So much for the 5-game winning streak. The Oilers have returned home with a mighty thud, 2 straight regulation losses. They are now a very Oiler-like 5-4-1 in the last 10 games which is not even going to tread water in Gary Bettman's NHL, let alone gain ground on the top 8 in the West.
More disturbing still is the team's inability to win on home ice. This was a problem last year that Pat Quinn addressed as a priority matter, yet after a promising start the team's home record stands at a desultory 8-7-2, or as some might put it, 8-9. That's four straight losses at Rexall, with only one of those (San Jose) garnering so much as a Bettman Point.
Nashville Predators became the latest team to walk into our building, have their way with us, and walk out with all the points. If there's one team in the league that has the ability to make Oilers look bad, it's the Preds. Tonight they had a bit of hiccup as the hosts roared out of the gate to a quick 2-0 lead, forcing Barry Trotz to play both of his major cards -- calling his time out and giving his starting goalie the hook-- just 5 minutes in. His team picked it up after that and Oilers wilted badly, getting outscored 6-1 over the last 55 minutes.
The Preds were full value for the win, as were the Oilers for the loss. Jeff Deslauriers had a tough night and didn't get a lot of help either. All three defence pairs were exposed on first period goals-against that extinguished that early lead, and the forwards were no hell in the defensive zone either. A harsh night all around.
A few stats after the jump:
Faceoffs (2 or more):
Cogliano 3/3 = 100%
Penner 6/9 = 67%
Potulny 8/13 = 62%
Stortini 4/7 = 57%
O'Sullivan 1/4 = 25%
Gagner 2/9 = 22%
Stone (?) 2/10 = 20%
Oilers 27/57 = 47%
Four guys held their own, the others got owned.
* * *
Corsi by line (listed in order of EV TOI):
Stone -8, Nilsson -13, Horcoff -15
Gagner +7, Penner +6, Brule +6
Cogliano +3, Moreau -1, Potulny -5
Stortini 0, Jacques -5, O'Sullivan -8
Visnovsky -5, Smid -8
Souray -2, Gilbert -4
Grebehkov -1, Staios -2
Oilers -11
Not quite sure how come the Horcoff line got more EV time than the Gagner trio.
* * *
Nilsson 2-0-2, 6 shots, 1 hit, 1 block, -1
O'Sullivan 0-0-0, 1 shot, 2 missed shots, 1 hit, 2 giveaways, 1/4 = 25%, -3
Jacques 6:30 TOI, -2
Deslauriers 21/27, .778, 3 giveaways, L
Souray 0-1-1, 0 shots, 5 missed shots, -2
Visnovsky 1-1-2, 3 shots, 6 attempted shots, -1
* * *
Hornqvist 2-1-3, 6 attempted shots, 2 hits, +2
* * *
Watch the carnage below:
Next up: vs. Washington, Saturday, 20:00