AVALANCHE BURY OILERS
McDavid and Co. lose 4th straight
Brutal.
There wasn’t much else to say about how the Edmonton Oilers laid down and died Sunday night in a miserable 4-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche.
If the plan was to snap their three-game losing streak at the expense of a team on a five-game losing streak, nobody told the Oilers because they didn’t show up.
For a team playing at home and wanting to prove it is not the same band of underachievers who let everyone down last year, this was a miserable effort. The Oilers lost puck battle after puck battle, served up needless turnover after needless turnover and spent the whole night chasing a game that was never in reach.
They gave up the first goal 26 seconds in, trailed 2-0 at the first intermission, got their goalie hooked, trailed 4-0 at the second intermission, got booed by their own fans and fell out of the final wildcard spot in the West.
Counting the goals for the Avs were Tyson Barrie, Mikko Rantanen, Carl Soderberg and Alexander Kerfoot.
The Oilers put up the usual late surge that happens when a team with a 4-0 lead takes its foot off the gas and tries to run out the clock, but when it really mattered and the game was up for grabs they were a mess. Ty Rattie was the only Oiler to solve Avs goaltender Semyon Varlamov, who made 26 saves overall.
All in all, just a weak performance in an important statement game.
They’ve now been outscored 17-6 in their last four games and 8-2 in their last two.
More disturbingly, that’s the second game in a row they looked frightening close to last year’s team.
YUCK
Just a dreadful start for Edmonton. Again.
The Oilers weren’t ready to go and fell behind 2-0 for the fourth straight game. Once again the Oilers eased their way into the game, waiting to see what the other guys were going to do.
The other guys imposed their will on the night and walked away with an easy two points.
BACKUP PLAN
Cam Talbot didn’t get a lot of help in front of him and didn’t last long in the net. He got the hook after three goals on 15 shots through the first 25 minutes.
He wasn’t to blame by any stretch, but on a night when the Oilers were mediocre on all fronts, he didn’t look out of place.
Backup Mikko Koskinen came in, partly to see if he might be able to shut the door and partly to light a fire under the team, and two shots later it was 4-0.
ALONE AT THE TOP
Connor McDavid came into the game one point off the lead in the NHL scoring race. The two-time and defending Art Ross Trophy winner lost ground in the race, but has to be more frustrated with the way the team is going.
He has one assist in the last three games and, as it was at the start of the season, if he doesn’t lead the offensive charge there is no offensive charge.
It’s another reminder the Oilers have the most dynamic player in the world playing at the top of his game and remain a middling organization unable to turn its lottery win into a contender.
RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW
With Jesse Puljujarvi and Kailer Yamamoto farmed out to Bakersfield, it narrows the focus on Edmonton’s right wing, where GM Peter Chiarelli is counting on Ty Rattie, Alex Chiasson and Drake Caggiula to carry the load.
Chaisson and Caggiula combined for 11 goals during a hot streak but have cooled off. Expecting them to keep scoring like that is a big ask, but the team is running out of options.