The penultimate game has come to an end, and the Edmonton Oilers will need some help.

On Monday evening, the Oilers hosted the Colorado Avalanche for their second-to-last regular-season game, falling 2-1 in a shootout. With the loss, the Oilers’ hopes of winning their first division title since 1986-87 are quickly fading, but there may still be more to play for in their season finale. Let’s take a look at what went on in this one.

The Oilers and Avalanche entered the first intermission with no scoring. For the first nine minutes of the second period, it remained the same until the Avalanche found twine first. A hard hit behind the net on Bouchard forced a turnover, and the Oilers’ slot defence was nowhere to be found. The pass went to Sam Malinski, who beat Connor Ingram for the 1-0 lead.

After failing to score against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday, the Oilers hadn’t found the back in the net for over two hours of game time. That changed with just over four minutes to go in the second period, as Connor McDavid’s pass into the slot deflected back to him. The best player of all time was able to roof it over Scott Wedgewood for his 48th of the season.

There were no goals in the third period, and the Avalanche hit three posts and a crossbar on a power play in overtime, but the game went to a shootout. Of the six shots, Wedgewood was the only netminder to stop a shot, thus the Avalanche won 2-1.

It was good to see the Oilers finally get on the board again. On Wednesday against the Sharks, Connor McDavid beat Alex Nedeljkovic to make it 5-2 with 5:47 left on the clock in the second period.

They eventually won the game by the same score, but were held off the scoreboard in Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Kings. It wasn’t until there was 4:11 to play in the second period of Monday’s game that they found the back of the net again, over two hours of game time.

That’s basically what happens when a team is missing two of their three best goalscorers. It seems that Zach Hyman will be back for Game 1, and potentially even the Oilers’ final regular season game, while Leon Draisaitl will be ready at some point during round one. Both were spotted on the Oilers’ broadcast tonight.

At least they still have McDavid. With the goal, McDavid now has 48 goals and 134 points. Nikita Kucherov picked up a goal and an assist in the Lightning game, giving him 130 points. Both teams have one game left, so the Art Ross race will go down to the wire.

As little as the Oilers have scored over the past three games, they’ve been playing much better defensively than they were ahead of the Olympic break. Since the 6-5 overtime loss at the hands of the Utah Mammoth last Tuesday, the Oilers have allowed just four goals. It helps that they blocked 26 shots on Monday.

A big reason for that is Connor Ingram. He’s started the last three games and has allowed those four goals on 63 shots. The only minutes he hasn’t played in the last three games was against the Sharks after he left for the third period. On Monday, he stopped 31 of 32 shots for a .969 save percentage. It helps that the Avalanche hit four posts in overtime during their power play.

It was another physical game for the Oilers, as they out-hit the Avalanche 22 to 12. Surprisingly, Trent Frederic and Colton Dach were the top hitters of the game for the Oilers, but that line had a solid game. Vasily Podkolzin led the Oilers with four hits.

There was some good and some bad regarding the Oilers’ special teams. The good is that they killed off all four penalties they took, including a two-minute four-on-three. On the other hand, they went 0/3 on their power play, including a lengthy five on three midway through the third period.

The Oilers’ hopes at finishing first in the division are quickly fading. Although they got a point, it appears that the Vegas Golden Knights are going to defeat the Winnipeg Jets, meaning that the Oilers are two points behind the Knights. Essentially, the Knights need to lose in regulation on Wednesday, and the Oilers need to win their next game.

That game is on Thursday at home against the Vancouver Canucks. It has a 7 p.m. MT start time.

Edmonton, the playoffs are calling—and it’s time to answer. We are so back, and Oilersnation is ready with the OIL UP playoff collection, available now. From tees and hoodies to hats built for every game-day fit, this drop has everything you need all postseason long. Whether you’re heading to a watch party, the rink, or setting up camp in front of the TV, consider this your official playoff uniform. Don’t wait—gear up before puck drop. Shop the full collection now at nationgear.ca