With a disappointing November about to come to an end, the Edmonton Oilers know it’s time to play with a sense of urgency in order to turn things around.
The Oilers’ struggles on defense were on display once again in their last game, allowing eight goals to the Dallas Stars. Turning things around doesn’t get any easier for the Oilers as they gear up to play two games against the Kraken in a six-day span, starting with Saturday’s matinee in Seattle.
“There are a lot of things I’m concerned about,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “You go through the checklist of what we’re doing, our breakouts, our forecheck, our defending, our emotions, and there are a lot of things to fix.”
In order to snap out of their current funk, which has seen them drop four of their last five games, the defense is one area the Oilers must desperately improve in. Edmonton has given up 56 goals in 13 games in November, an average of 4.3 goals per game. Over their last five games, Edmonton has allowed 25 goals.
“We’re clearly not on the same page as a group,” Oilers star Leon Draisaitl said following Tuesday’s loss to the Stars. “And then all of a sudden a lot of things get exposed that, when you are on the same page, don’t get exposed. We’re just not in sync as a group, and we have to figure that part out. We’re nearly 30 games in and still don’t seem to have it down, or know what we are. I don’t really know what to say. It was just not good enough.”
Added practice time won’t be the only thing the Oilers could benefit from. Edmonton is getting closer to getting forwards Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (undisclosed) and Kasperi Kapanen (lower-body) back from injuries. Both returned to practice Monday and could be back in game action Friday.
Seattle, on the other hand, is looking to put the finishing touches on an up-and-down November. The Kraken came into the season with a lot of expectations and have responded. But they know their season will ultimately come down to consistency and how they play against the league’s best, including the reigning Western Conference champion Oilers.
Offensively, the Kraken will need to get their power play back on track after going 0-for-5 against the Stars.
“I thought entry-wise we didn’t do a great job,” Kraken head coach Lane Lambert following the loss to the Stars. “We struggled to enter the zone. … We could’ve done a better job there and I certainly thought, you know, from a battle standpoint, we could’ve won more battles, created some retrievals and gotten more shots. (The power play) has been good for us and it’s been there when we’ve needed it in the past.”
Though Seattle got a big boost by getting Jared McCann back from an undisclosed injury on Wednesday, the Kraken could now be without Jaden Schwartz, who left that game with a lower-body injury in the second period and didn’t return. Schwartz leads the team in points (15) and goals scored (eight) this season.
“The fact he didn’t return isn’t a great sign,” Lambert said.
Joey Daccord, Saturday’s expected starter, is 2-6-1 in his career against the Oilers, but has won the last two meetings against Edmonton. Daccord allowed two goals and recorded 31 saves in the first of four meetings between the teams this season.
