The Edmonton Oilers wrapped up their pre-Christmas schedule with a 4-3 victory over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Friday (Dec. 22).
Trailing 1-0 after forty minutes, the Oilers erupted in the third period with four consecutive goals from Zach Hyman, Evander Kane, Warren Foegele, and Ryan McLeod, then held on to hand Rangers goalie Jonathan Quick his first regulation loss of the season.
New York’s Blake Wheeler opened the scoring midway through the first period, while his teammates Mika Zibanejad and Will Cuylle each tallied late during a furious Rangers rally that ran out of time. Goalie Stuart Skinner turned aside 31 shots by the Rangers.
It was the second come-from-behind victory in as many nights for the Oilers, who on Thursday (Dec. 21) beat the New Jersey Devils 6-3 after scoring four unanswered goals in the third period.
Edmonton now has a record of 15-15-1 this season, including 12-6-0 since relieving head coach Jay Woodcroft of his duties and replacing him behind the bench with Kris Knoblauch on Nov. 12. Here are three takeaways from Friday’s game:
Oilers Turn Things Around in Third
After shocking the Devils with four goals in the first 9:04 of the third period (including three in a span of 69 seconds) on Thursday, the Oilers delivered an encore performance on Friday in the World’s Most Famous Arena by scoring four times in the first 9:53 of the final frame.
This is only the third time in franchise history that Edmonton has won after trailing during the third period on consecutive nights.
All four of Edmonton’s third-period comeback wins this season have occurred since Knoblauch took over. Under Knoblauch, the Oilers are 4-4 when trailing after two periods; Under Woodcroft, they were 0-7 when trailing to start the third.
Also of note is the Oilers’ third-period goal differential, which is plus-0.56 per game since the coaching change, compared to minus-0.77 per game before Woodcroft was fired.
Depth Scoring Key for Oilers
On Thursday, McLeod scored twice, and fellow Oilers forward Adam Erne also tallied. Their combined three goals were one more than Erne and McLeod had between them over the entire season to that point.
On Friday, McLeod and Foegele were both credited with a goal and an assist. Foegele’s goal was only his second in the last 25 games.
Offensive contributions from forwards other than Hyman, Kane, Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid, or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins have been rare for the Oilers. Before these last two games, the aforementioned five players had accounted for nearly 80% of all goals by Oilers wingers and centres in 2023-24.
The Oilers would not have won these last two games without the contributions of Foegele and McLeod, and they’re not going to go anywhere near the Stanley Cup without players like them stepping up much more frequently. To appreciate how important depth scoring is to Edmonton’s success, consider that since the start of the 2021-22 season, Edmonton is 18-5-0 when McLeod scores, 21-2-3 when Foegele scores, and 4-0-0 when both score.
Can this support scoring continue? It hasn’t been for any prolonged period during the Draisaitl/McDavid era, but in the case of McLeod, at least, there is reason for optimism. After totaling just two points with a minus-five rating in the season’s first 16 games (in which Edmonton was 5-10-1), the 24-year-old has nine points with a plus-six rating in the last 15 games (in which Edmonton is 10-5-0).
Draisaitl Continues to Underperform
McLeod and Co picked the right time to light the lamps because the Oilers are not getting anywhere near the level of scoring expected and needed from Draisaitl.
The Oilers alternate captain was without a point on Friday, and while he had a goal in each of Edmonton’s two prior games, Draisaitl’s output continues to be far below his lofty standards.
He’s got just two points in his last half-dozen outings and has now gone six consecutive games without an assist. The last time he went this many games without a helper was nearly five years ago, in 2018-19.
Draisaitl has averaged less than one point per game since the start of November. With 14 goals and 21 assists so far this season, Draisaitl is on pace for 92 points over a full 82-game schedule. This is from a superstar who put up 128 points in 2022-23 and averaged more than 1.5 points per game over the previous four seasons.
What’s hampering the former Art Ross Trophy winner? The Oilers have played 31 games and are two and a half months into the season, so this drop-off from Draisaitl can no longer be dismissed as a mere slump and is a growing concern.
Related: Oilers Enter Tough Stretch of 6 Straight Road Games to End Year
But considering they started the season 2-9-1, the Oilers will happily head into the Christmas break with as many points as games played and on a winning streak. Edmonton has managed to get back into the playoff race, and that’s all anyone in Oil Country would have asked for six weeks ago.
The Oilers return to action next Thursday (Dec. 28) when they play the first of three straight games in California against the San Jose Sharks at the SAP Center.
