Game Day 4: Philadelphia at Edmonton
It’s obvious already that Edmonton Oilers have had a terrible start to their 2024-25 season. Three (home) games, three regulation losses, each of them by at least three goals. Just three goals scored in those three games, compared to fifteen against.
It’s not a pretty picture for Oilers fans. This morning the squad ranks:
- Tied for last in the league with 0 standings points.
- Tied for last (with Carolina, who have played just 1 game) in goals scored per game at 1.00
- Tied for second last in goals allowed per game at 5.00
- Last in the league in shooting percentage at 3.2%
- Second last in the league in save percentage at .783
- Last in the league in PDO at .815
A year ago the Oilers finished among the top half in the league in all of these critical statistics — even after a terrible start — but this season they have stalled out at the starting line.
It’s not just the regular season, either. It’s been every aspect of competition along the way. Consider that players representing the organization played 14 games between Sep 14-Oct 14. The results have been universally brutal:
That’s… not good.
The games mean different things at different times. The Penticton torunament is all about prospect depth; the first half of the preseason (4 games in 4 days, Connor McDavid 1 GP) about professional depth; the second half of the preseason (a game every other day, McDavid 4 GP) about preparation for the season. Then of course the games start counting for real, assuming one can interpret 0, 0, 0 standings points as “counting” at all.
Which brings us to the next phase, affectionately known in these parts as The Nuclear Option:
Tonight’s line-up
So far coach Kris Knoblauch has gone by the formula of starting McDavid and Leon Draisaitl centring their own separate lines, though he has taken to putting them together on a stacked line by the third period of each. Tonight that apparently changes, as the two lined up together in the morning skate.
The Nuclear Option is, in theory, a choice of last resort, but a pretty strong case can be made that the Oilers are there already. It’s not like Plan A has been working, now is it? Plans B and C haven’t gone so well either.
So far this season McDavid and Draisaitl have played 13 minutes together, during which time the Oilers have fired 23 shots towards the opposing net, while their competition has managed a measly 4 shot attempts in response. Somehow, the Oil have lost those minutes, 0 goals to 1. Seems hard to believe, but so does much of what we’ve seen to this point. Hard to imagine that the goals to shots share are not due for a massive correction.
Zach Hyman certainly hopes so. A 70-goal scorer (including playoffs) a year ago, he has yet to light the lamp or even find the scoresheet, with ugly boxcars of 0-0-0, -4 to this early point. Some time with the two most prolific scorers in the game over the past eight seasons might be a good way to get him going. Might also be the way to get them going: Draisaitl has just 1-0-1, -4 to this early point; McDavid, 0-2-2, -5.
The fallout sees Jeff Skinner, the best Oiler by some distance on Sunday, dropped all the way to the third line with Adam Henrique and Connor Brown.
No surprise to see Ryan Nugent-Hopkins move to 2C as he always done when The Nuclear Option is engaged. He’ll have new linemates in Vasily Podkolzin and Viktor Arvidsson. Will they have chemistry? I guess we’ll start to find out tonight.
Other changes will be implemented on the back end, where Darnell Nurse will have his third partner in four games. Tonight it’s Troy Stecher‘s turn to try to fill the gaping hole on the second pairing, after Ty Emberson and Travis Dermott had their turn. Dermott is out of the line-up entirely tonight, while Emberson draws back in on the third pairing alongside Brett Kulak.
Meanwhile, Edmonton’s all-world first pair of Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard has been pushing the play north, with the Oilers generating 67% of the shots during their 55 minutes together at 5v5, however they too have been outscored 1-2. Bouchard, who scored 82 points last season and another 32 in the playoffs, has yet to find the scoresheet. He’s struggled mightily to get his shots through, with just 4 on goal to this point compared to a shocking 19 which have been blocked.
No surprise that Knoblauch has returned to Stu Skinner in the pipes. The Oilers #1 man delivered a decent name in net against Calgary on Sunday after both he and backup Calvin Pickard both struggled mightily in their respective first starts.
Tonight’s opponent
The Philadelphia Flyers have split their opening 2 games, beating Vancouver 3-2 in the shootout to open the season, then losing 6-3 in Calgary on Saturday night. Their west coast road trip continues in Edmonton tonight before conclusing in Seattle on Thursday.
No surprise to see Travis Konecny leading the offensive charge with 2 goals in 2 games. Another player of interest is 19-year-old Matvei Michkov, the #7 overall draft pick in 2023 who likely would have gone quite a bit higher had teams had any inkling he would come to North America as quickly as he did.
#1 goalie Samuel Ersson (1-0-0, 1.85, .923) returns to the blue paint tonight. The star of the show for the Flyers may well be coach John Tortorella who always finds a way to make things interesting.
It’s not Saturday and it’s not Wednesday, traditional doubleheader nights in Canada, but its yet another late (8pm MDT) start for local fans. This time around it’s a doubleheader on American TV. Consider it a cost of doing business for having one of the most exciting and watchable teams in the NHL. Memo to Oilers: time to start playing up to that reputation.
Recently at the Cult of Hockey
STAPLES: “This might get ugly” — reaction to Oilers’ miserable start
McCURDY: Player grades against Calgary
STAPLES: “Oilers will make the Finals”, Don Cherry predicts
STAPLES: Player grades in 5-2 loss to Chicago
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