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The good news is that Edmonton has two NHL calibre goaltenders who the team can count on almost any given night. The bad news is one is currently struggling while the other has not lost one of his starts yet. Before anyone is ready to start saying the Oilers have a goaltending controversy just hold up a moment.
Natural Stat Trick had the Oilers out-chancing the Capitals at a narrow margin of 13-12 at 5 on 5. The final shots also favoured Edmonton 33-23 yet at the end of the day Washington found a 4-2 victory.
So what happened?
The fourth line, after playing a strong game vs Chicago were one of the main culprits. Edmonton’s fourth line decided to pull a Thanos and after scoring two goals in one game they allowed two goals against the Caps.
Khaira does a good job keeping Travis Boyd from cutting to the front of the net, thereby eliminating any real scoring chance. Enjoy this while it lasts Khaira because it’s the last nice thing I say about you in this blog.
Things start getting iffy here, Boyd passed the puck back for Devante Smith-Pelly and the Oilers play him aggressively. Klefbom, Brodziak, and Larsson surround him, all aiming to try and take away any opportunity for him to make a play.
Larsson moves to strip the puck from Smith-Pelly who passes the puck into the slot where Jakob Vrana has been left alone. Klefbom and Brodziak are both turning their heads here and realizing they are about to get an earful from their coach.
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The same occurred on the second goal where Khaira made a series of bad plays.
Khaira, circled in red collects the puck and attempts to pass the puck to Brodizak in the centre of the ice. At the bottom of your screen you will see Zack Kassian, he was streaking off into the offensive zone and will be absent for the rest of this breakdown.
Boyd collects the puck and begins heading for the net. Larsson, Klefbom, and Brodizak again are closing in on him… while this is occuring Khaira who is on the far right is gliding towards the play, he does not take a single stride as this unfolds.
Larsson on the left is blocking the cross ice pass; his stick is in the right place. It’s tough to tell but there are actually two Oilers in front of Boyd; Klefbom and Brodziak who are jumbled up in the play.
Meanwhile Smith-Pelly, who should have been picked up by Kharia, skates in and scores another goal from the slot.
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The third goal was another example of missed assignment except this time the culprits were the Oilers top line. Oshie streaked by Ryan Nugent Hopkins who made no mistake in scoring.
Assignments are going to get missed and plays like that will happen. Unfortunately for the Oilers, it seemed like every time they made a mistake that night, the puck found its way into the back of the net. Talbot currently has a Sv% of .899 which is not nearly good enough for a starter. Before we bring out the pitchforks here are a few other goalies struggling right now.
Connor Hellebuyck has a 0.907 Sv% in 11GP
Marc Andre Fleury has a 0.901 Sv% in 12GP
Martin Jones has a 0.900 Sv% in 10GP
Sergei Bobrovsky has a 0.895 Sv% in 9GP
Braden Holtby has a 0.888 Sv% in 10GP
These are some highly skilled goalies who are not playing their best. Put the pitchforks down and enjoy the fact the Oilers appear to have the ability to be comfortable with a backup who can help when the starter is not at his best.
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Tonight the Oilers will hope Koskinen can do exactly that as they get set to play the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Bit surprised at this choice of lineup. Caggiula and Puljujarvi sit. I felt Puljujarvi started finding his rhythm after a few shifts with Strome and Lucic but he goes back in the press box to get Yamamoto in. Thought at least Khaira might get sat in favour of Caggiula but that does not appear to be the case.
1) Protect The Slot. Oilers biggest issues against the Capitals were due to how often they allowed some of the best offensive weapons in the league have free reign in the most dangerous area of the ice. It won’t be any easier tonight as the Oilers are up against the likes of Stamkos and Kucherov. 2) Rattie Returns. It must have been difficult for Ty Rattie to sit for the past couple of weeks while players like Chiasson, Caggiula, and Yamamoto have been getting top 6 time. Rattie should be fired up tonight to return and try and reclaim his spot. 3) Play Smart. So Tampa Bay is kind of a good team if people hadn’t noticed. They are one point behind the Predators for the top spot in the entire league. Good news is that the Oilers have also beaten the Preds once this season. They will need a full team effort for this one. 4) Dull The Point. Brayden Point is having himself a start to the season. He currently leads the Lightning in points and goals. Considering Tampa currently have him on the second line with Kucherov and Stamkos on the top line the Oilers...specifically their defence can’t take a single shift off.
FILM OF THE DAY
As I said off the top, the Oilers have two very good goalies who they can alternate between depending on who is playing better. There is no controversy and these two shouldn’t be viewed as gunning to take each others jobs. Instead they should be seen as buddies like the best buddy cop movie out there… Turner and Hooch.
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
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