Leon Draisaitl’s Edmonton Oilers’ winning streak in the NHL was broken by the Columbus Blue Jackets. Tim Stützle’s Ottawa Senators suffered their sixth defeat in a row.
After five wins in a row, Edmonton lost 2:4 at the Columbus Blue Jackets, Draisaitl set up the interim 1:3 through Zach Hyman (22nd), the Oilers were unable to make up for the false start to the game with three goals conceded in the first third. The Oilers remain second in the Pacific Division.
The NHL consists of four divisions, with the top three teams making it to the playoffs. In addition, there are the four teams behind them with the best points, regardless of their placement in the division – two from the East, two from the West. The total of 16 teams then play the Stanley Cup winner in the playoffs.
NHL in excitement: “Trade Deadline” is approaching
The league is currently preparing for the 2024/25 season. The “Trade Deadline” ends on Friday evening (March 8th, 9 p.m. CET). The transfer market usually only gets really busy in the last few hours, but there have already been important player changes.
The Edmonton Oilers, Draisaitl’s team, brought in Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick from the Anaheim Ducks, who were weak this season, to join the attack. The Carolina Hurricanes signed Jake Guentzel from the Pittsburgh Penguins, which set the market in motion. Another high-profile move was that of defenseman Noah Hanifin from the Calgary Flames to the Vegas Golden Knights.
Ottawa with Stützle in crisis, Tarasenko leaves
Meanwhile, Russian striker Vladimir Tarasenko is leaving the Ottawa Senators for the Florida Panthers. He was responsible for 17 goals and 24 assists in the team this season. Far from the transfer market, the Senators are still in deep crisis with Tim Stützle. The team suffered its sixth defeat in a row with a 3:4 after overtime against the Los Angeles Kings and remains bottom of the Central Division.
Kevin Fiala of the Los Angeles Kings (center) celebrates a goal against Ottawa.
The Senators are having a disastrous season. The team leadership was punished in November for a botched transfer of a player to Anaheim in 2021, forfeiting a first-round draft pick. Another player was banned for prohibited activities in sports betting. For the Senators, the trade deadline is all about initiating a turnaround.
Nico Sturm got hit with his San Jose Sharks: in the 7-2 defeat against the New York Islanders, he didn’t play a goal. As bottom of the Pacific Division, San Jose no longer has a chance of making the play-offs. John-Jason Peterka also suffered a defeat with the Buffalo Sabres. The German striker remained without a scorer in the 2:4 loss to the Nashville Predators, and his team is already a long way behind in the race for the playoff places after their third defeat in a row.
