What was supposed to be a chance for the Edmonton Oilers to go on a run to start the second half of their season has become anything but.
They dropped their first game out of the 4 Nations Face-Off break Saturday to the Philadelphia Flyers 6-3, and followed it up Sunday with another pitiful performance, getting blown out by the Washington Capitals 7-3.
It didn’t help that the Oilers allowed three to Alex Ovechkin, who narrowed his hunt for Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record to just 13, nor did it help the Oilers reneged on a strong start to the game. See, Edmonton came out with some jump to kick the matinee off, as Leon Draisaitl scored on the power play just under two minutes into the game.
“I thought it was an excellent start,” said Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch. “Good pace, both teams skating well, chances at both ends, goaltenders made some really big saves.“And then they continued that pace. We dropped. They were just able to make a lot more plays, they were outskating us, and we looked like a slow team.”
That drop allowed Washington to take a 2-1 lead in the final 2:45 of the first, when Tom Wilson scored and after Viktor Arvidsson took a roughing penalty, Jakob Chychrun got one of his own.
From there, it was all Capitals. Alex Ovechkin would score two in the second as Connor McMichael added his own in the final 15 seconds, giving them a 5-1 lead. Edmonton’s two goals in the third were mirrored by a marker from Dylan Strome and Ovechkin’s third of the game.
“Everybody knows how we can play, how good this group is when everybody is playing the right way,” said Oilers winger Corey Perry, who was elevated to the second line to play alongside Leon Draisaitl and Matt Savoie. “And the last six and a half periods are not the right way.“If you recognize that you can start to build and start to look up.”
The Oilers will look to do so now, but the only problem is what lies ahead in three great opponents: the Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes, the 11th, 10th, and ninth-ranked teams in the league based on points percentage.
But maybe that’s exactly what this team needs right now. The Oilers always bring their best against the best, and though they got lapped in the goal column against the Capitals, they played a more cohesive game than they did the afternoon before against Philadelphia.
“One, we’re playing a team that isn’t in the playoffs yesterday,” said Knoblauch. “Tonight, we’re playing the best team in the league, the best winning percentage, and that’s not a coincidence.“They’re running pretty well right now. Everything about their team, whether it’s special teams, five-on-five, their defence, everything. We don’t play well, we make some mistakes, they capitalize on it. We have a late backcheck, or a bad turnover, that team is going to capitalize it.”
Knoblauch would go on to highlight how “everyone in that room can be a bit better,” and now, their backs are up against the wall when they do it.
Adversity is nothing new for this group, who are now on a three-game losing skid for just the second time this season after dropping the first three games of the year to Winnipeg, Chicago and Calgary.
The Oilers have been here before in high pr, and that’s something they’ll be able to lean back on this upcoming week.
“You have to learn how to dig yourself out of a hole,” said Perry. “You don’t want to look to far ahead but you get in the playoffs and you lose a game, you have to figure out right away. You take too long, you’ll be gone. You’ll be sitting on your couch.“It’s a matter of looking in the mirror, bearing down, and doing the right things. All it is, and I keep coming back to the same thing, the same word: it’s work. It’s just your work ethic. That’s how you have to approach the game each and every day.”
Edmonton continue their road trip Tuesday visiting the Lightning, Thursday against the Panthers and Saturday against the Hurricanes, taking them through the end of February and into March.
Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on Twitter, currently known as X, at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.
