Defensive mistakes plague Oilers in blowout loss against Stars
The Edmonton Oilers couldn’t generate much of anything during a 5-0 blowout loss to the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night.
There was every reason for the Oilers to be motivated for this one as it was against a top team in the West and a win would go a long way in helping them catch the Vancouver Canucks for the Pacific Division crown. Alas, the team decided that defence was optional and that won’t fly against a team like the Stars.
“Just got away from our game I feel like,” Mattias Ekholm said after the game. “I’m sure we’ll watch it and learn from it… big learning game for us.”
If you’re not going to defend, you better score a lot of goals, but Edmonton was stonewalled by Jake Oettinger at the other end of the ice. The Stars goaltender ended the night with 35 saves in a shutout effort.
Textbook passing from the Stars capped off by a Seguin goal! 🤌 pic.twitter.com/OUFkGnWAmi
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 4, 2024
Believe it or not, this game was well within grasp for the Oilers at one point. The score was 1-0 for Dallas at the midway point of the second period and Edmonton had hit three goal-posts through the first 30 minutes of the game. If one of those went in, this could have been a much different game.
Starting Calvin Pickard was an interesting choice by head coach Kris Knoblauch. For a game against such a difficult opponent, you would think this would be an ideal game for Stuart Skinner to get the nod. Instead, the sophomore goaltender looks like he will start on Friday night.
“It’s disappointing, but we got a couple weeks to figure that out, make sure that doesn’t happen again,” Ryan Nugent-Hopkins told media after the game. “Talk about leaving [Pickard] out there to dry… there’s no nights where you can do that, no matter who you’re playing.”
Pickard wasn’t the reason why the team lost, but he didn’t have the greatest night. He allowed five goals on 32 shots to end the game with a less-than-stellar .844 save percentage.
EDM DAL G74. April 3, 2024. Jamie Benn goal. 0-4. 🎥: Sportsnet | NHL pic.twitter.com/eY4we4Qpjl
— Nation Network Media (@NationNMedia) April 4, 2024
The Oilers drop their second in a row and pick up a single point out of a possible four on this short two-game road trip. They fail to gain ground on the Canucks and now see their record fall to 45-24-5 on the season. Edmonton remains just three points up on the Vegas Golden Knights for second place in the division.
“Too easy to play against,” Knoblauch said of his team tonight. “We still have some work to do to catch up to [the Stars].
“There will be some reminders of what we got away from and what we can’t do against good teams.”
All the team can do now is dust themselves off and regroup for a game against the Colorado Avalanche back home at Rogers Place on Friday night.