The Edmonton Oilers left Wednesday night with two points, and that part is easy enough to celebrate. The harder part is what keeps hanging over these wins: they’ve been getting outplayed and surviving anyway.
That was the case against the New York Rangers earlier in the week, and it showed up again against the Philadelphia Flyers. Edmonton found a way to win, but the way they got there is starting to look familiar in all the wrong ways.
“You never complain about wins,” said Zach Hyman on Wednesday night after scoring two goals. And he’s right.
Teams that want to matter in the standings have to know how to grind out games they don’t fully control. “That’s what good teams do,” said head coach Mike Babcock.
Still, the Oilers are flirting with the same problem that bit them the last time they ran into Toronto.
That earlier meeting came after Edmonton had already beaten the Carolina Hurricanes and Minnesota Wild. Both of those games were narrow escapes - a shootout win over Carolina and a 4-3 overtime win against Minnesota - and Edmonton was the second-best team in each. Toronto made them pay for it in the next game, rolling to a 7-2 win.
That’s the warning sign here. If the Oilers keep leaning on survival hockey, they may not get the same mercy twice.
Now they’re headed back to Toronto, this time to open a six-game road trip. Edmonton sits at 14-3-3, and a rough stretch could chip away at that fast. A strong start on the trip matters because the margin for error gets thin in a hurry.
There’s another issue bubbling under the surface, too: the goaltending has been carrying too much of the load. Edmonton is sitting atop the NHL standings after 20 games for the first time since January 10, 1990, and they’ve matched their best start since 1984-85. That’s a major accomplishment, but it doesn’t erase the concern Babcock raised about how often the netminders are bailing the team out.
“The last two nights, our goaltending has been better than I’d like it to be. I don’t to say it like that…” Babcock said, “Way better than we wanted to have to be. … Is that a better way to say it?”
The reality is simple enough: there’s only so long Edmonton can keep asking Tristan Jarry and Devon Levi to steal games. They’ve done it, but they can’t be expected to carry that burden forever. The Oilers are winning, but the support around them needs to catch up before the next wake-up call arrives.
In Other News...
Hurricanes Are Suddenly Back In A High-Stakes Erik Karlsson Chase
Erik Karlssons situation in Pittsburgh is starting to look like one of the more intriguing trade watches on the NHL calendar, and Carolina is right there among the teams keeping tabs. According to Pierre LeBrun of TSN, the Hurricanes are monitoring the Penguins defenseman as Pittsburgh slides into seller mode, with Karlsson now in the final year of his contract and his future suddenly back in focus.
The wrinkle is that any move would have to clear a complicated path, which is why this is far from a simple deadline-style rumor. Carolina was in the mix for Karlsson before, and the fit still makes sense for a club that has long been willing to swing big when a top-end defenseman becomes available, but the next step depends on how Pittsburgh handles the situation and how much traction develops once the new year arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Hurricanes Defense Plans Still Leave One Intriguing Name In Play
The Maple Leafs are taking a careful approach with Chris Tanev, using a fluid load management plan that has him sitting out certain games in November to help manage his workload. At the same time, Toronto is still hunting for a meaningful blue-line upgrade through trades, looking for something that can fit beyond just the current season. For Carolina, that kind of market movement matters, because the Hurricanes have been linked to the defense conversation all along and remain in the mix as the picture around available help begins to sharpen.
Erik Karlsson is still the name that keeps the door cracked open for the Hurricanes, even as he continues to play well in Pittsburgh. The fit is obvious enough to keep monitoring, especially for a team that has not hidden its interest in adding another proven defenseman, but the timing and the cost are the real questions hanging over any pursuit. For now, Carolina can watch how the market develops while one of the more intriguing options on the board keeps building his case. [Read more 🡒]
Aho And The Hurricanes Arrive In Helsinki With More At Stake
The Hurricanes have landed in Helsinki for the NHL Global Series with their game against the Seattle Kraken carrying a little more weight than a typical early-season trip overseas. Carolina has been rolling lately, winning six of its last seven, and the timing of this showcase comes as the club tries to keep that momentum going against a Seattle team still sorting through uneven results and defensive issues.
The setting also adds another layer for Carolina, which is managing injuries while trying to stay sharp in a different environment. Jordan Staal is sidelined, and Seattle will be without Jared McCann, so both teams are leaning on depth as they adjust to the travel and the stage. For the Hurricanes, this is more than a scenic stop in Finland. It is a chance to keep building on a strong stretch while one of their top players has a shot at a notable piece of team history in the same building. [Read more 🡒]