Usual suspects show up in latest loss
PK, top players continue slump
The Edmonton Oilers are going to need a smaller measuring stick.
The one the St. Louis Blues used to beat them down Thursday night is a little more than they can handle right now.
The 4-1 home ice defeat, spoiling their chance to win two games in a row at home this season, was another wake-up call for Edmonton.
After a disastrous 3-7-1 start the Oilers were slowly getting things turned around (4-2-1 in their previous seven games) and saw St. Louis as an opportunity to prove how far they’ve come.
As it turns out, not quite far enough.
The Blues, coming off their longest losing streak of the season, two games, also had something to prove and they did it in convincing fashion. They were by far the better team in this match up.
All the usual suspects were present in Edmonton’s latest loss:
The PK gave up a goal, the offence was anemic, the giveaways were painful to watch, and once again, Edmonton’s best players were trying to pass the puck into the net.
So now they head back out for a five-game road trip with a 7-10-2 record, their game still full of holes, one long slump away from being buried in the playoff race by the American Thanksgiving.
Otherwise things are looking pretty good.
As expected, with two teams wanting to focus on defence, there wasn’t a lot of offence in the first period, just two goals, but they came in a hurry.
The Oilers and Blues both scored on the same man advantage, with Vladimir Sobotka scoring short-handed after a Cam Talbot giveaway at 15:14 and Ryan Strome undoing the damage 29 seconds later with a rocket under the crossbar.
St. Louis took over momentum in the second period, outshooting Edmonton 13-3 in the first 10 minutes, but Talbot more than made up for his first period gaffe with handfuls of five-star saves.
The Blues finally made it 2-1 when Alex Steen had time enough to whack in his own rebound from close range.
St. Louis pulled away for good in the third with two goals two minutes apart (5:44 and 7:28) from Brayden Schwartz, the first one set up by Connor McDavid’s offensive zone giveaway.