The Edmonton Oilers‘ struggles on home ice continued Tuesday night with a 5-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken.
In their last five home games, the Oilers are 0-4-1. They’re 9-11-1 at Rogers Place this season.
“There’s lots of hockey to be played, but with that said, we’re not in the position we want to be (in) or think we’re capable of being (in) at this point,” Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse said after the game.
The Oilers’ top-ranked power play gave Edmonton the lead with 7:13 left in the first. The puck went through the crease to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who flicked home his 19th goal of the season from a sharp angle.
Daniel Sprong had a breakaway for the Kraken but was turned aside by Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner.
Connor McDavid turned on the jets down the right wing and beat Seattle netminder Martin Jones 48 seconds into the second to make it 2-0.
“You go up 2-0, the odds you win that game are statistically pretty high,” Zach Hyman said after the game.
“We went 11 minutes where we fell asleep in the second period and all of a sudden we’re playing catch-up.”
Seattle came back with two goals 31 seconds apart. Matty Beniers batted the puck in on a power play.
Then, with a delayed penalty coming to Oilers defenceman Brett Kulak, Jaden Schwartz tucked the puck past Skinner.
“We made some uncharacteristic errors in areas that we typically take a lot of pride in, and it ended up in the back of our net,” Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft said. “This is a 60-minute league. If you want to win, you have to be consistent with your play and your detail and execution over a full 60 minutes.
“Mistakes are going to happen, but tonight that 10-minute span killed us.”
Yanni Gourde put the Kraken in front with a quick shot from the slot, and later, Jared McCann made it 4-2 with 4:12 left in the second.
“They had a push and made their opportunities count,” Nurse said.
“In the end, it’s not a 50-minute league,” Woodcroft reiterated.
Skinner was replaced by Jack Campbell after allowing four goals on 20 shots.
The Oilers briefly celebrated a power-play goal by Leon Draisaitl early in the third, but the Kraken successfully challenged the play for offside.
Edmonton forward Dylan Holloway was slapped with a double-minor for high-sticking, but the Oilers stayed alive by killing it off.
Campbell was pulled for an extra attacker with 3:40 left. Seattle’s Alex Wennberg scored an empty-netter with 2:31 left.
“It doesn’t always have to be a smooth sail, as long as you’re learning the lessons presented to you along the way,” Woodcroft said.
The Oilers (20-17-2) will host the New York Islanders on Thursday. You can listen to live coverage of the game on 630 CHED, beginning with The Faceoff Show at 5:30 p.m. The actual game starts at 7 p.m.
–With files from Brenden Escott, 630 CHED