We are six games past our first Oil Check of the season, where we highlighted the early story lines for this season, including the Edmonton Oilers not so great start and struggles up and down the roster. So have the Oilers rectified those issues? Have they gotten worse? Here are some of the story lines that have arisen since then. A 3-3 record isn’t exactly inspiring, to say the least.
McDavid’s injury: blessing in disguise?
That headline may be a tad hyperbolic, but it should be noted that in the three games Connor McDavid missed due to injury the Oilers were 2–1, outscoring their opponents 9–3 (this doesn’t include the Columbus game where McDavid was injured on his first shift, mind you). Granted, they were shut out against the New Jersey Devils 3–0, but the Oilers did almost double them in shots (31–16) and had a Chances For % of 65.38%. Every single skater was above 61% while every single Devil was below 48%.
Fancy stats aside, the team definitely looked to have taken it upon themselves to pick up the slack to cover the fact that the best player in the world was no longer in the lineup. Leon Draisaitl beat all fraud allegations, posting three points in each of the first two games to lead the team to victory. Especially key was that his line came out blazing to start the games, scoring the first goal on the first shift of the game (37 seconds in against Nashville and 20 seconds in against Calgary). It looks like there is some real chemistry between Draisaitl, Viktor Arvidsson, and Vasily Podkolzin. That is good news for the team, as having a solid second line with Draisaitl to support a first line with McDavid should help with depth scoring and controlling the play.
While McDavid was supposed to be out for two weeks, he returned after just one, suiting up against the Vegas Golden Knights. While many Oilers fans are holding their breath about this meaning McDavid is being rushed, I think the fact that the Oilers have performed well in his absence should quell those worries.
If the team can continue to play the way they were but with McDavid now in the lineup, that should hopefully turn the tide on the season.
Special teams still not special
While there has been improvements in play, the Oilers special teams are still sputtering hard. The power play has stayed the same at 14.3%, which is to be expected with McDavid out to an extent. The penalty kill has have improved slightly in this period over the start of the season (61.5% versus 58.3%), but it is a marginal improvement at best.
If the Oilers are wanting to improve their fortunes, these are areas that must be looked at and fixed, stat.
Philp a fourth centre in the near future?
Noah Philp has been talked about a lot this year and was a pleasant surprise in training camp, almost playing himself onto the opening day lineup. After a brief stint in the AHL, he was called up in light of the McDavid injury. He immediately made an impact, assisting on the game winning goal against Nashville, his first ever NHL point.
While his fancy stats may not jump off the page, Philp certainly impressed in his cup of coffee as a fourth line centre and will almost certainly be the first call up again after being sent back down in light of McDavid returning.
Skinner underperforming, Pickard overperforming
In these six games, both Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard have started three games. Pickard has won two of his starts with a 0.913 save percentage and a 2.03 goals against average. That is good for 21st in the league in save percentage, but 12th among goalies who have played at least three games, and 14th in the league in GAA but sixth among goalies who have played at least three games in this time frame.
Skinner, on the other hand…
He has a 0.878 save percentage with a 3.68 GAA over his three starts, only winning one. Not NHL starter caliber, and certainly an area of concern for the team.
Now did Pickard all of sudden become a legitimate starting goalie? Probably not, but at least at this time it is good for the Oilers to have one goalie who appears to be going a bit and who can spell off Skinner while he works through his struggles.
Outlook for the future?
Things are swinging wildly in Oil country, where one game the team looks like world beaters, while the next they look like bottom feeders.
One has to think things will improve, as they have already started on an incline, albeit not as steep as one would like. But being just one point out of a wild card spot is at least encouraging, meaning the Oilers still should be in line to make the playoffs. It would just be nice if they can make it more of a certainty rather than just a pretty good chance.
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
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