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There are no good 6-0 losses, but the Edmonton Oilers did have good moments last night in spite of the result. The Oilers outshot the Florida Panthers 17-7 in the first period on Thursday. They were certainly playing like a team determined step out of their slump, but Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky was on his game. He stopped shot after shot and thanks in large part to his efforts, the game was tied after 20 minutes.
The Panthers got a power-play opportunity early in the second period and Aleksander Barkov capitalized on it. Carter Verhaeghe padded the Panthers lead to 2-0 just a few minutes later. Edmonton still outshot Florida 12-6 in the second period and yet the Oilers found themselves behind after 40 minutes. With the Oilers now chasing the game, they collapsed in the third period and what had been shaping up to be a hard-luck loss for Edmonton quickly devolved into a blowout.
Every now and then a team will run into a hot goaltender and that ends up being the difference. Taken in isolation, this might have been a game that the Oilers could have just shrugged off and moved on from. But this loss was not an isolated incident. Edmonton has lost seven straight games and 13 of their last 15 contests. They’ve completely squandered the 16-5-0 start they had to the season. If the regular season ended today, the Oilers wouldn’t even be heading to the playoffs.
If there’s any silver lining for Edmonton it’s that they won’t get to dwell on this loss for too long. They’ll face the Calgary Flames on Saturday.
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BOSTON 4 WASHINGTON 3
The Bruins won the game, but it will hard for them to feel good about it given that they lost Brad Marchand along the way. He was hit from behind and pushed into the boards by Washington’s Garnet Hathaway. Marchand suffered an upper-body injury and didn’t return to the game. Anton Blidh also left the game after absorbing a big hit from Tom Wilson.
David Pastrnak scored a pair of goals for the Bruins. He has 18 goals and 34 points in 37 contests in 2021-22.
Jake DeBrusk contributed a goal and an assist for Boston. That gives him six goals and 12 points in 32 games.
Linus Ullmark saved 14 of 17 Capitals shots. He never had to face more than six shots in a single period.
At the other end of the ice, Vitek Vanecek stopped 29 of 33 shots. Two of the four goals he allowed were scored during Boston power plays.
Nicklas Backstrom found the back of the net for Washington. It was his first goal and sixth point in eight games this season.
DALLAS 5 BUFFALO 4
Aaron Dell stopped 42 of an overwhelming 47 shots last night. The Stars had five power-play opportunities and scored on four of them.
Jason Robertson was a huge part of Dallas’ power-play success. He scored two goals and registered an assist, giving him 35 points in 29 games.
Tyler Seguin also contributed two goals and an assist for Dallas. He’s up to 12 goals and 18 points in 37 contests.
Rasmus Dahlin kept Buffalo close by scoring a goal and registering two assists. He has seven goals and 26 points in 40 contests.
Braden Holtby kicked out 20 of 24 Sabres shots. He has a 7-8-1 record, 2.61 GAA, and .916 save percentage in 19 games.
COLUMBUS 2 PHILADELPHIA 1
With this defeat, Philadelphia has suffered its second 10-game losing streak of the season. For a team with two massive slumps, it’s actually surprising that their record isn’t even worse than its current 13-19-8.
Gerry Mayhew scored Philadelphia’s only goal. It was his first goal and point in seven games this season.
Patrik Laine scored the game-winning goal. He has six goals and 14 points in 18 contests.
Columbus’ other marker was netted by Oliver Bjorkstrand. That gives him 12 goals and 27 points in 35 games.
Carter Hart saved 27 of 29 shots on Thursday. He’s 7-13-5 with a 2.90 GAA and .912 save percentage in 25 starts.
Elvis Merzlikins turned aside 33 of 34 Flyers shots. His shutout bid ended at 12:40 of the third period when Mayhew cut the Blue Jackets’ lead in half. Columbus prevented the comeback bid from going any further.
PITTSBURGH 6 OTTAWA 4
Although the Penguins won in the end, Pittsburgh nearly blew a 5-1 lead. Ottawa’s Tim Stutzle scored at 1:45 of the third period to reduce the lead to 5-2 and then Josh Norris made Pittsburgh sweat by scoring back-to-back goals.
That spoiled what was otherwise a good start from Pittsburgh’s Tristan Jarry. He saved 39 of 43 shots, making this the third straight start where he’s allowed at least three goals. On the plus side, he still won two of those three games.
Mike Matheson scored two goals and registered an assist for the Penguins. He has five goals and 16 points in 36 games.
Sidney Crosby contributed a power-play marker. The Penguins superstar has seven goals and 27 points in 27 games.
Anton Forsberg stopped just five of seven shots before being pulled 14:22 minutes into the contest. Filip Gustavsson didn’t fare much better in relief, saving 23 of 26 shots the rest of the way.
NASHVILLE 5 WINNIPEG 2
This was a rough game for Connor Hellebuyck, who stopped just 18 of 22 Predators shots. Most of the damage came in the first period when he allowed three goals on 11 shots.
Ryan Johansen scored the game-winning goal and registered an assist. He has 12 goals and 33 points in 39 contests.
Mikael Granlund also had a goal and an assist for the Predators. That gives him six goals and 35 points in 40 games.
Juuse Saros saved 36 of 38 shots last night. One of the two goals he allowed was scored during a Jets power play.
Pierre-Luc Dubois netted Winnipeg’s power-play goal. It was his 17th marker and 29th point in 36 games.
FLORIDA 6 EDMONTON 0
Just when you thought the Oilers hit bottom, they suffer a 6-0 loss. This was their seventh straight defeat. After starting the season 16-5-0, they’re now 18-16-2.
Mikko Koskinen stopped 22 of 28 Panthers shots. Florida got five power-play opportunities and he allowed a goal on three of them.
At the other end of the ice, Sergei Bobrovsky posted a 40-save shutout. He improved to 20-3-3 with a 2.38 GAA and .925 save percentage in 28 games.
Aleksander Barkov scored two goals and registered an assist. He’s up to 17 goals and 32 points in 27 games.
Sam Reinhart assisted on three of Florida’s six goals. He has 11 goals and 34 points in 37 contests.
COLORADO 4 LOS ANGELES 1
Mikko Rantanen scored a goal and registered an assist for Colorado. He has 21 goals and 48 points in 35 games.
Nathan MacKinnon assisted on two of the Avalanche’s four markers. That gives him nine goals and 42 points in 28 contests.
Darcy Kuemper stopped 40 of 41 Kings shots. The only goal he allowed was scored on a power play.
Anze Kopitar provided that Los Angeles goal. It was his 13th goal and 36th point in 41 games.
Jonathan Quick turned aside 23 of 26 shots last night. He’s surrendered at least three goals in four of his last five starts.
VEGAS 4 MONTREAL 3 (OT)
Sam Montembeault was the losing goaltender, but it’s hard to blame him for this one when he saved 49 of an insane 53 shots. Since NHL shot tracking started in 1955, only Wayne Thomas (1974), Carey Price (2009), Jacques Plante (1955), and Antti Niemi (2019) have ever made more saves for Montreal in a single regular season contest, per TSN’s StatsCentre.
Nevertheless, Shea Theodore was the hero in this one, scoring the overtime winner and registering two assists. He has eight goals and 29 points in 37 games.
William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault each provided a goal and an assist for Vegas. In Marchessault’s case, he’s up to 19 goals and 30 points in 36 contests.
Robin Lehner stopped 24 of 27 Canadiens shots. He’s allowed at least three goals in each of his last three starts and has a 1-1-1 record over that span.
Mike Hoffman scored a goal for Montreal. It was his sixth goal and 10th point in 24 games.
SEATTLE 3 SAN JOSE 2
Calle Jarnkrok netted the game-winning goal. He’s up to six goals and 13 points in 28 games.
Carson Soucy accounted for Seattle’s other two markers. That gives him six goals and 13 points in 31 contests.
Just a game after scoring five goals, Timo Meier found the back of the net again. The Sharks forward has 21 goals and 46 points in 36 games.
Adin Hill stopped 14 of 17 Kraken shots. He didn’t face more than six shots in any period.
At the other end of the ice, Philipp Grubauer saved 23 of 25 shots. He improved to 9-15-4 with a 3.26 GAA and .883 save percentage in 29 games.
