Bold Tristan Jarry Pull Means Oilers Have a New Problem
Shaky goaltending and defensive lapses plagued the Oilers. Knoblauch's decisive pull signals deeper trust issues simmering beneath the surface.
Video Transcript
Ryan, Oilers, less scary to play now that Jari is out long term?
Not particularly.
I think, the Oilers are pretty scary because as we were just talking about, they have Connor McDavid and they have Leon Draisaitl.
And, you know, goaltending has been an issue for them.
It's been up and down for several years now, and yet they've been to two Stanley Cup finals.
And you look at the standings right now, and they're in a great position in the Pacific, particularly because Vegas is struggling so mightily.
So all of a sudden, you know, it feels like this is just who the Oilers are in this era.
They struggle in the fall, and then as we get into winter, they catch fire, and they continue to, you know, do that for most of the rest of the season.
So if Edmonton puts themself in a good position in the next month or so, you get the Olympic break for, Jari as well, I, I think they're fine.
I think that they can survive, and they are the kind of team where it's like, if they need to score five goals to win a game, they can certainly do that.
What do you, Drew?
Like, the Oilers, man.
Ryan's point, like, their goaltending has always just been terrible this year.
Like, whether it was Skinner, whether it's Jari, now that you don't have Jari, like, does it even matter?
No, I don't think it matters much, and kind of what you guys both said.
I mean, the funniest thing is, like, I was looking at the scoring race, and I felt like Nate had a huge lead, and then literally like four days later it felt like I looked and the script had completely flipped.
So- Yeah I mean, no one goes in to play the Edmonton Oilers and is worried about, like, "How are we gonna score tonight?"
It's more about "How are we gonna not let these guys score three or four goals?"
So, it's been fun to watch.
I mean, I think he had You guys would probably know, but did he have like 38 points in the month of December?
Which is just I mean- Yeah that's a good s- that's a good season for, like, some good third-line players.
so, I mean, it's obviously been great to watch.
I think that they're gonna be fine in his absence, 'cause I don't think it's a huge, I guess, talent gap, no matter who they have in the net.
So I think they'll be fine, and, like, if those guys are playing, well, I mean, their m- their big two, call it, is playing at the level that they're at, I think that they're still gonna find a lot of ways to win hockey games.
Yeah.
Ryan was talking about that Pacific Division, which is arguably the worst division in hockey.
I think the Leafs would be the second-best team if they were in the Pacific, which just kinda shows you where, where the Pacific is right now.
Um-
