Just where has all the offence gone?
No one could have seen this one coming. Not from such a high-octane Edmonton Oilers roster fresh off a trip to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals.
Since when does giving up just one goal in a game not equate to automatic victory for Connor McDavid and Co.?
But it’s not just Tuesday’s 1-0 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights when a lack of scoring has let down the Oilers.
It’s been a concern all season long. One that is growing.
And is the biggest thing separating them from the NHL’s top tier — which is exactly where everyone was expecting them to bounce right back into this season. With a vengeance, no less. Playing with a chip on their shoulder.
Instead, the Oilers stumbled in almost as challenged in the standings as last season’s poor start, when they hit a franchise-low 2-9-1.
This year, the bottom line has been much better. But there are still times when it looks like they don’t know which end of the stick is up.
Completely shut out
For the fourth time this year now, the Oilers have been completely shut out. And let’s not forget, they were 27 seconds away from making it five before getting a goal from defenceman Mattias Ekholm in a 6-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
This same time in the calendar last year, the Oilers had only been shut out once. And sat with a 9-12-1 record.
This year, the quantity of losses have diminished (they actually had a chance to pull within three points of the Pacific Division-leading Golden Knights on Tuesday, and watched that span more than double with the loss). But the — if you’ll excuse the term — quality of some of those losses is a concern.
Then again, who cares? Right? Missing out on two points is still only missing out on two points, no matter which way you slice defeat.
The problem arises in games like this, where one goal makes all the difference. You’d think a team like the Oilers would understand this better than anyone, after learning the hard way in a 2-1 loss back in June that ended with the Florida Panthers hoisting hockey’s Holy Grail.
Ouch, too soon?
Seriously, though. In what alternate Spidey-verse does the team led by the closest thing to a guy wearing a cape get sent off the ice without a single point from anyone?
And this isn’t putting any blame on McDavid. How much more does he have to do?
After all, one player can’t always be expected to do it himself. As it is, he sits one point behind sidekick Leon Draisaitl for the team lead with 31 points (12 goals, 19 assists) in 22 games. And no one on the team touches his 1.41 points per game average, which currently sits sixth overall in the NHL.
But after the dynamic duo, there has been a stark dropoff in productivity, year over year.
Zach Hyman might as well spell his name with extra ZZZZZs right now, after exploding for a career-high 54 goals a season ago.
He’s still shown he has a nose for the net, as well as the gumption to stand there and take the abuse. But the pucks just haven’t been going in. Currently injured, Hyman has scored three times in 20 games to sit tied for eighth on the team, and is barely on pace to break double digits — and that’s rounding up, and if he’s able to return soon.
Steady dropoff
While he’s scored twice in the past three games, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has also seen a steady dropoff from his career high of 37 goals from two years ago, which was cut in half last season and is currently on pace for 13.
Chances are, these guys are going to hit their stride and put their numbers back on the correct path, sooner or later. But it’s not just a problem on the individual level, right now.
Whatever is plaguing the Oilers offensively, it’s spreading. One look at the power play shows the issue has become systemic.
It’s gone from top two in the league during last year’s playoffs at 29.3 per cent, to 22nd overall now at 17.7 per cent.
And if goals aren’t going in on the man-advantage, why should they be expected to be any better than last year’s mark of 86 goals-for and a 12-12-1 record 25 games into last season?
This time around, they’ve scored 72 goals and sit 13-10-2, for a 14-goal difference over 25 games. Save one or two of those for Tuesday’s game, and the conversation changes from questions about getting shut out, to the Oilers tossing down their gauntlet in the Pacific.
Sure, so far Edmonton has shown an ability to beat bad teams, and even some of the good ones from time to time. They can string together two or three victories, but nothing hinting at anything the magnitude of eight- and 16-game winning streaks that turned their fortunes around a year ago.
They brought a season-high three-game streak into Vegas and left having proven the old proverb.
You know, the one about things staying there.
E-mail: [email protected]
On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge