The Edmonton Oilers saw their eight-game win streak come to an end Thursday (Dec. 14) at Rogers Place, where they fell 7-4 to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy made 53 saves and Steven Stamkos scored four times for the Bolts, who handed Edmonton its first defeat in more than three weeks. The Oilers also suffered their first home loss since Kris Knoblauch replaced Jay Woodcroft behind the bench last month.
Edmonton got goals from Zach Hyman, Connor McDavid, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Darnell Nurse. Oilers netminder Stuart Skinner stopped 17 of 22 shots, with Tampa Bay scoring twice into an empty net.
The Lightning swept their season series against Edmonton. Tampa Bay previously defeated the Oilers 6-4 at Amalie Arena on Nov. 18. Here are five takeaways from the Oilers’ loss.
Oilers Start Slow Again
For the second time in two nights, Edmonton gave up the opening goal early in the first period, with Stamkos scoring on the power-play at 1:07. That follows the Oilers’ home game against the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday (Dec. 12), when Connor Bedard tallied at 3:21 to put Chicago up 1-0.
Allowing goals in the opening minutes of a game was a mid-season issue for Edmonton the last couple years, but the Oilers had been much better in that respect this season, scoring the opening goal 16 of 25 times before these last two games.
Against the young Blackhawks, the Oilers shook off the early deficit and went on to a relatively easy 4-1 victory. They also rebounded against Tampa, with Hyman, Nurse and McDavid scoring in the second period to give Edmonton a 3-2 lead, but the veteran Lightning would prove to have a lot more pushback than Chicago.
Bolts Dominate Final Period
Tampa Bay erupted for five goals in the third period. The Lightning scored three times in a span of 7:14 to take a 5-3 lead, then added two empty-netters after Nugent-Hopkins had tallied with 2:22 remaining to pull Edmonton within one at 5-4.
This was eerily similar to when the Oilers visited Tampa Bay last month. In that game, they also led 3-2 after two periods before suffering a complete meltdown, with the Lightning scoring four times during the third period, including three unanswered goals to close things out.
Related: 3 Takeaways From Oilers’ 6-4 Road Loss to Lightning
Combining the teams’ two meetings this season, Edmonton outscored the Lightning 5-4 over the first 40 minutes, while Tampa Bay outscored the Oilers 9-2 in the final frame.
Oilers Set Shot Record
Edmonton came into Thursday’s game with an opportunity to match the franchise record for consecutive wins. While the Oilers didn’t get that record-tying ninth-straight victory, they did manage to make some history against the Bolts.
By firing 57 pucks at Vasilevsky, the Oilers established a new franchise benchmark for most shots in a game. The record had been 56, set in a 6-4 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Feb. 16, 2013.
This was the seventh time in franchise history that Edmonton outshot the opposition by at least 30. Incredibly, the Oilers have a losing record, 3-4, in those games.
Vasilevskiy Shuts the Door
As is probably obvious by now, Vasilevskiy delivered a Vezina-level performance on Thursday. It wasn’t just the sheer volume of rubber he faced, but also the number of Grade A scoring chances he snuffed out, and the timing of those big stops.
At the other end of the ice, Skinner had a rough night, allowing more than four goals against for the first time since Edmonton’s loss to the Lightning on Nov. 17. The 25-year-old goalie was beaten by a Stamkos wrister from just inside the blue line for what proved to be the game’s winning goal.
The Lightning and Oilers both have plenty of firepower, and both got goals from their big guns Thursday. Goaltending ultimately was the difference in the game.
Bouchard Keeps Streak Alive
On a positive note for Edmonton, blueliner Evan Bouchard picked up a pair of assists, to extend his point streak to 13 consecutive games. That’s the longest point streak for a defenceman in the NHL this season, and the second longest run of games with a point by a defenceman in Oilers history, trailing only Paul Coffey, who recorded points in 28 straight games during the 1985-86 season.
Bouchard has three goals and seven assists in Edmonton’s last five outings. He joins Coffey, Tom Gilbert and Risto Siltanen as the only defencemen in franchise history to record at least 10 points in a five-game span.
Meanwhile, McDavid’s point streak is now at 11 games. In addition to scoring in the second period, the Oilers’ captain assisted on the third period tally by Nugent-Hopkins.
The Oilers will look to start a new win streak when they close out their six-game homestand by hosting the Florida Panthers on Saturday (Dec. 16) at Rogers Place.
