Power Play The Difference In Oilers Loss To Canadiens

The Edmonton Oilers lost 4-1 to the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday night, and it wasn't just the back-to-back schedule or tired legs that did them in.

It was their power play. Specifically, watching a unit with Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Zach Hyman, and Evan Bouchard fail to score on a full two-minute five-on-three advantage in the first period.

Now, go full game perspective here. Montreal converted 50 percent of their power play opportunities, going 2-for-4. Edmonton managed measly 20 percent, or 1-for-5.

Ivan Demidov opened the scoring with a man-advantage goal in the second period. Nick Suzuki added another early in the third to make it 3-0. Those two goals decided the game, while Edmonton couldn't match that production.

That five-on-three? A complete failure to execute. Two full minutes with a two-man advantage and nothing to show for it.

"Credit to Montreal, they played well and defended well," Kris Knoblauch said afterward. "But we were feeling confident. We'd scored a lot of goals, were starting to win, and now some bad habits are creeping into our game when things are going well. It really cost us tonight."

Poor habits showed up across the board. Calvin Pickard made 23 saves, including five on breakaways, exposing defensive breakdowns all night (sure could use a Brett Kulak-type defenceman about now). Still, the power play stood out most in a game decided entirely by special teams.

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Consider the talent on Edmonton's top unit. Two generational players in McDavid and Draisaitl. Bouchard running the point. Hyman creating havoc in front. Nugent-Hopkins providing options in the middle. This group should overwhelm most penalty kills in the league.

Montreal countered with Juraj Slafkovsky, Nick Suzuki, Ivan Demidov, Cole Caufield, and Lane Hutson. Still big names, but less proven. Less established. Yet they finished their chances while Edmonton's stars couldn't convert.

The second units had minimal impact. Edmonton used Andrew Mangiapane, Adam Henrique, Matthew Savoie, Mattias Ekholm, and Darnell Nurse. Montreal ran Brendan Gallagher, Oliver Kapanen, Alexandre Texier, Mike Matheson, and Noah Dobson. Neither scored, and neither particularly mattered given how the first units performed.

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What should worry Oilers fans isn't bad luck or unfortunate bounces. This was a breakdown in execution at the fundamental level. Two minutes of five-on-three hockey should produce results for players of this calibre. 

When Montreal's younger, less experienced power play converts half their chances while yours converts one-fifth despite superior talent, something needs fixing.

"The last month or so, I've really liked our game, so I'm going to take the positives out of those ones," Mattias Ekholm said. "This one we didn't like, but there's going to be one game here or there that you don't like. Hopefully, we'll have a response on Tuesday."

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The recent stretch has been solid. Five-game point streak before Sunday. A 15-12-6 record that keeps them in the playoff picture. But they're now 0-3-3 on the second night of back-to-backs, suggesting deeper issues with preparation or conditioning.

None of that changes Sunday's result at the Bell Centre. Montreal's special teams did their jobs. Edmonton's didn't. Demidov and Suzuki scored their power play goals. Draisaitl finished pointless, his pursuit of 1,000 career points extended another game.

The Canadiens moved the puck efficiently, created space, and capitalized on their chances. The Oilers over-complicated their passing, forced plays into coverage, and squandered a two-minute five-on-three that should have been routine.

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For a team chasing a Stanley Cup, that's unacceptable. For a power play with this much talent, it's inexcusable.

Pittsburgh awaits on Tuesday as the five-game road trip continues. A response is needed. Particularly from the power play.

Five opportunities including a two-minute five-on-three, and only one goal. Meanwhile, the opponent scores twice on four chances with less firepower. That gap determined the outcome.

Nothing else to it.

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