[ad_1]
EDMONTON – It’s amazing to think where the Edmonton Oilers were before this winning streak began.
After losing for the third straight time, the Oilers entered the December 21 game in New Jersey at 13-15-1, two games under .500 in the NHL.
The playoffs, while far from unthinkable, certainly seemed iffy.
Thanks to 16 straight wins (the latest being a 4-1 decision over the Nashville Predators on Saturday), the perception around the Oilers has completely changed.
“I knew we were a good team,” forward León Draisaitl said. “When you lack confidence, that’s more than 50 percent (of things). It’s hard to come back from that.
“Obviously, we have found it.”
The Oilers are on the verge of matching something done by a team with Mario Lemieux in his prime and Jaromir Jagr in just his third NHL season. They are tied with the 2016-17 Columbus Blue Jackets for the second-best winning streak in league annals.
They will have a chance to tie the NHL record holders of the 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins when they return from their bye week for a road game against the Vegas Golden Knights on February 6.
“We owe Vegas a good game in their building,” captain Connor McDavid said, referring to Game 5 of their second-round series last spring, when the Oilers blew a lead in defeat.
“It’s something we’re looking forward to at the end of the break.”
The Oilers have been an absolute juggernaut for five weeks. Most promisingly, they have excelled in areas atypical of previous successes. His penalty was the second-to-last in the NHL when coach Jay Woodcroft and assistant Dave Manson were fired on November 12. They had the best PK in the league during the streak and shut down all three of Nashville’s power plays on Saturday.
They had the second-worst save percentage on the team when the coaching change occurred. They are in first place from December 22 onwards.
“I don’t know the last time they scored a bad goal,” said coach Kris Knoblauch, who is 26-6 behind the team’s bench.
GO DEEPER
Who is Kris Knoblauch? These three traits define the approach of the new Oilers coach
That combination of improvements, with much better defensive details, has led the Oilers to allow fewer than three goals in each of the last 14 games.
“We’ve been doing it the right way,” Draisaitl said.
“It’s been really impressive,” goalkeeper Stuart Skinner said. “It’s been a lot of fun to be on the end of all that stuff.”
Oh, and the list of the top four five-on-five scorers during the streak reads as follows: McDavid and Warren Foegele tied with 14 points, then Draisaitl with 13 and Ryan McLeod with 12.
They are two superstars and two role players who have had wonderful seasons.
“What makes this special is that everyone has been there,” McDavid said. “They have all been pulling the rope together. It hasn’t been one or two guys. “It has been the whole group.”
Add in newly signed Corey Perry, a veteran who brings an offensive touch to go with an annoying style, and the Oilers look more Stanley Cup-caliber by the day.
To make room for Perry, the Oilers had to cut the immensely popular Sam Gagner, a winger who has five goals and 10 points in 22 games in limited minutes. Perry had two shots on three attempts and two hits in 12:44 and was on a line with McLeod and Dylan Holloway for most of that time. The latter has been loaned to AHL Bakersfield during the bye week.
The Oilers look as unbeatable as they have been, whether they’ve given their best or not.
“We’ve been sloppy the last three (games), but we’ve had some individual performances that got us the win,” Draisaitl said. “Sometimes you need it too. “It has been a great stretch for us.”
It was their power play, a tried-and-true aspect of their game and the most prolific unit in the NHL last season, that marked the victory over Nashville.
The three longest-serving forwards brought them to the brink of history, as McDavid, Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins each scored two points with the man advantage.
McDavid then scored his 20th goal of the season and added an assist to Zach Hyman’s 30th, into an empty net, to complete a four-point afternoon.
Draisaitl also assisted on Hyman’s scoring for a three-point game. That kind of production was normal against the Predators. He now has 19 goals and 33 points in his last 12 games against Nashville – 25 goals and 42 points in 26 games for his career. He notched his 800th NHL point in his 683rd game when he finished off a pass from McDavid in the second period.
Skinner was nearly perfect in net for the Oilers making 29 of 30 saves. Only a puck he bounced off Colton Sissons’ stick beat him late in the game. His best stop came in the first frame of a Predators power play when he stretched his right pad to deflect a Luke Evangelista shot out of play. Skinner has a .935 save percentage since Nov. 24 and a .950 mark during the winning streak.
“Guys feel safe when he plays,” Knoblauch said.
GO DEEPER
Stuart Skinner’s Magnificent Play Should Give Oilers Trade Deadline Flexibility
The Oilers have moved up the standings to the point where they sit comfortably in a third-place playoff spot in the Pacific Division, and also in position to track those ahead of them.
They are now 29-15-1 with 59 points. They are five points behind the Golden Knights for second place in the division heading into Las Vegas’ game at Detroit on Saturday night.
The Oilers now own a .656 points percentage, which put them ahead of the Golden Knights for seventh place in the NHL before action ended on Saturday. The Oilers have played 45 games behind the Ottawa Senators, the fewest in the NHL. That means the Oilers will have a busy schedule after the All-Star break. They play consecutive days seven times after the break and have 37 games in 72 days.
The Oilers know they haven’t accomplished anything yet and the road ahead won’t be easy.
“It seems like we can never lose again. It seems like we are on top of the world. But there are still a lot of things we need to address on the ice,” Skinner said. “It’s good that we are winning and that things are going well. But there are still a lot of things we need to continue to improve on, especially since we are trying to get somewhere.”
Each player has a week to relax while boarding a plane to warmer weather or enjoying some downtime elsewhere.
The mid-December malaise is in the rearview mirror. The angst of mid-November is long gone.
Now the Oilers have a chance to make history on February 6.
“We know what’s at stake,” Draisaitl said. “We are not yet in a position to take our foot off the accelerator.”
Required reading
(Photo: Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images)