We all know what happened the last time the Edmonton Oilers squared off against the Florida Panthers, and while Monday’s contest was nowhere near the stakes from where we were five months ago, there’s little doubt it was a game a lot of us had circled on the calendar. And while both clubs gave us an exciting night at Rogers Place, the wrong team ultimately walked away with a 6-5 victory. 

The Oilers had a two-goal lead with less than three minutes left in the second period, and they blew it. It’s as simple as that, don’t you think? As someone sitting in the building last night, I thought the boys had this game under wraps. The boys had just turned the game on its head, and the building was buzzing — what better way to write the story? The Oilers had just come back from two separate one-goal deficits to not only erase the early hole they dug for themselves but to build themselves a two-goal lead, only to piss it all away with sloppy puck management and the inability to get a save. It sucked in so many ways.

From my spot in section 231, the worst part about how this game finished was that the Oilers ultimately got away from the game that had them on a five-game winning streak. Instead of taking care of their own house first, they got back into trying to cheat for offence. Guys were flying the zone early, they weren’t supporting the puck with solid positioning, there were more hopes and prayer passes than there were quick and tactical choices, and the result was that Edmonton gave the Panthers countless clean looks on net that should have been opportunities the other way.  The mistakes all seemed to get punished, and most of the problems came in the third period. That’s not a great combination.

Before I get into this rant I’m about to lay down, I think it’s important to start with the fact that I love Evan Bouchard. I think this kid is one of the most talented offensive defencemen in the NHL, and when he’s at his best, there aren’t many guys who can even come close to doing what he can do. I love this player. That said, he was a hot mess on Monday night against the Panthers. Right from Jump Street, Bouchard looked more like Jultz in his time here than he did, the guy who can put up points at will when he’s really buzzing.

Instead, his night started with a costly error on the power play that resulted in a shorthanded goal against. It didn’t get much better from there either, as his passing was often off the mark, he was often caught puck-watching at the worst possible times, and as the final cherry on top of the sundae, he hit Zach Hyman in the face with a slap shot. And when you combine his 22:25 in TOI with a tough night battling the puck, you’ve got the makings of a stinky gumbo, friends. Needless to say, we’re not talking about a banner night for our young defenceman. There will be better days ahead, but he’ll want to forget Monday’s game against the Panthers.

Before last night, Stuart Skinner put up six straight starts with a save percentage of .929 or better. It was the kind of run in net that we dream about, and it was not at all surprising that the run came in lock step with the Oilers’ five-game win streak. When Stu is at his best, there’s a better-than-good chance that the Oilers will win the hockey game. The problem, of course, is when the flip side of that coin shows up, and I think last night was a good example of that theory.

While I will argue to the death that some of the goals against were more a result of defensive implosions than they were shoddy goaltending, I’d also suggest that there were more than a couple of goals that Stu would like to have back. I mean, how else would you describe a night with six goals on 28 shots for a .786 save percentage? And I know there will always be games like this no matter how well your goalie is playing, but it’s tough to ignore the three straight goals that wiped out the Oilers lead and put them back in a hole. Again, I’m not saying everything that happened was all of Stu’s fault, but I also don’t think he was part of the solution.

1. Am I allowed to complain about the refs? I know I’m biased so having me say that the Oilers got a raw deal sounds pretty shady, but I legitimately think it’s true this time.

2. OMG when I saw Zach Hyman get hit in the face with a slapshot, I thought our man was done for the night. Then, against all reasonable expectations that he was done, Hyman game back for the third period wearing the bubble to finish off the game and offer up another argument for his case to be the toughest man alive. If I was in that situation, I would have cried for two or three days, but like the champion he is, there was ZMH back on the ice to do what he could to help his team win.

3. At least Leon Draisaitl stayed hot. You can make it six games in a row with two or more points, giving him 15 points (6G, 7A) over that stretch.

4. Casual three-point night for Connor McDavid? He gets so many of these that we almost take them for granted, but I assure you that being this good is anything but normal.

5. It may be my fault that the Oilers lost. You can now make it five straight losses in a row against Florida when I’ve been in the building, either at home or on the road.

6. The temperatures are falling in Edmonton this week, but that doesn’t mean the same applied to the Oilers’ faceoff percentage. The Oilers won 58.5% of the faceoffs on Monday night, and you know your boy loves to see it.

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