Even elite NHL legs buckle under extreme minutes. The Edmonton Oilers learned the hard way that even stars eventually run out of gas.
The Edmonton Oilers didn’t lose in overtime against the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night because they lacked skill, heart, or effort. They didn't even lose because their goaltender took a risk that didn't pay off. They lost because even the best players in the world eventually run out of gas.
In a game where Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Evan Bouchard were leaned on heavily, overtime exposed the limits of tired legs. McDavid played 26:25, Draisaitl, 23:59, and Bouchard 27:21. This was on the heels of a game the night before, where each forward played over 21 minutes and Bouchard over 24.
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Oh, and two days before that, McDavid played 27:06, Draisaitl 27:27, and Bouchard 30:36, in another overtime loss to the Los Angeles Kings.
The Oilers are learning the hard way that there’s no such thing as endless energy — especially in three-on-three.
During Tuesday's matchup, McDavid, Draisaitl, and Bouchard had, once again, been on the ice far too long. By the time the play broke down and turned scrambly, -- McDavid tried to beat three Predators players and lost the puck -- their legs were gone.
The two-on-one coming back forced Jarry to come well out of his crease to make a play on the puck. From his vantage point, he likely had little choice because the Oilers weren't getting back.
If Draisaitl has even a little more in reserve, he likely has the ability to push harder and tie up Brady Skjei before the puck moves to Roman Josi. If Bouchard isn't wiped, he gets to the net quicker and has better positioning. Even better, he goes straight to Josi.
There are often odd-man breaks in overtime, but that extra half-second is the difference between a broken play and a game-winning goal. It's also next to impossible to imagine the Oilers best players weren't running on empty.
McDavid has played a lot of minutes in the last three games. Photo by:
© Steve Roberts Imagn ImagesAt the best of times, this Oilers team is top heavy. The top six is providing offense, but the bottom six isn't. As a result, the minutes are more heavily weighted toward the top six than many other NHL teams. But, on back-to-back and two overtimes in three games, the reserve tanks start running low.
Margins are thin, and fatigue shows quickly. Even elite players don’t have endless engines. When the Oilers leaned on their stars for one more shift than their legs could handle, Nashville capitalized.
Blaming the goalie for that goal misses the point. He was solid late in regulation and throughout the night gave Edmonton a chance to win. Maybe he could have played that differently, and maybe he played it just right. The breakdown happened earlier, and it started with tired skaters unable to recover.
It's a problem for the Oilers and one they'll need to address.
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