The Edmonton Oilers only get 48 hours to chew on their Bettman point after blowing a two-goal, third-period lead against the St. Louis Blues on Friday night, and suffering a 3-2 overtime loss.

The Preds have had an additional 24 hours to chew on the same bitter point, blowing a two-goal lead in the final four minutes against the 32nd-place Vancouver Canucks on Thursday, and suffering a 4-3 shootout loss.

Not groovy. Not shaggadelic.

But it’s all a matter of perspective.

On the one hand, the Oilers finish their gauntlet roadtrip with a 2-1-1 record, five out of eight points that I wager most fans would’ve accepted before the trip began. However, when you win the hardest game on the trip in Colorado, seemingly gaining momentum after a tidy win against divisional rival Vegas, it doesn’t feel as good.

That’s hockey, baby.

Only six points separate these teams in the standings, each looking to secure its spot in the playoffs. But neither is doing a convincing job in their last 10 games.

Flashes. Moments. Good games.

Sustaining that momentum is another issue entirely.

Besides, the Predators only half-committed to cleaning house, keeping busy at the Trade Deadline, but few moves of true consequence for the long-term. Conversely, the Oilers are losing a player out of their lineup every game.

‘It’s really a shame’

Kasperi Kapanen, who tickled the twine for a seventh time this season, summed the situation up exiting St. Louis.

“It’s really a shame…Throughout the whole game, we were playing pretty well. Teams are going to have their push if we’re leading, and we just need to learn how to play with the lead,” said Kapanen. “We just have to hope that the one extra point we lost today is not going to come and haunt us later.”

The Oilers played the exact mucky, low-event, yawn-inspiring, get-in, get-out-with-two-points type of hockey game for 40 minutes that’s been missing from their repertoire this season.

Then, the third period happened.

Connor Ingram played solid, 22 stops on 25 shots, and stopped multiple breakaways in the third period. The question is, how will Kris Knoblauch deploy his two goaltenders this week? Four home games, spaced between days, and a second goaltender in Tristan Jarry, who is bordering on unplayable.

No updates were provided on Saturday on the status of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins who flew home on Friday to deal with a personal matter. The Oilers opted for a veteran with size like Max Jones over Roby Jarventie or Quinn Hutson, in anticipation of deployed Max Jones in a north-south grinder role.

The drips and drabs of players leaking out of the lineup have halted the momentum of Colten Dach, who now sits on LTIR, or Ty Emberson, who exited the roadtrip early. No update either on Emberson.

The lineup is up in the air.

Mixing in the youth

While signalling on one hand they are retooling, or rebuilding, or organizationally doing something that begins with re-, the Preds are still in the thick of the playoff race. A 4-2 victory against the Seattle Kraken couldn’t sustain over a disappointing effort against the Canucks.

In fact, Vancouver played one of their best games of the season. Despite being up by two late, Predators coach Andrew Brunette felt grateful to get a point. His other comments were concerning.

“Probably didn’t deserve one…They were the better team from the puck drop, and it’s one of those nights for a group that we’re kind of hard to figure out,” said Brunette.

“Obviously, it hurts blowing a two-goal lead late in the game, but we didn’t really deserve to be in the game….We didn’t come to play. We had a lot of passengers. Young guys brought energy, and rest of the guys were passengers.”

Five rookies have scored goal this season for Nashville, the most rookies chime in offensively since 2015-16. The latest was a highlight reel move from neophyte blueliner Ryan Ufko on Tuesday.

The 22-year-old is having a monster season with the Milwaukee Admirals in the AHL, producing 44 points in 50 games, and hopes to be part of the future of the franchise.

Alex Daugherty

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People are saying Ryan Ufko is the best NHL defenseman to come out of UMass.

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3:59 AM · Mar 11, 2026

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Matthew Wood, who was drafted 15th overall in 2023, is on a four game point streak, with four goals and an assist. Zachary L’Heureux is another former first-rounder who is trying to solidify his future. The 2021 draft choice played the majority of the season in the AHL, but scored his first of the season last Saturday.

These are the players Brunette describes having energy. The veteran-laden group has not coalesced since Barry Trotz’s summer spending spree of 2024.

Last time

The Blues loss makes it six times the Oilers have lost a game while leading by two goals. Blown leads were a common trope back in October and November, beginning game one of the season against Calgary.

The last time these two teams faced off on January 13, the Oilers couldn’t hold a one-goal lead in the third period, although just for 38 seconds, as Roman Josi tied the game en route to a 4-3 overtime win.

Oilersnation.com, Oily Since ‘07

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Predators win it in OT 📹: Sportsnet

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3:43 AM · Jan 14, 2026

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The game is best remembered for the overtime, where Tristan Jarry came roaring out of the net toward the slot, beat Josi to the puck, but couldn’t get back to the net in time. That was Tristan Jarry and Jake Walman’s first games back from injury. Both haven’t looked right since.

Overall, the Oilers are 1-0-1 in the season-series.

Notes:

Nashville sold Michael Bunting, Michael McCarron, Cole Smith, and Nick Blankenburg at the Trade Deadline.
The Oilers begin a four-game homestand tonight. The 16-11-4 record at Rogers is strong, however, in the calendar year, it’s just a 6-7-1 mark at home. Ten of the last 15 games are at home.
The Preds road record is 12-14-6 as they play their fourth straight away from Bridgestone Arena out of five. However, in their last 10 road games, it’s 2-4-4.
After scoring twice on the powerplay against the Avalanche, EDM is 0/6 on the man advantage in their last two games.
Zach Hyman’s next point will have him surpass last year’s point total of 44.
Evan Bouchard’s nine-game point streak is now over. It’s just the second time in his last 16 games he’s been held off the scoresheet.
Leon Draisaitl did extend his own streak to eight games.
In a season of fits and starts, Kapanen has three points in the last four games.
Filip Forsberg and Luke Evangelista are pointless in his last three games.
Roman Josi has hit double-digit goals in his career 11 times with his 11 goals.
Steven Stamkos had an incredible rally to restore elite goal-scoring numbers in December and January. Lately, he has just one tally in his last six games. He’s one of just 23 players to achieve 30-plus goals this season thus far.
The Preds are getting outplayed 5-on-5. They have the fourth-worst goal differential at minus-30. The Oilers are 11th worst at minus-15. However, in the last ten games, both teams teams are league average.
Overall, the Oilers are 7-1-2 in their last 10 vs the Preds. In the 2020s, the Oilers have won eight of nine at home.

Michael Menzies is an Oilersnation columnist and has been the play-by-play voice of the Bonnyville Pontiacs in the AJHL since 2019. With seven years news experience as the Editor-at-Large of Lakeland Connect in Bonnyville, he also collects vinyl, books, and stomach issues.