Oilers are stuck in the mud: why are things so bad right now?

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Finnegan Frost
October 24, 2024 (7:12)

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As the Edmonton Oilers look to avoid another 3-9-1 start like last season, Oilers fans are starting to grow weary of the team.

The Oilers recently played the Carolina Hurricanes in a thrilling matchup. Although the team showed flashes of brilliance, the team ultimately came up short, losing with just seconds left in overtime. With that being said, here are some key reasons why the Oilers might seem «stuck in the mud». Edmonton Journal's Robert Tychkowski breaks it down:

Option One: It's all mental
The Oilers still have last spring ringing in their ears and this is the understandable hangover.

After that epic Stanley Cup playoff run, the first few games of this season must seem like a letdown. It's hard to find the same intensity in Game 5 of the regular season that you had in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. It's like going for a ride in a Formula 1 race car and then pretending to be excited about the Uber ride home.

Option Two: Chemistry set
It's going to take a while for all of the off-season moves to settle in. Changing six skaters in one offseason is kind of unusual given that the team was two goals away from a Stanley Cup. And it's not insignificant.

The second line of Draisaitl, Viktor Arvidsson, and Jeff Skinner isn't anything close to what the Oilers were hoping for, if not expecting when they signed the two free agent wingers.

Option Three: Glitch in the Matrix
The best power play in the world is operating at 10 per cent?

Zach Hyman, a guy who scored 70 goals last year, has zero points in seven games? Perennial impact player Leon Draisaitl is barely noticeable out there, even on a line with Connor McDavid? McDavid is barely a point-per-game player right now? Evan Bouchard is lost offensively?

These are guys you can set your watch by. Nobody in hockey thinks that these slumps are going to last. This is just a weird vortex that seems to have swallowed up Edmonton's best players. They'll bust out of it right away and everything will be back to normal.

The Oilers will have days before their next game, when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday, before a three game road trip sees them stop in Columbus, Nashville and Calgary.