Something special is brewing in Edmonton, and it should be considered a cause for concern around the rest of the NHL. We won't go as far as claiming the Oilers look unstoppable, but with a 19-4-1 record in their past 24 games they are now displaying the type of form which took them to within two goals of winning the Stanley Cup last season.
The latest example of how dangerous the Oilers are, came on Thursday night in Colorado against the Rockies. Despite trailing 3-0 less than 12 minutes into the game, they didn't quit and came back to win 4-3 against one of the best teams in the league.
As a result, the Oilers are tied second in the Western Conference ahead of Saturday's slate of games, and just four points off the best record in the entire league. Here's a look at the latest round of NHL power rankings for some of the major sports media outlets in North America.
Second best in the NHL
We begin with The Athletic (subscription required), which is the most generous of this week's offerings, in moving the Oilers up from fifth to second place. Furthermore, despite not often being in agreement individually over how to rank the team from week to week, this time around both Sean Gentille and Dom Luszczyszyn have Edmonton at number two.
There's no theme as such this week for The Athletic, other than sharing the interesting and amusing story about how concerned Vasily Podkolzin was when the Oilers started this season slowly. However, when voicing these concerns to the other players, they calmly told him not worry as they always do this, with them subsequently being justified in having this confident mindset.
Turning to NHL.com, they have only moved the Oilers up one place from fifth to sixth in their Super 16 rankings, but keep in mind this was done prior to the impressive comeback versus the Rockies. Individually speaking among the 15 voters Jean-Francois Chaumont was the most generous in ranking them second, while Mike G. Morreale and Adam Kimelman had them lowest at 'only' 10th.
NHL.com's latest theme has them looking at a player from each of the 16 teams who is set to play at the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, and how they're performing. For the Oilers, Derek Van Diest reviews Mattias Ekholm and how he is understandably overlooked because of the likes of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, but is quietly have an influential and tremendous season in Edmonton. (And kudos to Van Diest for not going with a more obvious choice.)
Oilers still perceived well in Canada
Next up it's Sportsnet, who last week had the Oilers ranked most generously among the sports media outlets in placing them fourth, which we actually believed was almost too generous at that time. However, this time around they have moved them up to third spot, which we are more in agreement with. (Yep, that's right. There's no accounting for our flip-flopping towards some folks!)
Ryan Dixon uses this week's power rankings to check in on each team's goalie situation, noting that the Oilers' lack of high-end goaltending is the only thing stopping them from being the best team in the NHL full stop. As harsh as that may sound, we actually agree; yes Stuart Skinner is talented and Calving Pickard is a decent backup, but they need to show more consistency because a .900 team save percentage which is only tied-18th in the NHL is not going to cut it.
Finally we come to Bleacher Report, who we admittedly don't check in on every week. Regardless, they have moved the Oilers up from seventh to fourth spot, and that's even without taking into account the team's two most recent wins.
Lyle Fitzsimmons notes McDavid turning 28 and having the third-most points in NHL history before that age, behind only Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux, but also states that they also had four and two Stanley Cups respectively. As much as some might contend this was an unnecessary observation to make, we believe it's warranted and in fairness McDavid also appreciates that championships are ultimately what matters most.