EDMONTON — It was a statement game.
One statement was weak and a tad whiny, yet brought in heaps of attention (mostly sarcastic) from across the National Hockey League.
The other — holding the mighty Washington Capitals to just 14 shots on goal — was a far, far more assertive statement. But it landed the Edmonton Oilers the proverbial hole in the donut in a 3-2 loss Tuesday night.
It’s the first time the Oilers have lost two-straight games in regulation since the first week of November, and a game in which they likely deserved better.
“It doesn’t always go your way, even if you have more chances,” reasoned Zach Hyman. “Sometimes the other team gets the better of you. That’s why, in the playoffs, you play seven games, right?”
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A visit from the NHL’s best team was a welcome respite from three days of back and forth between two fan bases that, well, hate each other’s guts a bit. Connor McDavid was serving the first game of his three-game bit, a suspension that the Vancouver Canucks were quite pleased about, but one that left Oilers fans steamed.
The noise began to quell as each team prepared for a Tuesday night game, but the Oilers couldn’t take the silence. At about 4:30 p.m. the team released the most milquetoast statement one could possibly imagine:
“The Oilers organization is disappointed and we share in our fans’ frustration over the three-game suspension of our captain Connor McDavid. We support him through this process and the organization and our fans look forward to having him back in the lineup vs. Seattle next week.”
Really?
That’s all you’ve got?
It was one of those ideas that likely began as a molten hot missive from the fired up owner, ran downhill to a PR-type who dropped it on the president’s desk, who asked the general manager, who wondered, “What are we supposed to be getting out of this?”
In the end, the statement complained to the NHL the way a husband complains to the garbage man when his wife freaks out about the bins being put back crooked. He doesn’t really care, but, you know…
How much of that suspension noise actually makes it into the Oilers room on a game night?
“Everyone sees it, but I wouldn’t say it’s as big of a story as you guys make it out to be,” Oilers defenceman Ty Emberson told the Edmonton media. “It’s a suspension and someone on their team got suspended too. Tempers flared and that’s the game of hockey.”
Edmonton outshot the Caps 34-14 with just 11 even-strength shots for Washington, while the shot attempts were tilted 72-37 in the Oilers’ favour. Alas, that and $4.50 will get you a coffee at Starbucks, as Washington walked off with both points in a well-played game between two top teams.
“Their goalie (Logan Thompson) played extremely well his last 10 or so games,” said head coach Kris Knoblauch. “We had plenty of opportunities to score, especially early in the game and just couldn’t buy one.”
We’ve seen it before: When the Oilers are forced to play without McDavid, it takes some time for everyone to figure out which part of the load they should be trying to carry. This effort was good enough to beat about 25 other teams, but not the Capitals, who have won five straight and are on an 11-game points streak (8-0-3).
On this night, the Oilers managed just five shots in three fruitless power plays, and ended the game in a furious six-on-four that dearly could have used some massaging by No. 97. Viktor Arvidsson took McDavid’s spot on the top power-play unit, while Mattias Ekholm replaced a clumsy Evan Bouchard at times in the third period.
“Obviously when you add another guy in the chemistry, you (have got to) find out who goes where and what they’re supposed to do,” Knoblauch said. “But I don’t think Arvy was the problem tonight. We were a little too stagnant, not moving quick enough, and not making them move enough, getting them out of position so then you’ve got opportunities to attack.”
What they lacked was the best player in the world. But every team loses their top player once in a while, and you’ve got to figure out how to win without him.
Vancouver is in for a Thursday night game, and McDavid is expected to meet with the media Wednesday.
The quiet, it never lasts long around here.
