Connor McDavid had his first two goal game of the season on Monday night.
Yes, that does sound weird to say.
No, I didn’t make that up.
That’s how odd of a season it has been, along with every other issue plaguing the Edmonton Oilers. McDavid is currently on pace for 80 points in 80 games this season. For any other player, that would be outstanding. For the best player in the world, coming off 153 points in the season prior, it’s a historically massive drop off. He’s also on pace to score half of his 64 goals from last season. His first goal he scored to make it 1-0 was a Leon Draisaitl impression, a slap shot from just on the edge of the goal line. His second goal was on a penalty shot to make it 3-2. How he got to take the penalty shot gave every Oilers fan PTSD. He was going on a breakaway, got tripped and slid pretty hard into the boards. He got up and skated slowly, bringing back memories of his rookie season when he broke his collarbone. After he scored, the camera showed him on the bench lifting his arm up to check for pain. He played the rest of the game, but it raises more questions about whether or not he’s been playing even close to 100% this season. Is he still trying to play through the injury he had last month? Because an 80 point pace is pretty good for an injured star. But again, it’s not the McDavid we’re used to seeing. Before the Islanders game, he went eight games without a single goal. Since when does that ever happen? That’s how great of a player he’s always been, because it’s absolutely shocking to see a norm for any other player affect this one. As Oilers fans, we have sometimes taken him for granted.
If I had to rate Calvin Pickard’s game against the Panthers, I’d probably give it a 6.5 out of 10. Maybe you’d have liked to see one more save but he made some big ones. He didn’t allow beach balls, which is really all you can ask of any goalie in the Oilers net. But is he good enough to keep Stuart Skinner from burning out until Edmonton can get another goalie? Stu is still looked at as the team’s future, he just needs a break once in a while. It’s hard to give him that break when you’re afraid to put in any goalie, including him on most nights. That was his downfall heading into the 2023 Playoffs. He saved their season, but it cost him his energy at the wrong time. Evan Bouchard made two good defensive plays late in the third period, but it’s his play on Florida’s fourth goal that gets the only bit of mentioning. Bouchard is what he is, but his mistakes would be less hyperbole if they didn’t always result in a goal against. They’re not getting enough game stealing saves, and the defensive play in front of the goalies FROM EVERY PLAYER has to be much better. Both of these feelings can be true.
The Oilers are now 2-2 with Kris Knoblauch behind the bench. It’s mentally and emotionally impossible to assess expectations for the new bench boss because it was yet another coaching change for the franchise and the overall expectations for the team going into Game 1 were too high to be patient with a new process. The first half of the four game road trip sucked, let’s work on the second half now. The keys to the game are…
Just Hold On: The hockey game isn’t over until all 60 minutes are played. But in two straight games on this trip, Edmonton had taken early 2-0 leads. Surely, that would be enough to boost confidence and momentum back up. But they instead let bad habits reappear both times and could not keep those leads intact. I know this team is built almost entirely around offense, and I realize two of the goals against the Oilers came from unlucky flukes. But they have to eventually learn how to shut things down in situations like this.
Team Defense: Rod Brind’ Amour put up almost 1200 NHL points in his playing career, but also won the Frank J. Selke trophy for Best Defensive Forward twice. He instills that same 200ft game mindset as a head coach. While individual stats aren’t siding with his goalies, the whole Hurricanes team is in the middle of the pack when it comes to goals against. Neither of these teams has a goalie with a save percentage above .900, but Edmonton has to limit their “death by 1000 cuts” mistakes that have led to their opposition scoring on nearly every chance they get.
Timely Scoring: It’s not just how many goals you score, it’s also when you score them. Whether they be at even strength or on special teams, whichever period they might be scored in, a lot of Oilers players need to get a monkey off their back. It only takes one goal to make a struggling player feel confident again. If one slumping player or two gets one tonight at a crucial time, how does that motivate them for the rest of a year that feels like a never ending nightmare?
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