The Edmonton Oilers’ special teams have been a source of woe all season long. While the penalty-killing (last in the league) has drawn most of the attention, the power play has sunk to 29th with a success rate of just 15.1 per cent.
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“The power play either has to score or create momentum.
“Our numbers are evident that we’re not scoring enough but it’s also not creating a lot of momentum,” said head coach Todd McLellan.
“We’ve continually worked at it. We’ve moved people around. We need to get one, then guys will feel a little bit better about it.”
Since Christmas, the Oilers are 2/25 with the man advantage. They were 0/3 on Saturday against Vancouver with only four shots on goal.
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“I’m sure we could always shoot the puck more. Seems like all the goals around the league happen (around the net). Tip-ins, deflections, rebounds,” said centre Mark Letestu. “For us, the puck always has to get there more.”
“It just comes down to a bounce. We’re not getting that bounce,” winger Milan Lucic said.
“At times, our execution is not there,” Lucic said. “I know it’s easy to say: ‘Shoot it!’ but when someone is in the lane and a guy’s blocking it, that’s just like shooting it into the goalie’s glove.”
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The Oilers will try to stretch their winning streak to four games on Tuesday night when they host the Buffalo Sabres.
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