The Oilers’ injuries continue to mount. They have had the most injuries of any team in the North division, and their depth will be put to the test as they are in the midst of their busiest part of their schedule with eight games in the next 12 days, before they get a three-day break from March 30th, 31st, and April 1st.

— Edmonton will have played 39 games by March 29th. That will be the most of any team in the North compared to Calgary, Vancouver and Ottawa (37), Winnipeg (36) and Toronto and Montreal (35). Injuries to @Tyson Barrie and @Jujhar Khaira couldn’t have come at a worse time for Edmonton, but they need to find a way to stay competitive.

— Barrie is a huge loss if he misses any extended time. He’s played very well the past six weeks. @Ethan Bear and @Evan Bouchard will need to step up in his absence. Dave Tippett said Barrie is day-to-day, but that could easily mean he misses three games as they play three games in four days. Bear will likely take most of Barrie’s 5×5 minutes with @Darnell Nurse, and I’m curious if Bouchard will get to split the powerplay duties with Nurse, similar to how Barrie did.

Barrie was very good at moving the puck quickly to wingers, but also he was heavily involved in skating the puck out of the D zone as well as carrying it into the offensive zone. He’s added a lot to the offence and after a slow start, he’s been quite good defensively. It is a big hole, and if he is out for any extended period of time it is a great opportunity for Bear and Bouchard to show their worth. I assume Bouchard will get the look on RD ahead of Caleb Jones or sliding Kris Russell over.

— Khaira is a big loss. He’s been very good as a third line centre. He’s chipped in offensively, has been good on faceoffs, on the penalty kill and he’s a big body who could match up well against the Flames and Adam Lowry in Winnipeg. Gaetan Haas and Kyle Turris are not as big as Khaira, and haven’t been as good offensively. I suspect Devin Shore will get a look with @Josh Archibald.

— Edmonton battled back from a 2-0 deficit and a 3-1 deficit to tie the game early in the third period, but could never get the lead on Monday. They are much better playing with the lead. They are 12-2 when scoring first (fourth best win % in NHL at .857%), and they are 6-11 when allowing the first goal (14th best win% at .353.). In their previous eight losses they’ve allowed the first goal. The last time they lost while scoring first was January 26th in Winnipeg.

— Edmonton has scored first in two of their previous nine games. Playing from behind has become too common for this team in March, and they need to reverse that trend.

— On Monday the Oilers gifted the Flames two goals, and on the third one the puck bounced over Mike Smith’s stick and left him in no-man’s land. An unlucky break, but that goal combined with Connor McDavid’s neutral zone giveaway and Ethan Bear’s ill-advised neutral-zone pinch cost the Oilers. They haven’t gifted teams many goals recently and need to get back to managing the puck better, especially in the neutral zone.

— I disagreed with Kelly Hrudey’s suggestion that Mike Smith was mad at Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on the winning goal. Smith has reacted that way on goals he thinks he should have stopped. That was the exact same reaction he has had to other goals recently. He wasn’t yelling or trying to show up RNH.

— Mike Smith starts tonight and Mikko Koskinen goes tomorrow at home against Winnipeg. The Jets are hosting Montreal tonight and then will play in Edmonton tomorrow, so the Oilers and Jets will both play in the second half of a back-to-back.

— I’d argue the Oilers next eight games are the most important and challenging stretch of their remaining games. They play eight games in 12 days. If they can win four that would be a success in my eyes. If they win four then they have at least 44 points. Possibly more if they lose one in OT/SO. If they find themselves with 44 points after their game in Toronto on March 29th, they will be in a very good spot.

— After this upcoming stretch, the Oilers will have a very favourable schedule from March 30th to April 25th, when they play 10 games in 27 days. Dave Tippett will have ample practice time which will be a big advantage. It is why I believe these next eight games are massive and if the Oilers can squeeze out four wins, Oilersnation should feel pretty good entering April.

— Kyle Turris struggled at centre, and his last two games on the wing were much better. I prefer Devin Shore’s size and speed down the middle over Turris, so I’d have him replace Khaira and insert Turris on the wing. Turris skated yesterday for the first time in a week, so he might not be ready to play tomorrow. Zack Kassian is close and if he gets medical clearance from the doctors today he will be in. You could move Archibald to the left wing, Shore at centre and Kassion on right wing.

— Many are struggling during the pandemic. It is been a challenge mentally for a lot people. If you need to be inspired or listen to someone positive, I recommend listening to Kaleb Dahlgren. He survived the Humboldt Broncos bus crash in 2018. He suffered a traumatic brain injury, but he has surprised doctors with his amazing recovery. I interviewed him yesterday and came away feeling inspired and motivated. You can listen here. After you listen you might want to read the book that became available yesterday. It was awesome.