<p>Given that <a href="https://oilersnation.com/schedule">the 2024-25 schedule</a> only has three Battle of Albertas, I was very much looking forward to watching the first instalment on Sunday night after spending the first part of my day watching football. But since the Oilers haven&#8217;t exactly looked like world-beaters over their first two games, I was approaching this third game of the year with cautious optimism. The bad news was that being optimistic that the Oilers would learn their lessons didn&#8217;t matter in the end, as the team let themselves fall apart for <a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2024/10/13/instant-reaction-oilers-rattled-by-disallowed-goals-give-up-four-straight-in-4-1-loss-to-the-flames/">a 4-1 loss</a>.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="und" dir="ltr">Why? <a href="https://t.co/vPICmbYYK5">pic.twitter.com/vPICmbYYK5</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Baggedmilk&#8230; LTIR someone, I wanna cheat (@jsbmbaggedmilk) <a href="https://twitter.com/jsbmbaggedmilk/status/1845657020328005959?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 14, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>The mental gymnastics can be challenging when you have Stanley Cup aspirations and lose the first two games of the season. Even though it&#8217;s still way too early to overreact about pretty much everything, knowing that it&#8217;s only been two games doesn&#8217;t stop us from seeing a 0-2 record and seeking shelter from the sky that must indeed be falling. Stanley Cups are won in the first week of the season, after all.</p>
<p>Still, when you’re expecting your favourite team to compete for the Cup, there’s no patience for excuses. No one cares that it sometimes takes a few games to get back into the swing of things. We needed the Oilers to take care of business against the Flames and get their season back on track. Any other result would have the fans in this city ready to explode. So, when the Oilers opened the scoring with a Jeff Skinner goal just 1:16 into the first period, it looked like they were well on their way.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the Hockey Gords had other plans. Instead of cruising to their first win of the season, the Oilers had two goals called back on coach’s challenges — one was legit, the other may remain a mystery forever — and those decisions changed the entire outlook of the game. Thanks to some ballsy calls by Ryan Huska, the Flames went from being in a deep hole to being just one shot away from a tie game. It was an opportunity they seized in a big way.</p>
<p>Starting with a pretty individual effort by Rasmus Andersson to tie the game, the Flames started shifting the momentum in their favour. Although they only scored the one goal in the second period, it was clear that the successful coach’s challenges gave them a spark. Shift by shift, they gained more offensive zone time, and the Oilers struggled to find answers on how to stop the bleeding. Instead of pushing back, Edmonton unravelled, giving up two goals in under two minutes and watching a game they once controlled slip out of reach.</p>
<p>As easy as it is to complain about the call on Corey Perry’s disallowed goal or wonder why the Oilers only got one power-play opportunity despite some obvious missed calls, the only thing that matters is that another loss has given Edmonton its first 0-3 start since the 2015-16 season. After all the talk of wanting to improve in October, it’s stunning to be reliving this nightmare again. We all remember how bad the first month was last year, and somehow, this season is already shaping up to be worse.</p>
<p>I know there&#8217;s still lots of time left and panicking about three losses doesn&#8217;t make much sense just yet, but how else do you describe what&#8217;s happening other than to say it&#8217;s disappointing. At some point, you&#8217;d assume a veteran team like the Oilers would learn their lesson about games lasting for 60 minutes, but we haven&#8217;t seen that yet. All we&#8217;ve gotten to this point is three mixed bags filled with mistakes that simply can&#8217;t happen as often as they are. This team it too good to be looking this awful.</p>
<h1>OTHER THINGS WORTH MENTIONING&#8230;</h1>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">FWIW, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NHL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NHL</a> Situation Room said <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Oilers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Oilers</a> Corey Perry had a “significant presence in the crease” as an explanation for why the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Flames?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Flames</a> challenge was successful in overturning the goal. <a href="https://t.co/rvk4zLdHAt">pic.twitter.com/rvk4zLdHAt</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) <a href="https://twitter.com/frank_seravalli/status/1845633684415693298?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 14, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2024/07/11/one-on-one-with-oilers-forward-jeff-skinner/">Jeff Skinner</a> opened the scoring (1-0) for the Oilers only 1:16 into the first period after a rebound kicked out to him near the right circle with a wide-open net to shoot at. I thought Skinner struggled in his first two games, and it was nice to see him kick off night three with a quick goal to give his team the lead. Not to mention, it must have felt good to pick up his first goal as an Oiler after <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/edmonton-oilers-sign-jeff-skinner-to-one-year-3-million-contract">signing here as a free agent</a> back in July.</li>
<li>After two successful coach&#8217;s challenges wiped two goals off the board for Edmonton, Rasmus Andersson tied the game (1-1) with a beautiful individual effort that saw him carve through the Oilers&#8217; defensive &#8220;coverage&#8221; before wiring a shot top corner. As much as he annoys me as a player, that was as pretty of a goal as you&#8217;ll see.</li>
<li>Anthony Mantha gave the Flames the lead (2-1) with a backhand chip that beat Skinner over the glove-hand after the Oilers got caught in their own zone.</li>
<li>Justin Kirkland scored his first NHL goal (3-1) and gave the Flames some insurance midway through the third period. Are you surprised? You&#8217;re not, are you?</li>
<li>By the time Connor Zary finished the game off (4-1) with an empty netter, my face hadn&#8217;t left my palms in more than five minutes. It is remarkable that this is happening again.</li>
<li>Stuart Skinner was back between the pipes for the first time after getting the hook against Winnipeg in the season opener, and the pressure was on to rebound with a strong performance and give his teammates the foundation needed to snap this early season skid. That didn&#8217;t happen. While undoubtedly better than his first outing, Skinner wasn&#8217;t able to crack the .900 save% plateau for the second straight start, which meant he wasn&#8217;t able to bail his teammates out at critical points in the game. That&#8217;s not to say I&#8217;m hanging the loss on him entirely, but the Oilers were once again unable to get the critical save they needed to a) keep them in the lead or b) keep the game close enough to fight their way back. Even so, I&#8217;m still in Stu&#8217;s corner and know that he can be better than this, but we really need him to turn things around in a hurry or this three-game hole will get deeper.</li>
<li>I&#8217;ve watched hockey my entire life and never has it been more confusing what counts as a goal than it is right now. It&#8217;s been hours since the Corey Perry goal was called off for interference and I still don&#8217;t understand how it&#8217;s possible. Vladar was the one who initiated contact at the edge of the crease —it makes no sense to me. The second challenge was legit, though. Arvidsson was way offside.</li>
<li>The Oilers cannot move the puck from their back end, which tells me that Troy Stecher needs to be in the lineup more often than not. I just don&#8217;t trust anyone other than Bouchard to make a clean breakout pass when it matters.</li>
<li>The special teams mostly came through for the Oilers on Sunday, as the PK was finally able to contribute in a positive way with three successful kills. The bad news is that the power play looked extremely sloppy in its lone appearance, and the boys didn&#8217;t even generate a shot on goal.</li>
<li>I love Sunday Fundays and I love telling you that the Oilers won 55.8% of the faceoffs. Just let me have this, okay?</li>
</ul>
<h2><strong>PRESENTED BY bet365</strong></h2>
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Given that <a href="https://oilersnation.com/schedule">the 2024-25 schedule</a> only has three Battle of Albertas, I was very much looking forward to watching the first instalment on Sunday night after spending the first part of my day watching football. But since the Oilers haven't exactly looked like world-beaters over their first two games, I was approaching this third game of the year with cautious optimism. The bad news was that being optimistic that the Oilers would learn their lessons didn't matter in the end, as the team let themselves fall apart for <a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2024/10/13/instant-reaction-oilers-rattled-by-disallowed-goals-give-up-four-straight-in-4-1-loss-to-the-flames/">a 4-1 loss</a>.

https://twitter.com/jsbmbaggedmilk/status/1845657020328005959

The mental gymnastics can be challenging when you have Stanley Cup aspirations and lose the first two games of the season. Even though it's still way too early to overreact about pretty much everything, knowing that it's only been two games doesn't stop us from seeing a 0-2 record and seeking shelter from the sky that must indeed be falling. Stanley Cups are won in the first week of the season, after all.

Still, when you’re expecting your favourite team to compete for the Cup, there’s no patience for excuses. No one cares that it sometimes takes a few games to get back into the swing of things. We needed the Oilers to take care of business against the Flames and get their season back on track. Any other result would have the fans in this city ready to explode. So, when the Oilers opened the scoring with a Jeff Skinner goal just 1:16 into the first period, it looked like they were well on their way.

Unfortunately, the Hockey Gords had other plans. Instead of cruising to their first win of the season, the Oilers had two goals called back on coach’s challenges — one was legit, the other may remain a mystery forever — and those decisions changed the entire outlook of the game. Thanks to some ballsy calls by Ryan Huska, the Flames went from being in a deep hole to being just one shot away from a tie game. It was an opportunity they seized in a big way.

Starting with a pretty individual effort by Rasmus Andersson to tie the game, the Flames started shifting the momentum in their favour. Although they only scored the one goal in the second period, it was clear that the successful coach’s challenges gave them a spark. Shift by shift, they gained more offensive zone time, and the Oilers struggled to find answers on how to stop the bleeding. Instead of pushing back, Edmonton unravelled, giving up two goals in under two minutes and watching a game they once controlled slip out of reach.

As easy as it is to complain about the call on Corey Perry’s disallowed goal or wonder why the Oilers only got one power-play opportunity despite some obvious missed calls, the only thing that matters is that another loss has given Edmonton its first 0-3 start since the 2015-16 season. After all the talk of wanting to improve in October, it’s stunning to be reliving this nightmare again. We all remember how bad the first month was last year, and somehow, this season is already shaping up to be worse.

I know there's still lots of time left and panicking about three losses doesn't make much sense just yet, but how else do you describe what's happening other than to say it's disappointing. At some point, you'd assume a veteran team like the Oilers would learn their lesson about games lasting for 60 minutes, but we haven't seen that yet. All we've gotten to this point is three mixed bags filled with mistakes that simply can't happen as often as they are. This team it too good to be looking this awful.
<h1>OTHER THINGS WORTH MENTIONING...</h1>
https://twitter.com/frank_seravalli/status/1845633684415693298
<ul>
 	<li><a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2024/07/11/one-on-one-with-oilers-forward-jeff-skinner/">Jeff Skinner</a> opened the scoring (1-0) for the Oilers only 1:16 into the first period after a rebound kicked out to him near the right circle with a wide-open net to shoot at. I thought Skinner struggled in his first two games, and it was nice to see him kick off night three with a quick goal to give his team the lead. Not to mention, it must have felt good to pick up his first goal as an Oiler after <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/edmonton-oilers-sign-jeff-skinner-to-one-year-3-million-contract">signing here as a free agent</a> back in July.</li>
 	<li>After two successful coach's challenges wiped two goals off the board for Edmonton, Rasmus Andersson tied the game (1-1) with a beautiful individual effort that saw him carve through the Oilers' defensive "coverage" before wiring a shot top corner. As much as he annoys me as a player, that was as pretty of a goal as you'll see.</li>
 	<li>Anthony Mantha gave the Flames the lead (2-1) with a backhand chip that beat Skinner over the glove-hand after the Oilers got caught in their own zone.</li>
 	<li>Justin Kirkland scored his first NHL goal (3-1) and gave the Flames some insurance midway through the third period. Are you surprised? You're not, are you?</li>
 	<li>By the time Connor Zary finished the game off (4-1) with an empty netter, my face hadn't left my palms in more than five minutes. It is remarkable that this is happening again.</li>
 	<li>Stuart Skinner was back between the pipes for the first time after getting the hook against Winnipeg in the season opener, and the pressure was on to rebound with a strong performance and give his teammates the foundation needed to snap this early season skid. That didn't happen. While undoubtedly better than his first outing, Skinner wasn't able to crack the .900 save% plateau for the second straight start, which meant he wasn't able to bail his teammates out at critical points in the game. That's not to say I'm hanging the loss on him entirely, but the Oilers were once again unable to get the critical save they needed to a) keep them in the lead or b) keep the game close enough to fight their way back. Even so, I'm still in Stu's corner and know that he can be better than this, but we really need him to turn things around in a hurry or this three-game hole will get deeper.</li>
 	<li>I've watched hockey my entire life and never has it been more confusing what counts as a goal than it is right now. It's been hours since the Corey Perry goal was called off for interference and I still don't understand how it's possible. Vladar was the one who initiated contact at the edge of the crease —it makes no sense to me. The second challenge was legit, though. Arvidsson was way offside.</li>
 	<li>The Oilers cannot move the puck from their back end, which tells me that Troy Stecher needs to be in the lineup more often than not. I just don't trust anyone other than Bouchard to make a clean breakout pass when it matters.</li>
 	<li>The special teams mostly came through for the Oilers on Sunday, as the PK was finally able to contribute in a positive way with three successful kills. The bad news is that the power play looked extremely sloppy in its lone appearance, and the boys didn't even generate a shot on goal.</li>
 	<li>I love Sunday Fundays and I love telling you that the Oilers won 55.8% of the faceoffs. Just let me have this, okay?</li>
</ul>
<h2><strong>PRESENTED BY bet365</strong></h2>
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Oilers lose third straight game, fall 4-1 to Flames in another frustrating night at Rogers Place

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