Don’t look now, but the Edmonton Oilers have quietly crept into a top-three spot in the Pacific Division. After another slow start to the season, they are suddenly 6-3-1 over their last 10 games, and are beginning to look like the Stanley Cup contender they’ve been the prior two seasons.
There are plenty of reasons to point as to why the Oilers have turned things around as of late. They are getting more secondary scoring, particularly from the likes of Matt Savoie and Vasily Podkolzin. They are also giving up less chances thanks to the likes of Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard improving their play after rough starts to the season. The biggest reason for this turnaround, however, has been the outstanding play of their captain.
McDavid is Playing Out of His Mind
On Tuesday night, the Oilers had a very unusual matchup. They were going up against the Pittsburgh Penguins, who had Stuart Skinner in the pipes and Brett Kulak on the back end. Meanwhile, the Oilers started their new goaltender in Tristan Jarry.
Related: 5 Takeaways From Oilers’ 6-4 Win Over Penguins
While the goalie matchup was all the talk going into the game, it wasn’t by the end, as the Oilers walked away with the win in a high-scoring 6-4 final. That outing saw Connor McDavid score two goals and four points to briefly become the NHL’s leading scorer.
After a disappointing start to the season by his standards, McDavid is right back on track. He’s currently riding a seven-game point streak, during which time he’s racked up nine goals and 20 points. Now, he sits second to only Nathan MacKinnon in league scoring with 56 points through just 34 games, putting him on pace for 135 points. That would mark the second-highest total of his career, with his career-high 153 coming back in 2022-23.
This, of course, comes as no surprise to Oilers fans, who have seen the NHL’s best player start slow only to pour it on as the season progresses. Last season was no different, as McDavid started off with just 10 points in his first 11 games. By the time the 2024-25 campaign ended, he had 100 points in just 67 outings, marking the eighth time in his career he hit the 100-point marker.
Oilers Back to Being Stanley Cup Contender
Now that McDavid is back to his usual self, the Oilers are going to quickly re-establish themselves as a true contender out of the Western Conference. It’s no different than what we all saw the past two seasons, where slow starts had everybody writing the Oilers off, only to see them pick up major steam over the second half and wind up advancing to the Stanley Cup Final.
While there are some other strong contenders out of the Western Conference, the Oilers, when at their best, are going to be a tough out. They beat both the Dallas Stars and Vegas Golden Knights, two other heavy hitters in the West, in rather easy fashion in last year’s playoffs. The Minnesota Wild, while picking up Quinn Hughes, are still not as deep of a roster overall as neither the Stars nor Golden Knights.
The biggest task for the Oilers will be the Colorado Avalanche, who have lost just twice in regulation through their first 32 games. They are undoubtedly the favourites right now when predicting a Stanley Cup winner, and for good reason. That said, as good as MacKinnon is, it’s pretty hard to bet against McDavid when he’s playing like this.
Related: Oilers Had Interest in Sabres’ Lyon Before Jarry Trade
Should McDavid continue to play at a similar level for the rest of the season, the Oilers have a great shot at winning the Pacific Division, as they currently trail the Golden Knights by just four points for the top spot. Once they are able to welcome back the likes of Jack Roslovic, Jake Walman, and Kasperi Kapapen, this is a team who are going to make their many detractors go silent once again.
