The Edmonton Oilers must be fans of The White Lotus.

Though the last day of their trip wasn't quite as dramatic as the HBO series' season three finale, the Oilers' 3-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Monday was similarly frustrating, violent, and full of self-sabotage.

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Usually, you're happy with outshooting the opponent 49-21 and winning the expected goals battle 7.82-2.82--but usually you win those games. Not only did they lose, they couldn't get out of their own way, losing the physical and emotional battle in addition to the game itself. Of course, Lukas Dostal saving nearly six goals above expected in the Ducks' net didn't help.

Yes, the Oilers are as depleted as a team can be--they dressed only seventeen players on Monday, and were briefly down to just sixteen--but their performance still left a lot to be desired. At least they get to go home now.

Key Player Grades

Evan Bouchard: C-

With Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl out of the lineup, Evan Bouchard is left as the Oilers' best player. Or at least he should be. He was far from it on Monday, turning in a -2 line in -- minutes of ice time, including major mistakes on the Ducks' first two goals. Bouchard even saw a rare reduction in his powerplay time as the Oilers went 0/6 on the man advantage.

At his best, Bouchard is a force, an elite offensive weapon on the back end and one of the best possession players in the league. The Oilers can't win without him. But at his worst, he's a defensive liability and turnover machine, and the Oilers can't win with him. They got a glimpse of the former with his assist on the Oilers' late second goal, but it was too little, too late.

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Kasperi Kapanen: D-

The Oilers will be facing a roster crunch up front once everyone is healthy, and it's looking like Kapanen will be on the outside looking in. It's hard to argue otherwise after he garnered a 12% xG share and committed a backbreaking turnover on the Ducks' eventual game-winner.

Referees: F

The Oilers had a lot of problems on Monday, chief among them going 0-for-6 against the league's worst penalty kill. More powerplays might not have helped them at all.

But the on-ice officials also had a night to forget. The Ducks--captain Radko Gudas in particular were comfortable taking liberties with the Oilers, and the referees let them for the most part. Corey Perry was a favored target, briefly leaving the game after taking Gudas' shoulder to the head on a notable non-call.

The eventual result was a lot of extracurricular activities from the Oilers and Ducks as the two teams took matters into their own hands. It's fair to criticize the Oilers' relative lack of response to the hits on Perry and others, but at the end of the day that's not their job. It's the refs', and they didn't hold up their end of the bargain on Monday night.

The Oilers didn't go out quietly, subjecting Dostal to 24 shots in the third period alone as they searched for the equalizer, but the battle had been lost long before then. No matter the shot totals or overall sheen of dominance, it's hard for the Oilers to come out of Monday's loss feeling good about themselves. Second place in the Pacific Division now feels a long ways away.

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