4 Takeaways From Oilers’ 5-4 Shootout Loss to Red Wings

In Campbell’s defense, he was much better in the third, making a number of outstanding saves including an absolute beauty on Tyler Bertuzzi. He then stopped three of five shootout attempts but was unable to get the offensive support needed in the skill showdown to get the victory. While the mental toughness he showed in the third was impressive, he simply needs to be better throughout a full 60 minutes. The loss sees his goals-against average increase to 3.29, while his save percentage has fallen to .888. Simply not good enough.

Two for Nuge

As he has been much of the season, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was fantastic in this one. The 29-year-old first put the Oilers on the board less than two minutes into the second frame, before potting his second roughly 10 minutes later on a great release that beat Ville Husso clean on the blocker side. For extra measure, he picked up a secondary assist on a Leon Draisaitl power play tally in the third to give him three points on the evening.

With the three point showing, Nugent-Hopkins now has 26 goals and 66 points in just 55 games. He now sits just three points shy of his career high set back in 2018-19, as well as two back of his career high in goals set that very same season. If he can remain healthy, he has a legitimate shot at hitting the 100-point marker.

McDavid Closing in on 100

After arguably his worst game against the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday afternoon in which he went minus-3 and was held pointless, Connor McDavid responded with a strong effort in this one. While he ‘only’ had two assists on the night, he was creating chances all game long thanks to his tremendous foot speed.

With the two point outing, McDavid now has 99 points on the year, putting him just one shy of hitting the century mark for the sixth time in his career. Perhaps most impressive of all is that he has played one less game yet is just six points shy of his 2020-21 COVID-shortened season output in which he recorded 106 points in 56 outings. If you recall, many suggested numbers like that would never happen if it weren’t for the all-Canadian division. Safe to say the 26-year-old phenom has proven that false.

Penalty Kill Not Up to Task

Generally in any game where you take just two minor penalties, you will be set up for success. That wasn’t the case for the Oilers, however, who despite seeing just Nugent-Hopkins and Klim Kostin take penalties were unable to keep the Red Wings’ power play off the board, as their kill went 0-2 on the night.

The penalty kill has been a struggle for this Oilers team overall on the season, as it currently sits 26th in the league with a success rate of just 75.4 percent. That said, it has been better as of late, and Wednesday’s result could largely be blamed on the fact that defenseman Vincent Desharnais was forced to miss the game due to a non-COVID-related illness.

Up Next for the Oilers

The Oilers will have today to rest and recover, but are right back in action on Friday against the red-hot New York Rangers. It certainly won’t be an easy one given that the Rangers are winners of six straight, though the Oilers were able to defeat them 4-3 in a game back on Nov. 26. Regardless of the outcome, you can expect an exciting game between two teams that possess some of the NHL’s premier talents.