Oilers Game 25: New Jersey Devils

Of course, a six-game winning streak is great. But it’s also hilarious to say that Friday night was Edmonton’s first win when they have 40+ shots on goal. Marc-Andre Fleury was standing on his head the whole game, and the Oilers weren’t shooting down low. It’s a team game, and the defensive play led to too many costly mistakes early on in the season. But that sort of game is exactly what makes goaltending one of many hyperbolic topics in Edmonton. Don’t get me wrong, Stuart Skinner has been miles better lately. Even though Friday was an off night for him, he still made key saves in the third period to help secure the win. However, seeing the Oilers get goalie-d so many times in the first two months of the season and the save percentages of their goalies makes it harder to defend the goaltending at the times when they kept losing. I’m not saying every goalie should be hung out to dry; that was my complaint during the Decade Of Darkness. But sometimes, you also need your goalie to steal a win that you don’t really deserve. Make timely saves, and don’t allow a soft goal at a bad time. Me bringing up Fleury is not ranting; it’s highlighting. I share the same sentiment as most Oilers fans on the possibility of Jack Campbell returning, which is that he shouldn’t. I saw some of the highlights from his last start with the Condors. Two of the goals he allowed were ones that he either could or should have stopped. His Bakersfield stint has gone from awful to awesome to mediocre. If he is coming back for sure, I’d assume he at least gets the start against Chicago. If he blows THAT game, then there really is no hope for him at all. Don’t bring him back up just because you feel bad, you can’t afford scheduled losses. Until management feels 100% that Campbell has sorted out his confidence and consistency, Skinner has to get used to having a #1 goalie’s workload. If Campbell never recovers, don’t stall in looking for another backup goalie.

I don’t normally like to talk about the referees because every team deals with bad officiating occasionally. But the third period confused me on Friday night. Evander Kane did not get a suspension for his hit on Jonas Brodin to the numbers. The consensus may’ve been because Brodin slightly turned before receiving contact. But Kane still should’ve gotten a penalty just for the impact of the hit. Ryan Hartman took a retaliation penalty, and Edmonton made Minnesota pay on the powerplay. The Oilers got away with one there. Then, in the dying seconds of regulation, Mattias Ekholm got high-sticked, losing possession of the puck. But it wasn’t called for a penalty, and because the refs “let them play,” it gave the Wild a chance to tie the game. I was not in favour of the work done by the refs for either team. I will say, though, it is pretty humorous to see players going at each other angrily while La Bamba is playing in the arena. Edmonton is 2-0 on their six-game homestand. Let’s make it 3-0 and get a seventh straight win. The keys to the game are…

Make Jack A Dull Boy: Jack Hughes was in the way too early talks for the Art Ross trophy with his start in October. Then he missed a few games in early November due to injury. Since his return, he’s put up 13 points in ten games. But he hasn’t gotten a point in the last two. Don’t let a 99-point player from last season have a bounce-back night. Make him hold off on it just a little bit longer.

No Sleeper Shifts: Before Connor McDavid added another highlight reel goal to his collection, the Wild scored two goals in the first minute of the second period to take the lead and brief control of the game. Last season, the Oilers lost that sort of focus against this same opponent. The only difference is that it was in the third period and late enough in the game to end up losing. So… Yeah, don’t do that again.

Special Teams: Both Edmonton’s powerplay and penalty kill have come a long way from the start of the season. It’s not the same PP as last season, but 4th best is still good. Their PK has climbed up from being one of the worst to now being 17th. The Devils have the best PP in the league at 35.0%, but their PK isn’t that scary at 23rd. I took a shot at the refs earlier in this article. But if not much happens at even strength for either team, then first PP goal wins.