Oilers: What’s Working And Bringing The Team Their Early Success?

With a 5-1 victory against the Coyotes last night, the Oilers improved to a perfect 4-0 on the season. While the competition has hardly been stellar, the team is doing what you expect a playoff team to do against weaker competition- winning. What’s working well?

Jesse Puljujarvi

What a wonderful redemption story Jesse has been! After returning the team last year and proving himself to be a young and capable NHL player, Jesse has continued that upward trajectory and come into the season doing everything you could want of him. He’s skating miles, shooting (11 SOG), scoring (2G, 5A), taking up net front space, imposing himself on his opposition in the corners, and continuing to display the defensive acumen we saw shades of in his first tenure with the team. There’s no player that I’m happier to see score than Puljujarvi- though, Foegele is a close 2nd!

Foegele & Ryan

As a big supporter of both (I wrote about Ryan here and extolled my love of Foegele here), I must admit that it feels nice to see the early returns on both looking so good. Alongside Kassian, the duo has brought a notably high-event offensive element to a bottom-6 long bereft of such. When on-ice together, the two ex-teammates have outchanced their opposition to the tune of 63% (29-17) of scoring chances and 78% (14-4) of high-danger chances. These results lend credence to the effectiveness of their high-pace, forechecking style which has led to a number of dangerous chances for their line.

Keith w/ Ceci

Contrary to what others have said, I’ve been pleasantly surprised from what I’ve seen out of this pair so far. The pair of veteran blueline additions have been steady for the team thus far and have contributed to improved puck-moving from the backend. Like much of the rest of the team, Keith & Ceci have shown well in getting the better of the scoring chance battle (28-20 SC; 14-5 HDC). However, unlike the rest of the team, they have done so under more strenuous circumstances as they’ve been deployed for faceoffs in the defensive and neutral zones 73% of the time. In light of both players’ track record among the analytics community, it’s a welcome sight to see them step in and play well! Enjoy it for as long as it lasts, folks!

Evan Bouchard

I’ve enjoyed just about everything about his game so far. As someone who was skeptical of the pick at the time (I wanted Dobson), it’s very encouraging to see a player have consistently developed the weaknesses in his game to such a point where they’re hardly visible anymore. He’s been his usual calm and composed self with the puck and has now begun translating that calmness into his defensive game, as well. Further, Bouchard has shown signs of having stepped up his intensity and competitiveness within battles. With 3 points (1G, 2A) and 13 SOG so far, The Bouch may be emerging right in front of our eyes!

The Powerplay

What more needs to be said? Excellent. Magical. Mesmerizing. There’s something to be said for the immense value that consistency of personnel can have on a PP and I think everyone would be wise to keep that in mind in the future. We won’t always get to bear witness to the world’s most dangerous powerplay; soak it in while it lasts!

Faceoffs

As of writing this, the Oilers sit 3rd in the league in faceoff win percentage at 56.9%. With the exception of Nuge, all regular centres sit above 50% with all of McDavid, Draisaitl, Ryan, and Shore sitting above 60%. It’s certainly early and these results tend to fluctuate massively over the course of a season, but the early returns are a welcome sight.

5-on-5 Chance Share

As alluded to earlier, the Oilers are continuing a trend they showed last year by consistently outchancing their opposition despite not controlling the lion’s share of the shots. Ideally, a team could control both the shot and chance share (as most elite teams do), but I believe it’s fair to say that, if I had to pick one domain to control, it would be scoring chances. Sitting 7th in the NHL in xGF% (55.4%), the Oilers are keeping themselves ahead of the hitherto lacklustre opposition and part of this has been the team limiting scoring chances against to a rate of 25.5/60, which is good for 10th in the league currently. While this is only one indicator of team defense, it’s a positive sign in spite of the issues displayed on the shot clock.

What have you liked from the team so far? Are you encouraged by what you see?

Stats per Natural Stat Trick & NHL.com