5 Takeaways From Oilers’ 1-0 Loss to Islanders

It was the first game since Dec. 2 (also a 1-0 loss for the Oilers, to the Minnesota Wild) that McDavid failed to record at least one point. He totalled 19 goals and 27 assists over the 20 games, which ranks as the longest single-season point streak by an Oiler since 1985-86, when Wayne Gretzky had a run of 39 consecutive games with at least one point.

McDavid has been held pointless in only seven games this season, and Edmonton has lost them all, going 0-5-2.

Oilers Run Into Hot Goaltender

In the majority of Edmonton’s regulation losses this season, the Oilers can be faulted for their performance. They’ve often been felled by a slow start or an inconsistent effort over the course of the 60 minutes.

But that wasn’t the case against the Islanders. In fact, the Oilers probably played better on Thursday than they have in a number of their wins this season. Edmonton simply ran into an elite goalie that was at his very best.

Not only did the Oilers nearly double New York in shots on goal (35-18), but they had nearly twice as many high-danger chances (19-10) as the visitors, according to Natural Stat Trick. Expected goals were 5.34 to 3.83 in favour of the Oilers, according to Money Puck.

Bounces Don’t Go in Oilers’ Favour

Edmonton came agonizingly close to scoring on multiple occasions. The Oilers actually appeared to have taken a 1-0 lead on a blast from defenceman Evan Bouchard early in the third period, but review determined that after bouncing two bars, the puck had somehow stayed out of the back of the net.

Then, with Edmonton pressing for the equalizer in the final minute, Leon Draisaitl took a pass from McDavid and wired a shot that looked to have Sorokin beat. The crowd rose to its feet and a couple Edmonton players even began raising their arms in celebration, only to watch the puck ping off the post.

Adding insult to injury is the fact that if Draisaitl scored, McDavid would have registered an assist and extended his point streak.

Ingram Makes Another Strong Impression

As the stats indicate, Ingram had a very good game between the pipes, too. The 29-year-old made several tough saves and cannot be faulted for Duclair’s goal, which was scored point-blank from the slot. The only negative thing that could be said about Ingram’s performance is that he got outduelled by Sorokin.

This latest outing continues a strong stretch of play for Ingram since being recalled from the Bakersfield Condors of the American Hockey League (AHL) last month. He’s made eight starts for Edmonton, going 4-3-1, and posted a goals-against average (GAA) of 2.49 and save percentage (SV%) of .907, both of which lead all Oilers goaltenders in 2025-26.

Oilers Could Make Goalie Move This Weekend

The question now is, has Ingram made enough of an impression to stick with the Oilers? Edmonton currently has three goalies on its roster – Ingram, Tristan Jarry, and Calvin Pickard – and speculation is that the Oilers will carry only one of Ingram or Pickard moving forward.

Pickard must clear waivers if Edmonton tries to assign him to Bakersfield. Ingram, however, is waiver-exempt for 30 days from the date he was recalled, Dec. 19, after which he would need to clear waivers should the Oilers decide to send the netminder back down to the AHL. That means that time is just about up, and there’s a very good chance Edmonton will make a transaction involving a goaltender this weekend.

The Oilers next play on Saturday (Jan. 17), against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena, before returning home to host the St. Louis Blues on Sunday (Jan. 18).