In a hotly contested playoff race, things can change quickly. Last Monday, the Oilers were a few percentage points behind Las Vegas and Los Angeles, but an overtime loss to Chicago and a regulation loss to Montreal and suddenly the Oilers are in need of a victory. They play Calgary, Washington and Tampa Bay this…
The Edmonton Oilers have had a continuous path to the trainer’s room this season. Their top-five D-men have dressed in only 27 of their 55 games and Kris Russell, the #6, has only played in 20 of 55 games. The injuries have allowed William Lagesson (27 games) Markus Niemelainen (18) and Philip Broberg (17) to…
Mikko Koskinen will make his 150th appearance as a member of the Edmonton Oilers tonight in Chicago. It will be his 139th start with the Oilers and he’s looking to continue his recent hot streak. He is 7-0-1 in eight starts since January 22nd with a sparkling .934Sv% and 2.20 GAA.
Duncan Keith played the second most games, 1,192, in Chicago Blackhawks history. He ranks sixth in assists (520) and 10th in points (625). He won three Stanley Cups and two Norris trophies while patrolling the Hawks’ blue line for 16 seasons. He was a huge part of their success and tonight he will play his…
It might be the new relationship euphoria, where everyone is on their best behaviour and excited to impress their new partner, but as Jay Woodcroft is poised to coach his 10th NHL game the Oilers have made immense improvements at 5×5. If it has staying power, Edmonson is suddenly a team that could have sustained…
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jesse Puljujarvi, Kailer Yamamoto, and Zack Kassian are injured. Yamamoto will be a game-time decision. Those are four of the Oilers’ top-nine forwards in TOI/game not playing. The forwards ranked 10th-15th on the depth won’t have better opportunity to impress head coach Jay Woodcroft. Will someone step up tonight?
Get ready for a two-month race for six playoff spots: one in the central, three in the Pacific and two Wild card spots. We have 61 days and 261 games, 75 of which are head-to-head involving the 11 teams in the race, to find out which six make it. I included Calgary, even though they…
Right now Mike Smith isn’t the answer to the Oilers’ goaltending woes. Outside of a great performance against the New York Islanders and a solid one against the Los Angeles Kings, Smith has struggled. allowing early goals and last night it cost the Oilers two points. Right now Smith playing well is the outlier. @Mikko…
As the Oilers embark on the Bermuda Triangle (where wins disappear) of road trips with games in Tampa Bay, Florida and Carolina, they are hoping their power play finds a spark. For 26 months and 152 games, the Oilers’ power play was the best in the NHL between October 2019 to December 10th, 2021. They…
Tonight we get to see how the Oilers respond to adversity for the first time under new head coach Jay Woodcroft. The Minnesota Wild dominated the Oilers Sunday night and as a reward the Oilers will try to get back on track against the two-time defending Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning. Not an easy…
Edmonton just finished a gruelling five-games-in-seven-day stretch. They weren’t nearly as effective or structured as the previous five games under Jay Woodcroft and it was evident in a 7-3 loss. The Oilers had won five in a row prior to the loss and today in Tampa Bay Woodcroft was able to conduct his second practice…
It is clear Derek Ryan is relishing his new position on a line with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Ryan has four points in four games since being moved to the right wing along side Nugent-Hopkins and Warren Foegele. That line has had instant chemistry and they’ve combined for 11 points at 5×5 in four games. Ryan is…
