Pretty much please: Can the Edmonton Oilers give up the first goal of the game?

tomtidgewellNovember 19, 2022

EDMONTON, ALBERTA – OCTOBER 15: Cody Ceci #5 of the Edmonton Oilers celebrates a goal against the Calgary Flames during the first period at Rogers Place on October 15, 2022 in Edmonton, Canada. Photo by Cody MacLachlan /Getty Images

The Edmonton Oilers are 9-8 in 17 games this year. This was his 7 out of 8 defeats and the opposing team scored the first goal of the game.

Just because the Oilers give up the first goal of the game doesn’t mean they’re destined to lose. They’ve dug back three times this year in a game they’ve been behind since the beginning, the first against Vancouver and then back-to-back wins over the Calgary Flames and Nashville Predators.

But the Oilers have lost seven of the 10 games in which the opposition has scored their first goal, including the last four times this happened, Wednesday night against Dallas, Washington, Carolina and Los Angeles. A goal from the relatively low-threat Los Angeles o-zone cycle. However, the Oilers began to lose the puck battle, giving too much gap, missing a read and losing position, screened the goalkeeper and beaten Edmonton’s netminder with an outside shot.

What is the cause of this rut? The Oilers can play a strong defense, but too often one or he is moved to do so after losing to two opponents.

In the 2022 playoffs, with the Los Angeles Kings going 3-2 in a 7-game series, the Oilers finally woke up and took time to anchor their hard-core slogan, hard-on-the-puck, and smart players. I was. -The defensive habits your team needs to consistently beat good teams and win tough games.

Edmonton players — from top players like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl to their third pairing d-men and fourth line grinder — from the opening whistle to committing to solid defensive play, the Oilers You’ll have a hard time getting much over .500.

Despite discovering the defensive prowess and attention to detail they need in the 2022 playoffs, they’re still out of that commitment.

Looking at the players who made the most mistakes in their first goal of the year (which we track in our video review on Cult of Hockey), we saw the failure of the entire team.

Dylan Holloway in Game 1
Holloway, Evan Bouchard, Ryan Murray, Ryan Nugent Hopkins, Jack Campbell in Game 2
Leon Drysitel and Stuart Skinner in Game 3
Brett Clack, Zach Hyman and RNH return for Game 5
Tyson Barry and Connor McDavid in Game 9
Campbell Again, Drysitel Again, Cody Cesi and Darnell Nurse in Game 10
RNH third, Nurse again, Ceci again, Hyman again, McDavid again in Game 12
Warren Vogel in Game 13
McDavid third, Barry again, Nurse third in game 15
In Round 17, Dryseitl for the third time, Hyman for the third time, Murray again, Skinner again and Vogel again.

Again, this is a collaborative effort. It’s nobody in particular. Team failure.

It’s up to all players to tense up and focus on defensive chores, hold off that opponent’s offense until Oil establishes its own break on offense, and pump the first goal himself.

The Edmonton Oilers are capable of that sort of defensive effort. They have had many matches that have shown good habits. They must now make it their religion. If so, this team can challenge for the Stanley Cup.

Goal scoring is there.

But do you have defensive habits?

Not always.

Not enough when it matters, like at the start of the game.