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The Day After 67.0: Strong effort wasted as Oilers hope lost point doesn’t ‘come and haunt us later’

Photo credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
By Zach Laing
Mar 14, 2026, 15:00 EDTUpdated: Mar 14, 2026, 15:37 EDT
The Edmonton Oilers accomplished the bare minimum, securing a winning record on their four-game road trip this past week.
They secured big wins over the Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche in the first two games of the trip, dropped a stinker against the Dallas Stars, and watched the St. Louis Blues whittle away and steal an extra point from them on Friday night.
After building a two-goal lead thanks to goals from Kasperi Kapanen and Connor McDavid, the Blues chipped away at it. First, it was Pius Suter scoring with just seven and a half minutes left in the third, then, with just under four minutes to go, Cam Fowler tied the game up and sent it to overtime.
While the Oilers dominated the extra frame, Robert Thomas had the last laugh with nine seconds left in overtime. Now, with the Oilers in the midst of battling for their playoff lives, they have to hope that the missed point doesn’t cost them.
“It’s really a shame,” Kapanen said of the Oilers losing the game. “Throughout the whole game, we were playing pretty well. Teams are going to have their push if we’re leading, and we just need to learn how to play with the lead.
“We just have to hope that the one extra point we lost today is not going to come and haunt us later.”
If you squint, the road trip was still a success for the Oilers. They walked out with five of a possible eight points, despite the fact they were outscored 15-12, thanks in large part to the Stars’ 7-2 blowout.
Their wins were what mattered most, though. They gained ground on the Golden Knights with last Sunday’s win and had a very strong showing against one of the best teams in the league in the Avalanche. The Stars — maybe because of their new head coach and former Oilers assistant Glen Gulutzan — have seemingly had Edmonton’s number all year.
A road trip now turns into a homestand for the Oilers. They’ll welcome the Nashville Predators Sunday night, the San Jose Sharks Tuesday night, the Florida Panthers Thursday night and the Tampa Bay Lightning in the late slot on next Saturday’s Hockey Night in Canada.
What they said…
Kasperi Kapanen on the Oilers’ effort…
“We defended well at times today. I think in the second period, our offence was getting much better than it was in the first, and this trip has been a positive one. We obviously would have wanted two points today, and the game yesterday wasn’t our best, but certainly better than it has been as of late.”
Kris Knoblauch on how St. Louis got back in the game, closing out the road trip…
“I don’t think it could have went much better for us in the first 40 minutes and in the third with a nice lead. They got their goal, and we got a little nervous and backed in a little bit. Obviously, they had a strong push, and it’s unfortunate that it could have been an outstanding road trip getting three out of the four, but losing and only getting one point in the last two games is disappointing for us.”
Robert Thomas on the game, his overtime winner…
“Just tried to make a little move and get a shot off, and it was in a good spot. We’re obviously feeling good. We’re playing confident and we’re really using our strengths. Our ‘D’ are really skating, they’re joining the rush, they’re creating a lot. They’re beating the first forechecker in and that’s opening up all of us forwards. We’re just clicking right now and really confident, and coming in and winning every game.”
Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s managing editor, 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.
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