Are you not entertained by the Edmonton Oilers? The last time the Oilers were considered Stanley Cup contenders back in the late 1980s, they actually played like it. Now? They’re like Forrest Gump and his proverbial box of chocolates: you never know what you’re going to get. With that said, after going 0-3-0 to start the season, the Oilers have picked up their game in recent days with wins over the Philadelphia Flyers and Nashville Predators and a good effort in their Oct. 19 loss to the Dallas Stars.
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If the Oilers don’t have their “A” game every time out, they’re in trouble. It seems that more than ever, teams get up to play Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Evan Bouchard and the 2023-24 NHL Western Conference champions. So what improvements can they make to get back into contention in the 2024-25 season?
Fix Poor Special Teams
The poor play on both the penalty kill and power play are two of the biggest reasons for their slow start to the season. The penalty kill, which was so strong during the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, now looks like a sequel to Land of the Lost. The record-setting power play has been even worse. In six games, the Oilers have only one power-play goal, which came off Draisaitl’s stick in the second game of the season against the Chicago Blackhawks. Obviously, head coach Kris Knoblauch is looking at changes, meaning that Jeff Skinner, arguably the Oilers’ best forward so far this season, could see some power-play time with the first unit and possibly replace Ryan Nugent-Hopkins or Zach Hyman.
Nugent-Hopkins and Hyman have both been underperforming so far this season but the biggest surprise may be that Hyman is goalless in six games. He’s been buzzing around the net and had a couple goals called back, but nothing seems to be going in for the likable forward who potted 70 last year between the regular season and playoffs.
Goaltending Needs to Improve
The Oilers are currently sitting in second last place in the Pacific Division with a negative 12 goal differential. It looks like backup goalie Calvin Pickard found his game in the Oilers’ first road win of the season in Nashville on Oct. 17 when he outdueled Predators goalie Juuse Saros for a 4-2 victory. Unfortunately, Stuart Skinner is still looking for answers after a sluggish start to the season. Skinner currently ranks near the bottom of the NHL in Save Percentage (SV%) among all active goalies with an .851 clip and a 4.03 Goals Against Average (GAA).
These numbers are clearly not good enough for a netminder many thought would possibly contend for a spot on Team Canada for the 4-Nations Faceoff in mid-February 2025. If Skinner doesn’t turn things around soon, he definitely won’t get a Team Canada invite and Oilers brass may start looking elsewhere for goaltending help by the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline. How long will Oilers general manager Stan Bowman stay patient?
Oilers Star Players Need To Start Playing Like It
When TSN revealed their Top-50 Players list in late September, there were four Oilers named to that list: McDavid, Draisaitl, Hyman and Bouchard. Every single one of them have started slow with McDavid starting to look more like himself lately. It’s for the “Fab Four” to wake up; we’re getting close to November and if the Oilers are going to have any hope of catching the surprising Calgary Flames for first in the Pacific , they’d better pitter patter and get ‘atter. Time’s a-wasting and this team can ill afford a 2-9-1 start like last season.
Recent Signs of Life
It’s not been all doom and gloom in the Alberta Capital this fall. The Oilers have shown some recent signs that they’re about to break out of this early-season slumber. They played well in wins against the Philadelphia Flyers and Predators — and in their loss to the Stars — but many fans are just waiting for the team to really breakout. There’s too much talent there, especially on the offensive side, for this team to be floundering like they are. I don’t think they’ll go 2-9-1 and repeat the brutal start from last season, but they better start picking it up soon or else they’re going to be chasing the season instead of setting the pace for it.
