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Oilers fall in New Jersey for second consecutive loss: Recap, Highlights, and Reaction
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Photo credit: © John Jones-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Oct 18, 2025, 18:30 EDT
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Well, that was ugly.
On Saturday afternoon, the Edmonton Oilers faced off against the New Jersey Devils, falling 5-3 to move their record to 2-2-1. Let’s take a look at what went on in this game.
The two teams remained scoreless after the first period, but it was the Devils who opened the scoring just over eight minutes into the middle frame. Jack Hughes split the defenders and ripped it past Calvin Pickard for the 1-0 lead.
With just under four minutes left in the second period, the Devils doubled their lead as they won an offensive zone faceoff early on the power play. Jesper Bratt outwaited Pickard and deposited the puck into the yawning net.
The Oilers showed some life, as they scored their first goal of the game just over two minutes later. After Jack Roslovic got a zone entry, the Oilers cycled the puck around until Connor McDavid found Ryan Nugent-Hopkins in the slot, with the longest tenured Oiler making no mistake.
Midway through the third period, the Oilers had an opportunity to tie the game on a power play. However, it was the Devils that scored, as former Oiler Connor Brown streaked in on a breakaway, beating Pickard over the glove for a 3-1 lead.
They put the game out of reach just two minutes later, as Darnell Nurse had a disastrous defensive zone turnover, leading to Hughes being left all alone in front of the net. With the Oilers’ net pulled, Nugent-Hopkins scored his second of the game, tapping in a McDavid pass with 3:30 left in the game.
Any hope for a comeback was dashed with just over a minute to play, as Dawson Mercer buried the puck into the empty net. The Oilers were able to put another goal on the board, as Curtis Lazar beat his former team to make it 5-3 with three seconds left.

Takeaways…

Another game, another brutal effort by the Oilers. Their early-season struggles in the past two seasons have been well-documented, but this time it feels different. In addition to not being able to finish, the Oilers have only dominated one game this season, their 3-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks. They have to play better.
It’s hard to pick an Oiler of the game with that performance, but Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored twice, bringing him to four goals and six points through five games this season. On Nugent-Hopkins’ first goal, Jack Roslovic picked up his first point as an Oiler, getting a secondary assist.
Connor McDavid picked up the primary assist on both of Nugent-Hopkins’ goals, but it was another less-than-ideal game from the Oilers’ captain, finishing as a -1. At some point, he has to shoot the puck and stop trying to go through five players on the opposing team.
It was Evan Bouchard’s turnovers that cost the Oilers a win on Thursday. In this game, it was Darnell Nurse, as he struggled with the Devils’ forecheck and turned the puck over for the Devils’ game-winning goal. He had a secondary assist on Nugent-Hopkins’ second goal.
The Oilers made the score closer than it really was thanks to Curtis Lazar’s first as an Oiler. A former Devil, Lazar played 123 games in Newark from 2022-23 until 2024-25. Picking up the primary assist was Adam Henrique, another former Devil. Of course, former Oiler Connor Brown also scored against his former team.
Up next for the Oilers is a matchup against the Detroit Red Wings in Detroit on Sunday at 1:00 PM MT. Three of the last four matchups between the two teams have seen a final score of 3-2 in overtime/shootout. This season, the Red Wings are off to a 4-1-0 start.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Oilersnation, FlamesNation, and Blue Jays Nation. Follow her on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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