After a lucky offside call gave the Oilers the lane needed to pull out an OT win in Philly on Wednesday, they were back to work 24 hours later for a rematch against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The boys stole a win from the Blue Jackets on Monday, and I was curious to see what their response would be like with the series finale happening only a few days later. Unfortunately, it took until the Oilers were down on the scoreboard for them to wake up again. Only this time, they weren’t able to pull off the third period comeback. Back in the losing column we go.

If there’s one nice thing about Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins being out of the lineup, it’s that Matt Savoie has gotten more minutes as a result. The kid is so good that it feels, to me, like only a matter of time before he starts to figure things out a little bit. And while it’s taking him time to post the offensive numbers we and he would like to see, there are plenty of positive signs that more productive days are coming. Not only did he assist on both goals, including the OT winner against the Flyers on Wednesday night, but he kept the good times rolling with a goal against the Blue Jackets. Savoie got himself to the front of the net and got his stick on Evan Bouchard’s wrister from the point for the perfectly executed deflection. He may not be the biggest guy on the ice, but there’s plenty of fight in that dog.

What stood out just as much as his goal was how much trust he’s clearly earning from the coaching staff. Savoie played 19:44, fired three shots on goal, and spent the night riding shotgun with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on the first line. That is not a charity assignment. That is a rookie getting tapped on the shoulder because he was driving play, winning battles, and keeping up with two of the best players on the planet. He was the third leg of what was easily Edmonton’s best line, and he looked like he belonged there. For a kid still learning the league on the fly, that kind of performance says a lot about where his game is trending and how quickly he is starting to earn real responsibility. My bet is that he starts cashing in on that trust more often, and I’m hoping nights like these last two are the start of a nice little run for him.

I will always love Calvin Pickard. The things he did for us the last two years in the playoffs when he got thrown in the net as a Hail Mary will always hold a spot in my heart. Those were magical moments from our pal Cal. Special in every way. But this season hasn’t started so well for Pickard, and with goaltending at the top of everyone’s mind, it’s tough to ignore the 4.00 GAA and .836 save percentage beside his name ahead of Thursday’s start in Columbus. As much as Stuart Skinner takes heat around here, Pickard has just as much pressure on his shoulders to give the Oilers quality minutes in the crease, and to this point, he’s struggled to do that.

Even if finding and landing a star goaltender is harder than some of us believe it to be, replacing the backup usually doesn’t take much. That’s not a great spot to be in if your team is struggling and your numbers are worse than the guy you replaced only a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, last night’s start in Columbus won’t do much to help our pal Cal. Five goals against and an .800 save percentage are not great. Even acknowledging the five goals he allowed on 25 shots, things could have been much worse without the help he got from the posts. Of course, the goalie can’t do everything, and the skaters in front of Pickard weren’t exactly dialled in, but I think it’s more than fair to say that our pal won’t be taking many positives away from this one.

The Oilers tried their best to run back another comeback against Columbus, but they spent so much time digging holes for themselves that it was almost impossible to climb out of them. They went down 2-0 on goals from Mathieu Olivier and Charlie Coyle, woke up long enough to tie it on back-to-back goals from Matt Savoie and Leon Draisaitl, and then immediately gave one up less than a minute later to Denton Mateychuk. From there, Adam Fantilli made 4-2 to give the Blue Jackets some insurance before the second period even ended, and the whole night turned into another round of “can we please stop doing this to ourselves.” Olivier made it 5-2 early in the third, and while the Oilers eventually made it interesting, the gap was simply too wide. The curse in Columbus continues.

And that’s the part that wears you down. Nights like this keep following the same script. The offence takes half a game to show up, the defensive details fall apart at the worst possible moments, and the saves they need just aren’t there when the game is still hanging in the balance. Vasily Podkolzin pulled one back, Leon added another to give us a pulse, but it was too little too late after spending 40 minutes playing from behind. The push for another comeback was absolutely fun, sure, but the moral victories are getting old. If they’re ever going to reach their own expectations, they need to show up for the first shift the same way they do in the last five minutes when the game is already out of reach. They need to crank up the urgency even when the schedule is unforgiving. Regardless of who you’re blaming this loss on, there are 19 guys in Oilers colours who all need to learn how to play 60 minutes.

Wake up with Ryder and Lisa on The Sauce! Your new chaotic morning show streaming live from 8-10AM MST every weekday on Oilersnation YouTube starting Monday November 3rd. It’s unpredictable, unfiltered, and totally them. Like, follow and subscribe to never miss an episode!