3 least impressive players from Edmonton Oilers' 7-3 loss to Washington Capitals feat. Calvin Pickard

By Jackson Weber

Modified Feb 23, 2025 21:01 GMT

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The Edmonton Oilers lost 7-3 to the Washington Capitals in the second half of a back-to-back weekend set of road games on Sunday afternoon at Capital One Arena. The Oilers fall to 34-19-4 (72 points) with the loss, while the Caps improve to 38-11-8 (84 points) in victory.

There was plenty of anticipation as two of the NHL's top five teams squared off on Sunday. While the Oil returned to action leading the Pacific division, two consecutive losses and a Vegas Golden Knights win dropped them to the second seed. After a strong start to the game, Edmonton was overwhelmed by the best team in hockey for the rest of the afternoon.

They started quickly, converting on a power play 1:42 into the game when Leon Draisaitl buried one of his signature one-timer goals. The Oilers held that lead for most of the period until Tom Wilson slammed home a rebound with 2:45 left in the frame to tie the game. Jakob Chychrun gave Washington the lead on the power play with just 24 seconds remaining. 2-1 Caps after the first period.

After Edmonton failed to capitalize on two more power play opportunities early in the second period, it came back to bite them. Alex Ovechkin took a Dylan Strome pass and ripped it past Calvin Pickard for his 880th career NHL goal. The Great 8 then hammered a one-timer into the top corner from his office on the power play to make it 4-1, goal number 881. It got even worse as Connor McMichael finished a pretty passing play with John Carlson and Aleksei Protas with 15 seconds left in the frame. Washington led 5-1 heading into the third period of play.

Down four in the final frame, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins provided the Oilers with a little bit of life, cutting the deficit to three 6:35 into the period. Any momentum they had was squashed when Dylan Strome chipped in a rebound, bringing the lead back up to four. Jeff Skinner made the score slightly more respectable with a late-game goal, but Alex Ovechkin tallied another empty-net goal for the hat-trick (882). That was all she wrote as Washington dismantled Edmonton 7-3.

Alex Ovechkin celebrates a goal vs the Edmonton Oilers. (Credits: IMAGN)

The Edmonton Oilers will continue their four-game road trip as they now travel to Tampa Bay for a matchup with the Lightning on Tuesday night. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. EST at Amalie Arena.

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3 least impressive players from the Edmonton Oilers' 7-3 loss to the Washington Capitals

#1. Calvin Pickard

The Oilers weren't great in front of him, but Calvin Pickard wasn't great either. Edmonton's netminder allowed six goals on 32 shots in the loss.

Pickard has had a solid season thus far with a 14-6-0 record, though if Stuart Skinner continues to struggle, they will need the 32-year-old to step up his play.

#2. Kasperi Kapanen

On Sunday, Kasperi Kapanen was bumped up to the first line as Connor McDavid's right-winger. It didn't go so well. Kapanen was pointless and had a -3 rating in 14:06 minutes of action.

Kapanen has been a nice depth pickup for the Oilers off waivers. However, he looked out of place on the top line, so he will unlikely stay there.

#3. Vasily Podkolzin

Like Kapanen, Vasily Podkolzin joined Connor McDavid on the Oilers top line on Sunday afternoon. He was also held pointless and went -3 in his 11:23 of ice time.

Podkolzin has had a productive first season in Edmonton with 20 points (six goals, 14 assists) in 56 games, but he's much better suited in a depth role.