The Edmonton Oilers are not enjoying their time on Amazon Prime’s new NHL broadcast this season.
Following a dismal 3-0 loss at the hand of the lowly Montreal Canadiens on Monday night, the Oilers are now 0-2-0 when Amazon streams their games and have yet to score a goal. It’s a shame, considering the talented broadcast crew that Amazon boasts, including play-by-play man John Forslund.
Yet, the only thing being called by Forslund is goals against the Oilers as Edmonton also dropped a 3-0 decision to the New Jersey Devils during their Amazon Prime debut back on November 4. This makes them goalless in all six periods of hockey played under the new broadcast.
Safe to say that we are officially in curse territory.
On a lighter note (maybe darker?), the #Oilers have somehow managed to get shutout in each of their Amazon Prime appearances this season.
A pair of 3-0 losses at the hands of the Canadiens tonight and the Devils back on Nov. 4.
Do we still believe in curses?
— Preston Hodgkinson (@NHLHodgkinson) November 19, 2024
The Oilers at least had some semblance of an excuse after their first loss to the Devils. Connor McDavid was out with an injury and the team was in the second half of a back-to-back.
The excuses in Montreal on Monday night were far less convenient. Edmonton won the shot-clock battle 30-26 but failed to generate many good looks against goaltender Sam Montembeault. Instead, the Oilers were limited to the perimeter while the Habs worked for their chances.
It may seem unbelievable to see a roster as stacked with offensive talent struggle this much, but the lack of goalscoring has been one of, if not the biggest, problem with this Oilers team nearly two months into the season.
“We gotta simplify things,” Mattias Ekholm told reporters after the game. “We know we have a lot of really good goalscorers in here and everyone can contribute.
“Right now, for whatever reason, it hasn’t gone in for us.”
“It’s kind of like we’re playing okay, but we’re not playing good enough. We gotta learn from this with a quick turnaround & be better tomorrow.”
Mattias Ekholm on the #Oilers effort tonight vs. the Canadiens. @Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/cbyi3Xkepe
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) November 19, 2024
Perhaps the Oilers perform better when they know Sportsnet’s Jack Michaels will be screaming into the microphone and hyping up the fans at home.
Either way, it’s a trend that the team will hope to end when they get a third chance on Amazon Prime on December 9 when the Florida Panthers come to Edmonton for a Stanley Cup Final rematch.