The Edmonton Oilers have been slowly improving their play in recent games, generating more chances for than they're giving up and as a result have won three of their past five games. It also helps that their goaltending has been much better overall.
Another big piece of the puzzle to their improved results is their offensive output. Over the past five games, they have scored three or more goals in four of those outings, aside from running into a red hot Jesper Wallstedt against the Minnesota Wild.
One player who has been massively benefitting from this improved play and someone who has undoubtedly helped become a catalyst, is rookie Matt Savoie. He entered the 2025-26 season as the Oilers No. 1 ranked prospect.
Matt Savoie has shown major improvements
When you zoom out on the entire rookie season for Savoie, it has been a little disappointing. Him and fellow rookie Isaac Howard made the Oilers opening night roster out of camp and entered the season with high expectations. They were essentially replacements for popular and productive players in the Oilers lineup that the team had to say goodbye to in the off-season.
Nearly 30 games in, Howard has since been sent down to the American Hockey League to play with the Oilers affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors. Through 17 games with the Oilers he recorded three points (two goals, one assist). Savoie, through 28 games has nine points (five goals, four assists).
The improvement comes when you look at his recent play, in the past 11 games alone he has seven points with four of those coming in his past five. This means that in his first 17 games he scored at a 0.12 points per game or an 82-game pace of roughly nine points. In his last 11 games he has seen an exponential improvement, shooting up to 0.64 points per game or a full season pace of around 52 points.
A big part of this improvement in his production came last game against the Seattle Kraken where he potted two of the Oilers' nine goals in their 9-4 victory. He scored both a goal while short-handed and on the powerplay. It is interesting that with an increase in responsibility and special teams assignments, Savoie is starting to find his game.
His ice-time has seen an uptick recently, only twice this season has he played 19 or more minutes per game twice, both coming in the past 10 games. In general, his average time on ice is trending upwards in recent games.
It is hard to tell where Savoie's true scoring output will land but if he can typically lean more towards the recent production pace, he will be a valuable member of the Oilers lineup.