Do good teams avoid lengthy losing streaks? Usually, but not always. In an 82-game season, teams will go through peaks and valleys, but the consistent teams rarely swim in the gutter of losses very often.
The Edmonton Oilers are in the midst of a three-game losing streak. They were not very good v. <a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2021/12/03/game-recap-22-0-edmonton-oilers-at-seattle-kraken/">Seattle</a> or <a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2021/12/05/game-recap-23-0-edmonton-oilers-vs-los-angeles-kings/">Los Angeles</a>, but played much better last night <a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2021/12/07/game-recap-24-0-edmonton-oilers-vs-minnesota-wild/">despite losing</a>. However, there are no moral victories for playing well and losing. In pro sports, there is winning and misery. But losing three games in a row isn&#8217;t devastating, if they can stop the losing tomorrow against Boston.

Last year the Oilers only lost three in a row once. It was a tough three-game losing streak at home with all three losses against Toronto. In a weird coincidence, those three losses came in games 23, 24, and 25. The Oilers&#8217; current three-game losing streak has occurred in games 22, 23 and 24.
Many believe that when you play well and lose that is often a sign the losing streak is coming to an end. Edmonton will hope that is the case tomorrow.
How many other NHL teams have had three consecutive regulation losses? Most have.
Arizona (5-18-2): Losing streaks of nine, three and three. 
NYI (6-10-5): An eight game losing streak and a two gamer. 
Ottawa (7-16-1): Losing streaks of six, four and three games. 
Seattle (9-14-2): Losing streaks of six, three and two games. 
Montreal (6-18-3): Losing streaks of five and three games. And lost two in a row twice. 
Philadelphia (8-11-4): Losing streaks of five and two games. 
Vancouver (9-15-2) and Buffalo (8-14-3): Each have had losing streaks of four, four and three games. 
Vegas (14-10-0), Winnipeg (12-9-4), Columbus (13-11): All have had a losing streak of four games and two games. 
Chicago (9-14-2): Losing streaks of four, two and two games.
Twelve teams have already had a losing streak of four or more games.
Three-Game losing streaks:
Detroit (13-10-3): Losing streaks of three, three and two games. 
Pittsburgh (12-8-5): Have had two three-game losing streaks. 
San Jose (14-11-1): Losing streaks of three, two and two games. 
Anaheim (14-8-5) and LA (10-10-4): Losing streaks of three and two games. 
Carolina (17-6-1): One three-game losing streak. Went 1-4-1 in that span. 
Toronto (18-7-2), Edmonton (16-8-0), St. Louis (13-8-4), Colorado (13-7-2) and New Jersey (9-9-5): Each have had one three-game losing skid.
So 72% (23 teams) of the league has already had a three-game losing streak.
Meaning nine teams have avoided it thus far. Although if you go by getting two points in four games it is even fewer.
Florida (17-4-4), and Dallas (13-7-2) have had two losing streaks of two games. But both also went 0-2-2 in four games which, points-wise, is the same as going 1-3-0. Gawd, I hate the loser point when discussing losses.
Which leaves seven teams.
Nashville (14-10-1): They had three two-game losing streaks. 
Calgary (15-6-5): Twice they&#8217;ve had a two-game losing streak. Did go 0-2-1 once. 
Minnesota (18-6-1) and Washington (16-4-6): Have had one two-game losing streak. Washington did go 0-2-1 once. 
Boston (12-8-1): Have one two-game losing streak. 
NYR (17-4-3) and Tampa Bay (16-5-4): Have yet to lose two consecutive games in regulation a row. Both have gone 0-1-2 once.
The Oilers recent dip is not ideal, but it is far from catastrophic just yet. But they are inching closer to it becoming a problem. They need to build off of last night&#8217;s effort. They put more pucks on net, although they didn&#8217;t generate many super high-quality chances. At least it was a step in the right direction.
<h2>OTHER NOTES&#8230;</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-61209" src="https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/The-Hangover-Math-e1532805226359.jpg" alt="" width="950" height="443" />
Last night was the Oilers fourth-best game at 5&#215;5, in terms of shots for/against. They outshot the Wild 27-21 at 5&#215;5.
The scoring chances were similar. Where Edmonton struggled was allowing scoring chances off the rush. SportLogiq had it 13-9 in favour of Minnesota.
Edmonton did possess the puck a lot more, however. They had 53 controlled offensive zone entries to Minnesota&#8217;s 35. And Edmonton had 76 controlled zone exits to the Wild&#8217;s 59.
Edmonton also completed more stretch passes, 11-8.
The main difference in the game was the offensive time of possession. Edmonton had the puck in control in the offensive zone for 11:33. The Wild only had it for 3:48.
Now, that includes power play time, and for the first time this season the Oilers power play was a major factor in the loss. Edmonton had five PP chances.
The Oilers only had nine shots in 9:23 minutes of PP time. Entering the game the Oiler had fired 115 shots on goal in 101 minutes of PP time. Their shots per minute was similar to most games this season, and they had some decent looks, but the Wild did a good job of not allowing the seam pass to get through. A few times they had a guy in the slot in a good shooting position and passed it to the guy at the circle. You can&#8217;t critique the PP too much, because it is still the best in the NHL, but it has slowed down the past month going 9-for-45 (20%) in their 14 games. It likely will heat up again, but it is a bit out of sync right now.
Edmonton has had three or more PP chances in 13 games this season. They&#8217;ve scored at least one goal in 11 of them. They went 0-for-5 last night and 0-for-3 in the win against Pittsburgh last week. It was a rare off night for the man advantage.
<h1>MONTH OF GIVING&#8230;</h1>
Thanks to Don and Taylor for their bids on the whisky and golf packages yesterday.
DAY 7:  A Restricted Membership at the Glendale Golf and Country Club
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-66596 size-full jetpack-lazy-image jetpack-lazy-image--handled" src="https://i1.wp.com/publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/golfadvisor.brightspotcdn.com_.jpg?resize=930%2C600&amp;ssl=1" alt="" width="930" height="600" data-recalc-dims="1" data-lazy-loaded="1" />
RESTRICTED ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP
<ul>
<li>An Associate Membership for the<a href="https://www.theglendale.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow external" data-wpel-link="external"> 2022 golf season at the GLENDALE</a>.</li>
<li>Immediate family (spouse and all your children) become Social Members at no additional charge (full use of the Pool and Clubhouse). The outdoor pool is awesome.</li>
<li>The Restricted Associate option allows regular access to the tee during weekdays, but is “restricted” to after noon on weekends.</li>
</ul>
You can bid by calling 780.444.1260 or text 101260 between 2-6 p.m. today as we support the Christmas Bureau.
<h2>Recently by Jason Gregor: </h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2021/12/07/game-preview-24-0-edmonton-oilers-vs-minnesota-wild-7pm-mt-sportsnet/">GDB 24.0: Good Start Needed</a></li>
<li><a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2021/12/07/game-notes-minnesota-wild-at-edmonton-oilers-guerin-does-the-impossible/" rel="follow" data-wpel-link="internal">Game Notes: Bill Guerin Has Done The Impossible</a></li>
<li><a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2021/12/03/game-preview-22-0-edmonton-oilers-at-seattle-kraken-8pm-mt-sportsnet/" rel="follow" data-wpel-link="internal">GDB 22.0: Coaching Up Players</a></li>
<li><a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2021/12/02/edmonton-oilers-injury-updates-and-random-thoughts/" rel="follow" data-wpel-link="internal">Oilers Injury Update and Random Thoughts</a></li>
<li><a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2021/12/01/game-recap-21-0-edmonton-oilers-vs-pittsburgh-penguins-8pm-mt-sportsnet/" rel="follow" data-wpel-link="internal">GDB 21.0: Next D-man Up</a></li>
<li><a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2021/11/30/how-good-are-the-edmonton-oilers/" rel="follow" data-wpel-link="internal">How Good Are The Oilers?</a></li>
</ul>

Do good teams avoid lengthy losing streaks? Usually, but not always. In an 82-game season, teams will go through peaks and valleys, but the consistent teams rarely swim in the gutter of losses very often.

The Edmonton Oilers are in the midst of a three-game losing streak. They were not very good v. <a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2021/12/03/game-recap-22-0-edmonton-oilers-at-seattle-kraken/">Seattle</a> or <a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2021/12/05/game-recap-23-0-edmonton-oilers-vs-los-angeles-kings/">Los Angeles</a>, but played much better last night <a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2021/12/07/game-recap-24-0-edmonton-oilers-vs-minnesota-wild/">despite losing</a>. However, there are no moral victories for playing well and losing. In pro sports, there is winning and misery. But losing three games in a row isn't devastating, if they can stop the losing tomorrow against Boston.



Last year the Oilers only lost three in a row once. It was a tough three-game losing streak at home with all three losses against Toronto. In a weird coincidence, those three losses came in games 23, 24, and 25. The Oilers' current three-game losing streak has occurred in games 22, 23 and 24.

Many believe that when you play well and lose that is often a sign the losing streak is coming to an end. Edmonton will hope that is the case tomorrow.

How many other NHL teams have had three consecutive regulation losses? Most have.

Arizona (5-18-2): Losing streaks of nine, three and three.
NYI (6-10-5): An eight game losing streak and a two gamer.
Ottawa (7-16-1): Losing streaks of six, four and three games.
Seattle (9-14-2): Losing streaks of six, three and two games.
Montreal (6-18-3): Losing streaks of five and three games. And lost two in a row twice.
Philadelphia (8-11-4): Losing streaks of five and two games.
Vancouver (9-15-2) and Buffalo (8-14-3): Each have had losing streaks of four, four and three games.
Vegas (14-10-0), Winnipeg (12-9-4), Columbus (13-11): All have had a losing streak of four games and two games.
Chicago (9-14-2): Losing streaks of four, two and two games.

Twelve teams have already had a losing streak of four or more games.

Three-Game losing streaks:

Detroit (13-10-3): Losing streaks of three, three and two games.
Pittsburgh (12-8-5): Have had two three-game losing streaks.
San Jose (14-11-1): Losing streaks of three, two and two games.
Anaheim (14-8-5) and LA (10-10-4): Losing streaks of three and two games.
Carolina (17-6-1): One three-game losing streak. Went 1-4-1 in that span.
Toronto (18-7-2), Edmonton (16-8-0), St. Louis (13-8-4), Colorado (13-7-2) and New Jersey (9-9-5): Each have had one three-game losing skid.

So 72% (23 teams) of the league has already had a three-game losing streak.

Meaning nine teams have avoided it thus far. Although if you go by getting two points in four games it is even fewer.

Florida (17-4-4), and Dallas (13-7-2) have had two losing streaks of two games. But both also went 0-2-2 in four games which, points-wise, is the same as going 1-3-0. Gawd, I hate the loser point when discussing losses.

Which leaves seven teams.

Nashville (14-10-1): They had three two-game losing streaks.
Calgary (15-6-5): Twice they've had a two-game losing streak. Did go 0-2-1 once.
Minnesota (18-6-1) and Washington (16-4-6): Have had one two-game losing streak. Washington did go 0-2-1 once.
Boston (12-8-1): Have one two-game losing streak.
NYR (17-4-3) and Tampa Bay (16-5-4): Have yet to lose two consecutive games in regulation a row. Both have gone 0-1-2 once.

The Oilers recent dip is not ideal, but it is far from catastrophic just yet. But they are inching closer to it becoming a problem. They need to build off of last night's effort. They put more pucks on net, although they didn't generate many super high-quality chances. At least it was a step in the right direction.
<h2>OTHER NOTES...</h2>
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-61209" src="https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/The-Hangover-Math-e1532805226359.jpg" alt="" width="950" height="443" />

Last night was the Oilers fourth-best game at 5x5, in terms of shots for/against. They outshot the Wild 27-21 at 5x5.

The scoring chances were similar. Where Edmonton struggled was allowing scoring chances off the rush. SportLogiq had it 13-9 in favour of Minnesota.

Edmonton did possess the puck a lot more, however. They had 53 controlled offensive zone entries to Minnesota's 35. And Edmonton had 76 controlled zone exits to the Wild's 59.

Edmonton also completed more stretch passes, 11-8.

The main difference in the game was the offensive time of possession. Edmonton had the puck in control in the offensive zone for 11:33. The Wild only had it for 3:48.

Now, that includes power play time, and for the first time this season the Oilers power play was a major factor in the loss. Edmonton had five PP chances.

The Oilers only had nine shots in 9:23 minutes of PP time. Entering the game the Oiler had fired 115 shots on goal in 101 minutes of PP time. Their shots per minute was similar to most games this season, and they had some decent looks, but the Wild did a good job of not allowing the seam pass to get through. A few times they had a guy in the slot in a good shooting position and passed it to the guy at the circle. You can't critique the PP too much, because it is still the best in the NHL, but it has slowed down the past month going 9-for-45 (20%) in their 14 games. It likely will heat up again, but it is a bit out of sync right now.

Edmonton has had three or more PP chances in 13 games this season. They've scored at least one goal in 11 of them. They went 0-for-5 last night and 0-for-3 in the win against Pittsburgh last week. It was a rare off night for the man advantage.
<h1>MONTH OF GIVING...</h1>
Thanks to Don and Taylor for their bids on the whisky and golf packages yesterday.

DAY 7:  A Restricted Membership at the Glendale Golf and Country Club

<img class="aligncenter wp-image-66596 size-full jetpack-lazy-image jetpack-lazy-image--handled" src="https://i1.wp.com/publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/golfadvisor.brightspotcdn.com_.jpg?resize=930%2C600&amp;ssl=1" alt="" width="930" height="600" data-recalc-dims="1" data-lazy-loaded="1" />

RESTRICTED ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP
<ul>
 	<li>An Associate Membership for the<a href="https://www.theglendale.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow external" data-wpel-link="external"> 2022 golf season at the GLENDALE</a>.</li>
 	<li>Immediate family (spouse and all your children) become Social Members at no additional charge (full use of the Pool and Clubhouse). The outdoor pool is awesome.</li>
 	<li>The Restricted Associate option allows regular access to the tee during weekdays, but is “restricted” to after noon on weekends.</li>
</ul>
You can bid by calling 780.444.1260 or text 101260 between 2-6 p.m. today as we support the Christmas Bureau.
<h2>Recently by Jason Gregor: </h2>
<ul>
 	<li><a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2021/12/07/game-preview-24-0-edmonton-oilers-vs-minnesota-wild-7pm-mt-sportsnet/">GDB 24.0: Good Start Needed</a></li>
 	<li><a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2021/12/07/game-notes-minnesota-wild-at-edmonton-oilers-guerin-does-the-impossible/" rel="follow" data-wpel-link="internal">Game Notes: Bill Guerin Has Done The Impossible</a></li>
 	<li><a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2021/12/03/game-preview-22-0-edmonton-oilers-at-seattle-kraken-8pm-mt-sportsnet/" rel="follow" data-wpel-link="internal">GDB 22.0: Coaching Up Players</a></li>
 	<li><a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2021/12/02/edmonton-oilers-injury-updates-and-random-thoughts/" rel="follow" data-wpel-link="internal">Oilers Injury Update and Random Thoughts</a></li>
 	<li><a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2021/12/01/game-recap-21-0-edmonton-oilers-vs-pittsburgh-penguins-8pm-mt-sportsnet/" rel="follow" data-wpel-link="internal">GDB 21.0: Next D-man Up</a></li>
 	<li><a href="https://publish.oilersnation.com/2021/11/30/how-good-are-the-edmonton-oilers/" rel="follow" data-wpel-link="internal">How Good Are The Oilers?</a></li>
</ul>

Random Thoughts on Losing Streaks

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