After the Edmonton Oilers lost 7–3 to the Minnesota Wild last Saturday night, Tristan Jarry, the losing goalie, had some things to say about the Oilers defensive performance. Here is the video:

“It’s tough, I think the chances we’re giving up, some of the shots, they’re tough, I think it’s a lot of grade A’s, a lot of breakdowns, so I think its tough to really think about your game at this point, I think it’s a whole team game.”

That may not sound like such a scathing indictment, but for a hockey player in a post-game interview that’s pretty direct criticism. As to the team’s style of play he said, “It’s tough, because the way that we want to play, we want to play fast, we want to play up, we want to play in their end, and I think when we’re taking some of those chances they come back at us and it’s tough, so I think we just have to make sure we’re managing the puck better.”

Oilers playstyle is not working out

Jarry makes a very good point, the Oilers style of play is not really conducive to great team defence. For a goalie on a team like that, it’s not surprising he’s a little frustrated. In that game against the Wild the Oilers gave up 21 high danger chances against, more than they ever have this year to date.

Since that game the Oilers have lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs and to their provincial rivals, the Calgary Flames. Here is Jarry’s postgame interview after the Calgary loss:

“I think it starts with me, I think I could be more accountable and I think I could play better. I think if I play better and stand in there strong for these guys then we’ll have some better outcomes and I think it starts with me and I think I just need to be better moving forward.”

This response was in stark contrast to his response after the Minnesota game. Every question he was asked he blamed himself whereas earlier it was clear he felt that the defence could have been better.

Draisaitl speaks out

After that game Leon Draisaitl was visibly frustrated, here is his post game interview:

“We’re just giving up too many goals, we just can’t defend, penalty kill is not great, but there’s many things that are part of it.”

When asked what Draisaitl thought about Jarry taking the brunt of the blame he said, “It goes hand in hand, we gotta defend better, we gotta make it easier on him, and then I’m sure he can be a little better too. It’s a two way street but it starts with us in front of him and then the game becomes a little bit easier for him, but I think that there’s saves that our goalies need to make at some point.”

Draisaitl basically threw the entire team under the bus, essentially saying that they are not at all themselves and that no one has played well in this losing stretch.

Jarry’s analysis has proven to be pretty on the nose, as they only gave up 13 HDCA to Calgary, which is above average for the team, but not by much. That Flames game was a poor performance by most of the team, but they did keep the HDCA much lower than against Minnesota.

Looking at the Oilers’ season so far

As it turns out, the Oilers are not that bad when it comes to giving up HDCA, but they aren’t very good either. By HDCA/60 minutes they rank 18th in the league at 11.52. That, in combination with having the fifth worst team Sv%, has led them to be seventh worst in GA/GP.

This isn’t a great stat to see. Their 3.29 GA/GP is the second highest it’s been since Connor McDavid’s rookie season. In these last two Stanley Cup Final seasons, they were close to half a goal against per game lower than they are now. It does make you wonder if they repeat the success of the last two years.

Honestly, Tristan Jarry and Connor Ingram might just have to get used to seeing a decent amount of high danger chances and, in the end, giving up a lot of goals. Now you can’t say that to the media every night after letting in four goals, but you can reassure yourself in the knowledge that a lot of goalies have come and gone in the last ten years and not many have put up good numbers over a full season. None of them have been able to do it for longer than that.

Can the Oilers be better defensively?

I doubt there is even one goalie in the NHL who, when faced with the decision between having terrific individual numbers and making it to the Stanley Cup Final, would choose the former option. That is just not how hockey players are built. The Oilers netminders need to understand that that is the kind of team they are on right now.

I for one believe that the Oilers have a long way to go to be a good defensive team, but there’s nothing new under the sun here. At no point in the last five years have I felt like the Oilers were a good defensive team. Their strengths are offence and power play. They have scored the second most goals in the league this year and have the best power play and that makes up for a lot of shortcomings on the back end. If they got to the Stanley Cup Final twice in a row with that formula, they can do it again.

When your offence slows down a bit, you’re going to lose some games, that’s not the end of the world. Any offence with McDavid and Draisaitl is going to rebound like the world’s finest boomerang. That’s not to say you can’t try to be a better defensive team, but that’s just not how their team is built. As my wise Uncle used to say, “If you drink 15 beers you can’t be surprised to find yourself hung over the next morning.”

Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire

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