When looking at the first quarter of the Edmonton Oilers' 2024-25 regular season campaign, it brings to mind the saying that perception is reality. Every individual has their own outlook on how the team has done thus far.
In one respect, a record of 11-9-2 through the first 22 games is better than at the same point last season, when the Oilers were 9-12-1. In addition, again better than the 2023-24 campaign after 22 games, they sit in a playoff spot.
However, if you look at the situation from another angle, the Oilers are only in the eighth playoff spot in the Western Conference, with other teams hovering just behind them in the standings and having played less games. Add the fact they have a -5 goal difference as of Monday morning, and you can argue that this is a flawed team.
Not everyone doing their job
Yes, the Oilers still have the likes of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, two of the top players in the NHL and both performing extremely well. At the same time though, other players on the team are not playing up to their true potential, including the likes of Stuart Skinner, Zach Hyman, Evan Bouchard, and so on.
We know this Oilers roster is collectively capable of performing better, but potential doesn't mean a damn thing, if it doesn't get translated into actual positive results on the ice. In addition, the team cannot rely on another near-record 16-game winning streak to help them charge up the standings.
In any event, the NHL public relations department shared a release highlighting some of the major talking points at the quarter mark of this season. This included even-strength scoring being at its highest rate for 50+ years (77.6 percent), as well as 15 players having 25+ points at this stage of the season being the seventh-most since 1994-95.
In the running for top goal-scorer
Of course our main focus is any headlines which relate to the Oilers, with two in particular standing out. First up is the race for the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy, which is awarded annually to the NHL's top goal-scorer.
Among those involved in the race is none other than Leon Draisaitl, who has yet to win the award. The Oiles' superstar is tied at the top of the scoring charts with Sam Reinhart of the Florida Panthers, on 16 goals as of Monday morning.
Right behind the duo is Alex Ovechkin on 15 goals, but he is unfortunately injured at the moment and will be out for between four and six weeks. As the majority people are aware, he is chasing Wayne Gretzky for the most goals in NHL history, and currently sits 26 behind "The Great One".
1,000-point magic and more to come
The other significant headline involves none other than Connor McDavid, who became the fourth-quickest player in NHL history to reach 1,000-points. He achieved this in just 659 games, beaten by only Gretzky (424 games), Mario Lemieux (514 games) and Mike Bossy (656 games).
Next up for McDavid is chasing down Mark Messier and Jari Kurri for the second-most points in Oilers history, both of which he should overtake this season. McDavid is on 1,010 points at the time of writing, Messier is on 1,034 and Kurri is on 1,043. (Gretzky is first with 1,669 points.)
Overall, while not entirely satisfying for Oilers fans, it's still been an interesting and exciting first quarter of the 2024-25 regular season. In any event, if the likes of Skinner, Hyman and Bouchard can step up their respective games in the second quarter of the campaign, expect the team to begin producing points more consistently.