“I think there’s some frustration,” said Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch. “We expect more out of ourselves and playing better, but after a game like the other night where we put up six goals, a lot of guys are feeling good about themselves. We just need to play the right way and tonight for the most part, I thought we did.”
And while some of the players may be feeling good about themselves, it didn’t seem to show as once again the Oilers’ best play didn’t come until late. And once again, a sluggish start put them behind as it took Eberle all of one minute and 23 seconds to open the scoring. Tye Kartye would add Seattle’s second in the second as Edmonton was on the wrong side of the game.
Evan Bouchard would score his first of the season ripping a Bouch Bomb home on the power play later in that frame, before Eberle’s second of the game came partway through the third. As the Oilers continued to push Darnell Nurse would tip a Matias Ekholm shot home, but it was too little, too late.
That’s been a theme of the Oilers this year, who have scored just 14 five-on-five goals so far this season. That’s tied for the third-worst mark in the league, and on a per-hour basis, gives them sole custody of third with a 1.86 goals per hour rate a full two goals below the league-leading Carolina Hurricanes.
Over the previous three regular seasons, the Oilers had been the third strongest five-on-five scoring team, putting up 2.76 goals per hour, but that offence has been nowhere to be found early this season. The Oilers instead have had to bake their bread on the power play — something they’ve always done with ease.
It’s not a formidable plan to win hockey games in the long run and while it’s still the time of season where the Oilers often play their worst hockey, they can’t let this low-scoring continue. A six-goal outburst against the Montreal Canadiens was a good sign that the team can still score, but if you average out their goals per game in the other games, they’ve scored just 20 goals in eight games with a third coming on the power play.
Scoring struggles aside, Knoblauch likes what he saw from his teams game.
“There was a lot of things I liked,” he said. “We had more scoring chances than probably all but one game this year, especially in the third period. I thought we had a lot of pressure. Just some mistakes on giving up chances off the rush.
“Whether that’s a poor bad pinch or the forwards not coming back, just out of sync there. That’s where Seattle had pretty much all their chances off plays like that. Most of it was good — and it’s a very important part — we need to get better at.”
With the Nation Vacation in Vancouver tonight, the Oilers will hope to build off it and find a way to convert on those scoring chances.
Cowboys' final injury report could make for good news for the Broncos
Through seven games, the Denver Broncos are one of the healthier teams in all of football. Their Week 8 counterpart, the Dallas Cowboys, is one of the more injured teams in the NFL after having an absurd 15 players on their injury report. With a major matchup on deck, the Broncos hold a clear upper hand on the injury front.
The Broncos had two players on their injury report after their Week 7 win over the Giants: Mike McGlinchey and Jonah Elliss. Both were full participants in practice on Wednesday and clearly will be playing this week against the Cowboys. McGlinchey only missed five snaps and felt like a given to play anyway.
As for the Cowboys, their injury report is a true who's who of their roster. Ranging from important starters to key rotational part-timers, injuries have decimated this week's practice for Dallas. A whopping 10 defenders for Dallas would up on the injury report, highlighted by a pair of high-profile starters: Kenny Clark and Trevon Diggs. If the Broncos have any hopes of turning in a complete
offensive game, this week could be their best opportunity to do so in some time.
The Cowboys' injury report gives Denver the upper hand heading into Sunday afternoon's matchup
The Cowboys' final injury report before Sunday's matchup was a hot mess, as you might expect. Dallas ruled four players out, highlighted by defensive backs Trevon Diggs and Donovan Wilson, along with center Cooper Beebe. Five other Cowboys came in as questionable for Sunday, and all others on the injury report fully practiced on Friday and were listed as "unspecified". Odds are, those unspecified players will suit up in Denver to some capacity.
As the calendar approaches November, health becomes a key factor in the NFL. Several Cowboys are going to enter the week with some level of injury baggage from the week, meaning that a fair share will have some level of injury issues heading into the week. Of note, Kenny Clark did not fully practice until the final day of practice and could be on some form of limitation this week, which would be a huge plus for the
An injured Dallas defense could make Week 8 an even more appealing week for the Broncos offense. The Cowboys' defense is already one of the worst units in the league, and a missing Diggs paired with a hobbled Clark only makes them that much worse. Bo Nix, JK Dobbins, and the Broncos should be able to get their work done against Dallas this week.
