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Next Game: Oilers @ Golden Knights, T-Mobile Arena, Tomorrow, 8 p.m.
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Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner defends the net against New York Rangers defenceman Artemi Panarin during the first period at Rogers Place on Nov. 23, 2024 in Edmonton. Photo by Codie McLachlan/Getty Images |
Is Stu Skinner ready to save the Edmonton Oilers season? |
By Robert Tychkowski Slowly, piece by piece, things are falling into place for the Edmonton Oilers.
The penalty kill, after a dismal adjustment period following the off-season departure of some key elements, is actually killing penalties again.
Brett Kulak and Vasily Podkolzin are the kind of pleasant surprises all good teams need in any given year. Corey Perry is great value for the money as a hard-playing veteran who knows how to work a hockey game. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, with two goals in the last two games, might have found his missing hands. Darnell Nurse is finding success in a simplified game that allows him to be the heavy, steady, tough defender they need him to be.
Ty Emberson and Troy Stecher are both faring better than expected on Edmonton’s revamped blue line. Mattias Janmark, with 10 points in 24 games, is quietly on pace for a career year.
And the Oilers are 7-2-1 in the last 10 and riding a three-game win streak.
There are lots of positive trends at the moment.
Some elements have been slower to come around, however, and remain a work in progress.
The power play, while showing signs of recovery over the last seven games, 4-for-18 (22 per cent) needs to be better.
High-profile acquisitions Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson aren’t paying the kind of dividends Oilers management had hoped when they announced the free agent signings last summer. So far they have six goals and seven assists between them for that $7 million in combined salary.
Meanwhile, Warren Foegele ($3.5 million) has six goals and five assists in Los Angeles, Dylan Holloway ($2.3 million) has seven goals and six assists in St. Louis and Ryan McLeod ($2.1 million) has six goals and six assists in Buffalo. |
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WATCH: Oilers forward Vasily Podkolzin speaks to the media after the team's 4-1 win over Colorado on Saturday
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THREE IN A ROW NOW AS EDMONTON OILERS START TO HEAT UP |
Make theirs a triple. The Edmonton Oilers are officially on a roll. Back-to-back road wins in Utah Friday and Denver Saturday make it three straight as the Oilers equalled their longest winning streak of the season and improved to 7-2-1 in their last 10.
After a rocky start, things continue falling into place for the Oilers, who got a strong night in goal from Stuart Skinner and depth scoring from Vasily Podkolzin, Brett Kulak, and Kasperi Kapanen in a 4-1 decision over the banged-up Avalanche. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins potted the empty-netter for his second goal of the road trip.
“Playing back-to-back, you need your entire bench, and I thought everyone stepped up their game,” said head coach Kris Knoblauch. “It was nice to see pretty much everyone contributing.”
The win also secured Edmonton’s spot in the Western Conference’s top eight at American Thanksgiving, which usually means a spot in the post-season. Thirteen of the 16 teams that held a playoff spot at this time last year went on to make the playoffs (six in the Western Conference and seven in the East).
More importantly, they’re starting to look a little like the Oilers of a year ago. In a start that’s been a mirror image of what happened last season, this is also the point when the Oilers hit the gas and never looked back. |
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OILERS MAILBAG: HOW BIG WAS THE LOSS OF PHILIP BROBERG? IS JEFF SKINNER SALVAGEABLE? DAVID SAVARD TO EDMONTON? |
With the season one quarter over, Edmonton Oilers fans have some concerns, some worries, a bit of angst, and a number of questions about a team that almost won the Stanley Cup last June in Florida.
Here’s a sampling of questions submitted by readers. Q: How big was the loss of Philip Broberg? (CHRISMG2020) A: BIG. Good business decision then and now with the squeezed cap which GM Stan Bowman inherited when he was hired in late July, but a bad hockey decision, with hindsight being 20-20.
Clearly, a large error, with how Broberg has been playing in St. Lous, derailed for a few weeks after a mild board entanglement with Mitch Marner hurt his knee. Broberg has nine points in 13 games, is plus five, and is averaging 20 minutes a game. In his return Saturday against Philly, he played 24 minutes alongside Justin Faulk.
The Blues’ offer sheet was two years at almost $4.6 million AAV, a major gulp for a young defenceman with 81 NHL games, and the Oilers didn’t want to pay him more than Evan Bouchard for this season if they matched the offer.
All reasonable things to chew on but losing him has come back to bite the Oilers on the butt. |
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Edmonton Oilers 2024-25 statistics
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Leon Draisaitl: 24 GP, 17G, 15 A, 32 PTS Connor McDavid: 21 GP, 12G, 19 A, 31 PTS Ryan Nugent-Hopkins: 24 GP, 4 G, 8 A, 12 PTS - Mattias Janmark: 24 GP, 1G, 9 A, 10 PTS
- Zach Hyman: 20 GP, 3 G, 5 A, 8 PTS
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| Evan Bouchard: 24 GP, 6 G, 12 A, 18 PTS
Mattias Ekholm: 24 GP, 2G, 8A, 10 PTS Darnell Nurse: 21 GP, 3 G, 7 A, 9 PTS Brett Kulak: 24 GP, 5G, 4 A, 9 PTS
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| - Stuart Skinner: 16 GP, 8-6-2, .887 SV%, 3.09 GAA
- Calvin Pickard: 9 GP, 5-3--0, 0.895 SV%, 2.50 GAA
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Edmonton Oilers right winger Vasily Podkolzin skates the puck past Nashville Predators defenseman Jeremy Lauzon during the third period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in Nashville. George Walker Iv /THE ASSOCIATED PRESS |
Strong play of depth wingers Podkolzin, Kapanen foreshadows tough decisions when injured Oilers return |
By Bruce McCurdy
It was the minute of hockey fans of both teams had been waiting for. With Edmonton Oilers leading Colorado Avalanche 3-1 in the seventh minute of the third period, Mattias Ekholm and Chris Wagner engaged in an altercation that landed both men in the penalty box with coincidental minors. Into the 4-on-4 manpower situation that ensued stepped some of the biggest stars the two sides could muster, indeed, some of the biggest stars in the sport.
A pair of former first overall draft picks, Nathan MacKinnon (2013) and Connor McDavid (2015), future Hall of Famers both at the height of their powers.
Two other top five draft picks in Leon Draisaitl (2014 #3) and Cale Makar (2017 #4), established superstars who would likely go at the top of their class in the fantasy world of the “redraft”. They too are bound for the Hall. Scattered around them, three other top-ten draft picks in Darnell Nurse (2013 #7), Valeri Nichuskin (2013 #10) and Evan Bouchard (2018 #10). Only a single long shot in Devon Toews (2014 #108) who long since has blossomed into one of the finest rearguards in the game.
Fans pressed forward to the edge of their seats (or sofas for those of us back at home) to watch a thrilling high-paced minute of… not very much. Which from an Edmonton perspective, was just fine. Did I mention the Oilers were leading 3-1? The Avs did take the puck into Oilers territory and zip it around, trying to find a weakness. But they couldn’t. McDavid and Draisaitl each marked their man well, switched off when appropriate, kept the play to the outside. Nurse and Bouchard took care of the net front.
Colorado didn’t so much as attempt a shot before eventually McDavid stopped Makar along the wall, Draisaitl took possession and zipped a breakout pass to Bouchard on the far wing, and the Oilers controlled play for the rest of the shift. Eventually McDavid fired a wild shot into the netting, the whistle blew, and the minute had past. Edmonton still led 3-1, a lead they continued to maintain until Ryan Nugent-Hopkins sealed the deal with an empty net goal with 92 seconds to play.
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▶️ The Cult of Hockey's "Embattled Oiler leads Edmonton over Avs" podcast |
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