The Edmonton Oilers will look to avoid their first three-game skid of the season when they host the last-place Vancouver Canucks on Saturday.
Edmonton, which sits atop the Pacific Division, kicked off a four-game homestand on Thursday with a 5-4 loss to the Anaheim Ducks that included a couple of problems the Oilers figured had already been addressed.
On top of blowing a lead while surrendering five goals, Edmonton handed Anaheim eight power-play chances.
Coach Mike Babcock did not have a problem with Vasily Podkolzin’s action that earned a minor penalty, a major penalty and a game misconduct for gaining a pound of flesh from Drew Helleson after a perceived dirty hit on Connor McDavid, but Babcock was not impressed with a few other infractions.
“We took a lot of average minors,” Babcock said. “… You can’t put your stick on people. You put your stick on the puck. You can’t take bad penalties. There’s no reason to do that. Just get in the way. So this is on us, we weren’t disciplined enough.”
Despite the infractions that led to Edmonton trailing 5-2 early in the third period, the Oilers made a frantic comeback attempt that fell just short.
“We needed to keep them at four. As soon as it gets to five, it’s obviously tough,” McDavid said. “We never feel like we are out of games. With our group, we feel like we can come back in any situation. We fell just a little bit short.”
For his part, McDavid scored a short-handed goal and collected three assists. He has at least one assist in his first 17 games this season — setting an NHL record — while he racked up 44 points (10 goals, 34 assists).
Meanwhile, the Canucks arrive in Edmonton in the throes of another losing streak.
Vancouver, which sits at the bottom of the league standings, suffered a 6-2 road loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday for its fourth straight defeat.
“They outcompeted us, and that’s just not OK,” forward Liam Ohgren said. “It’s a long season and we’re in a tough situation, but we’re a great group and we all trust in each other. We want to win as many games as possible … but we’ve got to play faster, more physical, better.”
The Canucks have only one victory in their past 15 outings (1-13-1), but making it all the worse was how badly they were beaten.
Unlike most of their more recent losses in which the game was competitive — the previous three defeats were by a combined four goals — the clash with the Jets was a blowout from the start. Vancouver trailed 2-0 after four minutes, was down 3-1 by the first intermission and faced a 5-1 deficit just past the midway point.
Despite playing just their 18th game, the Canucks have lost six times by three or more goals and are on pace for one of the worst records the league has seen over the past 20 years.
“Ultimately, it was a lack of effort and compete in certain … departments,” coach Manny Malhotra said. “We knew coming in that they play a very simple and direct style, and it suits them well. And we would have to be prepared and ready to compete at that level. We were on the short end of a lot of puck battles and races.”
–Field Level Media
