3 Takeaways From Utah’s 7-1 Loss to Oilers

It was a massacre in northern Alberta on Tuesday as the Edmonton Oilers destroyed the Utah Hockey Club 7-1. It was an embarrassing and bad loss for Utah as they lost a valuable two points and sank further back in the wild card race. Here are some takeaways from Tuesday’s game.

Does Karel Vejmelka Need a Break?

For the first time in his career, Karel Vejmelka is a starting goaltender on a team that is trying to be competitive. He’s already broken his career high in wins, and he’s on pace to play in more games than he has before in a single season. His stats have consistently been in the top 10 of all goaltenders in the NHL. There’s no doubt that Vejmelka is having a fantastic season.

However, every goalie is human and is bound to have a bad game. Tuesday’s game was certainly that as Vejmelka let in three goals in the first period and was pulled after the first period. It brings up a good question. Does Vejmelka need a break?

Let’s look at the argument from both sides. Starting with the side that thinks Vejmelka needs a break, he has played a lot of hockey recently. His start against the Oilers was his 11th straight. Since acquiring Vejmelka and Connor Ingram, head coach André Tourigny truly hasn’t implied there’s a starter. Yes, Ingram did start most of the games down the stretch last season, but he never had a run like this. 

There is more of an argument though in not letting Vejmelka have a break. Utah is in the playoff hunt. When you’re this close to a playoff spot, you always ride the hot hand. It makes perfect sense why Utah hasn’t given Vejmelka an off day. Every game is a must-win, and Vejmelka is the goaltender they trust most. Most playoff teams do this. Look at Connor Hellebuyck with the Winnipeg Jets.

You could argue that benching Vejmelka after the first period was his rest. After you’re down 3-0 to the Oilers after one period, you’re most likely not going to win the game, so why continue playing your main goalie when he’s played 11 straight games? You definitely don’t want to injure him, especially when the games are getting more crucial down the final stretch. Tourigny did the right thing and put Jaxson Stauber in to give him some playing time, but more importantly, give Vejmelka the rest he deserves.

“I think at that point, it was an opportunity to give him a little bit of rest and get Stauber some work,” Tourigny said. “Obviously you never know that can spark something.”

While it certainly didn’t spark anything, the most important thing is that Vejmelka didn’t have to waste any more time in what eventually became a massacre. In the first period, however, despite letting in the three goals, it wasn’t really his fault. He actually made some really good saves before the floodgates opened.

“Too bad we let Veggie down,” Tourigny said. “I think Veggie has been good for us for a long, long time.”

Utah will play again on Thursday. You can certainly expect Vejmelka to start that game as the team begins a critical stretch. They’ll need every win they can get, and they’re going to count on Vejmelka to help lead them there.

An Offensive Juggernaut

When the Oilers are on, they are one of, if not the best offensive team in the whole NHL. Utah got to experience that firsthand on Tuesday. Every period was a multi-goal one for the Oilers. It seems like every player on the team had a great game. Zach Hyman had two goals and three points. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had three points. Connor McDavid had two points. Mattias Ekholm had three points. Surprisingly, Leon Draisaitl didn’t have a single point, which ended his multi-game point streak.

It was clear who the better team was. However, this isn’t the first time the Oilers have shown off their offense against Utah. In the three games these two have played against each other this season, the Oilers have scored 15 goals including four or more in each game. On the other hand, Utah has scored five.

The Oilers are a very good team. They have two of the best hockey players on the planet and are coming off a playoff run that saw them reach Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, and they’re looking to return to the Final this season as well. Utah was outmatched. It’s that plain and simple, even though they shouldn’t be losing this bad at this point of the season.