Edmonton Oilers Must Search for More Offense
By Dave O'Brien
At first glance the Edmonton Oilers would appear on paper, to be a good offensive team. With their numerous high draft picks devoted to top offensive talent, it may shock some to hear that the Oilers have actually struggled to create offense for some time now.
Since drafting Taylor Hall, the Oilers have never placed better than 25th in goals for over a full season, meaning that year over year, the Oilers lose ground on their competitors due to their difficulties generating offense.
Goals for, can be simplified to the function:
Shots on Goal * Shooting Percentage
According to this formula to score more a team must either, generate more shots on goal or convert more efficiently on their shots. For the Oilers to get out of the basement of the NHL they should take a look at both.
Where are they Now?
Through 75 games this season the Oilers been shooting at 8.1%, significantly below the league average of 8.9% considering over 2100 shots over the sample. Strictly on this basis and assuming a league average number of shots the Oilers lose over 17 goals to the NHL baseline.
The other aspect of the equation doesn’t look any better. With 29 shots/game the Oilers currently rank 22nd in this metric and 25th in term of shot differential per game at -2.3. Clearly the Oilers struggle with the quality of their shots, and the quantity of their shots.
How to Improve
In order to generate more shots the Oilers must possess the puck more in the offensive zone. So far the Oilers have struggled this year as well as in previous years, at transitioning the puck out of the defensive zone especially from the right side.
This is where improving the blue line with the addition of two right shot d-men comes in. Too often are the Oilers hemmed into their own zone, by their repeated inability to move the puck up ice from the right side. With the lack of a true top-four right-handed blueliner, these types of problems are to be expected.
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Certain players such as Taylor Hall, or Connor McDavid don’t need much help from the back-end to drive possession, however most players don’t possess that ability. Puck moving D-men play a large role in kick starting offensive rushes, and this area should be target number one for offseason improvement.
Playing with the puck in the offensive zone more, also has the added benefit of increasing the number of penalties the Oilers draw. Most penalties are taken when the other team possesses the puck, and for most teams goals are much easier to score on the power play.
I won’t delve too much further here about how the Oilers can fix the power play, that can be found here. It is not news that the power play needs improvement for next season, and with Todd Mclellan’s history, coupled with a hopefully more healthy team, I would expect serious improvements.
Playing on the power play should also result in an increased shooting percentage, as shots tend to come from more desirable locations. So in summary: Get two shiny new right-handed blue liners; move the puck up the ice better; draw more penalties; score more goals; win more games. Sounds simple enough.
Offense from the Blue line
continuing, with the theme of improvement on the back-end, the Oilers also need to find ways to get more offensive production from their defenders. The Oilers are near the bottom in goals from defensemen, and Oscar Klefbom who’s played only 30 games sits 2nd among Oilers blue liners in points. As suggested earlier improving the blue line in the offseason is priority numbers one.
It is not enough for defensemen to pass the puck up ice and only focus on defense, there must be an expectation of offense. A player like Andrej Sekera must improve on getting shots through from the point, coincidentally a skill an injured Oscar Klefbom excels at.
Beyond Sekera and Klefbom, no Oilers blue liner has contributed particularly much to offense. Defensive guys are important however the Oilers should certainly focus their attention to offensive defensemen.
The Oilers should focus on blue liners who have proven that they can produce offense, such as Sami Vatanen, or Tyson Barrie. A player like this would also go a long way to improving the power play. Nothing against a defense first player like Hamonic, but the Oilers have more pressing needs.
Next: Edmonton Oilers Free Agent Tracker: Jason Demers
With the great crop of young offensive talent, the Oilers don’t have much need for yet another forward in this years draft. For the Oilers to finally turn the corner as a franchise and become an offensive force the path is clear: Improve the defense.