1 Obscure Stat Puts Raiders' Struggles in Shocking Perspective
The Las Vegas Raiders' rough start to the season was capped off by a blowout loss against the Kansas City Chiefs. Las Vegas' offensive futility reached a new low in the absence of several of its best players. Las Vegas' roster was never set up to sustain injuries of any kind this season.
Still, Sunday's ugly loss to the Chiefs was an accurate look into the current state of this season's Raiders team. There is still time to turn things around if the Raiders' coaching staff is open to making changes.
Raiders' Historic Woes
Nate Davis of USA TODAY recently ranked every team in the National Football League heading into Week 8. The Raiders have the week off, but Davis ranked the Silver and Black as the 28th-best team in the league. That appears to be a fair ranking after the Raiders' most recent outing.
Davis noted one stat that put the Raiders' struggles against the Chiefs, noting that the Raiders did something that ranks last in the league over the past century.
"They gave up 31 points and 30 first downs to K.C. on Sunday, when the Silver and Black also ran 30 plays − the fewest in the league this century," Davis said.
Following the Raiders' loss to the Chiefs, Raiders Head Coach Pete Carroll elaborated on how the Raiders' lack of plays on offense impacted them. Although the Chiefs' defense played well,
“Offensively now, we've settled down giving the football up, and so now we need to kind of get going again and get moving and get productive. Yesterday was a mess of making first downs and they did a great job on us. We missed some guys out there,” Carroll said.
"Jakobi [Meyers] was really important to us, not having him, and the fact that we were so close to getting Brock [Bowers] back. We've been without Brock for almost a month now. He missed three games. It seems like forever. And he's such a central figure in our offense, to have him coming back will just seem different. I think everything about it will look different. And we're counting on that."
Canucks pursue halting losing streak in meeting vs. Oilers
The Vancouver Canucks will look to avoid a fourth straight loss as they continue a three-game homestand against the visiting Edmonton Oilers on Sunday night.
On Saturday, the Canucks jumped out to a two-goal lead against the Montreal Canadiens before dropping a 4-3 decision.
Elias Pettersson collected two assists against the Canadiens and Jake DeBrusk added his second goal of the season.
Conor Garland, who leads the Canucks in assists (six) and points (nine), scored with 3:47 remaining in the third period on Saturday, but his team was unable to net the equalizer.
Vancouver, which is 1-2-0 on home ice this season, is in the midst of a seven-game, 11-day stretch.
The Canucks are dealing with several injuries up front, including forwards Jonathan Lekkerimaki (undisclosed), Teddy Blueger (undisclosed), Nils Hoglander (lower body) and Filip Chytil (upper body).
"We've known the schedule since the summer, so we're not even discussing the schedule," Vancouver coach Adam Foote said. "We're working every day, how we have to work. We got slammed with some injuries during a tough schedule, and that's no excuse. We're going to keep on going."
In an effort to add depth up front, the Canucks acquired forward Lukas Reichel from the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday. The 23-year-old centered a line with Evander Kane and Brock Boeser and logged 15:54 of ice time in Saturday's loss.
"It was definitely not my best game," said Reichel, who won just two of 10 faceoffs. "I've still got more to give, but I felt good, especially in the first two periods. Just tried to get my legs going and gain some confidence."
Sunday is the second of four meetings between the Canucks and Oilers. Edmonton topped Vancouver 3-1 in the first clash between the Pacific Division rivals on Oct. 11.
The Oilers travel to Vancouver as part of a brief two-game road trip, following a 3-2 loss to the Kraken in Seattle on Saturday night.
Defensemen Evan Bouchard and Darnell Nurse each scored their respective first goals of the season while Leon Draisaitl added a pair of assists for the Oilers, who lost for the fourth time in six outings.
Goaltender Stuart Skinner made 20 saves in the loss.
"I thought our process was a little better than the other night, but we forced Stu to make some big saves, especially there off the rush -- probably gave (Seattle) a few too many looks that way," Nurse said. "For us, we've got to keep plugging away at our game."
Calvin Pickard, Sunday's expected starter in Vancouver, is 2-1-0 in three starts this season to go along with a 3.37 goals-against average and an .844 save percentage.
"Every time we play Vancouver it's a tough match," Nurse added. "They're a team that comes out and plays hard, so for us it's that connectedness we talked about -- being five players all over the ice, upping our work ethic and winning our battles. It's those simple things that allow you to work yourself out of a slump."
