Stuck In Neutral: Horrendous defensive display dooms Oilers once again

So many of the things the Edmonton Oilers wanted to see came to fruition Tuesday night in St. Paul. But in the end, it was the same old thing for these same old Oilers, who managed to score four goals on the road. 

The problem was, so poor was Edmonton’s defensive game that they needed four more to win, in a disturbing 7-4 loss to the Minnesota Wild. 

Soft, derelict defensively, and manhandled in front of their own goal, the Oilers entered the third period with a 3-2 lead — then folded up like a cardboard box in a rain storm. They resembled a group that does not have the first clue how to defend, a horrendous display by a team that entered the season with a mantra of “Cup or bust.” 

“We were real competitive those first few periods,” said two-goal man Warren Foegele. “And in the third, just a couple of easy goals against. We're kind of hurting ourselves on those ones.” 

Edmonton allowed a season-high 13 shots from the inner slot and five goals from that area. That speaks of a team that loses the net front battle night after night after night, with soft defensive play bereft of commitment or a commensurate level of battle. 

Evan Bouchard led the way on that front Tuesday, as he has all season. A fine offensive talent, Bouchard was dangerous at both ends, and likely left a larger imprint in his own zone than he did in the Wild’s. 

Edmonton is now 1-4-1 on the season and off to their worst start since 2017-18, without Connor McDavid for likely two more games at least. But even with No. 97, a team that defends like this will not make the playoffs, let alone fulfill all of those Stanley Cup predictions — prognostications that appear to have been well read by the lads in blue and orange. 

“This group has it in us to get out of this funk,” Foegele said. “We’ve just got to continue to be competitive, but we got to do it for the full 60 (minutes).” 

Evander Kane had a Gordie Howe hat trick and played with immense passion, raising his game with McDavid out of the lineup. Foegele was excellent, very likely the Oilers best forward this season. 

Goalie Jack Campbell made enough miracle saves in the second period to give his team a 3-2 lead after 40 minutes, but a team that took three too many men on the ice penalties in a single game was every bit that confused in its own zone, surrendering four goals and an empty-netter in the third. 

“That third period was far from our best — that's for certain,” said head coach Jay Woodcroft. “But there was a lot of good things that went on through 40 minutes.” 

Bouchard was as clinical on the offensive blue-line, with a goal and two assists, but his minus-3 belied a derelict game in his own zone, directly responsible for two key Wild goals. 

His game has been perhaps the worst of any returning Oiler this season, a defensive tire fire that made the difference on a night where the Oilers blew three separate leads. The Oilers need Bouchard on offence, where he is strong and possesses a world-class shot. But minus-3 tells you what you need to know, as Bouchard continues with soft and unaware play that makes him an absolute liability in his own zone. 

“Well, I think the easiest thing to do is to go to the negative,” Woodcroft said. “And I would say that I thought there was a lot of really good signs for our team. It's disappointing not to close the game out when we were up heading into the third period.” 

One positive, the Oilers scored a third-period goal after entering the game as the only NHL club not to have scored one. And this was a winnable affair, despite the fact the Oilers are now 1-9 in its last 10 games against the Wild, the team they have enjoyed the least success against going back to the 2019-20 season. 

Still, this team has claimed just three of the first 12 available points in a season where much, much more was expected. They’d better get it out of neutral fast, with American Thanksgiving less than a month away.