The Edmonton Oilers had never had a season where they successfully swept both the California and New York state teams within a single road trip. That achievement remained just beyond their grasp as the Oilers fell to the New Jersey Devils in a shoot out on Tuesday night. But even if perfection evaded them, the team continued to announce to the hockey world that they're a different club than they were in 2025-26.
The Oilers managed the single point from the matchup against the devils, adding it to four points from pretty dominant performances versus the New York Rangers and New York Islanders. The contintual trend of winning more than they lose, and losing outside of regulation when they do fall short, is giving the team a cushion in the standings. That's going to allow them to potentially rest some veteran players later on in the year without the risk of giving up playoff seeding.
Offense and defence are working
A healthy Connor McDavid is always going to contribute offensively. And the rest of the starting lineup is also contributing points at an incredible pace. Evan Bouchard is a difference maker night in and night out, and Leon Draisaitl, arguably the second best player in the league, is humming along at second in the points race. His captain has been so absolutely dominant that Draisaitl's 29 points in 16 games played seems almost quiet.
As of Wednesday morning, those three Oilers sit at first, second, and third in the scoring race. Nathan Mackinnon trails Bouchard by a point. It's incredible to think that this team has yet to play with a fully healthy roster. Opposing coaches are surely tearing their hair out trying to stop Edmonton's offense, and they're largely failing anyway, with the Oilers leading the league with 66 goals for, while sitting in the top third in terms of Goals Against.
A nice change this season has been at the other end of the ice. If a couple outliers games against the Canucks and Maple Leafs are removed from the equation, the Oilers have shown stout defence, rarely letting games get away from them. Their tendency to allow the first goal, or the first three goals, isn't nearly so prominent as it has been in the past. Potentially imperfect netminders such as Tristan Jarry and a relatively green Matt Tomkins have been given enough support that the team has managed significantly more wins than losses this season.
They say that you don't really know what a team is going to look like until American Thanksgiving has come and gone. But the sample size, and the variety of competition, has shown me enough that I'm a believer. The Oilers are here to play in 2026-27, and everything from a division title to the President's Trophy is potentially within reach.
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