Oilers Suffer First Regulation Loss, But Don't Panic, Yet

Well, it was going to happen eventually. The Edmonton Oilers suffered their first regulation loss of the season, losing 4-2 to the Utah Mammoth on Thursday night, but before you panic, try to remember what this team is working with right now.

Edmonton is 5-1-1 through seven games, still sitting in a pretty comfortable position despite missing Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Matt Savoie. Hyman was expected to return on Thursday, although he ultimately remained out of the lineup, leaving Mike Babcock without what could very well be his entire second line.

So, last night was simply a reminder that there's only so much Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl can do when the rest of the lineup isn't contributing offensively.

McDavid played 25:52 against Utah, while Draisaitl played 23 minutes and Evan Bouchard played 27:03. The three combined for 10 shots and Edmonton's first goal, with Draisaitl scoring his fifth of the season, but the Oilers couldn't find enough offence to overcome a team that scored twice on the power play.

Babcock admitted afterward that he's been relying on his best players far too much, something he's been trying to avoid since taking over behind Edmonton's bench.

"We needed our big boys, obviously. I played them too much," Babcock said.

"It has to stop. I look at it every night and go, 'What the heck am I doing?' We've been real lucky that the games have been spaced out … but that's not the NHL. It's impossible… But I'm also trying to survive right now."

And really, can you blame him?

With three important forwards injured and Jason Dickinson with a weird injury, not an injury scare—he was seen limping off the ice during the morning skate, though Babcock said his ankle is fine—Babcock doesn't have many options when the Oilers need a goal. McDavid and Draisaitl have been playing together all season, just as Babcock said he would do before preseason, and there's definitely a case to keep them together when there's not enough top-six wingers to go around.

However, playing McDavid nearly 26 minutes every night isn't going to work over an 84-game season or a lengthy playoff run.

The bottom nine forwards have struggled to contribute over the last two games, and that's becoming a concern for Babcock. Edmonton managed to win 4-1 against Los Angeles on Tuesday despite getting very little from those lines, although Utah wasn't quite as forgiving.

"The good thing for us is we're getting to see everyone in the organization. We're seeing who can play and who can't," Babcock said. "(Utah) has got a deep team, and we're going to have a deep team too. But right now we're not as deep, and I thought that showed tonight."

He's right about the depth, and there's something to be said for the Oilers managing five wins in seven games while giving opportunities to players who might otherwise be in Bakersfield.

Owen Michaels, Josh Samanski and Filip Hollander have all stayed in the NHL because of injuries. Some have taken advantage of those opportunities, although the coaching staff is also learning where the organization still needs help.

Devon Levi suffered his first loss of the season after winning his first four appearances. Admittedly, I was ready to call him Edmonton's No. 1 goaltender before Thursday's game, so I'm not particularly concerned about one loss.

Levi was good, for the most part, last night. The Mammoth scored twice on the power play, and Logan Cooley scored partly because Shakir Mukhamadullin failed to tie up his stick in front of the net.

"The third one kills you," Babcock said. "You can't give that up. It's a freebie."

Mukhamadullin has sat in the press box a couple of times this season, but with Jake Walman injured, Edmonton needs him to be dependable. At six-foot-five, he has the size to be a solid net-front guy, though Thursday's mistake certainly didn't help his case.

Babcock has confirmed Tristan Jarry will start Saturday when the Oilers visit Utah for the second game of their home-and-home series.

McDavid also seemed reasonably satisfied with the team's effort, despite the result, and pointed to special teams as the difference.

"It was a tight-checking game—both teams really dug in. I thought it was a great game all around," McDavid said. "Two good teams that were working and checking, and it came down to special teams. They found a way to get a couple, and we didn't."

Edmonton has been playing some pretty disciplined defensive hockey lately, and last night wasn't necessarily a departure from that. However, McDavid also acknowledged that the Oilers need to find some balance between playing defensively responsible and scoring enough goals to win games.

"Part of the game is defending and part of the game is offence too, so we have to find the balance," McDavid said. "We've done a good job checking, and I thought we had enough chances to tie the game up, but it didn't go that way tonight."

Getting Hyman, Nugent-Hopkins and Savoie back will help considerably and likely do a good job of rounding out the top-six. It would also allow Babcock to reduce the workload on his top players, something he's already admitted needs to happen.

Thursday wasn't Edmonton's best performance. The Oilers had trouble getting contributions from their bottom nine, gave up two power-play goals and needed too much from their top line.

But they also lost by two goals to a good team, with one of those coming into an empty net, while missing several important players.

With all that in mind and a long season to go, I'm not sure one regulation loss is worth getting particularly upset about.

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