On Nov. 3, the Edmonton Oilers were 10 points back of second place in the Pacific Division. By Dec. 3, that gap had swelled to 14 points. As of Jan. 3, Edmonton shaved the deficit back down to 10 points, and by Feb. 3, the Oilers were five points out of the No. 2 spot in their division. And now, on Mar. 3, the Oilers finally wake up holding sole possession of second place in the Pacific Division.
Edmonton’s long climb back up the standings hit a new benchmark yesterday (Mar. 2) when the Oilers defeated the Seattle Kraken 2-1 at Climate Pledge Arena. That result, coupled with the Vegas Golden Knights’ 7-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres, saw Edmonton leapfrog the defending Stanley Cup champions for second spot in the Pacific; The Oilers now have 74 points, one more than Vegas.
Related: Oilers’ Victory Over Capitals May Signal Turning Point for McDavid
This has been a remarkable turnaround for an Edmonton team that was as far back as 16 points out of the Pacific’s second spot in November. After starting the season with a 5-12-1 record, the Oilers are 30-8-1 since American Thanksgiving.
On Saturday against Seattle, Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl and Brett Kulak scored while Stuart Skinner made 24 saves for the Oilers, who won for a third consecutive game. Here’s how they got it done:
Scoring First Proves Crucial for Oilers
Edmonton never trailed the Kraken on Saturday. Draisaitl scored the game’s first goal midway through the second period, and Kulak made it 2-0 in favor of the Oilers with a goal at 8:02 of the third period. Seattle’s lone goal came with 6:37 remaining in the third period when Eeli Tolvanen tallied on the power-play to pull the Kraken within 2-1.
In 13 games since the All-Star Break, this was the first time Edmonton took a lead into the third period and just the fourth time scoring first. The Oilers have won eight consecutive games when they lead after two periods and are 17-2 in their last 19 games when scoring the opening goal.
Skinner Stands Tall for Oilers
The Oilers gave their goalie a two-goal lead, and Skinner took it from there. Despite conceding the goal to Tolvanen, Skinner played brilliantly down the stretch.
In the final minute, with Seattle playing six-on-four, thanks to a Draisaitl penalty and Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer being pulled for the extra attacker, Skinner made a pair of monster saves. First, he robbed former Oiler Jordan Eberle on a wrist shot at 19:33 and then stopped a one-time blast by Tolvanen from the face-off dot to the left of Edmonton’s net with only six seconds remaining.
While he slumped briefly following the All-Star break, Skinner appears to be back on track, starting every game on the Oilers’ current win streak, going 3-0 with a 1.63 goals against average (GAA) And .949 save percentage (SV%). Overall, the 25-year-old netminder is 10-4-0 with a 1.86 GAA and .929 SV% in his last 14 road outings.
Draisaitl Reaches 30 Goals for Sixth Straight Season
Draisaitl was buzzing on Saturday. After scoring to put Edmonton ahead 1-0, the German forward was initially credited with the Oiler’s second goal, which came at 8:02 of the third period and eventually proved to be the game-winner.
At first glance, Draisaitl appeared to have tipped Kulak’s shot from just inside the blue line past Seattle netminder Philipp Grubauer, though it was later determined that the puck found its way from Kulak’s stick to the back of the net untouched. Draisaitl was, however, credited with an assist on Kulak’s third goal of the season.
Draisaitl’s goal was his 30th of 2023-24, giving him six consecutive seasons of at least 30 goals. Only four other players in franchise history have longer streaks of 30-plus goal seasons, and what makes Draisaitl’s streak so impressive is that two of his 30-goal campaigns came during seasons with shortened schedules (2019-20 and 2020-21).
Oilers Within Striking Distance of First Place
Securing the No. 2 seed in the division is crucial, as it means getting home advantage in the first round of the playoffs. In each of the last two seasons, the Oilers have finished second and won their first-round series.
Now that they’re in second, can the Oilers start thinking about the top spot? With a month and a half to go on the 2023-24 regular schedule, Edmonton is nine points back with four games in hand of the division-leading Vancouver Canucks. Vancouver has won just one of its last seven contests, and if the Canucks continue to slump, the door could be open for the Oilers to make a run at first place.
Oilers Face Pittsburgh Next
The Oilers are back in action tonight (Mar. 3) when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins at Rogers Place. This will be the 12th all-time head-to-head meeting between Edmonton captain Connor McDavid and his Penguins counterpart Sidney Crosby, two generational talents and surefire Hall-of-Famers who were drafted first overall a decade apart (2015 and 2005, respectively).
McDavid has dominated the match-up individually, with 22 points to just seven for Crosby. However, Crosby’s team has won six of the 11 games. All that matters for Edmonton tonight is that the Oilers outscore the Penguins, regardless of whether McDavid puts up more points than Crosby.
