Oilers double Senators in shots but lose in final minutes
Zach Hyman scored his 50th goal of the season, but the Edmonton Oilers couldn’t stop an Ottawa Senators power play in a 4-3 loss.
The Oilers more than doubled the Senators on the shot clock by a margin of 36-16. Goals from Hyman, Henrique, and Draisaitl were not enough as Senators goaltender Joonas Korpisalo wasn’t amazing, but was good enough when it mattered most.
“I felt like we were the better team,” said Oilers captain Connor McDavid after the game. “Ultimately, they’re a skilled team, they capitalize on mistakes and they did that tonight.”
Three of Ottawa’s five goals were on the power play.
Jakob Chychrun playing hero 🦸 pic.twitter.com/qxFGWLUAfn
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 25, 2024
PK struggles:
The Oilers could not stop the Senators power play tonight. The group consistently gave up high-quality chances and Ottawa was able to capitalize on everything they were given.
“Special teams, obviously, that was a big part of this game,” said head coach Kris Knoblauch. ”
On some nights your goaltender will be able to bail a poor PK out, but Pickard was not having one of those games. The PK ended the night with a 25% success rate, which won’t win a lot of games.
Drake Batherson ties it for the Sens 💥 pic.twitter.com/1ujOssE5uF
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 24, 2024
The Oilers did get two PP goals of their own, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the poor play at the other end of the ice.
Hyman hits 50:
The big story on the night was Hyman hitting the coveted 50-goal mark. He does it in the most fitting way possible, deflecting a Connor McDavid pass on the PP while huddled at the side of the net.
The Toronto native has established himself as one of the best net-front scorers in the league and now he becomes just the eighth Oilers player to score 50 in a season.
“It’s pretty cool, it’s a special moment for me and my family,” Hyman told reporters after the game. “This is a milestone I don’t think anybody thought I would really get to when I started my career.”
Perhaps even better than the goal was the reaction from his teammates.
That 50 goal feeling 🥰 pic.twitter.com/btP8TTFJtk
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 24, 2024
Next up for Hyman? The next goal he scores will be a career-goal 200.
Bouchard continues dominance:
After a tough outing in Toronto, Evan Bouchard had a great rebound game in the nation’s capital.
The 24-year-old picked up three assists and led the way for the Oilers tonight. That brings his point total on the season up to 73. Bouchard is having an amazing season that has only been bested by Paul Coffey in Oilers franchise history.
Edmonton gets in front thanks to Adam Henrique 👏 pic.twitter.com/qHFiGSgVHV
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 24, 2024
Bouchard sits third in defensive scoring in the NHL after surpassing Nashville Predators captain Roman Josi.
Off night for Pickard:
The Oilers have gotten some great play from backup goaltender Calvin Pickard this season, but this one was forgettable.
Despite the Oilers outshooting the Senators by a margin of 34-13 at one point, the game was knotted at 3-3 midway through the third period. The chances that Edmonton was allowing were of high quality, but you want your goalie to have one or two of those.
Drake Batherson ties it for the Sens 💥 pic.twitter.com/1ujOssE5uF
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 24, 2024
A goaltender will never have 100% of their games be masterpieces, but Pickard will most likely want to forget this one ever happened. He ended the night with 11 saves on 15 shots.
the Oilers have now dropped two straight games in regulation as their record falls to 42-23-4 on the season. Edmonton will now travel west to take on the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday.
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