NHL insider reveals the reason behind Oilers' slow start for second year in a row

The Edmonton Oilers appear to be making it a trend to have a slow start to the season, and now the reason behind this trend has been officially revealed.

Slow starts have once again become the Edmonton Oilers' crosses to bear. While last season ultimately ended with a dominant playoff run that came oh so close to landing them the Stanley Cup, early regular-season woes were easily looked past. During that stretch, the Oilers mustered only five points in their first 12 games, bringing about an eventual change of coaching. Familiar concerns crop up early this season, however, and send some nervous moments for both fans and analysts. Now, NHL insider Travis Yost shares his reasoning behind this concerning start for the second straight season.

The Oilers have surrendered 12 more goals than they've scored in just three games, a bright red flag. That equalled when they were trounced by the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2, and then lost to their provincial rivals, the Calgary Flames, 4-1. That is an alarming start, but some of the harm may be puck luck rather than a systemic problem. The Oilers' shooting and save percentages are decidedly not normal, at the very bottom of the league, and may or may not factor into these results over these few games.

Even with the near certainty of some amount of variance, especially early, to shooting percentages, the underlying numbers paint a somewhat different story for Edmonton. The fact is that poor finish and weak goaltending are dragging them down, and not the opposition outplaying the team's goal expectations. For the time being, every shot they seem to take hits their opponent's goalie right in the chest, and every shot they allow seems to find the back of their net. It's cruelly lopsided, but it's not necessarily evidence of systemic breakdown, at least not yet.

One area that could be a legitimate concern, however, is Edmonton's defense beyond their top pairing. Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard have been rock solid, with much benefit from playing with Connor McDavid's line, which carries the offense as if buttering toast. Behind them, Darnell Nurse and Travis Dermott have been less dominant, often finding themselves thrust into tougher defensive roles while not having the same quality of forwards to work with. The drop-off in quality among teammates is stark, and the performance gap between the two defensive pairings is becoming harder to ignore.

It's not quite as disastrous a start as it feels like, but it does expose some possible holes in the base. If they are to rebound, Edmonton needs to find solutions behind their top pairing and hope that both puck luck and goaltending return to normal. There's time to turn things around, but the margin for error is shrinking fast.

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