Edmonton Oilers Are Still The Team To Beat In The Pacific Division

As the standings look right now the Edmonton Oilers are 5th in the Pacific Divison and are 12 points back of the first-place Vegas Golden Knights. At just past the halfway point through the season, the Oilers have a lot of work to do to catch up.

The Edmonton Oilers are in good shape considering a critical injury

On November 8th against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Evander Kane got his wrist cut by the skate of Patrick Maroon. Since then he has not been in the Edmonton Oilers lineup. This has been a huge blow to the Oilers offence.

Kane is scheduled to come back by the end of this month. Hopefully, the injury hasn’t affected his wrist movement much and he can come back and play the game he is used to playing.

The edge he plays with is something that the Oilers can use. With Kane out of the lineup, the Oilers are missing a player with a bit of toughness. The only other player who can do this now is Darnell Nurse.

His ability to score 5v5 is also something that the Edmonton Oilers will enjoy having back when Kane returns. Kane had 5 goals and 13 points in his 14 games played when he comes back in the lineup.

Edmonton Oilers Goaltending Will Get Better

Jack Campbell’s start has been a tough one this season. Campbell’s 3.90 goals-against and 0.876 save percentage is not what we all want to see. This can only get better as the season goes on. The only good thing about him not getting as many starts is he gets to practice and work on his game more.

With the play of Stuart Skinner, Campbell has the time to work through his issues. Skinner has taken hold of the starting role. Skinner’s 0.917 save percentage and 2.78 goals-against average is the main reason the Edmonton Oilers are still in the hunt for a playoff spot.

Trade Deadline Will Only Make This Team Better

Right now the Edmonton Oilers have a fairly strong team. There are only a few places this team can improve. I expect them to improve those positions at the trade deadline. This team is in “win now” mode, so Ken Holland needs to improve this team.

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There is still lots of the season left for the Edmonton Oilers and the rest of the Pacific Division. During that time teams can start to falter and drop in the standings. They could also get on a hot streak a climb the standings. I think the Edmonton Oilers are going to be one of the teams that climb and climb fast.