3 Oilers Who Need to Elevate Their Offence

There’s been no shortage of scoring so far for the Edmonton Oilers during their hot start. This is largely thanks to Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Evan Bouchard, who are all inside the top five in the entire NHL in points. The scoring takes quite a dive after those three on the Oilers roster, and while they are winning, it isn’t exactly sustainable to rely on just three players for an entire season. There are a few key players who could step up and help out the stars.

Obviously, it has been an unusual start to the season for the Oilers because they’re winning, but they’ve also dealt with a mountain of injuries outside of their big three. This makes it hard for anyone else to really produce when most players are taking turns on the injured reserve; however, now with the team crawling closer to full health, it’s time for contributions from more players. Here are a few to watch.

Colton Dach

Offence isn’t the dominant part of Colton Dach‘s game, but he has shown he can score with the right opportunities. He has played recently alongside Jason Dickinson and Trent Frederic, which I believe is a great defensive and grit line that can wear down the opponent, but for Dach to become more of a scorer, he’ll need to be moved around.

There was a short time he played with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Kasperi Kapanen in the top-six, and it proved to be successful. He scored two of his three goals on the season with this line in a recent game versus the New York Rangers, and they rank third among all lines on the Oilers with an expected goals for percentage of 59.6. This line is fast, and you could argue it has the same defensive capabilities as a Dach, Frederic, and Dickinson combination.

Colton Dach has his second of the year to give the Oilers an early two-goal lead ✌️ https://t.co/64I1c0BTdW

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 1, 2026

Dach taking a stride in his offensive game would be massive for the team, especially because it hasn’t really shone yet in his career. It would only add to the weapons Edmonton’s forward group has.

Vasily Podkolzin

Vasily Podkolzin started the season among the group of elite Oilers noted off the top. He had seven goals and 12 points through the team’s first nine games, which is why he has been rewarded with playing on the top line; however, since then, he has three points in 12 contests. It isn’t a cause for alarm this early, but being the guy who will be playing on the first line for the foreseeable future, they’ll need him to find his groove again.

Podkolzin has no shortage of chances playing with McDavid and Draisaitl, and he also takes a lot of shots on goal. The points will come back.

Owen Michaels

Another player who started the season strong is Owen Michaels. He has four points through 21 games, with all of that scoring coming on or before Oct. 20. He has fit in great with the Oilers, being strong on draws and with the puck, but these things will need to turn into more results.

Edmonton has always been hit or miss with bottom-six scoring; however, we saw a glimpse of potential from Michaels that could be huge for the team this season. If he can find the spark he had in early October, the lineup would be more balanced and dangerous.

The Oilers have help on the way in the depth scoring department aside from these three players. Matt Savoie could be back as early as late November or sometime in December, while Zach Hyman seems to be getting back up to speed after his absence, scoring two goals in the team’s recent 3-2 overtime win over the Philadelphia Flyers.

We’ll see who can step up in the coming weeks for Edmonton to relieve some pressure on the big guys.