For the ninth time this season, the Edmonton Oilers had the opportunity to win their third consecutive game. For whatever reason, winning that third game seems to be the Oilers’ kryptonite this season, and Thursday night was another chapter in the same story. The boys kinda snoozed through the first 40 minutes before turning it on for the third, but by then it was too little too late. Edmonton had a tired team in town, and it was unfortunate that they spent the first two periods looking like they weren’t interested in taking advantage of it. Devils sweep the season series with a 2-1 victory.

How funny was it that Tristan Jarry made his first start as an Oiler on Tuesday despite being acquired by the team on December 12th? His first three starts were on the road, then he got banged up, then two more road starts, and after 39 days as an Oiler, Jarry was finally between the pipes at Rogers Place. Not that it’s a big deal or anything, but the delayed homecoming is an interesting quirk in his story here. And with Jarry coming off his first shutout as an Oiler on Saturday in Vancouver, what better time for his first start at home and 300th career start overall? As it turns out, not ideal circumstances. Darn it. Though, it’s tough to really judge how Jarry played when the team in front of him started out so poorly.

I mean, you don’t like the Arseny Gritsyuk goal since he got a piece of it and it sort of flubbed in past him. But the second goal was the product of a horrendous line change that left the Devils‘ fourth line on a clean break for the odd-man rush. He was perfect outside of the horrendous 2nd period in front of him, including the unbelievable save he made on the shorthanded 2-on-1 that we’ll be seeing on highlight reels for the rest of the season. Did he win? No. Was he the problem? I don’t think so. I thought Jarry was better than the .882 save percentage and 15 saves would lead you to believe with the added context of how sloppy the Oilers were through the first 40 minutes. From my side of the TV screen, I’d argue that the skaters in front of Jarry have way more fingers pointed at them for the loss than the goaltender does, regardless of what the numbers say.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect to like Curtis Lazar as much as I do when he signed as a free agent. If anything, I thought he was going to give Noah Philp some competition for the 4C job, but that it would ultimately shake out with Lazar spending more time in the press box than the lineup. Wrong again, Baggedmilk. Wrong again. Instead, Philp is in Carolina, and Lazar has gone from a frequent scratch into a player I genuinely like seeing in the lineup every night. It’s not that he scores a ton (3G, 2A), but he has more wheels than I realized, forechecks hard, gets greasy, and brings energy to the fourth line regardless of who he’s playing beside. He’s another guy who gives you an honest effort every shift, and I always appreciate watching him buzz around out there.

What’s most impressive about Curtis Lazar reaching 600 NHL games is that he did it across seven organizations and with plenty of adversity along the way. There were injuries, trips to the AHL, trades, and bopping all over the continent to chase down the next opportunity. Those are 600 scrappy games, and you have to respect the grind he’s been on since breaking into the league with the Senators in 2014. And while he was held off the scoresheet in his 600th game, I still wanted to give Lazar some love for hitting a milestone worth being proud of. When you’re a bottom-six guy like Lazar, it takes a lot of work, guts, and a real love for the game to show up every season knowing you have to earn the next one.

If you didn’t know anything about last night’s hockey apart from one team playing the second half of a back-to-back, you’d assume it was the Oilers based on how sloppy they looked. I don’t know what was going on with the boys on Tuesday, but they were handling the puck like a live grenade and trudging around like their skates were on the wrong feet. Passes were too long, too short, or to the wrong team entirely, and it was a minor miracle they were only down by a goal after 40 minutes. I don’t know how the Oilers went from looking so good over their last three games (I’m including the 1-0 loss to New York) to looking that lost just two days after wrapping up a flawless weekend of hockey. And to look that bad against a team playing less than 24 hours earlier? Yikes.

While the Oilers did manage to turn it on in the third period, outshooting the Devils 13-3, they couldn’t get a tying goal past Jake Allen despite the push, which felt eerily similar to the loss to the Islanders. The Oilers didn’t generate nearly as many dangerous chances against Allen as they did against Sorokin, but that didn’t stop the former from ruining our night all the same. At the same time, it’s hard to give Allen or the Devils too much credit considering Edmonton had just 10 shots through 40 minutes. Sure, they made his life harder in the third, but that doesn’t erase the fact that they barely tested him for most of the night. That’s a frustrating way to lose after how well the team played over the weekend. Then again, maybe the Hockey Gords just don’t want the Oilers to win three games in a row this season. At this point, it feels like they may never do it again.

We’re heading back to Las Vegas for the next Nation Vacation, March 24–27, and you’re invited to join the ultimate hockey fan getaway. Trip packages start at $2,400, with the option to secure your spot for just 20% down. Enjoy roundtrip flights, a premium three-night stay at Circa Resort & Casino, access to Stadium Swim, exclusive watch parties, a Nation Citizens pool party, a party bus to T-Mobile Arena, and food and drinks included at the Edmonton vs. Vegas game. Multiple travel options mean you can book the trip your way—so lock in your spot now at nationgear.ca and come be part of the chaos in Vegas!