Will the real Edmonton Oilers please step up?
To paraphrase American hip-hop artist Eminem: Will the real Edmonton Oilers please step up?
That’s the question everyone around the hockey world is asking after the Oilers, whom many had as their Stanley Cup pick at the beginning of the 2023-24 season, lost 3-1 to the New York Islanders on Tuesday.
It’s been a Jekyll and Hyde season for Edmonton. Stretching back to Nov. 1, in their last 21 games, the Oilers have had a four-game losing streak, a three-game winning streak, a three-game losing streak, an eight-game winning streak and now a three-game losing streak that they’re currently in.
On Wednesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and Colby Cohen discuss the Oilers’ hot-and-cold ways and what needs to change.
Tyler Yaremchuk: The Oilers’ season is up and down like a toilet seat, to steal a line from their general manager Ken Holland, and I’m not sure how they can figure this out. It’s maddening to watch. They’re poor at even strength, they have a low shooting percentage and a low save percentage at five-on-five. Despite the coaching change, it feels like the same old Oilers.
Colby Cohen: I’ve been hard on Stuart Skinner throughout the season, but last night wasn’t his fault. Like a major league pitcher, you need run support, because you’re not going to win every game 1-0. I think Connor McDavid needs to shoot the puck more, he needs to be a little bit more selfish.
At the end of the day, they only scored one goal last night. Their penalty kill has been better under new head coach Kris Knoblauch, but last night, they give up a power-play goal, they give up a shorthanded goal, and you’re seeing a lot of “puck watching” in their defensive zone.
Two weeks ago, during their eight-game winning streak, I said that this is a team that can content for a Stanley Cup. But when they come back down to Earth, it’s not winning hockey. Something else has to change in their locker room, because the coaching change doesn’t seem to have done the trick.
You can watch the rest of the segment and the full episode here…