Prior to the game against the Avalanche I wrote about how that game would be far more of a statement game than the Islanders matchup. Against the Islanders the Oilers proved they had the ability to be a dominant possession team and play a full 60 minute game. Far more important than that to me was doing it a second time in a row. All season we have seen flashes of greatness, followed by a return to mediocre play and unforced mistakes.
Edmonton took on the Avalanche, playing the team that bounced them in the Western Conference Finals in four straight for the first time this season. This Avalanche team is also not nearly as good as the one that won the Cup last season and is dealing with a plethora of injuries. The Oilers should have looked motivated to get some revenge.
Instead we got a game where the only time the Oilers were able to look good was on the powerplay. They were absolutely manhandled at 5 on 5 and despite a 2-0 lead, looked like they should be losing 6-2. A huge shoutout to Stuart Skinner for keeping the team in the game. Shots at 5 on 5 were 33-15 for Colorado with the Oilers outchanced 12-6 in High Dangers.
We've all heard the saying that it doesn't matter how you win, only that you do. Despite the numbers above and all the scoring chances, the Oilers were winning this game 2-0 going into the third. Edmonton should have committed to a team defensive game and spent the period limiting Colorado's chances against. Maybe that was the game-plan but it clearly wasn't executed as the Avalanche turned things up, had even more shots on net and before 10 minutes had passed it was a tie game.
The first goal against was MacKinnon walking through Nurse and Ceci with zero effort to put the Avalanche on the boards. I recognize the elite skill of MacKinnon and we have seen McDavid do the same thing to elite defenders but that also doesn't excuse Nurse and Ceci for looking like barely coherent pylons.
The second goal against involved a lengthy period in the Oilers end where McDavid and his line had multiple opportunities to take the puck away and at least relieve pressure. The absolute total pressure that Colorado had allowed them to make a partial line change and find a streaking Brad Hunt rolling in to take the shot that beat Skinner clean.
I'm not a +/- fan for the most part as it's a fairly misleading stat when looked at as a whole. That being said McDavid being a -3 on the night should get some notice. In a game where the captain should have been the best player on the Oilers and rally his teammates to do the same, he looked lacklustre at best.
The Leon Draisaitl, Hyman, and RNH line also had a huge negative impact on the team. The line was abysmal at 5 on 5, played most of their minutes against the MacKinnon line and was outshot 11-1. They were utterly ineffective and not only do they get negative marks from me but Jay Woodcroft and the coaching staff for not breaking the line up or at least changing the matchup. It was a home game and Woodcroft had the last change. It was a conscious decision to keep that line together against MacKinnon.
I cannot remember ever seeing such a drastic change in a coach's style between seasons. Woodcroft last season was a man who got his team to buy into a team defensive system where the blueliners were standing opponents up at the blueline and breaking up cycles. He wasn't afraid to put rookies and younger players into key roles and play them up in the lineup. He constantly rolled the 11/7 to great success and used that to make some sneaky line changes and get McDavid or Draisaitl into a better matchup when needed.
We aren't seeing any of those things consistently this season. Why? Last season there was less pressure on Woodcroft to come in and he felt he could be riskier and is now more worried about keeping his job? Is Ken Holland forcing the coach to make certain lineups and play certain guys more or less? Are the top players in the room turning a deaf ear to their coach and are dictating where and how much they play? None of these options are good.
If this team misses the playoffs Ken Holland should be out of a job and Jay Woodcroft, a coach I thought should be Edmonton's coach for the next 5+ years will be looking for new work as well. Whoever is making these decisions need to recognize that things are not working. Force the team to buy in, tell the GM to butt out, or recognize you have gotten away from the systems that made you successful in the first place. Whatever the reason, no one is benefitting from the way things are right now.
Ken Holland needs to make a move and fans should be concerned on what that move is. We have heard constantly from media members that Jacob Chychrun is not a good fit in Edmonton (their reasons why are pretty dumb), and that Holland does not want to add a player with too much term... even though a year ago we only heard that Holland would trade the first round pick for a player with term. The absolute lacklustre performance against the Avalanche is proof enough to me that this team is incapable of stringing a long period of success together. It is no longer early in the season, we are just passing the half-way mark. If they haven't figured it out by now why would we believe they suddenly will now?
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Tonight the Oilers begin a four game road trip against four divisional opponents in the Kings, Ducks, Sharks, and Golden Knights. With where the Oilers sit in the standings right now, they need to at bare minimum go 3-1-0 on this trip. That's a tall ask and once again we have not seen anything this season that should suggest they can accomplish that.
This is not the worst Oilers season in the last decade but it is shaping up to be the most disappointing. I will continue to write blogs like this until the team proves me wrong.