The Edmonton Oilers are searching for any positives they can find heading into their matchup against the visiting Nashville Predators on Saturday afternoon.
After reaching the Western Conference finals last spring and entering this fall full of optimism they could take it all the way, the Oilers have lost seven of their first nine games (2-6-1).
“It’s not the start anybody wanted. There’s lots of expectations on this group,” Edmonton forward Sam Gagner said after a 4-3 loss against the visiting Dallas Stars on Thursday. “When it doesn’t go exactly as you planned, it’s hard to see the positivity throughout the games. You kind of wait for bad things to happen. When they do, it kind of has a snowball effect.”
Gagner scored twice in the third period against the Stars in his season debut, and Edmonton outshot Dallas 25-9 in the final frame, but the Oilers couldn’t squeeze the tying goal past backup goalie Scott Wedgewood, who finished with 46 saves.
“There was a lot to like,” Gagner said. “We have to make sure we are looking at positives, too, and building those into our game.”
The Oilers continue to boast one of the most prolific offenses in the NHL led by Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, but they rank third-to-last in goals-against per game (4.00) and last in save percentage (.869).
The imbalance doesn’t seem to be causing tension in the locker room, however.
“The mood is where it should be,” Oilers forward Evander Kane said. “We know we’re a good hockey team, but it’s enough talking about it. It’s time to work. These big mistakes, we can’t continue to make.”
Edmonton forward Connor Brown left the ice with what appeared to be a lower-body injury against the Stars and did not return. Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft did not have an update after the game.
The Predators will be eager for a win after dropping the first two games of their five-game trip.
Nashville fell 4-2 to the Seattle Kraken on Thursday, two nights after losing 5-2 against the Vancouver Canucks.
One of the bright spots for the Predators has been third-year center Thomas Novak, who scored against the Kraken to give him five points (three goals, two assists) in the past five games.
Predators right wing Luke Evangelista has six points (one goal, five assists) in his past six games.
“I feel like we’re doing a lot of good things,” Nashville captain Roman Josi said. “It’s a little frustrating right now because we’re not getting the results, we’re not getting the wins, but I think once we’re able to capitalize on some of those opportunities, we will have better success.”
Predators coach Andrew Brunette said he liked the way his team handled the puck against Seattle and maintained possession for lengthy stretches.
“Those are little things to build off of,” Brunette said. “The last two games, we’ve done a really good job of being on top of things and keeping pucks; it was just those little plays in the second period and a face-off in the third period, and we were letting the team off the hook a little bit.”
Nashville has struggled on the penalty kill thus far, allowing 10 power play goals in 33 opportunities (69.7 percent), and that could pose a problem against the Oilers, who return many of the same pieces that led the league at 32.4 percent with the man-advantage last season.
–Field Level Media
