Oilers seek 'much higher standard' of play after shutout loss to start season

They just weren't ready.

Just like last season, but given that the current edition of the Edmonton Oilers have new players throughout the lineup, not exactly.

The Oilers, Stanley Cup finalists in June, lost their National Hockey League season-opening game Wednesday night 6-0 to the visiting Winnipeg Jets.

A year ago, the eventual Western Conference champs lost their first game 8-1 on the road in Vancouver.

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Oilers defenceman Mattias Ekholm isn't drawing parallels to last season's slow start, though, when the team went 3-9-1 before then-head coach Jay Woodcroft was fired.

The Oilers rebounded from their early-season woes, finished ninth overall with a 49-27-6 record and reached the Stanley Cup final, losing 2-1 in the decisive Game 7 to the Florida Panthers.

"I'm not looking back to last year much," Ekholm told media in the dressing room following the game at Rogers Place. "I think this group is completely new in that regard, and I think it's a completely new situation in that regard. ... It's more about our effort and what we have in here and our group in here.

"We know that we can get to a much higher standard and a much higher level than we did tonight."

Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner allowed five goals on 13 shots and was replaced halfway through the game by backup netminder Calvin Pickard.

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Playing from behind against the reigning top NHL goalie, Connor Hellebuyck, and the league's top defensive team from 2023-24 made it "tough to rebound," Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said after the game, adding he thought his players' defensive effort was lacking.

"It wasn't our best night offensively, obviously, without the goals, but their goalie played well and we didn't finish any chances off," Knoblauch told media.

"That part wasn't horrendous, but some of the defensive stuff that we did was pretty bad, and I don't know if there were many mistakes, but the mistakes that we made were just not good enough."

Hellebuyck helped hold the prolific Oilers attack led by Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl off the scoresheet.

"The guys in front of me were just keeping everything outside, allowing me to see pucks, allowing me to feel it, clearing rebounds, clearing lanes," Hellebuyck said.

"They made my night really easy. Once in a while I made a big save, which allowed me to feel like a part of the team."

The Jets, who played the same 12 forwards Wednesday that played last year's opener, posted the fourth-best record in the NHL last season at 52-24-6 but lost their first-round playoff series in five games to the Colorado Avalanche.

"We've just got to continue to create chemistry and work at it," Draisaitl said after the game. "Sometimes that just takes a little bit of time."