The Oilers deserved to lose to the Blue Jackets after a start like that

The Edmonton Oilers had the chance to extend their winning streak to six games if only they could beat the Columbus Blue Jackets on the road for the first time since March 2020. Unfortunately, the Oilers’ run of despair in Columbus continues as their comeback attempt came up a goal and an empty netter short, falling to the Blue Jackets by a 4-2 final score.

Listen, I’m going to be honest, finding yourself down by three goals before the game is even 20 minutes old isn’t exactly textbook. If anything, a start like that is a shit sandwich with stale bread and no mustard. Even with plenty of time left on the clock and the fact that we’ve seen the Oilers come back to win before, the strategy of giving up an early field goal can really ruin your night before it even gets going.

Even though Edmonton outscored the Blue Jackets 2-1 over the final two periods, the damage was already done. The hole was too deep, and the most frustrating part about the loss was how the Oilers basically handed the two points over. Sloppy puck management and costly mistakes poked too many holes in Edmonton’s dinghy, and the boys just couldn’t outscore their problems this time.

I give the Oilers full credit for clawing their way back into a 3-2 score before eventually giving up an empty netter, but I can’t help but feel like they shouldn’t have been in that position in the first place. The team is only two games into this four-game road trip, and it’s way too early to be using travel as an excuse for not being ready to play. Instead of looking like a team that just improved their roster for a playoff push, the Oilers started the game more like they were the ones playing out the stretch.

Calvin Pickard was back between the pipes for his 13th appearance of the season and was tasked with ending the Oilers’ four-year losing streak in Columbus. As Gregor noted yesterday in the Game Notes, the last time the Oilers won a game in Columbus was on March 7th, 2020, and it was a stat that blew my mind because of how generally awful the Blue Jackets have been in recent memory.

Yet, just as the Oilers have done each time they’ve visited Ohio over the last three four years, the boys came up short once again after allowing three goals in the first period. That’s not to say Calvin Pickard was at fault for the way things went. In fact, I’d suggest that the team in front of him left the guy hanging way too often through those first 20 minutes. The Oilers handled the puck like a live grenade at times, and the result were some Grade-A chances against that Columbus converted perfectly.

Over the final two periods, Pickard was fantastic for Edmonton and was actually one of the biggest reasons they even had the opportunity to come back. He stopped all 24 shots he faced in the second and third periods, and that allowed the Oilers to get within a goal of stealing a point in a game where they probably deserved to lose. I know that 30 saves and a .909 save% aren’t stats to write home about, but last night’s loss was not about what was happening in net. Pickard deserves more love than he’ll probably get once again.

Seeing as Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick barely got a chance to learn everyone’s name before getting into their first game action with the Oilers, I wasn’t expecting a whole lot from either of the new guys. Rather, I was just excited to watch our new shiny toys get into their first game action with the Oilers and hope that they might be able to contribute in some positive way.

Adam Henrique looked mostly fine in the 14:14 worth of TOI he played, but I wouldn’t say he was noticeable in either a good or a bad way. He finished his debut with one shot on goal and two minutes in PIMs, and from my side of the computer screen, I’d say that being mostly unnoticeable isn’t the worst place to be before even having a couple of practices under his belt.

While I appreciated Sam Carrick’s gesture of trying to get his team going, his fight with Mathieu Olivier did not go his way at all. I don’t know if I have the exact count or anything, but I’m pretty sure Carrick took about 200 punches to the face. The jersey jabs, in particular, were plentiful, and all seemed to land directly on his chin. I’ll give him an ‘A’ for effort, but I hope it doesn’t hurt to chew too much over the next couple of days.

-Connor McDavid registered his seventh 100+ point season with the assist on Zach Hyman’s 43rd goal of the season, becoming only the sixth player in NHL history to hit the century mark seven times. McDavid also extended his point streak to 13 games and has amassed 29 points (2G, 27A).

-What can you say about Zach Hyman that hasn’t already been said? The guy rules. Zachary Martin Hyman is doing everything humanly possible to win this city over in a way that hasn’t been done since Ryan Smyth was in his prime. Last night he scored his 43rd goal of the season and was pretty damned close to tying the game up in the dying moments of the third period. All work and heart, this guy. I love him.

-Are you surprised a goalie no one has ever heard of before — his name is Danill Tarasov for the record — made the Oilers look foolish in a losing effort? You’re not, are you? No, me neither. Tarasov made 29 saves and finished with a .935 save%.

-Were you wondering about the faceoffs? You were? Okay, great. Thankfully, I have some good news to report thanks to the Oilers winning 54.7% of the faceoffs. Starting with the puck is good, giving it away is bad. Write that down.

Snow Valley Aerial Park is located inside Rainbow Valley Campground.  It has a 15 meter high rope aerial trekking tower with over 100 challenges on three levels.  It was Canada’s first tower of it’s kind back in 2017 and since then we’ve added Whitemud Creek Mining company, Snow Valley Target and Mini Golf and Creekside Eats!  18 holes of Mini Golf debuts this season and is sure to provide as much family fun as the other attractions have up until now.  Snow Valley Aerial Park runs May 31 to September 30.