Game Notes: Oilers @ Blue Jackets

The @Edmonton Oilers are looking to rebound tonight after a tough outing against the @Detroit Red Wings, where they fell 3-1 at Little Caesars Arena to a team that was coming off an eight-game losing streak.

Tonight, they take on a squad that isn’t struggling quite as badly as the Red Wings were, but are by no means thriving either. The @Columbus Blue Jackets are nearly a .500 team, currently sitting at 5-4-2, and are coming off a rough 7-4 loss to the @Philadelphia Flyers heading into tonight’s matchup against the Oilers.

The Blue Jackets are 3-2-1 at home, while the Oilers are 3-3-1 on the road.

1) The special teams could be a bit of a mismatch, with the Oilers’ powerplay converting at a 30.6% clip for second in the NHL, and 30.0% on the road, which is 5th best. The penalty kill, however, has sunk slightly over the past few games, falling to 85% overall, good for 8th best, but is much better on the road at 90.5%. Conversely, the Blue Jackets’ PP is awful, converting on only 11.4% (25th overall) of their chances, but is better at home– though not much better– converting at 17.6%. Their PK is just as bad, killing off 75% of their shortages which is good for 25th in the league.

2) For the Oilers, they simply have to get off to a better start against the @Columbus Blue Jackets than they did against the Red Wings. As far as possession numbers are concerned, the Oilers were pulverized in the first period against a struggling team last night. The Red Wings won the Corsi battle to the tune of 62.96%, edged the Oilers in Scoring Chances at 60%, and Expected Goals (xGF) at 59.78%. The Oilers made up for it in the second and third periods, but playing from behind is probably not the best strategy overall.

3) They’ve trailed four times after the first period so far this season, and their record is 2-2 in those situations, while their record when leading after the first period is 4-0. So far, the Oilers have won the possession battle in the first period in only four games, that being against the @Washington Capitals in 16:00 minutes 5v5 (62.5CF%; 75.84xGF%), the first matchup against the Red Wings in 16:29 mins 5v5 (63.16CF%; 62.35xGF%), the @New York Rangers in 16:39 mins 5v5 (77.78CF%; 65.47xGF%), the @New York Islanders in 14:42 mins 5v5 (65.38CF%; 67.2xGF%), and the @Los Angeles Kings in 16:56 mins 5v5 (an even 50CF%, but edged them 55xGF%). It goes without saying, but the team has to come out with a better effort in the first period.

4) With @Leon Draisaitl scoring from a @Connor McDavid assist against the Red Wings, the depth scoring woes continue for the Oilers, but that’s a subject that’s been beaten to death in the early part of the season. On a broader look, the Oilers continue to struggle with shots on goal. They’re fourth-worst in the league in shots/game, firing an average of 28.2 at the opponent’s net, while the Blue Jackets are eight-best, averaging 33.6 shots/game; both teams are middle of the pack in terms of shots against/game, with the Oilers allowing an average of 30.4/game (12th-least in the NHL), and the Blue Jackets allowing an average of 31.1/game (17th-least).

5) The Blue Jackets are the better 5v5 possession team heading into tonight’s game, which has been an area of concern for the Oilers due to that aforementioned lack of depth scoring:

6) But we all know that possession doesn’t tell the entire story. The Blue Jackets are allowing 3.55 goals-against/game as a team, with tonight’s starter @Joonas Korpisalo sporting a pretty pathetic .896SV% and 3.08GAA. The Oilers are fourteenth in the league in Goals Scored with 38, averaging 2.85/game, so if there’s a time for the Bottom Six to finally have a breakout, tonight is ripe for it. One has to assume that @Mike Smith will get the start after @Mikko Koskinen played last night, and he’s though he’s been a bit of a heart attack at times with his puck-handling, and had a rough start to the second period against the @Florida Panthers, which very well could’ve cost the Oilers that game, but his numbers are still more than respectable, with a .914SV% and a 2.49GAA. When it comes to the goaltending matchup, the Oilers hold the slight edge.

The Blue Jackets are favoured heading into this game (-150.0), so take that for what it’s worth.

Enjoy the game, Nation!