The Edmonton Oilers salvaged a win against the Senators to close out their eastern Canada road trip, but the downside was that they ended up losing Zach Hyman. Losing pieces from an already inconsistent team was the last thing the Oilers needed with the red-hot Minnesota Wild in town, but there were a whole lot more problems than a few missing players that contributed to this 5-3 loss.

Being the goaltender can be a lonely job. Even though hockey is very much a team sport, with all kinds of fluidity and intricacies that make the game what it is, no position is more important than the goalie. There can be game breakers in every other position, but a team can only go as far as the goaltending will take them. It’s not always fair, but it’s the truth. And on Thursday night against the Wild, I don’t know that the admittedly sloppy Oilers got enough from their netminder.

There were messes all over the ice from an Oilers perspective, and it was in those moments that they needed Skinner to come up with a save to bail them out. And while I’m not suggesting he was completely unable to do that, I am saying he didn’t do it nearly enough, and that’s what people will notice. Even though the team in front of him wasn’t nearly good enough for most of the 60 minutes, a lot of the heat for the 5-3 loss is bound to fall on Stu. He doesn’t get much credit when the team wins, but he sure wears the blame when they lose. But even though the pressure to perform is always high, the Oilers also need goaltending that can steal moments in games when something goes sideways.

To this point in the season, that hasn’t happened enough for Stuart Skinner. Calvin Pickard has five nights above a .900 save percentage in his seven starts this year, while Skinner has six games above .900 in 14 starts. I don’t think I have to explain why that’s an issue. What I do know for sure is that Skinner is both in need of and capable of playing better than the .808 save percentage on 26 shots he posted last night, and I’m hopeful he can make that happen. If not, you have to wonder what new GM Stan Bowman thinks heading into the final year of Stu’s contract.

The Oilers and Wild play two more times this season, but there’s no guarantee we’ll see Marc-Andre Fleury as the opposing netminder again. That’s why I was trying my best to enjoy what was a frustrating loss from the totally different angle of watching one of the best to ever do it. The 1,030 NHL games he’s played rank third in NHL history behind only Roberto Luongo (1,044) and Martin Brodeur, and remind us of an era of goaltender deployment that will likely never happen again. Goalies from Fleury’s generation routinely played 60-70 games per year and did it season after season, so he may be one of the last players to hit that milestone for a while.

Now in his 21st and likely final NHL season, I thought it was neat to watch the Oilers play against him (at least) one last time, even though he ended up cashing in his fourth win of the year. When that ridiculous Draisaitl goal went in 27 seconds in — more on that in the next section — I thought maybe the old boy’s last night in Edmonton was going to end up in the ditch, but the way Fleury bounced back was impressive. Either way, as much as I despise the result and feel annoyed about a lot of what happened for the blue and orange, I also can’t help but feel old and sad if this is indeed the last time I get to watch the Oilers play against Marc-Andre Fleury. With three Stanley Cups and a Vezina Trophy on his resume, the guy is undoubtedly going to the Hall of Fame one day, and I just wanted to take a minute to appreciate his greatness over the last two decades.

Leon Draisaitl scored what might be the easiest goal he’ll ever score in his career after his pass attempt from distance took a friendly bounce off a skate toward the net, where Marc-Andre Fleury swung and missed on a bobbling puck. It was one of those goals we’ll see forever in the blooper reels and a lucky bounce that the Oilers never seem to get. Toss in the added fun fact that it happened against a future Hall of Famer, and you’ve got the makings of a fun little memory.

Leon was just above the top of the circle in Edmonton’s zone when he moved the puck forward, and the fact that it ended up in the Wild’s net from there is beyond me. All I know for sure is that we thank the Hockey Gords for one of the weirdest goals you’ll ever see and allowing it to happen in our favour. I’m not saying a Draisaitl Rocket Richard Trophy win is his destiny or anything, but the guy is now getting credit for flukey ones in addition to the beauties he’s already scoring.

1. Leon Draisaitl opened the scoring (1-0) 27 seconds into the first period on an all-time blooper reel goal that saw Marc-Andre Fleury swing and miss on a bouncing puck that came bobbling into the Minnesota zone. It was one of those goals that needed all kinds of friendly bounces to happen, but I’m sure glad we got it. We’ll be seeing this goal on NHL misplay countdowns from now until the rest of time, and I’m grateful the Oilers were the benefactors of the goal and not the victim for once.

2. Matt Boldy evened things up (1-1) on a shot with some zip on it that he fired through traffic from the high slot, beating Stuart Skinner between the arm and body. Based on the replay, I’d bet that Stu couldn’t really see the shot until it was too late, but your mileage on that may vary.

3. Marcus Foligno gave Minnesota the lead (2-1) on a scrambled play in front of the net that had the puck bouncing all over the edge of the crease before eventually being batted into the net. I give Foligno credit for getting to the front of the net and cleaning up the garbage, but I wish my beloved Edmonton Oilers would do that a little more.

4. Just under three minutes after the Wild snatched the lead, Corey Perry tied things up once more (2-2) after his wrap-around attempt took a hometown bounce off of Jared Spurgeon’s leg and into the net. The goal was Perry’s fourth of the year, and it’s been impressive to see him have a strong start to the season.

5. The good times didn’t last long, though, as Marcus Johansson reclaimed the lead (3-2) after a lacklustre defensive effort by the Oilers resulted in additional zone time that should have been avoided. I don’t know why the Oilers can be so casual in their own zone sometimes. It’s frustrating to see goals happen repeatedly because they were simply outworked by their opposition.

6. Frederick Gaudreau extended the Wild’s lead (4-2) at the 17 minute mark of the second period on a goal that I personally believe should have been stopped. It was one of those goals where the Oilers needed a stop to keep the game close, and Skinner couldn’t cover up the mistake. That was a situational killer, imo.

7. Frederick Gaudreau started nailing the coffin shut (5-2) at the midway point of the third period after the Wild broke into the Oilers’ on a 3-2 that they executed well. Jacob Middle carried the puck into the Oilers zone with speed, fired a shot off Skinner’s pads that kicked out to a charging Gaudreau who made no mistake of batting the rebound into the empty cage. The Rogers Place faithful started clearing out after that one.

8. Jeff Skinner pulled the Oilers to within a pair (5-3) in the final minute of the third period, and while the goal didn’t matter in the grand scheme of the game, I do hope it helps give him a little bit of confidence after going eight games without scoring. Silver linings, right?

9. Kasperi Kapanen played 12:10 of TOI in his first game as an Oiler and produced one shot on goal to go along with four hits. I actually felt bad for Kapanen, as Kris Knoblauch threw him up in the top six on his first day as an Oiler.

10. According to the NHL’s recap, the Minnesota Wild blocked 26 shots compared to 13 for the Oilers. This has happened way too often through 21 games, and the Oilers need to figure out how to get more pucks through to the net.

11. The Oilers have now killed off 13 penalties in a row over six games of perfection. If you’re looking for a silver lining then that has to be it. Unfortunately, the power play couldn’t match. Instead, the somehow lacklustre power play couldn’t get the job done on either of their two opportunities with the man advantage.

12. If you’re looking for hope, the Oilers won 57.1% of the faceoffs and I know how exciting that is for so many of us. I’m sorry to be this happy during a disappointing loss.

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