PHILADELPHIA — So the Edmonton Oilers are trying to get their act together. In hockey, that always starts with cleaning up its own end, which had been a disaster zone for much of this season.
For two games now, they’ve got things back under control back there. As such, goalie Cam Talbot has looked once again like the netminder we watched last spring.
Chicken or egg? Who cares? Less pucks going in means more chances to win.
Now, the problem: how to score more than once a night while maintaining this stiff, new defensive posture.
For the second straight game the Oilers scored once in regulation, but this time they were not rewarded with a chance to score another in overtime, as they were Thursday in Chicago. This time, Wayne Simmonds took advantage of some saggy defensive zone work and capped some nice passing by zipping home the winner with 2:15 left in the third period.
The Flyers won 2-1, and Edmonton fell to 2-5-0, losers of five of their last six. Alarmingly, Edmonton now sits 30th in the NHL with an average of exactly two goals per game this season.
"Obviously, we have to get more than one to win. We can’t rely on (Talbot) every game," said Ryan Strome.
"We’re cleaning up the defensive part, but now we’ve got the offensive part going," echoed his coach, Todd McLellan. "Perhaps a couple of players (Leon Draisaitl and Drake Caggiula) will be back in our lineup, who will make us a little quicker and a little more skilled than we are right now. But if not, this group has to get it done."
Edmonton’s only goal came on a great individual effort by Pat Maroon, who battled like a demon before gaining an angle and rifling a shot past Flyers goalie Brian Elliott. It was great work, to be sure, but not the kind of goal an NHL goalie would be proud of.
The rest of the way, Elliott saw the other 23 shots he faced and was seldom called upon to be spectacular. Edmonton also gave up just 24 shots, and at least can move on to Pittsburgh knowing their defensive structure is back intact.
"I thought we did a lot of goods things today," said stay-at-home Swede Adam Larsson. "The last three games, our game has been a lot better. We can’t get down on ourselves. This was a tough one, but we can’t get down on ourselves."
Honestly, the first two games of this Oilers road trip have more resembled the kind of hockey played in April and May, than what we usually see in October. Low shot counts. Hard, heavy hockey with limited scoring chances. Tight checking.
[snippet id=3637277]
Nothing is coming easily this fall for a team picked by many to be a Stanley Cup contender this season.
"Both tonight and (Thursday), similar style games," said centreman Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. "It’s a dagger to get scored on with two minutes left."
"There is no such thing as a good loss, but we played well," he summed up. "We still need to finds a way to come out with two points, yeah, but we can take some good things from that game."
Here’s another alarming stat: for five straight games the Oilers have given up the first goal, this time a power-play marker that drops their penalty kill to 72.4 per cent, 28th-ranked in the NHL. But it’s the last goal that really stung, on a play that began as a two-on-three the Flyers simply kept alive until Simmonds found twine.
"We were a little bit relaxed, and they took advantage of two feet of ice. The games are so tight right now, wins and losses can be based on that," McLellan said. "They made a good play. They earned it. When you compare it to some of the goals we gave up earlier in the year, at least they had to work for it."
Now on to Pittsburgh, where this staunch defensive style will come in handy. As would a few goals, of course.
[relatedlinks]
