Oilers Eating Jabs on Several Fronts Before Possible Knockout Blow

The Edmonton Oilers are taking several stiff jabs in an effort to avoid a serious knockout blow ahead of this season’s playoffs. Following a 6-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken- a team that was looking to sweep in two straight seasons- the Oilers are reeling.

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Without Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, the team’s defense collapsed while Mattias Ekholm was given a maintenance day. Calvin Pickard was hung out to dry as he became the de facto starter while Stuart Skinner was dealing with an injury. Olivier Rodrigue made his debut, and the Oilers gave the Kraken several high-danger looks at their rookie netminder. This is all while learning that Trent Frederic‘s return will be delayed, and there’s still no timeline on Evander Kane.

Oh, and the Oilers are still staggered from the ever-growing blunder that was letting Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg go via offer sheets to the St. Louis Blues.

Injury News Keeps Getting Worse

While it was a positive sign that Draisaitl skated with the team this week, he’s not ready to return and could still be a week away. McDavid will be longer. That’s the bad news.

The worse news is that Stuart Skinner is day-to-day with his recent injury, and as good as Pickard has played as a backup, goaltending has been a concern this season. Should Skinner be out longer than expected- or return but not improve- having Pickard and Rodrigue is not a formula for winning playoff games.

Now, the Oilers are feeling the heat on the Trent Frederic trade front. Edmonton acquired Frederic in a deadline deal, knowing he was injured, but thinking he would be back before the playoffs and would be good to contribute. He’s believed to be another 10 days or more away, which leaves very few, if any, regular-season games to build chemistry.

Oilers Slipping in the Standings

With their second-straight loss, the Oilers now sit third in the Pacific Division, and they’re losing ground. The odds are still strong they make the playoffs, but home-ice advantage is becoming a potential problem.

The Los Angeles Kings and Vegas Golden Knights are ahead of them and have a game in hand. The Oilers aren’t going into the postseason red hot as they had been the previous two seasons. They’re limping in, and that’s not a good sign.

Offer Sheets Are Leaving a Mark on the Oilers

To make matters worse, the St. Louis Blues look like they’re getting in this season, and much of that is thanks to Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg. Both have been outstanding for the Blues, and the Oilers are being criticized heavily for letting either player walk.

The Holloway loss is especially painful, given his price tag and production this season. Holloway has 62 points in 74 games. He’s already scored 26 goals, which is everything to St. Louis that the Oilers were hoping he could have been for them.

If the Oilers and Blues somehow meet in the playoffs and either player goes to the next level in Edmonton, this will stay with the organization for years.

There is Good News…

The silver lining is that all of the Oilers’ injured players (with the exception of Evander Kane) should be back before the regular season ends. There is still time to go on a run over the final 10 games, and a solid streak erases a lot of concern.

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