The Edmonton Oilers’ 4–3 shootout loss to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night felt all too familiar — which is becoming a real problem. For the sixth time this season, the Oilers built a two-goal lead, only to watch it slip away.
With two goals in under 10 minutes, the game started promisingly. Connor McDavid, Jack Roslovic, Stuart Skinner, and Leon Draisaitl looked sharp early, with Roslovic adding two assists to his growing total of points as the winger is coming on strong.
Like many games of late, the Oilers seemed poised to claim a win.
But as has become their calling card, the game turned.
Defensive misreads piled up, puck management faltered, and Dallas capitalized with the Oilers’ unable to close a game and hold a lead.
When Miro Heiskanen tied it late in the third, few were surprised. When the Stars sealed it in the shootout, the Oilers’ bench looked like they’d seen this movie before.
Head coach Kris Knoblauch admitted afterward that the Oilers need to start figuring this out. “We hope it’s just growing pains and we are learning from this and getting better from this.” Edmonton will have time to go through video, work on systems, and dissect what’s gone wrong. “We’ve got a little bit of a break before we play on Saturday, but we know that the next two or three weeks is going to get probably even more difficult for us,” said Knoblauch. “So we need to step up our game.”
The Oilers come home for one of their few games at Rogers Place on Saturday, then play the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday before heading out for seven straight on the road.
If it’s not terrible starts, it’s not finishing strong that has been the story of their season. The Oilers are among the league leaders in games lost after leading by two, a stat that should be bothersome. October is over, which means any excuses that this team had for a poor start should be too.
It’s not enough to be pulling one point out of a game and looking at the glass as half full. This team isn’t going to beat the better NHL clubs, not the way they’re playing.
Oilers Issues Aren’t Mysterious, They’re Just Not Getting Addressed
The Oilers’ predictable, unresolved issues plague their performance. Unaddressed five-on-five struggles and defensive lapses cost them crucial wins.
Roslovic has quietly emerged as one of the few consistent positives, driving play and producing offense on Edmonton’s middle six. McDavid is starting to heat up, now with 21 points in 15 games. Andrew Mangiapane is on pace for over 20 goals, and the second line looks like it has chemistry. Still, individual and line success doesn’t offset the frustration of squandered points.
As November rolls along, the Oilers have to stop saying they’re working hard… and start working harder. That means from puck drop to the final horn.
Edmonton sits in the middle of a crowded Pacific Division pack, with Colorado (first in the NHL) up next and little margin for error.
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