Oilers Collapse Early, Never Recover in Lopsided Loss to Penguins
The Oilers came into Thursday night looking to string together three straight wins, but what unfolded at Rogers Place was anything but a step forward. Hosting a Penguins team on the second leg of a back-to-back, Edmonton had a golden opportunity to capitalize. Instead, they delivered one of their most disjointed performances of the season, falling behind early and never mounting a serious response.
A Nightmare Opening Three Minutes
Let’s not sugarcoat it - the Oilers were overwhelmed right out of the gate. Before fans had even settled into their seats, the Penguins had already lit the lamp three times on their first three shots.
That’s not a typo. Three goals in 37 seconds.
It was a stunning collapse that left the home crowd in disbelief and the Oilers chasing a game they never looked prepared to play.
The breakdowns were everywhere. Defensive zone turnovers.
Breakaways. Odd-man rushes.
Missed assignments. It was a perfect storm of mistakes, and Pittsburgh didn’t waste a second taking full advantage.
The Penguins looked energized, composed, and opportunistic - all the things the Oilers weren’t in those opening minutes.
To Edmonton’s credit, the play stabilized somewhat as the period wore on, but the damage was already done. And when the bar is set that low, simply “getting better” isn’t much of a consolation.
No Pushback, No Spark
If the first three minutes were a disaster, the rest of the game didn’t offer much relief. Outside of a brief flicker of life when Jake Walman scored a shorthanded goal, there was little for Oilers fans to cheer about. The team looked flat, disconnected, and uninspired - a far cry from the kind of urgency you expect from a group trying to establish consistency.
This wasn’t a case of running into a hot goalie or getting outclassed by a superior team. The Penguins played well, but they didn’t need to be dominant.
The Oilers simply didn’t show up. Offensive zone entries fizzled out at the blue line.
Shifts ended without shot attempts. And every time there was a hint of momentum, it was snuffed out by another unforced error.
It was the kind of game where you kept waiting for a push that never came. And by the time the final horn sounded, the frustration wasn’t just about the score - it was about how lifeless the performance had been from start to finish.
The Bright Spot: Draisaitl Returns
If there was one piece of good news on the night, it was the return of Leon Draisaitl to the lineup. The Oilers’ star forward had missed time recently, and his presence is always a difference-maker - not just because of his production, but because of the way he controls the pace and flow of the game.
While Draisaitl wasn’t at his usual dominant level in his return, just having him back on the ice is a significant boost for a team that sorely needs direction and leadership right now. The Oilers are a different team when No. 29 is in the lineup, and even on a night when nothing went right, his return offers a glimmer of hope heading into the next stretch of games.
Looking Ahead
There’s no sugarcoating a loss like this. It was a missed opportunity against a tired opponent, and the Oilers never looked ready to compete.
The early meltdown set the tone, and the lack of response afterward was just as concerning. For a team with playoff aspirations and a roster full of elite talent, these kinds of lapses are becoming far too familiar.
Still, the season is long, and there’s time to regroup. Draisaitl’s return is a key first step. But if the Oilers want to be taken seriously as contenders, they’ll need to find consistency - not just in their scoring, but in their compete level from the opening puck drop to the final whistle.