Oilers coaching staff taking heat for questionable decisions and goaltending

The team has gone through many ups and downs over the past six months as they had started another slow start much like last year and have followed a similar path when it comes to wins and losses with many highs and lows which could be attributed to coaching.

Throughout this season, the magnifying glass has been squarely put on the goaltending of this team as the Oilers tandem have not found constant consistency in their game for the past several weeks if not months.

It's becoming a repeating pattern of several weeks of great play by Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard and then several weeks of subpar play that has continuously fueled the discussion have a goalie trade prior to the NHL trade deadline.

That trade never occured as general manager Stan Bowman feels that both players are good enough to carry the Oilers into the playoffs and hopefully to the Stanley Cup finals.

One tweet pointed out that Schwartz has several clients that he has worked with and every single player he is worked with has regressed in their game which includes Skinner.

Other fans also feel that Kris Knoblauch along with Paul Coffey also should share some of the blame even though their team is still positioned well within the standings.

Oilers analyst Allan Mitchell has raised the concern that the team's lacklustre play of late may be a sign the roster is beginning to tune out Knoblauch.

It also could be a simple fact that the players are not living up to
expectations as this season is a win now season for the Oilers especially after going to the finals last year.

The Oilers have slipped five points now behind the Vegas Golden Knights four first in the Pacific division and still have a somewhat comfortable lead as the Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames are still some distance away.

With the stretch run fully underway and the season nearly over, the Oilers need to string some wins together and closeout on a strong note rather than limp weekly into the playoffs especially if the Flames in the Canucks catch fire near the end of the year.