Effort and Consistency
3 years ago
There are a handful of reasons why the Oilers have just one win through their first four games.
They haven’t been good enough at preventing scoring chances, their bottom six hasn’t been able to come close to outsourcing the opposition, their powerplay has been inconsistent, and their goaltender hasn’t been good enough to cover up their mistakes.
Perhaps the most frustrating part of watching the Oilers over the last week has been their inability to just compete hard on a consistent basis. That was very evident in their loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Monday night. It’s not on one or two players, it’s on a whole group.
@Leon Draisaitl only seemed to skate hard when he was on the ice with @Connor McDavid on Monday, which was difficult to watch. He now has just three even-strength shots on goal through four games.
@Zack Kassian opted for a flyby instead of a hard hit on more than one occasion against the Habs and he hasn’t produced any offense. He now has just one even-strength shot on goal in 42 even-strength minutes.
@Kyle Turris has been decent at killing penalties but has struggled at even-strength and has been getting dominated possession-wise.
@Adam Larsson has made some costly mistakes, taken some bad penalties, and not looked like anything close to the reliable shut down defenseman that the Oilers need him to be.
@Alex Chiasson has played 28 even-strength minutes and does not have a shot on goal. On top of that, he does not have a powerplay point in over 20 minutes on the ice with the top unit.
@Mikko Koskinen has made some big saves and has had to face a lot of high-danger chances, but there have still been a few goals that make you shake your head.
I could go on and on because outside of maybe two or three players, there really aren’t very many Oilers who should be happy with what they’ve brought to the table through four games. The point of me rattling off a handful of names that have been disappointing is not to single players out, it’s the opposite actually, it’s to show that there is more than one problem with this team. There are too many players not consistently bringing the effort needed to make a positive impact on the game.
I’m not hitting the panic button yet. We aren’t even 10% of the way through this season yet and there is a lot of time for the Oilers to turn this around. They have skill, but without consistent effort and a willingness to engage physically, they won’t win games.
EVEN-STRENGTH STRUGGLES
The Oilers are 22nd in the NHL in even-strength shots for percentage. They also have the worst ES shots against/60. Both of those are big problems. If you’ve watched the four games that they’ve played this season, those stats shouldn’t surprise you either. The Oilers ability to prevent scoring chances has been a problem for a while. On top of that, Mikko Koskinen has faced the most high-danger chances in the NHL.
When it comes to offense, I think they need to be much better as well. Yes, they are sixth in shots for/60 but they are not getting nearly enough sustained offensive pressure. There are too many times where the Oilers get into the other teams’ zone, get one shot on goal, and then the play goes back the other way.
Finding a way to sustain a cycle in the offensive zone and consistently generate chances will go a long way in helping this team win games.
THE POWERPLAY
Jan 14, 2021; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid (97) celebrates a second period goal against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Place. `
The powerplay had a great game against Vancouver on Thursday but in the other three games of the season, they have not been good. They currently rank 18th in the NHL in GF/60 on the powerplay. Considering the amount of talent they have on that top unit, they simply aren’t getting enough production. On top of that, they’re giving up shorthanded goals.
What needs to change? Well, I think it might be time to change up who’s in front of the net. Alex Chiasson just simply is not getting it done through four games. If James Neal is healthy, he should absolutely go back to that spot but until then, I wouldn’t mind seeing Jesse Puljujarvi get an extended look in that spot.
Other than that, I think this group might just need a little bit more time together. I would imagine that special teams are something that’s pretty hard to work on in practice when all the players sort of know each other’s tendencies. Also, with Tyson Barrie being new to the group and being a right shot, I think they might just need a little bit more time together to find out what works and what doesn’t.
If their powerplay would have been +2 on Monday night instead of -1, then they likely would have brought that game to overtime. Last season, their elite powerplay won them a lot of games. So far this year, you could argue that it’s cost them games.
Again, it’s not quite time to panic and start thinking about the draft lottery, but there are some very concerning signs. The Oilers need more from everyone, from their stars to their fourth line, if they want to turn things around and start grabbing some wins.v
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