had appeared in just 12 NHL games over the previous four seasons combined.
Pickard has now played in six of Edmonton’s last 11 games as the Oilers have tried to make a late push for first place in their division. At such a high-stakes point in their schedule, the Oilers shouldn’t be so reliant on a borderline NHL/AHL (American Hockey League) goalie.
Jets Up Next for Oilers
While Oilers fans would love to see their team accelerating towards the postseason, Edmonton is spinning its wheels: the Oilers have just four wins in the last nine games, and only one victory in their last five contests away from Rogers Place.
Related: Oilers’ Line Blending Exposed in Blowout Loss to Maple Leafs
The schedule gets tougher from here on out, with seven of Edmonton’s final 13 games coming against teams currently in a playoff position. Next up is a visit to the Winnipeg Jets, who are ahead of them in the overall NHL standings (the Jets have 93 points, five more than Edmonton), at Canada Life Centre on Tuesday (March 26).
