Is Ken Hitchcock Bringing The Best Out Of The Edmonton Oilers?

Is Edmonton Oilers interim head coach Ken Hitchcock bringing the best out of the talent he has at his disposal?

For the Edmonton Oilers, riding this three-game winning streak is just what the doctor ordered. With all the struggles this team has faced the past month, or so, it seems like this team can ride this temporary momentum until they get their affairs in order.

New interim head coach Ken Hitchcock is the voice this team desperately needed after it seemed they zoned out Todd McLellan and let the losses pile up until he received his termination call. Any changes had to be made to salvage what was left of this push for a playoff spot in a profoundly competitive Western Conference.

Since Todd McLellan was let go on Nov 20, the team has posted four wins and two losses since Hitchcock took over. This is still a transitional period for the coach since he’s trying to understand what he has with the talent at his disposal.

From afar, it seems like he’s willing to maximize the strengths of those players for the benefit of the team. Look at how he has used Milan Lucic on the fourth line and used him as a grinder. McLellan generally in the past would have made him a top 6 forward and in a sense hamper his team’s offense in generating goals.

One thing that looked very intriguing was how consistently the Edmonton Oilers are playing on the defensive side of the ice. The last two games have shown that they are capable of playing and winning in regulation on both ends of the ice.

It’ll be interesting to see if Connor McDavid also plays a bit more on penalty killing because that could give the Oilers an excellent chance to score a goal if he draws a takeaway. This team is heading in the right direction but all it comes down to bringing that consistent effort night in and out.

We saw them pull it off in October before it fell it apart in November and costed Todd McLellan’s job. Let’s hope they learn from their mistakes.