The Oilers need to eliminate the mistakes

A great part of the NHL is that you typically don’t have much time to worry about what happened in the last game. You’re back in the saddle and straight back into battle. After suffering a frustrating loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday, the Edmonton Oilers head west to take on those same Canucks tonight.

Tristan Jarry ate the majority of the blame pie in that defeat. The Jonathan Lekkerimäki goal made it 3-2 Vancouver early in the third, a shot that can never get by you in the NHL. The Canucks added a couple more shortly after, extending their lead. This was followed by a sarcastic cheer from the crowd when Jarry finally stopped one. 

Jarry made a couple of decent stops in overtime, but the review was already in by Oilers fans at that point.

There’s always hope at the start of the season that a player coming off a bad year can rebound. Jarry was that player for the Oilers, so this was not the start we all hoped for.

While Jarry’s getting the fingers pointed at him the most, the players ahead of him need to take a look in the mirror ahead of tonight, too. Too often, the Oilers made soft plays in the offensive zone and committed too much to trying to make a grade A offensive play. Those mistakes came back to bite them, with chances coming back quickly the other way. 

Take the Marco Rossi goal to make it 2-1, for example. Connor Murphy pinches on the right side, getting the puck deep. It takes an unfortunate bounce off the stanchion, giving the Canucks an easier clear to the boards. Jake Walman then hesitates about whether he should pinch because his partner is already out of position, which draws him out of the play. Colton Dach doesn’t help out either, because he doesn’t stay in the middle. It’s an avoidable mistake. 

The hits kept coming for Edmonton. This time, it came from their captain, Connor McDavid.

McDavid attempts to make a play inside to Bouchard, but is picked off immediately by the Canucks defender. Things became chaotic quickly, as the Oilers were on a line change, with Vasily Podkolzin essentially playing defence. A mix-up happens and, next thing you know, it’s 4-2 Canucks. 

You want to see McDavid be more sensible with the puck there. Zach Hyman is available if McDavid gets the puck low and extends the possession. It gives the two players coming off the bench a chance to involve themselves, too, while allowing everyone to regroup into position. Instead, a play was rushed, and defensive responsibilities were thrown out the window.

The pinnacle of all the errors came in the overtime period. In the On Everyday chat yesterday, viewers continuously commented that Ryan Shea was outworked by Paul Cotter, who had a great game. What stood out more was that both Oilers forwards were out of frame and never made themselves an option. Instead, they cheated for offence, which is what this team did endlessly last season. How did that go?

It’s time for this team to show a commitment to playing a Stanley Cup-winning brand. While the comebacks are entertaining, they can’t be your entire identity. 

Mike Babcock labelled it “ridiculous.” It’s also incredibly frustrating.

No more soft plays in the offensive zone that lead to chances against. No more unnecessary pinches when your partner is already out of position. No more soft plays defending the net. Yes, mistakes will happen, but don’t allow them to pile up. 

It’s time for this team to show more maturity because you’re not winning a playoff round, never mind a Stanley Cup, if the errors that were on display Tuesday night creep back into their games. 

Let’s see what they show us tonight.