EDMONTON — “Pathetic.”
Jack Campbell, like a lot of Oilers fans, has seen enough.
After a 6-2 loss on Saturday to the Dallas Stars that saw his save percentage plunge to a subterranean .874 on the season, Campbell was asked, “How do you think it went today?”
“Kind of like it’s gone all year, for me, personally. I just haven’t brought my best,” Campbell said. “Frankly it’s just been pathetic the way I’ve been playing.”
“Pathetic.”
Frankly, if a sports writer used that adjective, it would be a tough walk through the dressing room the next day. It’s one of the harshest words in the dictionary of criticism.
The fact Campbell came up with that descriptor, on a day he made a bunch of big saves but came up little on many others, carries far more weight.
Campbell comes as advertised when it comes to being hard on himself after a loss, or a bad run of play. He has not lived up to his billing, however, as the goalie who can get the Oilers over the top.
He knows it. You know it. I know it.
And even though they would never say it, his teammates know it.
“I owe it to this team to bring my ‘A’ game, and they haven’t seen it yet. So I’m gonna just keep working hard, I’m gonna get through this, and be there for the guys,” he said.
Is it any one thing?
“Yeah, just keeping pucks out of the net,” he said. “I expect to do that at a very high level and I haven’t done that yet.”
What about that 55-foot shots that appeared to glance off – or perhaps go right through – his catching glove?
“Through it, over it, under it … I don’t know how it went in, but it went in,” he said. “It’s not good enough.”
Stuart Skinner has not only taken over the No. 1 job in Edmonton, he’s won it by acclimation. His 2.10 goals-against average and .944 save percentage make Campbell’s 4.20 and .874 look, alas, like thin soup.
The trouble, however, with writing about the goaltending in this latest, home-ice loss for the Edmonton Oilers, is that it may leave the impression that the rest of the team played well enough to win, but somehow were let down by the ‘tender.
In fact, the average Albertan likely worked harder shovelling their driveway Saturday than these Oilers did in a sloppy, soft and uncompetitive loss to the Dallas Stars.
“We got out-everything-ed tonight,” said head coach Jay Woodcroft. “In the 12 games we have played this year — we laid an egg tonight — that was the first time where we didn’t have it in all facets of the game.
“To a man, we weren’t good enough. It is not on one person.”
Two nights before, the Oilers had delivered a few poor minutes as the pesky New Jersey Devils scored two goals in seven seconds to steal a victory. On Saturday, Edmonton was loose, undisciplined, tissue-soft in front of both nets, and constantly favoured the unmakeable 40-foot pass over an easy eight-footer.
On a team that still has to get better at winning games that Leon Draisaitl (one goal) and Connor McDavid (one assist) don’t win for them, these Oilers are a train with too many passengers.
We’re looking at you, Kailer Yamamoto, Warren Foegele, Jesse Puljujarvi, Evan Bouchard.
Yamamoto plays exclusively top-six minutes and has 15 shots on goal and just three assists in the first 12 games. Puljujarvi has two lousy points and 16 shots — and he’s minus-6.
Foegele gets nothing done with the puck offensively, and appears a place holder at third-line left wing or young Dylan Holloway. But it’s the black hole at right wing that is more concerning.
After Zach Hyman, this team doesn’t enough on the right side. We thought that to be true when the season started, and now there is no remaining doubt.
While Yamamoto looks more and more like a genuine third-line player, at his current salary of $3 million, Puljujarvi will not be re-signed after this season. He will command around $1 million on the free agent market — at best.
Meanwhile, Dallas backup Scott Wedgewood was by far the best goalie on the ice, and his mates by far the better hockey team as Jamie Benn notched a hat trick and Jason Robertson calmly posted a three-point night (1-2-3).
Have the Oilers hit the skids, following a five-game winning streak with a two-game losing skein?
“Not at all,” said Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse. “Not even remotely close. It hasn’t slipped in this group.
“We know how we’re capable of playing,” the Oilers assistant captain declared. “We didn’t bring that at the end of last game, and we didn’t bring it tonight. There is no excuse whatsoever, but our team is aware that we’re better.
“And we will be.”
