‘I don’t foresee the Edmonton Oilers making a move for a goaltender’: Insider says

This in from Oilers Now host Bob Stauffer, speaking at the Edmonton Oilers were losing 5-1 to the Anaheim Ducks after the second period of Tuesday night’s game.

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Said Stauffer: “I’m going to say something that not everybody’s going to like… I don’t foresee the Edmonton Oilers making a move for a goaltender. And I’m not pinning the five goals against on the goaltender. We’re watching a couple of guys have their worst defensive games of the season, in terms of a couple of forwards.”

My take

1. I’ll be the first to say this is Leon Draisaitl’s best season, including on defense. But he made major mistakes or lost battles on four of five goals against, a turnover, a lost face off and two critical missed assignments.

On the fifth Ducks goal, both he and Connor McDavid got beat on the back check, with Draisaitl coming slowly back to his own end and failing to take his man.

Hey, everyone has a bad night. Tuesday was Drai’s turn.

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2. Stauffer is the ultimate insider on the Oilers. If he says this, I expect he’s correct. He’s not just making it up. He’s been told this by folks who know.

3. I’d prefer that the Oilers pick up a goalie who can at least challenge Calvin Pickard for the back-up job, if not a goalie who can challenge Skinner. It’s hard to imagine right now the Oilers winning the Cup with a Skinner-Pickard tandem. The two have simply let in too many iffy goals this year, including one by Pickard in the Ducks game.

At the Cult of Hockey

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