The Oilers took a stellar performance from Talbot and capitalized on a brilliant 3v3 opportunity with Draisaitl and McDavid on the ice to win in OT against the Islanders. Now they look to win back-to-back games for the first time this season.

It seems incredibly improbable that it would be almost Remembrance Day and I would be talking about how the Oilers haven’t even been able to string two wins together yet this season. To say that the start to this season has been a disaster would be an understatement. The only “good” light is that the bulk of the losses have come against Eastern opponents, meaning there are a significant number of games against the West left to be played.

That said, whether they are “4 point games” against the West or just those standard 2 pointers, the Oilers need a streak to start. They are still 3 wins below .500 and if they cant get back to even quickly then the odds of making the playoffs will reach “Pipe Dream” territory. American Thanksgiving is the date on the calendar that the Oilers should at least be striking distance to a playoff spot by. It’s fast approaching.

Against the Islanders, the team had a solid performance in net and for 2/3 of the game it was a decent effort defensively. In the 3rd period everything fell apart and it was Talbot who saved the club until OT. Against the Devils just a few days ago, the team had contributions from all over the lineup. In general, they’ve had much more success on the road than at home and that’s something to keep an eye on as time goes on.

The answer has to come from somewhere, whether it’s Talbot, the Right wingers, or a trade – there has to be some place that the Oiler turnaround is going to come from. Otherwise this is going to be a long year. The season is still pretty young. There’s only 5 points separating the Oilers from the large group at 16 points AND the Oil have played fewer games than many of the teams in the West ahead of them. They can pull this thing off but it has to start with winning streaks.

This team needs a hero to emerge and badly.

LINEUP

Caggiula is out and Slepyshev is battling injury as well.

Maroon McDavid Draisaitl
Lucic RNH Slepyshev
Malone Strome Jokinen
Pakarinen Letestu Kassian

Nurse Larsson
Klefbom Benning
Russell Gryba

Talbot

OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME

1) Looch. The Oilers are in desperate need for Milan Lucic to start contributing on a regular basis. He lost some weight in the offseason to be faster, but I’m not seeing it show up in his footspeed. The reality is that he is most effective when he’s throwing his weight around and bullying his way to the net. He has just 2-5-7 in 14 GP and pacing out to barely hit 40 points this season. His PP offense has dried up to nothing despite 2:42 per game on the PP. He has to start actually contributing if the 2nd line is going to be successful. It cannot all be on Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. And that’s before we get into the fact that he’s making $6 million for the next millennia.

2) Hallsy. We saw first hand in the last game against the Devils that Taylor Hall is the straw that stirs the drink. He was easily the best player for New Jersey and dangerous on every shift. With 17 points in 14 games, Hall has a 5 point lead on the next closest Devil player. He’s been playing with rookie Nico Hischier lately, and that duo is one that Edmonton will be keenly focused on. When he is on his game he is a cannonball out there, but things can also get a little wild. When the Oilers get their feet moving they can be more effective. Keeping up with Hall might just wake a few sleeping Oilers up.

3) Talbot’s Splits. A lot is being made on sports radio about Cam Talbot’s Home and Road splits. For reasons we can only speculate on, Edmonton’s top netminder is a sieve at home and an impenetrable wall on the road. He’s got young twins, is he not sleeping at home and fully rested on the road? Is it some mental thing about performing for the home crowd? Is his favorite Edmonton pre-game meal place secretly poisoning him? I have no idea. All I can tell you is that at home he has a brutal .894 save percentage and on the road he’s rocking a .937 save percentage. Good thing we’re on the road today, I guess.

Puck drops tonight at 5PM Mountain Time on Sportsnet West. Game On!

Follow me on Twitter @Archaeologuy

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