Breaking down the Oilers' miserable penalty kill vs. the Sabres

Many labeled the Edmonton Oilers one of the Western Conference's greatest threats for a Stanley Cup entering this season, but the team's sky-high expectations for 2017-18 have cratered catastrophically.

While Edmonton has bigger organizational problems, the Oilers' latest loss boils down to one thing: a miserable effort on the penalty kill. The 30th-place Buffalo Sabres and their 26th-ranked power play strolled into Rogers Place and tuned up the Oilers for three goals in four chances with the man advantage, setting the tone for a 5-0 victory.

The strangest aspect of Edmonton's penalty kill is the home and road splits. The Oilers at home rank 31st - an unfathomable 54 percent. On the road, though, they're the best in the league, successfully fending off 86.6 percent of opposing power plays.

What? How? No seriously, how?

Tuesday's loss perfectly illustrated the horrific home side of the Oilers' bizarre special-teams discrepancy. Below, we'll break down the penalty kill's struggles in one of the unit's worst performances yet.

Goal No. 1: Reinhart deflection squeaks past Talbot

Buffalo opened the scoring with a power-play tally late in the first period. A deflection off the stick of Sam Reinhart trickled through Cam Talbot - who owns a save percentage of .802 while shorthanded this season.

While it looks like an unlucky break, the Oilers' diamond formation allowed it to happen, particularly after Zack Kassian shifted all his attention to Jack Eichel - who definitely warrants an extra check or two.

Eichel evaded the flailing Kassian with ease and set up Rasmus Ristolainen. The defenseman had enough time and space to wind up, read a short novel, and fire a slap shot through a sea of players - including the idle Mark Letestu, pictured between the circles.

There you have it.

Goal No. 2: Eichel snipes

As we've mentioned, Eichel is a player you should keep your eye on. Unfortunately, Connor McDavid didn't.

The idea of McDavid killing penalties makes some sense, as his speed could quickly create a chance the other way, but No. 97 was one of four Oilers tracking the puck here rather than remaining conscious of what could unfold due to a missed assignment.

That coverage is less than ideal.

Eichel received the pass in prime position to unload a shot with just 11 seconds gone on the power play. If he gets a chance like this, he's rarely going to waste it.

Goal No. 3: O'Reilly passing clinic

There's that pesky diamond again.

With the Oilers in their planned formation, the Sabres moved the puck around the zone like the Harlem Globetrotters on ice, and Ryan O'Reilly ultimately reaped the benefits of being left alone between the hash marks.

At this point of the contest, the Oilers may have been discouraged by the 4-0 scoreline, perhaps dropping their effort level to close out yet another lost game. Still, even in a season rife with disappointment, it's reasonable to expect some attempt at adaptation.

Then again, with opponents scoring on just under half of their power-play opportunities in Edmonton's rink, maybe it isn't.

(Videos, screencaps courtesy: NHL.com)