On Saturday (Jan. 13), the Edmonton Oilers set a new franchise record by winning their 10th consecutive game when Eric Bouchard scored in overtime to defeat the Montreal Canadiens 2-1 at the Bell Centre.
Related: Oilers Set Franchise Record with Overtime Victory Over Canadiens
Edmonton’s previous longest winning streak had been nine games, which the Oilers accomplished twice, in 2000-01 and 2022-23. This has been an incredible stretch for the team, who haven’t lost since Dec. 19 and have outscored the opposition by a total of 22 goals over their 10 straight victories.
But dig a little deeper, and there are a number of stats that wouldn’t suggest Edmonton is having historic success. Are the Oilers just lucky to have reeled off 10 wins in a row? Or have they found new ways to win that may prove more sustainable and suited to a championship run? Here’s a look at some of the quirks and peculiarities of Edmonton’s record winning streak:
Oilers Win More While Scoring Less
Over their last four victories, the Oilers have scored three, two, three, and two goals respectively, tying the franchise record for most games in a row won without scoring more than three goals.
The Oilers have only scored eight goals total in regulation over these four games, but thanks to some stout defence and sensational goaltending from Stuart Skinner, along with Calvin Pickard, they haven’t needed to score a ton of goals to win lately.
Opponents have scored a meagre total of 17 goals over Edmonton’s win streak, and the Oilers have allowed just five goals over these last four games.
Oilers Aren’t Playing With as Much Power
While the Oilers had the man advantage when Bouchard scored the record-setting goal in Montreal, Edmonton’s power play otherwise hasn’t been particularly effective lately. Over their 10 straight wins, they are just 17.9% (5/28) with the man advantage, well below their 27.3% rate before the streak began.
But at the same time, the Oilers have a penalty kill of 90.3% (28/31) over the last 10 games, a huge increase from their rate of 78.3% before the win streak. It wasn’t that long ago that an extended stretch with a power-play rate around 17-18% could have spelled huge trouble for the Oilers, so reliant they were on the man advantage to generate goals.
Oilers’ Dynamic Duo Hasn’t Been Superhuman
Although they’ve totalled only 10 goals in the last four games, the Oilers are averaging almost four goals per game during their winning streak. And yet, Edmonton’s MVP-winning tandem of Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid hasn’t been as explosive as usual, as each has just three multi-point games over the course of the win streak.
They’ve combined for 26 points (16 from McDavid, 11 from Draisaitl) over the last 10 contests. An average of 2.6 points per game is pretty good for most duos, but in the case of McDavid and Draisaitl, it’s nearly a full point less than what they combined to average in the 2022-23 season.
As long as the Oilers continue to keep the puck out of their net, they don’t need 2-3 points every night from both Draisaitl and McDavid. Depth scoring helps a lot too, as the Oilers have nine players with at least six points over the last 10 games.
Oilers Finish Stronger Than They Start
During Edmonton’s win streak, the opposition has scored first five times and taken a lead into the second intermission three times. The Oilers have outscored the opposition 19-6 in the third period and overtime over the last 10 games.
Giving up the first goal is nothing new for the Oilers. In fact, it was a major issue for them just last season. But the way they respond to trailing 1-0 is different than before. Edmonton may give up the first goal, but is rarely giving up the second goal.
The Oilers are showing a newfound maturity, with the confidence to stick to their game plan, even in cases when they’re trailing on the scoreboard with less than 20 minutes to play. Time and again, they eventually break through, whereas in the past, the Oilers lacked that patience, and it would often bite them in the backside when they started taking risks.
Could the fact that the Oilers aren’t resorting to firewagon hockey explain why both Draisaitl and McDavid are on pace for their fewest points in years? Does it matter if the Oilers are having their longest winning stretch in franchise history, with 18 Ws over the last 21 games?
Season after season, playoff after playoff, the Oilers have failed in their pursuit of a Stanley Cup. This Edmonton team is starting to look quite different than its previous versions. And what may on the surface appear to be a step back could actually prove to be several steps forward.
The Oilers will look to make it 11 consecutive victories when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs at Rogers Place on Tuesday (Jan. 16).
