The Edmonton Oilers are one of five NHL teams that haven’t won three games in a row this season. Through 31 games, they’ve been unable to string together three solid performances.

The Oilers lost 4-2 in Long Island, 3-2 at Seattle, 5-4 at Columbus and lost 4-3 in OT vs. Buffalo last night with an opportunity to win three in a row. It’s not like they are facing dominant teams with a chance to build some momentum.

The Sabres limped into Edmonton losers of three in a row, including a 7-4 loss in Calgary Monday night, yet Edmonton was unable to get a lead at any point in the game. They couldn’t jump on the Sabres like they did Seattle and Winnipeg in their previous two games, and the Sabres took the lead late in the first period on Josh Doan’s power play goal. The Sabres went 14 minutes without a shot in the first period, but Edmonton only had five and only one decent scoring chance, with Leon Draisaitl hitting the goal post.

The Oilers’ second period was dreadful. Alex Lyon started the second after David Tomášek crashed into Colten Ellis late in the first while driving to the net.

The Oilers didn’t get a shot on Lyon until 4:40 into the second period. The shots were 14-3 and the score was 2-0 for Buffalo in the first 15:26 of the period. The Sabres also had a goal disallowed that was deemed a glove pass. Edmonton got dominated in the middle period on home ice by a team that played the night before and had just inserted its second goalie of the game. It wasn’t until Blake Malenstyn shot the puck over the glass with 4:29 remaining in the period that the Oilers gained some life with some shots on the man advantage.

Then in the third period the Oilers woke up, led by Connor McDavid. McDavid was flying all game and scored 10 second into the third and then tied the game with one second remaining. He willed them to a point, but then he, along with Evan Bouchard, got caught puck watching and glided away from the front of the net in overtime, and that left Alex Tuch wide open to bury the game winner.

The Oilers had played quite well in previous games in Tampa Bay, Florida, Seattle and home to Seattle, Minnesota and Winnipeg, but they are still struggling to piece together winning performances in a row. I thought they played much better in their 1-0 loss to Minnesota than they did last night. They didn’t manage the puck as well as they should. They took six minor penalties and the Sabres scored twice. In their last eight games, where they have played fairly well in most of them, the Oilers have averaged 3.63 times shorthanded/game. That is third most in the NHL over that span. They are 24th in power play opportunities (2.63).

In their first 23 games the Oilers were the second-least penalized team in the NHL at 2.50 TS/game. I don’t mind taking aggressive penalties, like Tomášek driving the net, but Edmonton had too many stick infractions or interference calls for my liking last night. Evan Bouchard, who has played quite well the past month, had a ghastly turnover on Tage Thompson’s 2-0 goal. Giveaways will happen, but the 10-bell giveaways that lead directly to a goal within seconds are killers. Bouchard is an excellent puck handler. That goal should never happen, especially three feet from the net.

The Oilers had played much better the past few weeks, except for the Dallas game, but that Dallas game, combined with last night’s overall performance (third period excluded), are why the Oilers can’t get on a winning streak, even a short three-gamer.

GOOD NEWS…

The good news for the Oilers is that they are still in the first wildcard spot, despite struggling to find consistency all season. Vegas lost in a shootout to the Islanders last night, while San Jose, Winnipeg and St. Louis all lost as well. Teams above them or below them aren’t getting hot either. Edmonton is five points back of Vegas and three behind Los Angeles for second and third in the Pacific division and have yet to play either of them. However, they are also only one point ahead of Utah and San Jose, two up on Chicago and three ahead of the Jets and Blues.

They are far from being in a good place, standings wise, or play wise, but their inconsistent start hasn’t buried them in the standings. Earlier in the season, they had a difficult schedule with travel and many games in a short period, but last night they were well-rested and hadn’t travelled in a week. There was no excuse to not have the Sabres on their heels at any point in the first 40 minutes like they did for most of the third period. It was a wasted opportunity to win three in a row and set themselves up for a good homestand. Now they have to beat Detroit just to win three of five at home. The Red Wings will be playing their third game in four nights and the second half of a back-to-back. That is another scheduling advantage, and the Oilers can’t waste it like they did last night.

QUICK NOTES…

— McDavid’s game-tying goal wasn’t the latest tying goal of the night. The Anaheim Ducks tied the game with 0.1 seconds remaining in Pittsburgh, when Bennett Sennecke tried passing across the crease and Erik Karlsson hit it with his glove, and it slid between Arturs Silovs’ pads. The Ducks won the game in a shootout. Anaheim, who is trying to get back in the playoffs for the first time since 2018, has some positive mojo going this season, and that victory last night only strengthens the belief of a young team. If they can remain healthy, I see them making the playoffs.

— Ville Husso stopped 44 of 47 shots for the Ducks last night. He is 5-1 in his six starts with the Ducks. He started the season in the American League and was recalled when Lukas Dostal got hurt November 22nd. Then Petr Mrazek got hurt November 30th, and now Husso has started five in a row. He got a mercy pull after 40 minutes against Utah with the Ducks trailing 4-0 where they lost 7-0, but he’s been solid in his other starts. When Dostal and Mrazek return it will be interesting to see what the Ducks do with Mrazek or Husso. Mrazek is in the final year of his $4.25m deal, while Husso has another year on his $2.2m AAV. A main reason no one claimed Husso on waivers initially was his contract, and maybe that remains true when the Ducks goalies are healthy, but they are another team with three goalies with NHL experience, and I wonder if Husso’s play would entice a team to put in a waiver claim or try to facilitate a trade when Mrazek returns.

— Sennecke is having a great rookie season for the Ducks. He leads all rookies in goals (10) and points (26). He has 22 points at even strength. Many were surprised, including Sennecke himself, when the Ducks took him third overall at the 2024 NHL Draft, but he’s shown the scouts knew what they were doing.

— I’ve noticed a few articles suggesting/wondering if Connor McDavid is in decline due to his 5×5 scoring. I understand why it is written, but I strongly caution those who believe it to be true. I remember many similar articles being written about Alex Ovechkin. After scoring 32 and 38 goals in 2011 and 2012 many said his days of being a 50-goal scorer were over. He’s had five seasons of 50+ goals since then, another with 49 goals, he had 48 goals in 68 games in 2020 when the league shut down and he scored 44 goals in only 65 games last year.

People point to McDavid’s points/60 at 5×5 and his overall point totals 5×5. They are down this season and were last year as well. But a quick look at his career 5×5 production and you will notice it isn’t the first time he’s had a dip.

In 2018 he produced 3.17 P/60 at 5×5.

In 2019 it was 2.82

In 2020 it was 2.84.

Then in 2021 it was 3.58.

Then in 2022 it was 2.62

In 2023 it was 2.71.

In 2024 it was back up to 3.5.

In 2025 it was 2.65.

So far this season it is 2.08. But if you look closely, he is up to 2.61 in his last 12 games after a slow start.

It is odd in pro sports how some want to be the first to declare a superstar is on the decline, or at least to suggest it. I get it. It creates content and conversation, but all you need to do is look at superstars in the NHL like Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby and in other sports to see the truly elite players are extending their dominant periods longer than ever. I’d be very cautious of thinking McDavid’s days as a top producer at 5×5 are behind him.