Well, this is it. The Edmonton Oilers may have peaked during the McDavid era, and the club may fall shy of a third appearance in the Stanley Cup Final. If this edition of the team is going to have a fighting chance, December 2025 has to be a turning point. Was that Seattle game real? We’re about to find out.
WHAT TO EXPECT IN DECEMBER
- At home to: Wild, Kraken, Jets (Expected 2-1-0)
- At home to: Sabres, Red Wings (Expected 1-0-1)
- On the road to: TML, Canadiens, Penguins (Expected 2-1-0)
- On the road to: Bruins, Wild (Expected 1-1-0)
- At home to: VEG, Flames (Expected 1-0-1)
- On the road to: Flames, Jets (Expected 1-0-1)
- At home to: Bruins (Expected 1-0-0)
- Expected Record: 9-3-3, 21 points in 15 games
- Actual Record
- Season Record: 11-10-5, 27 points in 26 games
This is an aggressive projection, and I’m normally reasonable about the wins and losses. Thing is, this schedule lines up well if the Oilers can play the complete game we saw versus the Kraken. I could be setting you up for a major disappointment, but see no reason to chance the forecast. If the Oilers cover this bet, the team will arrive on New Year’s Day with a record of 20-13-8. That’s 48 points in 41 games, projecting to 96 points over the entire season.
MATT SAVOIE
Plenty of concern about Matt Savoie these days. I get it. His Natural Stat Trick player card at five-on-five is long on worry and short of smiles. He isn’t scoring, he isn’t outscoring, and he’s getting hit early and often. While the sample is small, it isn’t that small and you’ll want to see action from this young player during December. He is scoring well with Connor McDavid (1.66 points-60) compared to the rest of his five-on-five time. He is also 67 percent goal share with Leon Draisaitl, so Kris Knoblauch is right to be playing him with skill. I’m not sure how long this lasts, though. The Oilers badly need Savoie to pop, then Ike Howard right after.
My guess is that Savoie, who is a smart player with skill and determination, will begin to regress (the good kind) in December. Improving his shooting percentage (3.5) would be a good start.
On the Lowdown today, we have the round table with Declan Krueger, Donovan Paulson and Josh Fenwick. Noon to 2pm, Sports 1440 and YouTube. It’s the lions (them) versus the Christians (me) and I don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell. Tune in!
Oilers could acquire another $3M winger at the deadline and sit 10 for the playoffs right?
Neither of the two forwards charged Brodin on the clean faceoff loss on the GA. One just stood still doing nothing, like he had no clue what his responsibility was on a (clean) lost faceoff. The other one had the Minnesota forward screening the goaltender, but when he saw the shot, moved out of the way instead of blocking it.
We credit Bouchard when he scores with the Bouch Bomb. When that Brodin bomb, through a well timed skate through the shooting lane by the Minnesota forward to screen the goaltender at the critical moment…well then its the goaltender’s fault.
The centre lost a D zone faceoff cleanly, and the two forwards on the ice did eff all.
Give it a rest. Skinner played well. The goal against should have been stopped. Wasn’t much traffic and puck went in middle glove side. Most goalies make that save.
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Haha here we go again 🙃
Carter Hart wins his season debut as Vegas beats Chicago 4-3 in OT.
Hart was spectacular in OT as was Spencer Knight.
Skinner and Walstedt would’ve made a fantastic and cheap tandem. By far one of the worst decisions made by Oilers management in the past 10 years. Couple that with Broberg/Holloway offer sheets and letting McLeod go, the Oilers have bled so much young talent these past few years.
We look for things. We find things. Things make us go.
20 blocked shots for the Wild. They played a defensive gem and their goalie was good enough.
Hardly a defensive gem. By eye or by analytics
Even worse that Wallstedt came across as very likeable in that interview with Gene. Couldn’t he at least have the decency to be a jerk?
Was at the game tonight, first game of the season in person. Kinda sad to see the “vanilla” of this team in person, but that’s the only way I can really describe it.
In previous years when our big guys maybe didn’t find the back of the night, guys like Kane, Perry, and Brown found a way. Those folks just haven’t been replaced and what we have in place are some guys who are, well, vanilla.
Biggest takeaway from me tonight was how many unfinished checks I saw. Chances to make a hit, get some emotion, drive the net, all passed up on. It lead to a library feeling in the building and a full belief for the full 60 minutes that this team wasn’t going to tie it up. That became true.
Talk on the radio is saying this was a positive game for the Oilers. I sadly disagree. Didn’t feel that way in person. Need a heart transplant because this team is flatlining.
PP: 0-3
Nuff said
The first 2 PP were pretty dynamic. I think Minny was a bit lucky to go 3-3 and that is a good PK
This.
And the effort was weak.
Simple summary . . . Stu kept us in it, but Wallstedt beat us. Toughest loss when we can’t score one f’g goal!
Alternative narrative for tonight’s game – Oilers waste good performance by Skinner, shut out by Wild 1-zilch.
Skinner made some great saves. I think he should have stopped the lone goal though. Wallsted would have.
McDavid speeds in, his defender falls on his ass, and he passes backwards to the Minnesota defender. That could have happened in any year, but it just seems like a bit of a microcosm of his season thus far. Choosing when to shoot or pass is not working nearly as often as it should be. But he did have a significant jump in his step tonight.
Damn. Such a great effort. They deserved to win but just couldn’t squeeze one through.
If we keep that effort, we’ll win way more than we lose.
I don’t give a crap that their goalie coulda been ours. Crying over crap like that is a complete waste of time and doesn’t change a thing.
Dance with the one came with.
We’ll get em next time, fellas.
Totally. We all know that disrupting the entire space-time continuum could destroy the universe.
Salt meet wound
I have never been one for draft regrets. All 30 teams (at the time) had a chance to draft Pavel Datsyuk. 6 times.
But Good Lord, this one stings.
When the need was there, and the player was there, and you choose not to take him, and then he shuts you out on his first go round? Boy, that hurts.
Need two wins badly against Seattle and Winnipeg.
Decent game by our guys. Too bad for the loss, but they played better than we saw most of the time the last month
Absolutely pathetic execution.
No goalie can actually shut down this team on their own. Terrible shooting selection and zero magic from 97.
Unacceptable and so many will be fooled into thinking that was a well played game by Edmonton.
NOPE. Not at what matters.
They ran into a hot goaltender. This team is not going to be able to win the same way it has in the past. This is the blueprint and they’ve followed it well for 2 games in a row. If they had done it for 30 I would say they would have a far better record than what they currently own. I’ve seen enough to give them this month to disprove their critics
Well, the good news is that is 2 solid games in a row, Skinner didn’t give up a field goal or more, and that was definitely the hardest opponent. The bad news is that still sucked
Moral victory 2025
Terrible decisions by Nuge and McDavid at the end. No pressure on them and forced passes that are intercepted.
WTF was that 97????
This is painful for all of us who wanted us to draft Wallstedt
This is even painful for those of us that don’t know prospects, held no opinion, and were in wait and see mode.
My prediction last night is we will get stoned walled by Wallstedt. Its almost true.
They’re playing really well, they wouldve picked Cossa anyway, Minnesota is playing a trap like LA, Stu has played fine. They’ll crack em in a playoff series.
SCORE A GOAL.
Theres a reason other than elite goaltending that this team has had 3 shutouts in its last 5 games.
I don’t see that reason. Minnesota’s expected goals against tonight was about 3. So either the goaltending has been elite or the team has a collective horseshoe up its arse
That’s exactly the problem. If Cossa was still there at 18, they pick him. They didn’t want Wallstedt, so they traded down to 20.
Awful decision.
Well those who made the decision have been sacked. Small consolation.
Clattenburg with 6 whole shifts.
Come on Coach Bonehead. Do better with the reason your team has a pulse lately.
Shortie time!!!
Doing everything but score.
Don’t let up, fellas. We’ll get an ugly one then a pretty one!
Need to get Mangiapane off the 2nd line.
Rosolvic isn’t going to be a while so its time to send down Tomasek and bring up Jarventie or Hutson and play him in that spot.
He has xGF of 85% tonight. Not saying you’re wrong, but this was an odd night to suggest that Hutson or Jarventie would have been better.
RNH centered 1 line that got caved in 2 mins. Mangiapane wasn’t there
Mangiapane was on 2 very strong performing lines, with Drai and then with Rico and Janitor
All 5 lines with more than 3 mins 5 on 5 tilted the ice in their favor. The one that got scored on featured 3 of our best forwards.
How about replacing fringe players like Lazar and Frederic with those guys, and not messing with the top 3 lines that have played well for the last couple games?
I can use my eyes to determine that Mangiapane is a drag on the 2nd line and it goes beyond tonight’s game. I’m going to stop short of saying he was a key driver to the his on ice metrics.
I also never stated he should come out of the line but he could easily be shifted to the 4th line with Lazar coming out and Frederic moving to center.
You can. I can, too. Tonight no one pissed a drop, and literally everyone missed chance. I didn’t see plays dying on his stick. Is it okay if I disagree?
And what did you see by eye to suggest Frederic could handle more responsibility right now? I am honestly curious
And back to the original point, is there a reason to bring Jarventie, tie him to Draisaitl and think that 2nd line is going to perform better than it has during these past 2 games? I saw with my eye that it has outscored opposition 1-0 in the past 2 games and dominated zone time, chances as well.
Difference in the game has been goaltending so far … the one the organization decided to hang their hat on, versus the one they passed over.
So, if I know enough to read the NHL pronunciation guide and say Wahl-steht, then why do the guys who get paid to do this for a living say it like he’s a German?
Taking your profession seriously is a thing…
The Minnesota announcers were fine although they occasionally called him the St. Paul Wall.
10=useless + waste of cap.
For 8 whole years.
Fire whoever had a Griffin Reinhart-On for him.
😂 😂 😂
It’s painful to watch. Best case we’re burning clock. Boots and hands are both shy. Besides one net drive goal I vaguely remember from last season, I haven’t seen a hint of anything. Just, as a bare minimum, finish your checks man.
Hoping for some amount of addition by subtraction when Kap comes back, even with Kap’s propensity for turnovers.
They going to bother scoring…or…?
I mean, it certainly looks like they’re trying. Certainly more than one of the hottest teams in the league
They have been the faster, more creative and aggressive team by far. Damn shame the score is not reversed
Stop trying to pass it into the back of the net. Shoot high, top half. He is aggressive + butterflies. Ekholm gets it.
I will always cheer for an oilers goalie. It is also true that the Oilers system may not flatter goalies (although that wasn’t really true last season or tonight)
We talk a lot about Dubnyk as a possible comparison (including our gracious host) but
That’s why that decision looked more egregious
Skinner has had decline in SPG with each successive year since handling a regular workload
(.914, .905, .895, .885)
His playoff save percentage has never been good, and he’s been pulled as the starter for the last 2 playoff seasons
Not to mention the phase in the franchise’s trajectory is entirely different, and the advanced metrics and subjective evaluation of his weaknesses.
I would posit that there is no reason to think he ever will succeed as a top 12 starter, and if he does in the future, I honestly don’t know how it could be predicted on the basis of Skinners last 200+ regular season/playoff games. The only reasons one can cite would be goalies are voodoo and fresh look. But those aren’t based on prior performance.
Of course I want to be wrong, and I want to be wrong now
Skinner will thrive on a team that plays a defensive system that limits opposition chances.
Won’t any goalie?
I don’t think being out shot two to one is limiting chances.
This is a fun hockey game.
Lots of positives
I can see from that period why Wallsted has such a high save percentage. There was nothing given up in that period. There were zero screens and no high danger shots. Oil didn’t play bad but neutral zone play by Wild forwards pushed everything to outside and no Oiler got inside position. The goal Wild scored was an easy faceoff win, Wild player untouched on way in front of the net for a quick release hard point shot. Stu didn’t see it.
Hyman one of the very few Oiler forwards that will go net front. I miss Cory.
It is a problem. They need to prioritize going net front. Good things happen, as seen by the Wild goal on a simple fly by screen and point shot from won draw.
Crappy deal. Lost some steam after the goal(you’d like to see a save from that far out) but started to get it back. We had the puck more but not really doing anything with it. Gotta get traffic and shots towards the net. They don’t all need to be tic tac toe.
Stu is what he is; he’s damn ok, but hes not a starter. The quicker the powers at be realize, the better.
Whew. Savoie almost got caught with his head down. I thought he was gonna be died…
Still waiting for my first ever opportunity to say good play Freddy.
Freddy needs to sit. He is making zero impact on the game in the minutes he is playing. I would rather see Tommyshack in the line up.
Every player on the top AHL line in Bako are more deserving of NHL playing time than Trent turnstile Frederic
Ffs, just when I start to think Skinner might have his shit together, that happens. I tried, I really tried to have faith in him…
That’s on you! We have seasons worth of data to suggests that he can’t be an above average starter.
Minnesota was being frustrated by Oilers D and then gifted a soft goal
Oh, Stu……
Not good
Unscreened from the blue line when the Oilers has been the better team
Like I’ve said, it’s not always how many stoppable shots he lets in. It’s when he lets them in.
And like I’ve said, it’s how many 🙂 We have enough of a sample size to know what he is.
No screen, no deflection. That should never get past an NHL goalie le sigh.
Hard shot but beaten cleanly. Not good enough.
Stu sometimes seems to make himself smaller rather than larger. The net looks to have a lot of space to find holes. There was a fly by screen on this goal. He didn’t see it. Drai needs to do a better job battling on that draw. I like McDavid and Draisatl less and less together. They are awful defensively together.
The incredible shrinking goalie…..
Absolutely a perfectly timed screen. By the time the shot was off the stick, the screen was in place which kept Skinner from seeing where the puck was going. Once the screen was gone, and the shot was on its way, very few goalies would have stopped that. Best hope was to guess correctly or hope the puck happened to hit him.
Agreed. Wingers need to put up a bit more of a battle so it’s not a free and easy path to net front.
That’s what Louie said. I’m not so sure.
Good kill. When did Regula become a shot blocking machine?
Effort is there. Haven’t had to many dangerous chances but that’ll come if we can keep it up. Really good getting back. That makes me happy.
Regula with a good rush, a good blue line stand-up and a good block early!
He’s looked engaged, this game. Physical a few times. Something I can’t really remember seeing, from him.
With Walman coming back maybe on Saturday, and Emberson playing well, his lineup spot is in jeopardy.
Perhaps he’s finally settling back in to his game after that bang from Kane.
I hope they wait until Walman is 100 percent healthy. He has been (mostly) awful this year, and I’m guessing it is due to health. The pairs are finally starting to settle in with each other. Partially due to consistency of playing together, I would guess.
I have more long term hope for Embers n Regular than I had previously.
McDavid and Hyman costing Savoie points…..
Last game was the first complete game I’ve seen all year. Stu had a pretty easy night but came up big when he had to. Forwards actually seemed to care about backchecking. Thanks to Clatt, we have a bit of abrasiveness. That has to be our recipe for success. Work hard both ways and play as a unit.
Hat ✅
Jersey ✅
Iced Tea in a Fancy Oilers glass ✅
Let’s Do This!
GO OILERS!!
👊🏽 👊🏽 👊🏽
Reid Schaefer with his first NHL goal.
Against the Flames too
He was drafted one sport after Ike Howard.
It’ll interesting to see how that works out.
if you have Schaefer and his 1 goal you haven’t had Ekholm ………
That really helps the Oilers in the past 2 playoff runs. Oh wait, who gives a shit…
Cal Ritchie, formerly of the Avalanche, has 2.
Remember when Jonas Brodin was your boy? I had forgotten until the broadcast mentioned he’s been in the league for 15 years.
He turned out to be a good player, so you get credit for that. However, they didn’t win the multiple cups you promised.