The Edmonton Oilers were defeated 3-2 in overtime by the Arizona Coyotes on Friday (April 12) at Rogers Place. They failed to make a big move in the Pacific Division race by coming up short against a team that many believe Edmonton should have easily beaten.
Matias Maccelli scored the game-winner, firing the puck past Oilers netminder Calvin Pickard at 1:35 of sudden death. Logan Cooley and Josh Doan also tallied for the Coyotes, while Adam Henrique and Darnell Nurse had Edmonton’s goals.
The Oilers played their second consecutive game without captain Connor McDavid, who is recovering from a lower-body injury sustained in a game against the Calgary Flames last Saturday (April 6).
A victory over the Coyotes would have pulled Edmonton within two points of the Pacific-leading Vancouver Canucks, who the Oilers host tonight. Edmonton has four games remaining on its schedule, while the Canucks will play three more times before the 2023-24 regular season wraps up next Thursday (April 18).
The Oilers were expected to skate away with two points on Friday, considering their opponent is near the bottom of the Western Conference standings. The Coyotes were also playing with heavy minds after being informed by Arizona general manager Bill Armstrong that the team is moving to Salt Lake City for the 2024-25 season.
But despite the disappointing outcome, there is a bright side for Edmonton, thanks to the Oilers rallying from deficits of 1-0 and 2-1 to at least get one point from an overtime loss.
Oilers Secure Home Advantage
That single point is significant for two reasons. First, it extends Edmonton’s lead to seven points over the third-place Los Angeles Kings, who with just three games remaining are now unable to catch the Oilers.
By assuring themselves of finishing no worse than second in the Pacific, the Oilers will have home ice advantage in the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. That’s massive for a team that is 26-4-3 at Rogers Place since Kris Knoblauch replaced Jay Woodcroft as Oilers head coach on Nov. 12.
Edmonton has finished second in the Pacific Division each of the last two seasons and had home advantage in their first round series victories over the Kings in 2022 and 2023.
Since 1992, the only postseason series the Oilers have lost in which they held home advantage came in 2020, to the Chicago Blackhawks, and 2021, to the Winnipeg Jets, both of which were…
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