The Edmonton Oilers were left frustrated after letting a point slip away in a loss to the St. Louis Blues on Friday night. The second game of a back-to-back, the Oilers were looking to rebound after a brutal beating at the hands of the Dallas Stars. This was a game the Oilers wanted badly to win, hoping to call the road trip a success and label the loss to the Stars a one-off. While the team still managed five out of a possible eight points on their road trip, the bigger issue was that they had another point nearly secured before allowing the Blues to rally late in the game. With the first two periods being mostly the Oilers, Edmonton had this game in hand. Unfortunately, a poor third period was their undoing. TRENDING STORIES: "We're On The Brink Of Not Making The Playoffs:" Oilers Hanging On By A Thread After 6-3 Loss To Carolina [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/latest-news/we-re-on-the-brink-of-not-making-the-playoffs-oilers-hanging-on-by-a-thread-after-6-3-loss-to-carolina] Oilers Aren't Accepting Any Excuses For Recent Performance [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/latest-news/oilers-aren-t-accepting-any-excuses-for-recent-performance] The Oilers held a 2–0 lead, but St. Louis refused to go away. Edmonton did several good things in the first 40, and even after the Blues tied the game, the Oilers had several opportunities to win. They couldn't close it out. "I don't think it could have gone much better for us in the first forty minutes," said head coach Kris Knoblauch [https://x.com/EdmontonOilers/status/2032655355453575599?s=20]. "We got a nice lead, they got their goal, and maybe we got a little bit nervous and backed in a little bit. Obviously, they had a strong push. It's an unfortunate finish. It could have been an outstanding end of our road trip, getting three out of the four, but to only get one point in the last two games is a bit disappointing for us." As the game went into overtime, momentum was on the side of the Blues. Early on, however, it was all Edmonton. The Oilers controlled most of the play, but danced around the zone. Critics might argue that Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl stayed on the ice too long, both onextended shifts. When the Oilers made the changes, it seemed to give Edmonton life. Ironically, it was when the top guys came back on that the Blues ended it. "We had the puck the most of the time, but in three-on-three time, it's always a counter-attack. You can have that possession, and you can have the opportunities, but eventually it ends up going back and forth, " said Knoblauch. The overtime winner came after Robert Thomas found space along the wall and fired a shot that beat Connor Ingram. © Jeff Curry Imagn Images [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/9117a0ca-b346-4ff3-ab21-aab51c04e861.jpeg] © Jeff Curry Imagn Images "It's really a shame," said Kasperi Kapanen. [https://x.com/EdmontonOilers/status/2032655227124654233?s=20] He added, "Throughout the whole game we were playing pretty well, and teams are going to have their push if we're leading, and then we just need to learn how to play with the lead, and now we just hope that the one extra point that we lost today is not going to come, and you know haunt us later." The Oilers have to be happier with the effort tonight than against the Stars. Edmonton played three really good teams and almost beat the Blues. The hope is that they can feel somewhat good about their play lately. They'll need to bring a solid start as they take on the Nashville Predators on Sunday night. Bookmark The Hockey News Edmonton Oilers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/] team site to never miss the latest news [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/latest-news], game-day [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/game-day] coverage, and more [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/players]. Add us to your Google News [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw/sections/CAQqEAgAKgcICjCvqtILMO7F6QMwn-DfCA?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen] favourites, and never miss a story.
