Nothing went right for the Oilers on Monday night.
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Things started going wrong from the jump, when Connor McDavid left the game with a lower-body injury and did not return after an awkward fall on his first shift. The Oilers never recovered, eventually losing 6-1 to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
It took fewer than three minutes for Columbus to take the lead, with a Sean Monahan deflection that beat Stuart Skinner for a powerplay goal. They struck twice more: first Adam Fantilli snuck a puck under Skinner’s pad after being left completely alone in the slot, then Cole Sillinger beat Skinner from distance with a knuckling wrister, both shots that Skinner should’ve saved.
Skinner had a rough night all around, allowing three goals on the first six shots and finishing the game with only 19 saves on 25 shots.
McDavid’s injury seemed to put the Oilers into a stupor. Despite outshooting the Blue Jackets 32-25, they never looked dangerous and couldn’t seem to handle Columbus’ speed off the rush.
What chances the Oilers did have — and they had a few — were stopped by Elvis Merzlikins, who had an excellent night with 31 saves on 32 shots.
Columbus added three more, courtesy of Mathieu Olivier, Mikael Pyyhtia (the first of his NHL career), and Sean Monahan (again) to raise their total to 6. Mattias Ekholm scored his second powerplay goal of the season in the final minute to spoil the shutout, but it was too little, too late as the Oilers fell to the Blue Jackets 6-1.
It’s only one game, but this is an incredibly demoralizing loss for an Oilers team that looked like they were turning a corner. The team looked slow, disjointed, and scattered all night, haunted by the same issues that have plagued them all season long: horrid special teams, an inability to finish, and shaky goaltending.
With two games remaining on their road trip and facing the absence of their best player, the Oilers will need to rebound quickly. It’s not known how much time McDavid will miss, but the games he does miss will be of utmost importance. Hopefully, Monday’s listless performance can simply be chalked up to shock at McDavid’s early injury. If not, it could be a long season in Edmonton.
Head Coach Kris Knoblauch says #Oilers captain Connor McDavid will be travelling back to Edmonton to get evaluated after leaving tonight’s game with a lower-body injury.
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 29, 2024
They’ll get their first chance to bounce back on Thursday, in Nashville.
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