Evan’s NHL Daily: Oilers In Shambles, Tufte Attends Johnson’s Memorial Service

A lot of people are concerned about the Colorado Avalanche after the last week or so, and there’s reason to be, but I would recommend taking a look around the NHL, because there are some teams in absolute shambles. The Edmonton Oilers might be in the worst spot right now, as they were beat down again on Monday night. There is only one NHL team with less points, and I think you can all guess who that is.

It looked like the Maple Leafs were staring down a blowout themselves, but something clicked for them in the second period, and they came from behind against Jonas Johansson and company in Tampa Bay.

With the Colorado Avalanche, Mikko Rantanen discussed what’s going wrong right now, and we took a look at reasons for optimism, and reasons for concern with the team.

Colorado Hockey Now

After 5 games, it looked like everything was going to be fantastic for the Colorado Avalanche…then the last week happened. Why should you be optimistic about them right now? Why should you be concerned? We took a look at both angles.

After being shutout in three of the last four games, Mikko Rantanen tried to explain what needs to change.

I had a good chat 1-on-1 chat with Jonathan Drouin after practice on Monday, and will have something up on that in the morning (+) before heading to skate. The Devils are in town tomorrow, so the Avalanche will almost certainly need to score some goals.

Tufte Pays Tribute To Adam Johnson

I don’t know if Riley Tufte would have been recalled by the Avalanche on Monday, as it appears they needed a center, but he was not available for a very good reason.

Tufte appears to be one of many who was in Hibbing, Minnesota to pay tribute to Adam Johnson, who tragically passed away last month. The two were teammates during the 2016-17 season at Minnesota-Duluth.

Not sure if he would have been recalled, but it does appear Riley Tufte was in Hibbing for the memorial service for Adam Johnson.

The two were teammates at Minnesota-Duluth. pic.twitter.com/MLYt6XcKaT

— Evan Rawal (@evanrawal) November 7, 2023

Around The NHL

Things are really bad for the Edmonton Oilers, and they’re not getting better.

On Monday night, their coach was ejected, Connor McDavid lost his cool, and most importantly, the team lost…again.

Right now, the Oilers sit at 2-8-1. The San Jose Sharks are the only team worse than them in the NHL at the moment. It’s still really early, but a start THIS bad could easily derail their season. McDavid doesn’t look like the McDavid we all have come to know, and they’re a mess in their own end. Things are bad, but what will they do to try and fix it? I’d be scared of what Ken Holland is going to do if I was an Oilers fan, but he has to do SOMETHING. He’s got two elite NHL players in their prime on his roster. He can’t just sit back and do nothing.

Get your popcorn ready.

Meanwhile, there’s concern in Toronto, but the Maple Leafs have managed to quiet things a little bit, as they came back from a 4-1 deficit to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning. Goaltending was optional for both teams, and Auston Matthews now has more goals than the entire San Jose Sharks roster.

National Hockey Now

Jeff Carter has seemingly lost his spot on the Pittsburgh Penguins. To be honest, it probably should have happened a long time ago.

Jeremy Swayman saved the Boston Bruins in their victory over the Dallas Stars.

Here’s everything San Jose Sharks GM Mike Grier said after back-to-back beatdowns. (+)

The Devils will not have Jack Hughes when they take on the Avalanche. Here’s what you need to know about his injury.

Goaltending has not been good for the Carolina Hurricanes, and now they’re going to be without Freddie Anderson for a while.