There’s been a lot to celebrate in Oil Country lately, as the team set a franchise and Canadian team record 16 straight wins.
The streak itself is a bit of a surprise, given how the team started, although the Edmonton Oilers did rattle off an eight-game winning streak back in November as well.
As would be expected during such a streak, there have been lots of contributions up and down the lineup outside the “Big 4” of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Zach Hyman (just don’t tell PK Subban that).
But who has been the biggest surprise contributor? We asked you what you thought in this week’s census.
Warren Foe-goal
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With 46.3% of the votes, Warren Foegele was deemed the biggest surprise.
So far this season, Foegele has scored 10 goals, 16 assists, and 26 points in 44 games. That ties the amount of points he had in his first season as an Oiler, is two less than his point total last year, and is four points away from his career high of 30 points in his sophomore season. He is also just three goals and one assist shy of career highs in those categories.
Six of those goals and 15 of those points have come during this winning streak (including a two-goal, five-point performance versus Anaheim on New Years Eve), which happens to coincide with him being bumped up to the second line with Leon Draisaitl. His nine assists also lead the team during the streak.
Foegele has played 154:36 with Draisaitl versus only 41:19 away from him in the last 15 games. They are outscoring the other team 13 to 6, and have an xGF% slightly below that at 57.41%.
But it isn’t necessarily just Draisaitl carrying Foegele, as Foegele is outscoring the other team 4–1 and has an xGF% of 57.42.
That second line right wing position has been one the Oilers have been trying to fill for ages, with Jesse Puljujarvi, Kailer Yamamoto, and most recently Connor Brown all failing to take ahold of it.
While Foegele is known as a fairly streaky player, if his chemistry with Draisaitl can continue that would go a long way for the Oilers.
McLeod producing great numbers
With 30.6% of the votes, Ryan McLeod comes in second, which makes sense as it was when McLeod and Foegele were moved up to the second line that things started to click.
Like Foegele, McLeod is extremely close to breaking career highs already, with nine goals and 19 points in just 43 games, two goals, two assists and four points shy of last year. A whopping seven of those goals and 12 of those points have been during this streak, with the seven goals being the most on the team along with Hyman.
McLeod hasn’t spent the entirety of the streak on the second line though, as he has been moved back down to centre the third line. That move wasn’t due to play however, and more as a way to spread around the depth some more.
The McLeod-Draisaitl-Foegele line has outscored the opposing team 10-3 with an xGF% of 58.81 in the 86:24 they have played together the last 15 games.
Like Foegele, McLeod’s play isn’t dependent on his linemates, as in the 66:10 without the other two McLeod has still outscored opposing teams 5–0 with an xGF% of 54.78.
And again like Foegele, McLeod stepping into a solid third line centre option that was a weak spot for the team is another big reason for the team’s success, and if he can continue it would be a key internal addition for the team.
Desharnais setting career highs
21.8% of you chose the big defenceman Vinny Desharnais as the biggest surprise.
Desharnais has set his career highs in goals (1) and points (6), although he only played 36 games last year to be fair.
But as a defensive dman, Desharnais’ game is not really judged on point totals.
Desharnais has seen his ice time steadily increase over the streak, as he has played over 15 minutes in 10 of the 15 games.
In his 202:58 of game time, Desharnais has been on the ice for only two goals against, tied for best among defencemen who have played at least 200 minutes over the last 15 games in the entire league with his partner Brett Kulak in both the raw number and goals against per 60 at 0.59. He has the second best shots against per 60 with 20.4 in the entire league over the last 15 games, second to Kulak.
It doesn’t appear to be just luck either, as his xGA/60 over this span is 1.75, good for 5th in the league, and his 6.5 high danger chances against per 60 is second (I’ll give everyone one guess on who is first in both categories…maybe Kulak should have been in this poll).
There were lots of questions surrounding Desharnais coming into this season, as his darling regular season game was overshadowed by a not so great post season. Desharnais has won that sixth defenceman spot however, and again has filled that crucial role that the Oilers have been missing for quite some time.
No one is surprised by Gagner, unsurprisingly
At a lowly 1.4%, “Papa Clutch” comes in last for biggest surprise. I am going to go ahead and say that is because no one is surprised at Sam Gagner’s performance.
The biggest surprise about Gagner is the fact that he has played in only five of the last 15 games, especially when you consider that he has scored three points in those games. Mind you, he did miss four of those games due to injury and his fancies are middle of the pack to bottom of the team, but it still seems like he has played better than to be a healthy scratch more often than not. Especially when the guy has been given the nickname Papa Clutch by his teammates.
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
