At the end of our last Oil Check, the Edmonton Oilers were sitting at a 30–15–3 record, just one point behind the Vegas Golden Knights for first in the Pacific Division. The upcoming stretch looked to be one that would allow them to snag that top spot, and that is exactly what they did.
Going 4–2–1 leading into the 4 Nations Face-Off break, the Oilers pushed Vegas out, being tied in points but with a game in hand. Granted, Vegas has the first tie breaker when teams have played the same amount of games, with 30 regulation wins to 25.
However, a 6–3 loss in the first game back after the 4 Nations tournament lead to a 4–3–1 record these past eight games, their worst record during one of our Oil Checks since the second one of this year. It also opens the door back for Vegas to take back the division.
There is never much love when go to OT
The Oilers had three games go past regulation in this stretch. The first was a 3–2 shootout loss against the Detroit Red Wings, their first game this year to go past overtime this year.
The Oilers managed to finish the job in overtime in back-to-back games against the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks, making them 9–4 in three-on-three. That’s not exactly surprising when you have possibly the two best three-on-three players in the league in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, and that shows when there has only been one overtime goal for the team this year that did not involve at least one of the two.
A great game of first
In addition to being the first game back after the 4 Nations break, there was a few more firsts in the Oilers Saturday matinee against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Top prospect Matthew Savoie played his first game as an Oiler, and also notched his first NHL point on a great pass to Leon Draisaitl.
John Klingberg also had two firsts in the game: his first goal as an Oiler to get them on the board, and then adding his first assist as an Oiler on Draisaitl’s goal. I wouldn’t expect that to be a puck that is cut in half though, as a first NHL point probably takes a bit more precedence over a first assist with a new team.
Having depth is key for a deep playoff run, and having Klingberg round into form and having another scoring option in Savoie is encouraging. Whether they can both keep it up remains to be seen, of course.
Should we be concerned about McDavid?
Connor McDavid played in seven of the eight games in this stretch, having to miss the first game against the Buffalo Sabres due to his suspension for cross-checking Connor Garland in the head.
There has been some murmuring among Oil Country that McDavid doesn’t quite seem to be his dominant self this season and especially in the last month or so. After all, the guy is only fourth in league scoring with only 71 points in 49 games. Granted, that 1.45 points per game is his worst since his third NHL season in 2017–18, so it is true, relatively speaking.
In 2025, McDavid has 17 points in 15 games, 10 less points in just three less games than Draisaitl, and ties him for 30th in the league over that stretch.
While his metrics are still good, by the eye test McDavid hasn’t been taking over games as Oilers fans are used to. Luckily, Draisaitl has picked up the slack to keep the Oilers rolling, with a season worthy of his second Hart and Ted Lindsay Trophies, and potentially first Maurice Rocket Richard Trophy.
It still is a tad concerning, however. Is it due to injury? Is it due to seeing Draisaitl taking the reins allowing him to rest up for the playoffs? Was it making sure he doesn’t get injured leading up to the 4 Nations and his first chance to represent Canada in a best-on-best tournament?
There was an issue of an illness flowing through the dressing room, resulting in Mattias Ekholm having to miss a game and both him and McDavid missing the Oilers skill competition, so that certainly played a factor during this stretch in any event.
At the same time, McDavid scoring the overtime, tournament-winning goal in his version of Crosby’s 2010 golden goal is hopefully an encouraging sign that McDavid is getting ready to turn up in the back stretch of the season as usual. In the last three seasons, from February 1 to the end of the year he has 65 points in 33 games, 61 points in 32 games and 64 points in 40 games.
At the end of the day, as long as it isn’t injury related, I think I can speak for all Oilers fans when I say that we
Rough start after the break
Ask any Oilers fan on what games to bet will be an almost automatic loss and they will give you two options: a matinee/afternoon game, and a game after a long break.
The Oilers are 4–2–1 this season in matinee games, and are 1–1–1 in games after a break of three days or more. Last year, they were 5–3 after the break and 8–3–1 in games at 4:00pm or earlier, so maybe the stereotype isn’t quite as apt anymore.
However, the first game back after the 4 Nations was certainly one that fit both narratives.
The Oilers started off slow and were down 1–0 just two minutes into the game and not getting their first shot until almost five minutes into the period. The Oilers did come back to take the lead 2–1 halfway through the period, but the Flyers again scored less than two minutes into the second period on the way to outscoring the Oil 4–1 in that frame.
The Oilers lost 6–3 in embarassing fashion, including allowing a two-on-zero on their only power play, which was also the second two-on-zero they allowed in the game. Rust after the break was very evident, and certainly a huge let down after the high off Team Canada’s victory just two days earlier.
Luckily, the Oilers have only one break of three days left for the rest of this season, but there are three more games before five pm, including today’s game against Washington.
What to expect heading into the deadline
The Oilers have six games left before the NHL’s trade deadline on March h, which means the rumour mill is going to fire up even hotter than it has been. It also gives the management team only so much time to evaluate the team’s most pressing needs.
This stretch starts right away, with another matinee on a back-to-back in Washington against the Capitals for the second of a five-game road trip, which also has stops in Tampa Bay, Florida, and Carolina. The final two games before the deadline are home games against Anaheim and Montreal, and then we will get two more home games against Dallas and Buffalo to check out the (expected) new additions in our next Oil Check.
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
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