The Edmonton Oilers have now played 26 games this season: the first 13 under former head coach Jay Woodcroft, the last 13 with new bench boss Kris Knoblauch at the helm.
Edmonton was just 3-9-1 before changing coaches (assistant coach Dave Manson was also relieved and replaced with Paul Coffey, who is running the Oilers’ defence) on Nov. 12, but has gone 10-3-0 since and is currently on an eight-game win streak. The team has completely turned things around in nearly every facet of its game, offensively (from 2.69 to 4.31 goals for per game, an increase of 1.62), defensively (from 3.92 to 2.62 goals against per game, a decrease of 1.30), and special teams (from 23.9% to 32.6% on the power-play and 70.0% to 91.5% on the penalty kill).
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Edmonton’s transformation has resonated throughout the roster. Here’s a look at three Oilers that have significantly elevated their play since Knoblauch took over.
Connor McDavid
After having just 10 points over Edmonton’s first 13 games, Connor McDavid has exploded for 28 points over the last 13 outings. Granted, he did miss the sixth and seventh games on the Oilers’ schedule with an upper-body injury that may have continued to hamper the Oilers captain for a while after he returned to action. Regardless, his offensive output was far below his superstar standard.
The turning point for McDavid appears to have come during the last game that Edmonton lost, 6-3 to the Carolina Hurricanes on Nov. 22 in Raleigh. As he sat on the bench at PNC Arena watching his team suffer a third straight defeat, he was overcome by emotion. Since then, he’s racked up four goals and 18 assists over the Oilers’ eight-game win streak.
What’s been seen lately from the five-time Art Ross Trophy recipient is simply the best skater on the planet playing like the best skater on the planet again. How much that can be attributed to the coaching change is up for debate, but it certainly hasn’t hurt. McDavid seems healthy and energized, and his average of 2.15 points per game since Nov. 12 vouchs for it.
Evan Bouchard
Evan Bouchard was already off to a very good start offensively this season, with three goals and nine assists in 13 games to rank among the top 10 point-producing blueliners in the NHL. But the 6-foot-3 rearguard was a disaster defensively, making costly errors seemingly every game.
Since getting the opportunity to work with Coffey, who was a three-time Norris Trophy recipient (twice with the Oilers) as a player, Bouchard has shored up his defensive play quite substantially. At the same time, he has gone on an offensive tear, with points in the last 12 games, the second longest streak for consecutive games with a point by a defenceman in Oilers history (Coffey has the record of 28, set in 1985-86).
With five goals and 13 assists in 13 games since Edmonton changed coaches, Bouchard has the second most points among all NHL rearguards since Nov. 12. The 24-year-old is on pace to become the first Oilers defenceman with more than 90 points in a season since Coffey (who else?) in 1985-86.
But as remarkable as those stats are, they only mean so much without being accompanied by solid defensive play. Arguably the biggest thing Bouchard has done to help the Oilers on this eight-game win streak is take care of business in his own end. He needs to keep that up.
Stuart Skinner
Stuart Skinner has won seven consecutive starts between the pipes for Edmonton, the longest such streak of the netminder’s young NHL career. After going 2-5-1 with a 3.53 goals-against average (GAA) and particularly ugly .861 save percentage (SV%) over Edmonton’s first 13 games, he is 9-2 with a 2.42 GAA and .913 SV% since Knoblauch was hired. He’s looked steady, and has made timely saves.
Edmonton’s much better play in its own end, epitomized by Bouchard, also has no small part in this upswing for Skinner. But by the same token, he couldn’t be faulted for a lot of the pucks he had to fish out of the net earlier this season when Edmonton’s defence kept hanging him out to dry.
One of the biggest factors that has kept Edmonton from reaching the Stanley Cup Final is its lack of elite-level goaltending. Skinner’s recent performances have once again ignited hopes the 2022-23 Calder Trophy finalist could be that guy for the Oilers. He only just turned 25 and hasn’t even made 82 regular season NHL starts yet. The best should still be to come for Skinner, and this could be the latest step in his evolution.
Many other Oilers have stepped up over the last month, from the former All-Star winger (Ryan Nugent-Hopkins) to the fourth-line center (Derek Ryan), and the defenceman with more than a dozen years’ NHL experience (Mattias Ekholm) to the blueliner who has only played 60 NHL games (Vincent Desharnais). They’ve all played some part in Knoblauch beginning his Oilers tenure with eight straight victories at home. The Oilers have an opportunity to tie the franchise record for consecutive wins when they go for nine in a row tonight (Dec. 14) against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Rogers Place.
