The Edmonton Oilers find themselves down 2\u20131 in this first round series against the Anaheim Ducks. If Game 3 is a preview of what\u2019s to come then frankly they have no chance whatsoever. The title of this article is \u201cfive major flaws that could end the series,\u201d but it could just as easily have been 15. It would be faster to list the things that are going right for the Oilers, but I\u2019m in no mood to do that so here are the five things killing the Oilers right now:<\/p>\n
Egregious defending as always<\/p>\n
Problem number one for the Oilers is their defending. If they were doing everything else well this would still be enough to lose them the series. The third and sixth goal, and to a degree the second goal, are just poor coverage. One of the first things a defenceman learns is that defending the front of the net has very little to do with the puck. You don\u2019t worry about the puck, you worry about the man. Make sure his stick is not on the ice, make sure he is not within three feet of the goalie, make his life a living hell so that he never wants to come back to the front of the net.<\/p>\n
Not everything can be blamed on the defence though. On the sixth goal, both Edmonton defencemen lose coverage from poor play, but Connor McDavid needs to be back to help out faster on that play, that\u2019s it\u2019s own problem though.<\/p>\n
Plain and simple, Anaheim just looks like they want the puck more than Edmonton. They are winning the puck and positioning battles, and it has allowed them to score easy rebounds. It\u2019s been said a million times on the broadcast, Anaheim is too skilled to play a weak defensive game against, they are young and fast and right now they want to win more.<\/p>\n
Bad turnovers from everyone<\/p>\n
I hate to harp on the defencemen\u2014they aren\u2019t solely responsible for this Game 3 loss\u2014but the poor decision-making and the laissez-faire attitude with the puck when they\u2019re the last man back or when they are making the first pass of the breakout is just not good enough. It is a sin they have been guilty of stretching back further than this season. Evan Bouchard needs to set a better example for the defencemen. He will garner considerable Norris Trophy votes this year<\/a>, and as a Norris Trophy contender, he needs to step up and play with more urgency. It seems like the other defenceman are regressing in his direction and they will not win like that.<\/p>\n With his offensive skill, if Bouchard could cut that part out of his game he would be guaranteed to win the Norris this year and would be a front runner most years.<\/p>\n No hard forecheck<\/p>\n When the game started, the Anaheim players looked like they were fired from a cannon. They were hitting hard and the forecheck was punishing. In comparison, the Edmonton forwards looked like a 98-year-old getting their reflexes tested by the doctor.<\/p>\n Anaheim slowed down to a degree as the game wore on. It\u2019s hard to keep up that pace for 60 minutes, and Edmonton did briefly show a smidgeroon of life, but it was too little too late. Actually it was more like too little and only for three minutes.<\/p>\n Anaheim is doing a great job of containing McDavid, and again, that\u2019s its own problem. There were times in that game when they are a little harder on him than Edmonton should be accepting. You need to retaliate for that, but you can\u2019t take a bad penalty. So what do you do? You dump the puck into Anaheim\u2019s zone and carry a head full of steam directly into Jacob Trouba\u2019s chest when he picks up the puck. It isn\u2019t necessary to take revenge on anyone specific in order to show that you should be taken seriously.<\/p>\n None of Edmonton\u2019s stars are showing up<\/p>\n I\u2019ve touched on it already, but Edmonton\u2019s best players are not showing up. It appears that McDavid is not 100% healthy<\/a>. It\u2019s easy to believe that because he isn\u2019t looking like himself at all right now. Anaheim is having way too easy of a time containing him. Beyond that he just seems snake-bitten. A golden chance on a one-timer from Matthew Savoie that he missed by a mile, poor passes, reduced speed\u2014he just isn\u2019t quite himself.<\/p>\n