After defeating the Nashville Predators 4-1 at Rogers Place on Saturday (Jan. 27), the Edmonton Oilers have now won 16 consecutive games, tying the Columbus Blue Jackets of 2016-17 for the second-longest winning streak in NHL history.
Zach Hyman scored his team-leading 30th goal in the victory. Edmonton is now just one victory from matching the all-time record of 17 wins in a row set by the 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Oilers haven’t lost since Dec. 19, and they won’t lose for at least another week and a half because they’ve got an extended break in their schedule around All-Star Weekend. But with the way they’re playing, it doesn’t seem like the Oilers will ever lose again.
That’s the level of confidence felt in Edmonton where the Oilers have won 24 of their last 27 games. The Oilers are 26-6-0 since former head coach Jay Woodcroft and his assistant Dave Manson were fired and replaced by Kris Knoblauch and Paul Coffey, respectively, on Nov. 12.
But is this incredible run just the product of a perfect storm, or is the Oilers’ success sustainable? The answer to that can be found by looking at how Edmonton is winning games.
Oilers Are Playing Great Defensively
Over Edmonton’s 16 consecutive wins, the opposition has scored a total of just 24 goals. The last time the Oilers gave up more than two goals in a game was before Christmas.
It’s a team-wide effort to keep the puck out of the Oilers’ net, starting with more back-checking and less risk-taking by the forwards.
Since the coaching changes, which saw Hall-of-Fame blueliner Coffey put in charge of the back end, Edmonton’s defense has dramatically improved: Individually, they are making smarter reads and fewer mistakes as individuals, and collectively, they’re playing a sound structure that is limiting the number of scoring opportunities for opposing attackers.
Oilers Are Getting Stellar Goaltending
Over Edmonton’s 16 consecutive victories, the opposition is averaging just 27.6 shots on goal each game, and when the puck does find its way on net, it’s not getting past the last line of defense.
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Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner has been arguably the NHL’s best goalie over the last couple of months, going 19-2-0 with a goals-against average (GAA) of 1.76 and a save percentage (SV%) of .935 since American Thanksgiving. Skinner’s backup Calvin Pickard has been more than up to task when called upon, going 5-2-0 with a 2.34 GAA and a .915 SV%.
Oilers Are Excelling on Special Teams
The aforementioned defensive structure is making a huge difference in shorthanded situations: Edmonton has allowed a meagre three power-play goals over its 16-game win streak and has the best penalty-kill rate in the league, 93.6%, over that span. That’s an astonishing stat when considering that the Oilers had a penalty kill of just 70.0% prior to the coaching switch.
Meanwhile, over the last 27 games, which has seen the Oilers go 24-3-0, Edmonton’s power play is clicking at a rate of 31.6%. Edmonton and the Carolina Hurricanes are tied for the league’s best power play percentage since US Thanksgiving.
Oilers Are Getting Depth Scoring
While they have the best player on the planet, and another who is often considered one of the league’s top 5 forwards, the Oilers haven’t had to rely on Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl to carry the scoring load every game.
Over these past 16 games, six Oilers have at least five goals, and six have eight or more assists. Two of the biggest offensive contributors have been middle-six forwards, Warren Foegele and Ryan McLeod, who have totalled 15 and 12 points, respectively, over the last 16 games. Ten different Oilers have scored the winning goal during the 16-game winning streak.
Hyman continues to be Edmonton’s top marksman, joining Draisaitl and McDavid as the only Oilers since the 1980s to score at least 30 goals before the All-Star Break. He’s got seven more goals than anyone else on the team and would be the first player other than Draisaitl or McDavid to lead the team in goals since 2016.
Oilers Have Foundation for a Championship Run
The Oilers aren’t winning solely because a couple of individuals are shooting the goal lights out. In fact, they’re not winning because of high scoring, period: The Oilers haven’t tallied more than four goals in any of their last 10 games, becoming just the third team in NHL history to score fewer than five goals in 10 straight outings and still manage to win all of them.
It’s often said that defence wins championships, and defence is this team’s foundation, rooted in a strong structure. As veteran Edmonton rearguard Mattias Ekholm told media after Saturday’s game, the Oilers have “found some sort of structure defensively that allows our goaltenders to play great. It allows us to keep the opposition score down and we hang around and we get those goals at crucial times.”
At this point, a long layoff might be the only thing that can kill the Oilers’ momentum. It won’t be until Feb. 6 when they finally return to action, with a road game against the Vegas Golden Knights. The chance to match the NHL record for consecutive wins will be on the line.
