The Edmonton Oilers continued their trip through the New York metropolitan area with a matinee contest versus the New Jersey Devils. The Oilers were coming off a performance against the New York Islanders that left them disappointed. They should have been motivated for a bounce-back game. 

This was a choppy game with both teams trying to make the most of turnovers and small breaks. The Devils scored twice early, and the Oilers got on the board late in the second period. 

The third period, however, did not go the Oilers way. The Devils scored a short-handed goal to seal the deal. Edmonton scored two late goals, but wound up losing 5-3. 

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First Period:

Another turnover by the Oilers gave the Devils an early look, but no harm was done. Shortly after, Evan Bouchard drew a high-sticking penalty early in the first period.

On the power play, Edmonton looked for deflection opportunities from the point, attempting several shot-passes that didn’t connect. The Devils managed to kill off the penalty.

Connor McDavid generated a quality chance on a backhand rush, driving wide around a defender before testing the goalie — a positive sign that he was in a shooting mindset. The Oilers kept the pressure on, firing several shots from the blue line and outshooting the Devils 5–0 through the first half of the period.

A 2-on-1 with Andrew Mangiapane and Troy Stecher ended without a shot when Mangiapane’s pass attempt was blocked.

New Jersey’s best chance of the frame came when Timo Meier fed Nico Hischier in front, forcing Calvin Pickard to scramble and keep the puck out. Moments later, Vasily Podkolzin lost the puck in his own end, leading to another close call. At the other end, Darnell Nurse passed up a shooting lane, resulting in another missed opportunity. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins then took a tripping penalty, but Edmonton’s penalty kill was excellent. 

With just over a minute remaining, Leon Draisaitl turned the puck over, sparking a flurry from the Devils, though none of the chances were particularly dangerous. McDavid managed one last shot on goal with 15 seconds left before the buzzer.

A scrambly opening period came to an end with the Oilers leading 8–4 in shots on goal.

Second Period:

The second period opened with more choppy play, but the Oilers began to find their rhythm when Jack Roslovic drew a tripping penalty. It was a questionable call, and the New Jersey crowd let the officials hear it.

On the ensuing power play, Leon Draisaitl had a point-blank chance and Evan Bouchard got a couple of looks from the point, but the Devils’ penalty kill held firm. Bouchard and David Tomasek were trapped on the ice for over three minutes before Darnell Nurse finally iced the puck, forcing them to stay out for the ensuing faceoff.

The puck continued to bounce unpredictably as both teams adjusted to the pace. Adam Henrique got loose on a breakout pass for a decent look, but his high-slot shot was stopped by Jake Allen. Moments later, Brett Pesce intercepted a puck at center ice and sent it to Jack Hughes, who burst down the middle of the ice like a linebacker and ripped a perfect shot off the crossbar and in. That strike opened the scoring, giving the Devils a 1–0 lead.

Chances went both ways after the goal. Mattias Ekholm jumped into the play for a strong opportunity, and the Oilers’ fourth line followed up with a solid shift, maintaining pressure but failing to capitalize.

A costly turnover by Trent Frederic in front of his own net gave New Jersey another great look. Jack Hughes fed Ondrej Palat for a dangerous chance, but Calvin Pickard came up big. Luke Hughes then danced along the blue line, weaving past two Oilers before firing a backhand that Pickard also turned aside.

Moments later, Nico Hischier broke in one-on-one with Ekholm, drawing a controversial interference call after colliding with Pickard. There was brief concern for the Oilers goaltender, but he stayed in the game. Off the ensuing faceoff, the Devils struck quickly — Jesper Bratt faked a shot, pulled Pickard out of position, and roofed a backhand to make it 2–0 just three seconds into the power play.

Pickard kept the Oilers in it with another key stop on a streaking Hughes, and Edmonton finally responded. Connor McDavid set up Ryan Nugent-Hopkins down low for a slick finish over Allen’s shoulder, cutting the deficit to 2–1. McDavid kept pushing, generating another chance on the following shift as Nurse’s point shot was turned aside.

Nugent-Hopkins now has three goals on the season. That's one of the lone bright spots of this game for Edmonton. The Oilers need to find ways to create more chaos in front of the net and stop passing up shooting opportunities by settling for perimeter looks. 

Third Period

Down a goal, the Oilers were going to need to push in the third period. Another turnover by the Oilers offered another good look to the Devils. 

A rare turnover by the Devils gave Kapanen a chance to shoot. He chose not to. 

Midway through the period, the Oilers put McDavid and Draisaitl together in an attempt to get the game-tying goal. A high-stick on Frederic gave the Oilers a power play at the midpoint of the final frame. 

McDavid chose not to shoot on the power play, and when the puck made its way back up, Bouchard tried to keep it in the zone. Connor Brown swiped it past Bouchar,d and he went in on a breakaway to score. The Oilers continue to beat themselves in these situations. The Oilers' power play fell apart, and it took Pickard making a huge save to keep it 3-1 for New Jersey.

Another turnover leads to another goal as Jack Hughes puts the Devils up 4-1. The Oilers continue not to recognize dangerous sequences and Nurse wasn't urgent enough with little support. Bratt to Hughes for another goal against.  

Troy Stecher then took a roughing penalty. The game had officially gotten away from the Oilers. 

The Oilers did get on the board at 16:30, when McDavid shoved a pass into the net-front area and Nugent-Hopkins potted his second of the game. At 4-2, the Oilers gave themselves life, but time was not on their side. 

The Oilers pulled Pickard to go 6-on-5. Jack Hughes made a good defensive play on a dancing McDavid. The Devils iced the puck with 1:16 remaining. The Oilers called a timeout to formulate a plan and rest the Oilers' big guns. 

The Devils won the scramble off the faceoff and Dawson Mercer put it in the empty net. That put the Devils up 5-2 and put the game out of reach for Edmonton. 

Curtis Lazar scored for the Oilers with three seconds remaining. While a nice moment for Lazar against his old team, it was another poor outing for the Oilers. 

Game Takeaways:

• The Oilers continued to pass up shooting opportunities. Turnovers also crippled any chance they had to get into a rhythm.
• Edmonton is having a hard time recognizing when they're in danger and when they finally do, it's often too late
• The Oilers' power play has actually been a hurdle for them in the past three games, not a weapon. They allowed another short-handed goal against.
• Nugent-Hopkins has four goals early in the season. That's a plus. McDavid, however, still hasn't scored. That's an issue for the Oilers. McDavid showed his frustration on the shorty against, which, while understandable, isn't a good look. He said after the game, " I think our whole team is a little bit out of sync. We're not connected on the power play and 5 on 5."
• Pickard played well, but there wasn't much he was going to do on the goals against. Several breakaways, turnovers, clean looks and bad plays left him stranded. This could have been a 7-3 game if not for Pickard.
• Jack Hughes had two goals and an assist. He owned the Oilers on Saturday afternoon.
• Bouchard made fewer questionable plays, but another pinch that didn't work is going to mean he takes more heat after this game.

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