After a slow start, the Edmonton Oilers have turned their season around. From the start of the season until December 2, Edmonton was 11–11–5, a .500 team, but in the NHL that won’t get you to the playoffs—unlike the NBA who invited my Grandma’s basketball and baking club to the playoffs (they’re not bad actually, Gladys is 7% from beyond the arc and Edith’s croissants practically float away).
Since December 2 though, Edmonton is 14–6–3 which has catapulted the orange and blue to second place in the Pacific Division, only two points behind the Vegas Golden Knights. The turn of fortune is mirrored by a significant increase in power play productivity. Before December 2, Edmonton’s power play was an impressive 28.8%, which would still be first in the league right now, but since then they have been scoring at an absurd 37% rate.
And so the Oilers are once again setting the standard for power play success this season with a 33.1% power play. They are well ahead of the next best Dallas Stars who sit at 28.4%.
Making a historical power play
The power play% stat has been recorded since the 1977–78 season. The Oilers broke the record for highest power play% in a single season in 2022–23 with a 32.4% success rate, topping the 1977–78 Montreal Canadiens who held the record since then at 31.9%. If they can continue at this rate they will break their own record and be the first team to score over 33%.
With over half of the season gone and the Oilers firing on all cylinders, they have a decent chance of breaking their own record. It will be tough though, they would have to close out the season averaging at least 31.3% on the power play to stay above 32.4%.
For interest sake, here are the top ten, with the Oilers’ current season included:
| Year | Team | Power Play % |
| 2025-26 | Edmonton Oilers | 33.1 |
| 2022–23 | Edmonton Oilers | 32.4 |
| 1977–78 | Montreal Canadiens | 31.9 |
| 1977–78 | New York Islanders | 31.4 |
| 1978-79 | New York Islanders | 31.2 |
| 2019-20 | Edmonton Oilers | 29.5 |
| 1980-81 | New York Islanders | 29.3 |
| 1982-83 | Edmonton Oilers | 29.3 |
| 1979-80 | Montreal Canadiens | 29.1 |
| 2024-25 | Winnipeg Jets | 28.9 |
Here’s an interesting fact: the best power play% from the 2000 to 2010 era were the Detroit Red Wings in 2008–09 with only 25.5%.
Sustainable you ask? Well the ridiculous 37% clip they’ve been at since December 2 isn’t, but I honestly believe they have enough gas in the tank to end the season over 33%.
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Strategy to have the best power play of all time
For too long has every team’s power play consisted of the same basic structure or a slight variation of that. Three players form an umbrella at the top of the zone, one man stands in the slot and waits for a pass, and one poor fellow endures abuse in front of the net.
There is one basic, loosely formed, strategy that dominates power plays. It is the classic Alex Ovechkin. One player, the edge of the umbrella if you will, sits on one of the face-off dots and waits for a one-time pass from his defenceman or his counter part on the other side of the ice. However, more generally, the object is to get a cross-ice one-timer, however you can get it.
There are some more complicated, concrete plans, like the tic-tac-toe passing from one faceoff dot, to someone below the goal line on one side of the net, to the man in the slot who one times it. I for one think there should be far more set plays employed on the power play with more movement. This would come as a complete surprise to penalty killers who are entirely used to the standard practices.
We see more strategy from the Edmonton power play than any other team, though still not enough in my opinion. They have started a few interesting ploys. One I have seen recently is where one Edmonton player, not McDavid, enters the zone with the puck at the same time as three other not-McDavids. The puck carrier stops up short between the blue line and hash marks and passes cross ice to McDavid who comes barreling into the zone at speed. The defenders who have just stopped with the puck are completely flat footed and McDavid can make his way to the net easily, I have also seen something similar in 5v5.
Another common strategy is when the Oilers have control, McDavid circles with the puck from the half wall towards the centre of the ice with speed. Since the threat of McDavid continuing to the net is so panic inducing, Leon Draisaitl is often forgotten about in his office and McDavid can pass it across for a one timer.
A third, very uncommon, strategy is when McDavid has the puck on the half wall, Drasaitl is standing on the inside hash marks on the same side of the ice, facing the net. McDavid passes to Draisaitl’s back hand without Draisaitl even looking, and Draisaitl is able to get a shot off extremely quickly. This is a completely new technique and is beautiful to watch but is difficult to pull off consistently.
All this is to say that the Oilers have turned the power play into an art form and that, along with their individual skill and a literal bull-dog in front of the net shoveling home rebounds have made them the best power play team of all time. If they can continue at their current efficiency, they will hold the top two best power play seasons ever, and three of the top-six.
Hopefully their example inspires more innovation on the power play as I honestly believe team should be doing better than 30%.
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
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