If you told Oilers fans on November 22nd that over the next 10 games the team would go 8-2-0 than they would likely be ecstatic. That has been the case but losing the last two games in a row has distorted that slightly. Overall the Oilers have righted the ship in terms of limiting the egregious chances against and the team has found some of that scoring touch it lost at the beginning of the season.
The big issue which remains front and centre though is goaltending.
The Oilers dominated the Lightning for much of their last game and were up 3-2 with over 50 shots on net. A couple bad mistakes later and suddenly it's a 5-3 game for Tampa, ending a 7-4 game. Vasilevsky was unbelievable in that game and Skinner was solid for most of it but ended up making a couple key mistakes which cost Edmonton the win.
Against the Panthers, the Oilers played their first bad team game in a long stretch. Both teams ended up with 39 shots on net. Bobrovsky made 38/39 saves while Pickard made 34/39, including a disastrous final few minutes of the first period.
Stuart Skinner is a young and talented netminder but is far from an elite talent. In a perfect world, Skinner is a great 1B option; a potential starter with a similar minded player in tandem. That is what Jack Campbell was supposed to be. Campbell is currently in the AHL, struggling just as much as he did up here while also taking away valuable ice-time from Oliver Rodrigue.
There cannot be any more waiting. Campbell isn't magically going to turn into a Vezina goalie and Pickard is a #3 who should be in the AHL. It is going to cost the team in terms of assets but the Oilers need to solve their goaltending situation and they need to do it now.
Vejmelka, Blackwood, Merzilikins... there are names out there that can help this team. There Oilers were just a few points out of a Wild Card spot after their 8 game winning streak. After losing two they are 5 point back again. That is how tough it is to gain ground in the NHL.
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There will be a lineup shuffle tonight as it looks like Kane will play with McDavid and Hyman while Nuge and Foegele while shift up with Draisaitl. It's tough to split up the Hyman McDavid and Nuge line that has been so dominant but Draisaitl needs some assistance. Kane and Brown were absolute anchors to Draisaitl. In 91 minutes at 5 on 5 that line has been outscored 1-4. In 91 games that trio managed just a single 5 on 5 goal.
If this new trio doesn't work than Knoblauch is going to have to start getting creative with his lineups. The answer may still lie in giving the young guys a legitimate chance. Holloway will return sometime after Christmas and Lavoie continues to light the lamp in the AHL despite getting third line minutes. I would love to see a Holloway-Draisaitl-Lavoie line just to see what it can do.
Thanks for reading!