Oilers suffer surprise loss to one of the NHL’s worst teams

The Edmonton Oilers couldn’t overcome a first-period collapse as they fell to the Columbus Blue Jackets by a score of 4-2.

Blame it on the early start time, the rigours of the road trip, or just plain underestimating their underpowered opponent, the Oilers looked as flat as can be on Thursday night. If missed passes and lethargic skating could win games, Edmonton would have run the Blue Jackets out of the building. Alas, games aren’t won that way and the Oilers got what they deserved from a sleepy effort.

It was a highly anticipated match as both Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick, who were acquired in a trade with the Anaheim Ducks yesterday, made their Oilers debuts. Carrick was the more noticeable player in this one, dropping the gloves against tough guy Mathieu Olivier in his first period with the club.

It was a fight that was supposed to bring the team some energy, but Henrique says they just weren’t able to respond.

“Sammy does a great job going out there, that’s a big fight, it’s a tough job to do,” said Henrique. “We just got to respond there after, have a good shift after there with some energy.”

A less-than-friendly welcome.@BlueJacketsNHL forward Mathieu Olivier dropped the gloves and traded punches with Sam Carrick, who is playing in his first game with the Oilers.#CBJ pic.twitter.com/TO2OtOp4cX

— Bally Sports Columbus (@BallySportsCBUS) March 8, 2024

Things didn’t start well for Edmonton as a few defensive lapses quickly found them in a 3-0 hole after the first 20 minutes. Calvin Pickard, who was in the Oilers’ net for this one, wasn’t all that great in the opening frame either, allowing three goals on 10 shots.

Oilers forward Warren Foegele knows that the team was not performing up to their standard to start this one.

“We weren’t executing on plays and we were just a little bit slower than them,” he told reporters following the loss. “We gotta show up for 60 minutes and as a group, we didn’t do that.”

A bright spot for the team came in the second period as Connor McDavid had an amazing kicking assist to Zach Hyman who got the team on the board. The assist was McDavid’s 100th of the season, making it the seventh season that the Oilers’ captain has hit the century mark.

zach hyman gets the oilers on the board. pic.twitter.com/pPkWIlKYS6

— zach (@zjlaing) March 8, 2024

Edmonton did launch a late comeback bid in the third period, with Corey Perry making it a one-goal game with a powerplay marker, but it wasn’t enough as the Blue Jackets got some timely saves from Daniil Tarasov and an empty-netter to break the Oilers’ five-game win streak.

It would be easy to blame the loss on the team being a bit unsettled with a few new faces in the lineup, but head coach Kris Knoblauch isn’t making excuses.

“I don’t think we were ready to play,” Knoblauch told the media. “Breaking the puck out and then also on the line entries against, we were just giving it away so much… it was just execution that didn’t happen.”

The Oilers’ record now drops to 38-21-2 and 78 points on the season. The Vegas Golden Knights play the Vancouver Canucks later tonight, so there will be some changes to how far ahead or behind the Oilers are of either team.

They will try to start a new streak against the Buffalo Sabres in a matinee on Saturday morning.