Oilers Fail In Their Comeback

This new Edmonton Oilers team looks an awful lot like the Edmonton Oilers of last season.

Edmonton was hoping to be more disciplined and defensively responsible this season. Instead, the Oilers delivered a wild home opener. The Oilers and the rebuilding Vancouver Canucks traded chances in a back-and-forth affair. Vancouver ultimately escaped with a 6-5 overtime victory. Edmonton was left to settle for a point. The game had plenty of offence but far too little defensive structure.

Through the opening 40 minutes, the Oilers controlled the puck and dictated the pace. But everything changed in the final frame. Familiar problems resurfaced. Tristan Jarry couldn’t provide the needed stability in net. The defensive coverage broke down, and the special-teams battle quickly swung in the visitors’ favour.

In true Oilers fashion, it took a wild third-period comeback to erase a three-goal deficit. Trailing 5-2 late in the game, the Oilers stormed back to tie it in the final minute. But after forcing overtime and earning a point, Edmonton couldn’t complete the comeback, surrendering the extra point in the OT loss.

Oilers New Head Coach Not Thrilled

Head coach Mike Babcock got his first up-close view of the Oilers’ experience on Tuesday night, and it was evident that he wasn’t very pleased with how his team performed.

“I thought we started good, and then we didn’t do things right,” Babcock told reporters. “We turned the puck over, we stayed out too long on the ice, we made poor decisions… If we want to play like that, we’re going to be chasing the game.”

“I don’t think I thought for one second that it was going to be easy, but tonight was an indication we have serious work to do… Playing like that and getting away from what we’re supposed to do is unacceptable for us, so we gotta set a better standard for ourselves.”

Jarry Not Good Enough

Edmonton certainly didn’t do themselves any favours when it came to limiting quality chances, but Tristan Jarry also needed to be sharper in this one. There has been plenty of talk about the veteran netminder looking to bounce back after losing the starting job down the stretch last season, but his road back to form got off to a rocky start.

Jarry allowed six goals on 23 shots against, ending the night with a dismal .739 save percentage. According to MoneyPuck, the Canucks mustered just 2 expected goals (xG) on the night, meaning the Oilers netminder is already behind the eight-ball at -4 goals-saved above-expected (GSAx) through one game.

Following the game, Jarry took responsibility for his share of the loss, while Babcock acknowledged that his goaltender needed to be better. However, the Oilers’ head coach also pointed to the defensive play in front of Jarry as a major factor in the defeat.

“That was pretty clear; everybody knows that. We might as well move on,” Babcock said. “Our part is to play way better; that was ridiculous.”