The Edmonton Oilers may just be living proof that a two-goal lead is the worst lead in hockey.

For the fourth time this season — and a night after doing so against the St. Louis Blues — the team coughed up such a lead, going on to lose. Last night it was against the Dallas Stars as they fell 4-3 in the shootout.

It didn’t take long for the Oilers to get on the board, as just over three and a half minutes in, Jack Roslovic flew into the offensive zone along the right wing, fending off Thomas Harley with one hand and using the other to string a tape-to-tape pass cross ice to Vasily Podkolzin. Jumpin’ Jack Flash Roslovic would continue to put on a show, setting up teammates, as Leon Draisaitl’s impossible-angle power play goal would extend it to 2-0.

On one hand, it was great news for the Oilers. After dropping Monday’s game they needed a strong bounce back, and it looked like they were bringing it forth. Then the Stars roared back as Mikko Rantanen scored in the second period. And while Connor McDavid got one back finishing a beauty tic-tac-toe, Rantanen would strike again, and so would Miro Heiskanen. Overtime couldn’t solve it, but a shootout could, where the Oilers were quickly dispatched.

But don’t worry. The Oilers are learning from this.

“We hope it’s just growing pains, and we are learning from this, and we’re getting better for this,” said Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch after the loss. “But right now, we just need to play better.”

That might be putting it lightly.

Through 15 games this season, the Oilers sit at 6-5-3. It’s good enough to hold onto second place in the Pacific Division, but that’s by in large because of the fact they’ve played many more games than some of the other teams, like the Vegas Golden Knights and Anaheim Ducks — each one standings point behind them — who have played just 11 games this season. If you sort by points percentage, the team is a dreary fifth in the Division. That’s not close to good enough, especially considering those teams have many games to continue to gain breathing room.

The issues, at least to Knoblauch, are easy to identify.

“It’s one thing if the opposition’s making good plays and beating your coverage, but we’re just making mistakes where we’re giving them opportunities,” he said, adding he feels as if the team is making progress in the little areas of the game as of late. “But we have make big plays at critical times and not make the mistakes at critical times and felt that whether that’s been taking a penalty when we’ve had leads, or just puck turnovers, stuff like that.

“There’s lots of areas in the game that we need to work on and get better at. It’s just not just one thing.”

The good news for the Oilers is they have three days without any games, which will give them a chance to not blow any more leads.

Quips aside, maybe a break like this is what the team needs. Their schedule has been undeniably rough to start the season, as since October 14th, the third game of the season, they’ve yet to have a two-day break between games.

It won’t get easier when they return, hosting the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night, before the Columbus Blue Jackets roll into town next Monday. Then they embark on their big Eastern Conference road swing, taking them up and down the Eastern Seaboard.

Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the Daily Faceoff DFS Hockey Report. He can be followed on X at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.