The Edmonton Oilers entered Thursday night’s game versus the Tampa Bay Lightning looking to tie a franchise-record ninth-straight win. Things didn’t start particularly great as they found themselves in a 2-0 hole early in the first, but quickly turned around as they were able to score three unanswered in what was a fantastic second period to give themselves the lead.
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The third period was a much different result, as they gave up three unanswered to fall by a 7-4 final. It was a frustrating result, but one that the Oilers can still take plenty of positives away from. With that said, here are the four main takeaways from this outing.
Goaltending the Main Factor
Goaltending is arguably the most important position in hockey, and that proved true in this one. At one end, you had Andrei Vasilevskiy who was simply fantastic all night, as the Oilers realistically could have had a three or four-goal lead heading into the third. By the time the second period had ended, he had kicked aside 37 of the 40 shots he had faced.
At the other end, Stuart Skinner allowed two early goals, but seemed to settle in afterward and was making the saves he had to. That all changed in the third, as Steven Stamkos’ second goal of the game to tie things up at three seemed to rattle him. He then allowed a questionable goal off the stick of Nikita Kucherov, before completely whiffing on a shot from distance to give Stamkos a hat trick.
At the end of the game, Vasilevskiy stopped 49 of the 53 shots he faced for a .925 save percentage (SV%), while Skinner allowed five on 22 for a SV% of .772. To the credit of the Oilers’ young netminder, he has been much better as of late, but he was simply not good enough in this one.
Oilers Dominate from Start to Finish
As mentioned, the Oilers have positives to take away from this game. The Lightning, despite a mediocre start to the season, boast plenty of firepower, but you wouldn’t have known it in this one. The Oilers dominated in shots and possession from start to finish, and are clearly back to being an elite team after what was a rough start to the season.
While the 7-4 final doesn’t look like a particularly close game, it isn’t telling of what took place, as three of those seven goals came on an empty net. If the Oilers can play like that moving forward, they will come out on top far more often than not.
Bouchard’s Point Streak Continues
We’ve gotten a bit of everything from Evan Bouchard this season. When the Oilers were struggling, his defensive mistakes were coming plenty and often, taking away from the solid work he was doing at the offensive end of the ice. Now that they are back to playing better hockey, it is quickly becoming apparent once again just how talented of a player he is.
Bouchard was able to record two assists in this one, which gives him points in 13 straight. On the season, he now has 32 points in 27 games, putting him on pace for 97 on the year. While that pace may slow down, it is a good reminder that despite his shortcomings defensively, this is a player that will help them win games more often than not.
Brown’s Struggles Ongoing
While the majority of Oilers have really improved over the last month, the same cannot be said for Connor Brown. At times he has appeared more involved, but for the 20th time in his 21 games this season, he was held without a point. He has just one assist on the year, the worst of any current player on the Oilers roster.
The Oilers have been patient with Brown, who was expected to start slow after coming off of a torn ACL. That said, the patience has to be wearing thin, as he is giving them a whole lot of nothing right now. You can’t help but wonder how much leash he has left.
Looking Ahead for the Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers will have the day off tomorrow before getting right back at it on Saturday night in a game versus the Florida Panthers. As dejecting as this latest loss feels right now, this team looks as confident as ever, and should be more than capable of putting together a big bounce-back performance.
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