The Edmonton Oilers will host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night looking to bounce back from an ugly 6-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks earlier this week. It’ll be the team’s last game before the trade deadline on Friday afternoon.
1. The Habs are a good example of how teams can turn on a dime in the NHL. Montreal had dropped five consecutive games going into the 4 Nations Face-Off break and they’ve won all five games since, outscoring their opponents 21-to-10 during this current winning streak.
We saw something similar last year with the Oilers. Just before both their eight- and 16-game winning streaks, Edmonton has losing skids of three games. The team looked completely out of sorts during those losing streaks and then turned on a dime.
The 2023-24 Oilers had a terrible 13-game stretch to start the season before making a coaching change. With Kris Knobluach behind the bench, they never dropped more than three games in a row. The only three-game losing streak they had in the playoffs was followed up with them nearly becoming the second team ever to come back from down 3-0 to win the Stanley Cup.
The difference with this year’s team is that we’ve seen a funk drag on for much longer than a few games.
The recent five-game losing streak is the longest the Oilers have had since the 2021-22 season when Dave Tippett was head coach. Dating back to the start of February, the Oilers have only one regulation victory across 11 games, and it took 35 saves from Calvin Pickard to sneak away with that one.
What will it take for the 2024-25 Oilers to turn on a dime and resolidify themselves as a serious Cup contender? Trading for a goalie? A defenceman? Another coaching change? There isn’t much runway left to figure it out.
2. Three players from the Habs participated at the 4 Nations — Patrik Laine and Joel Armia played for Finland and Sam Montembeault was Canada’s third-string goalie.
Playing for his country seems to have fired up Laine, as the Finnish sniper has two goals and six points in five games since coming back. Before the break, the former second-overall pick was in an eight-game slump without any points.
Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield appear to be playing with a chip on their shoulders after being excluded from their national team rosters. Suzuki, overlooked by Team Canada, has been unstoppable, racking up four goals and 13 points in just five games since the break. Meanwhile, Caulfield, snubbed by Team USA, has responded with five goals and six points of his own. Talk about turning disappointment into domination.
3. Caufield and Suzuki are leading the Habs in goals and points but a major part of their offence has been rookie defenceman Lane Hutson, who has four goals and 48 points through 61 games this season. The team’s second-round pick from the 2022 draft is logging 22:23 per game on average, the second-most on the team behind only Mike Matheson.
Hutson has a strong case to win the Calder Trophy for the league’s top rookie this season but it’s a pretty wide-open race. Macklin Celebrini, last year’s first-overall pick, has 19 goals and 45 points on a terrible San Jose Sharks team, while goaltender Dustin Wolf is helping the Calgary Flames push for a playoff spot with a .913 save percentage in 37 games.
4. Montreal’s hot streak has the team right back in the mix for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Habs have a 30-26-5 record and are two points back of the Ottawa Senators for the second Wild Card position, though the Detroit Red Wings and New York Rangers are also sandwiched between them and the playoffs.
The Oilers are suddenly six points back of the Vegas Golden Knights for the top spot in the Pacific Division. The Los Angeles Kings are three points back of the Oilers with one game in hand and both the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks are seven points back of Edmonton in the standings.
5. The Oilers called up Max Jones on Wednesday and we could see the winger make his team debut against Montreal on Thursday or the Dallas Stars on Saturday.
Selected 24th overall in the 2016 draft by the Anaheim Ducks, Jones has 31 goals and 62 points along with 219 penalty minutes and 465 hits over 265 games in the NHL. He cleared through waivers earlier this season and has spent most of his time with the Providence Bruins of the AHL, scoring 13 goals and 21 assists in 38 games.
6. Stuart Skinner will start for the Oilers and the Habs are expected to go with Sam Montembault.
Skinner has a 20-15-4 record on the season along with a .897 save percentage. The Edmonton native made four appearances since the 4 Nations break and has allowed 15 goals on 119 shots for a .874 save percentage.
Montembault didn’t appear in a game for Canada at the 4 Nations but he’s been excellent since returning to the Habs. He’s picked up four consecutive wins and has a .927 save percentage over those games, bringing his number on the season up to .899.
