It looks like the Edmonton Oilers’ 3-2 defeat at the hands of the last-place San Jose Sharks at the SAP Center on Thursday (Nov. 9) actually was rock bottom.
Because after seeing their record to drop to 2-9-1 following that loss to a San Jose squad that many regard to be one of the worst teams in modern NHL history (excluding their victory against Edmonton, the Sharks have a shocking goal differential of -47 in 13 games this season), the Oilers regrouped to defeat the Seattle Kraken 4-1 at Climate Pledge Arena on Saturday (Nov. 11).
Amid rumors of their coach Jay Woodcroft’s job being in jeopardy, the Oilers got a historic performance from Zach Hyman, who scored a natural hat trick in the first period. Dylan Holloway also had a goal for Edmonton, which snapped a four-game losing streak.
It was far from a perfect game, still left a lot to be desired, and didn’t change Edmonton’s place in the overall NHL standings. The Oilers are still 31st out of 32 teams, trailing everyone but the aforementioned Sharks.
But a win is a win, and this beleaguered team needed to start somewhere. Here are three takeaways from the game:
Hyman Joins Elite Company
With the Oilers in desperate need of a spark, Hyman delivered, scoring at 9:56, 14:09, and 18:40 of the opening period to stake Edmonton to a 3-0 lead, from which the Oilers never looked back.
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Hyman is the first Edmonton player to score a natural hat trick since Connor McDavid against the Calgary Flames on Feb. 20, 2021.
More impressively, Hyman became only the second player in franchise history to score a natural hat trick in the first period, joining the one and only Wayne Gretzky, who did so in a 5-3 Oilers win over the Quebec Nordiques on Dec. 17, 1986.
McDavid’s Struggles Continue
Speaking of McDavid, the Oilers’ captain remains in an offensive funk the likes of which he has never previously endured in his brilliant career.
McDavid has now gone eight games without scoring, which ties the second-longest goalless slump of his career. The last time he went this many games without a goal was midway through his second season, in January 2017.
He is also on a three-game pointless skid, which ties the longest such drought of his career. In the last five games, McDavid has recorded just one assist, which is the fewest points he has over any five-game span in his NHL career.
Since he returned from missing two games due to an upper-body injury at the Heritage Classic against Calgary on Oct. 29, McDavid has played six games and notched two assists, which raises the question about the health of the greatest player on the planet. It’s almost inconceivable that someone who has produced points at a rate of 1.75 per game over the prior three seasons combined would suddenly go so quiet.
McDavid’s output has been so shockingly low that it’s overshadowing the similarly stunning struggles of fellow superstar Leon Draisaitl, who also went without a point on Saturday, and now has just two points in the last six games and one goal in Edmonton’s last ten contests. But that’s a takeaway for another day.
Oilers Get Strong Defensive Effort
Arguably, the biggest reason for the Oilers’ miserable start, even more than the lack of production from their dynamic duo, has been the team’s play defensively. Whether it’s Darnell Nurse letting opposing players do as they please in the crease, Evan Bouchard making a bad pinch and not making an effort to get back, or any other myriad of giveaways and bad reads, the Oilers have hung their goaltenders out to dry far too often thus far in 2023-24.
All that said, on Saturday in Seattle, the Oilers played perhaps their strongest defensive game as a team this season, with Nurse and partner Cody Ceci particularly deserving of praise.
Edmonton limited the Kraken to just 18 shots, almost none of which were Grade A chances. The few scoring opportunities that Seattle did have were not because of an Oilers’ defensive gaffe or lapse, and Oilers netminder Stuart Skinner came up with a couple of key saves when needed.
The result was just the second time in 13 games this season that Edmonton has allowed less than two goals. They also showed that when they minimize their mistakes and don’t serve up goals on a platter for the opposition, they otherwise have a team good enough, both between the pipes and up front.
Islanders Up Next
Edmonton now returns home for its next game on Monday (Nov. 13) against the slumping New York Islanders, who have lost three straight games in regulation and are winless in their last four. After that, there will be another match-up with the Kraken on Wednesday (Nov. 15) at Rogers Place.
Related: 5 Reasons Oilers Fans Are Frustrated
The Oilers have an opportunity to string a few wins together and get back into the standings race. As bleak as things have seemed in Edmonton, with fans already musing about the 2024 NHL Draft, the Oilers are only eight points out of a playoff spot with 69 games to play. That’s lots of time to make up a not-too-large margin, but it will only happen if the Oilers continue to do more of what they did Saturday and their prolific scorers get back to scoring prolifically.
