Usually, a point on the road is considered an acceptable outcome for an NHL team.
But not for the Edmonton Oilers. At least, not right now.
Edmonton absorbed a 3-2 overtime defeat Monday against the host Ottawa Senators, snapping the Oilers’ four-game winning streak.
Even if the Oilers win Wednesday against the Capitals in Washington, they will enter the league’s All-Star break outside the playoff line in the Western Conference.
For a team featuring the past two Hart Memorial Trophy winners as league MVP, captain Connor McDavid (2020-21) and Leon Draisaitl (2019-20), more was expected.
McDavid and Darnell Nurse scored against Ottawa, and Mikko Koskinen made 28 saves.
“(We) didn’t finish,” Edmonton coach Dave Tippett said. “Had some opportunities. This league, first one to three (goals) usually can win. We didn’t get to three; they did.”
It’s been an up-and-down season for the Oilers, who won nine of their first 10 games but have since endured six- and seven-game losing streaks.
“I think we put ourselves in position to win the game,” Nurse said after the contest at Ottawa. “I think we could have probably had another step up in our effort, especially in the middle of that game. With that said, we found a way to get a point, and we haven’t been able to do that lately.”
Added Tippett: “You have to keep pounding away at it. There are always parts of your game you want to keep working on, players that can play a little better. …
“But we like our team, we have a good team, we just have to keep pushing ahead. I think it was a game that was a winnable game if we could have capitalized on some chances. We didn’t, so we move on.”
Washington enters Wednesday’s game without superstar captain Alex Ovechkin, who tested positive for COVID-19. The three-time Hart Trophy recipient also will miss this weekend’s All-Star Game in Las Vegas.
The Capitals have won two in a row, including a 4-3, come-from-behind, overtime decision Tuesday night against the host Pittsburgh Penguins.
Defenseman Dmitry Orlov scored twice for Washington, the second being the winner at 4:17 of the extra session.
“We had to fight and claw for everything,” Capitals coach Peter Laviolette said. “I give the guys a lot of credit for just staying with it.”
Ilya Samsonov came off the bench and made 43 saves for the Capitals after starting goalie Vitek Vanecek left in the first period with an upper-body injury. Samsonov prevented Penguins star Sidney Crosby from scoring his 499th career goal by stopping a breakaway in overtime.
“(Samsonov) played really well,” Laviolette said. “He had a lot of work. (Pittsburgh) had a lot of offense and came at us in waves at times. For him to come off the bench and play that way, he played a solid game and gave us a chance.”
Nic Dowd scored a short-handed goal for the Capitals, and Daniel Sprong netted the tying goal in the last minute of regulation.
“First half of the game, I think they were a little better,” Orlov said. “Then we kind of found a way and I think (Samsonov) was good, too. He jumped in. It’s not easy. He made great saves to keep us in the game. They outshoot us, but in the second half, it was better. Much better.”
–Field Level Media
