Edmonton Oilers can't score? Ham-handed start defies all logic

6 days ago

Edmonton Journal

They can’t quite put their finger on what’s wrong, and can’t quite wrap their hands around what’s right

Oilers - Figure 1 — Photo Edmonton Journal

Published Nov 07, 2024 • Last updated 2 hours ago • 5 minute read

Vegas Golden Knights forward Jack Eichel scores a goal against Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner during the first period at Rogers Place on Nov. 6, 2024, in Edmonton. Photo by Leila Devlin /Getty Images

This is like cows finishing last in a barnyard mooing contest.

It’s like an Italian grandma forgetting how to make a red sauce.

It’s like Starbucks being out of coffee.

The Edmonton Oilers can’t score?

And the power play sucks?

What kind of parallel universe is this where the Oilers are 27th on the power play, 30th in goals per game and Connor McDavid is tied for 84th in the scoring race?

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This is absolutely bizarre given the talent on this team and the Oilers’ long history of shooting the lights out. But all of the lights remain on through the first 14 games of a season that remains just outside their grasp.

They can’t quite put their finger on what’s wrong, and can’t quite wrap their hands around what’s right. So they grind from game to game, never looking great and never looking bad, just doing enough to win some nights and just enough to lose some nights.

That’s why they’re a middle of the pack team right now at 6-7-1.

A lot of things about the Oilers seem just a little off. In goal, Stuart Skinner has been great in some games and he’s been bad in others. And in occasional games, like Wednesday’s 4-2 loss to Vegas, he’s been both.

Backup Calvin Pickard has been good, except on the penalty kill where he’s given up seven goals on 16 shots.

Either way, they both have save percentages below .890, so goaltending is still a work in progress.

PK really struggling

The penalty kill has been beaten to death, by fans, media and especially by other teams. Opponents are feasting on Edmonton’s penalty kill like they’re Joey Chestnut in a hot dog eating contest. Fifteen power play goals against in 14 games amounts to a nightly kick in the groin, which can be hard to recover from.

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A good measuring stick for special teams is that your power play and penalty killing percentages should add up to 100 or better.

Last season the Oilers were 105.8 (79.5 on a penalty kill that picked up steam down the stretch and 26.3 on the power play). In the playoffs they were a special teams monster at 123.6 (94.3 on the PK and 29.3 on the power play).

This year it’s a ghastly 74.8 (just 14.3 on the power play and 59.5 on the penalty kill).

That, as much as anything, is why the Oilers are bobbing around the ocean at .464, at the mercy of the currents like the part of the diver that the shark didn’t finish.

Oilers - Figure 3 — Photo Edmonton Journal

It’s still better than last year, when they were 4-9-1 at this point and already on their second coach. So we’re seeing progress when it comes to starting strong.

“We have to look at a lot of positives,” said defenceman Brett Kulak. “We’re doing a lot of good things, we’re playing a lot better than we were the first five or six games of the season. I think if we keep trending in that direction… there’s lots of hockey left, we’ll be fine.”

He’s probably right.

But, speaking of Brett Kulak, the third-pairing defenceman currently tied for second on the team in goal scoring, this offensive quagmire the Oilers find themselves in is a little concerning.

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Even when they were sitting in last place and firing coaches last year, the Oilers could still score a little (39 goals in 14 games for a 2.78 goals per game average). This year it’s 33 goals in 14 games for a 2.36 average). They’re down nearly half a goal a game and it starts to add up.

The stone hands are everywhere.

Offensive struggles run deep

Even McDavid is off to another pedestrian start, by his standards.

He has 10 points in 11 games and missed three games with an injury. Last year it was 11 points in 11 games and he missed two games with an injury.

There is nothing to worry about on this front, given that he vaulted from 126th in the scoring race to third last year with 100 assists and 132 points. He’ll be fine.

Elsewhere the concern runs much deeper.

Zach Hyman started slowly (one assist in 10 games), but he’s rolling now (three goals in his last four games). Jeff Skinner was rolling early (two goals and two assists in the first five games) but he’s slowing now (one goal and one assist in the last nine).

Viktor Arvidsson had a three-assist night to make you believe he was about to find his offensive chops but there’s been very little since (one goal and no assists in the other 13 games).

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And then there’s the Black Hole Gang:

Adam Henrique has one point in 14 games. Connor Brown has two points in 14 games. Derek Ryan pitching a 12-game shutout.

And Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is turning premium first line and power play minutes into one goal and four assists.

“With Ryan, it’s been not that he’s playing bad,” said head coach Kris Knobauch. “But I’ve seen him play better, seen him play much better. I think I can say that for our team as a whole.”

Leon Draisaitl has been their most consistent producer, but even he’s been inconsistent. His last six games were: three points in a win, zero points in a loss, three points in a win, three points in a win, zero points in a loss, zero points in a loss.

“It was kind of the same last year, not that I want to go back and look at last year,” defenceman Mattias Ekholm said of the offensive quicksand. “We came out slow and weren’t shooting at the rate that we usually do. But it’s not just scoring or shooting percentage that has to go up. You have to put yourselves in positions to score. We have to work a little harder to get some more penalties.

“We have some work to do, but I know we have the pieces in here and we will get it together. There’s no magic formula to it. It’s about working our way out of it.”

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