Oilers Game 32: San Jose Sharks

And we are back. I hope you all had a nice holiday break away from screaming at your TV and posting your angry rants on social media. Edmonton went into the Christmas break with back-to-back third period comeback wins. Last Friday’s game against the Rangers cloned their win against the Devils the night prior to. Being down a goal after 40 minutes, the Oilers looked like they couldn’t buy a goal, and then they exploded with four goals to silence the home crowd. Connor McDavid got only one assist on the night, Leon Draisaitl got no points at all, and all 10 of their goals in those back-to-back games were at even strength. Both the “Two Man Team” and “Powerplay Merchants” narratives were quieted in impressive fashion. When I wrote about the first meeting against the Rangers this season, I noted that these two teams keep pulling off big comebacks against each other.

This was Edmonton’s second straight season with a four-goal third period at Madison Square Garden en route to a key win. Last season, when they came back from 3-0 down at MSG to win in regulation, we looked to that game as a turning point for the Oilers when they were struggling to get more wins, similar to this season. Their last two games, as well as the eight-game winning streak and their come back win against Seattle before that, have to be viewed as confidence boosts. If I had to nitpick anything from the Rangers game, I don’t think Stuart Skinner needed to look frustrated when he allowed the 4-3 goal with one second left in the game. Yes, goalies would rather not allow even meaningless goals, and it does make their stat sheets look worse. But just simply getting the two points is all that matters at the end of the day. Without a big blocker save that Skinner made in the second period, maybe Edmonton wouldn’t have it in them to pull off the third period that they did. Even though the Rangers attempted their own comeback late, it wasn’t enough to scare the visitors.

The Oilers find themselves in a position kind of similar to last season after Christmas Day. They’re a handful of points out of the last Wild Card spot, they have games in hand, and two of their previous three games on this road trip are against teams below them in the standings. However, the games still need to be played and won. The teams ahead of the Oilers need to lose more than win. It’s hard but not impossible. With the NHL Trade Freeze ending, we’re going to hear random names of potential trade pieces and dissect whether or not they are worth acquiring. Edmonton’s ability to score goals is far from the problem. Their defense gets too much scrutiny despite actually being decent. Between the pipes is where they have to improve. Edmonton’s goaltending has been better lately, but will it be good enough in my last 52 articles of the regular season. Relaxation time is over, and we’re back to work. The keys to the game are…

Remember Last Time?: The 32^nd place team? They’ve lost five in a row? This should be an easy win, right? Let’s rewind the tape to November when we thought that. The lowly Sharks posted their second win of the season against the frustrated Oilers. It cost Jay Woodcroft and Dave Manson their jobs behind the bench. Not that Kris Knoblauch and Paul Coffey will get fired for losing to the Sharks as well. But the memes might be entertaining to look at if they do lose. The Oilers got 40+ shots against San Jose the last time and only scored twice. I don’t know what else you can do to improve. Don’t think about the standings; just treat this the same as any other crucial game.

Not Over Till, It’s Over: It’s not an ideal way to win every game, and not that you should go down against San Jose. But as I alluded to earlier in this article, Edmonton’s last two games have shown that any positive outcome is possible so long as you don’t give up on the game plan. This is not the same Oilers team we saw a month ago. I believe they are capable of pulling themselves out of a rut again if more bad moments come their way. Until all 60 minutes are played, keep going about your business and do whatever you need to do to help ensure a win.

Pick(ard) Your Spots: For the last three games on this road trip, including tonight, two of them are against teams below Edmonton in the standings. I know I’ve just said that you can’t only look at the standings. But if it were up to me, I would give Skinner another night off here. Give Calvin Pickard this game, have Stu rested up for a tougher game against Los Angeles on Saturday and then play Pickard against Anaheim on Sunday’s back-to-back. This key is, of course, dependent on the coaching staff’s decisions on game day.