Have the Edmonton Oilers finally pulled out of their season-long tailspin: 9 Things

The Edmonton Oilers are on a nice little roll.

After a start to the season that at times defied explanation, the club has finally put it all together over the last bit.

And while the “sample of good” is still relatively small, surely, we can agree that we now see regular glimpses of what this team was supposed to be.

That and more in this edition of…

9 Things

9. Across both the Seattle and Winnipeg games Edmonton scored three goals in four consecutive periods: Each frame of the Kraken tilt and the opening 20 of the Jets match.

8. Connor Clattenburg missed Saturday’s action. He suffered an injury near his eye in the Seattle game which required stitches. Head Coach Kris Knoblauch says the rookie will be “at least a week”. It turned out way better than it could have.

7. Adam Henrique looks like a better player this season, smart defensively and a bit more juice with the puck, too. But his ability to win a draw remains one of his greatest benefits. So far this season, Henrique is 56.7% on the dot. That is thirty-second over-all in the NHL. More on possession in a minute or two…

6. Stuart Skinner has seemingly stabilized his season. That is a dramatic turnaround in less than two weeks time. In fact, after Saturday’s games Skinner had a 2.86 GAA, top thirty in the NHL for the first time this year. His SV% will take longer to correct but it too has recovered to .889 (forty-third).

5. Trent Frederic’s contribution to the 6-1 goal Saturday was a snapshot of just how effective this guy can be when he is right: A hard forecheck, a strip along the wall then a perfect pass into the slot to Tomasek for the goal 6-1. It was Frederic’s first apple as an Oiler. His speed has been compromised due to last year’s injury…the NHL EDGE stats confirm that (Max Speed 21.72 MPH, 50th percentile). But he has looked better lately.

4. Top-heavy teams often do not go far in this league because their best guys just can not be that good that often to make up for the rest of the lineup not scoring. So, when we see the likes of Mattias Janmark, Curtis Lazar and David Tomasek tally over the last two games is really encouraging. You need depth in this league. If those guys can chip in every so often, it not only takes a little heat off your top guys. In a league with so much parity, one goal can make a big difference.

3. I believe the Winnipeg Jets game was Alec Regula’s best of his pro career. He and Darnell Nurse were very good. Regula played a season-high 21:33. He had three blocked shots, High Danger Scoring Chances 5v5 were 8-4 and he was right in the middle of it physically as well. When you are 6’4 212 LBS, and have a wingspan like Regula, you need to use it to your advantage. Regula’s strength is his puck moving ability. But his ability to defence is what will ultimately keep him in the lineup…and in the league.

2. My Cult of Hockley colleague David Staples and I really had a good discussion post-game on Saturday about puck possession. We agree that at their best the Oilers are a possession team. And while most people fairly associate that with offence, it is far from the whole story. In fact, possession is a key defensive factor in all three zones. On one hand, it is simple: If you gain and maintain possession of the puck the other guys are not a threat. It is like a giant game of keep-away. Edmonton has actually been pretty good in the O-zone all season. The problem had largely been everywhere else. But a more connected effort with a forward low as support has helped remedy that…as those five-and-ten-foot passes. Less can, and has, go wrong. The D-zone and (especially) Neutral zones are far tidier than ten games ago.

1.The Edmonton Oilers finally pulled into a Wild card spot Saturday in the Western Conference. That is a long way from “they’re back, baby!”, for sure. But it is clear Edmonton has found at least a version of “their game”. They have won four of their last six. One of those two losses was a quite well-played 1-0 setback to Minnesota. And the offence, which has been the biggest mystery, is finally firing on all four cylinders. Evidence comes in the form of wins by 9-4 and 6-2 in their last two outings. As a result, the Oilers are just four points back of the Pacific Division leading Anaheim Ducks (Anaheim with a game in hand). And with the most difficult stretch if their season now behind them, the light at the end of that long, dark tunnel is getting bigger and brighter. Lots of people wrote the Oilers off after their poor start. But a lot of the beat writers around the league had predicted Edmonton to be a top four team before the season even started. So, what happened? Or did not happen? Were they actually good…or not?

I think the answer to that boils down to three factors:

-Schedule. It’s been a killer for them. No practice, no rest. It’s a thing. Ask any player.

-Replacement parts. With the roster shuffle the Oilers had to re-align their room, their lines and pairings and their game…all over again. That takes some doing. Ask any coach.

-And then factor in two deep, back-to-back post-season runs without the ultimate reward in return. Physically, it is a damn grind with no pay-back. And mentally, I would assert to you that it is even more taxing. Ask any NHL team who has had to deal with that, lately.

Think of your own workplace. If you pull a double shift with a bunch of new guys on a project you just have not been able to get right on your previous tries…how confident will you feel? And how likely is it that you will all work like a well-oiled machine until you adapt?

And look: The Oilers still need to put a bunch more points in the bank until I will 100% guarantee the patient recovered.

But the vital signs are certainly improving.

This article is not AI generated.

Recently, at The Cult…

STAPLES: Bouchard and McDavid bomb Jets in a 6-2 laugher at Rogers Place

STAPLES: McDavid hat trick, Savoie two as Oilers slam Kraken 9-4

LEAVINS: Oilers run into Wallstedt in 1-0 loss to Wild.

Bruce McCurdy, 1955-2025.

Don’t miss the news you need to know — add EdmontonJournal.com and EdmontonSun.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here.