In Oil Country, it’s a tranquil Thursday as the Edmonton Oilers take advantage of an additional rest day between Tuesday’s intense match in Vegas and Friday’s game in Anaheim.
However, this break doesn’t offer much of an edge considering the Oilers had nine days off previously and currently have played fewer games than any other NHL team. By the conclusion of Thursday night’s games, the 32 NHL teams will have collectively played 800 games, averaging precisely 50 per team. Meanwhile, the Oilers will still be at 46 games played.
In terms of salary cap considerations, today marks Day #122 out of 192 in the 2023-24 season, which amounts to 63.5% of the total calendar duration. However, the Oilers will have only competed in 56% of their games, averaging just 2.6 games per week.
That rate will increase significantly to 3.6 games per week over the final 70 days. This packed schedule will feature 8 back-to-back games, compared to just 2 thus far.
The Oilers’ remaining schedule:
In contrast, the average NHL team is expected to play 3.2 games per week.
Fortunately, after a rough start to the season, the Oilers have been on a hot streak for the past 2½ months, winning 24 games while only losing 4. They’ve climbed from 30th place in the NHL standings on US Thanksgiving, when their points percentage was at .306, more than 100 basis points behind 28th place and nearly 250 points behind 16th place. Currently, they sit in 9th place league-wide by percentage at .641, with more than 100 basis points separating them from the first team below the playoff cutoff line in the Western Conference.
The significant disparity in the Edmonton Oilers’ performance under two different coaches makes it challenging to view the 2023-24 season as a cohesive unit. Before the intense stretch of games begins, let’s take a moment to assess both the positive and negative aspects of their performance. How do the Oilers compare to the rest of the NHL?
Examining team statistics:
For our analysis, we’ll refer to the Summary page of team statistics on NHL.com, concentrating primarily on the league rankings in each category rather than the raw numbers. Given the redundancy on the page, we’ll focus on 8 key metrics: 3 offensive, 3 defensive, and 2 cumulative figures. Additionally, 6 columns will consider results in all situations, while the remaining 2 will focus on specific aspects of special teams.
From the 2023-24 Oilers up to this point:
– Points percentage: 29-16-1, .641 P%, currently ranking 9th in the NHL.
– Goals For per game: 159 in 46 games = 3.46 GF/GP, ranking 6th.
– Goals Against per game: 127 in 46 = 2.76 GA/GP, ranking 8th.
– Powerplay percentage: 38 goals in 142 opportunities = 26.8% PP%, ranking 3rd.
– Penalty kill percentage: 26 goals against in 155 opportunities = 86.5% PK%, ranking 4th.
– Shots on goal per game: 1551 in 46 = 33.7 SF/GP, ranking 2nd.
– Shots against per game: 1286 in 46 = 28.0, ranking 3rd.
– Faceoff win rate: 1399 wins in 2681 faceoffs = 52.2%, ranking 7th.
The Oilers find themselves in the top 10 in the NHL across all 8 categories. While they may not lead in any single department, they consistently rank within the top quarter of the league.
Certainly, this represents the most well-rounded squad Oilers fans have witnessed since at least the 2016-17 season. During that season, the team finished 7th in the standings, ranking 8th in goals for, goals against, and shots for, and 9th in shots against. However, that squad struggled on the penalty kill and faced challenges in faceoff wins, ranking near the bottom of the league in those areas.
Here are the Oilers’ league rankings in the selected categories since winning the Connor McDavid lottery in 2015. The rankings for the 2023-24 season are up to Wednesday, February 07.
| Season | Points % | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | SF/GP | SA/GP | FO% |
|———-|———-|——-|——-|——|——|——-|——-|——|
| 2015-16 | 26th | 26th | 25th | 18th | 30th | 14th | 25th | 29th |
| 2016-17 | 7th | 8th | 8th | 5th | 25th | 9th | 9th | 30th |
| 2017-18 | 21st | 20th | 25th | 31st | 25th | 5th | 25th | 30th |
| 2018-19 | 23rd | 20th | 25th | 31st | 30th | 8th | 25th | 30th |
| 2019-20 | 19th | 14th | 20th | 29th | 29th | 5th | 20th | 31st |
| 2020-21 | 11th | 14th | 19th | 5th | 20th | 13th | 19th | 30th |
| 2021-22 | 22nd | 9th | 20th | 6th | 19th | 8th | 17th | 30th |
| 2022-23 | 26th | 24th | 26th | 17th | 29th | 16th | 25th | 30th |
| 2023-24 | 9th | 6th | 8th | 3rd | 4th | 2nd | 3rd | 7th |
The Oilers experienced a period of weakness in three of Connor McDavid’s first four seasons, with the exception of the 2016-17 campaign, which showed promise but ultimately proved to be a mirage. During the unsuccessful years, the team consistently struggled in both goals for and against, which contributed to their overall struggles.
The appointment of Ken Holland before the 2019-20 season marked a notable turnaround for the Edmonton Oilers. In his first year as general manager, the team jumped from 25th to 12th in the overall standings. They have maintained a position in the top 12 since then, consistently remaining competitive despite slower progress in further improvement, despite the presence of top-tier talent on the roster.
Finally, in the 2023-24 season, we see a solid row of green cells representing top-10 rankings across the board. While the Oilers may not be leading the league in goals or powerplay conversion rate as they did last season, they have made significant improvements in penalty killing and overall goal suppression.
When given the choice between ranking first in goals scored but being in the middle of the pack in goals allowed, as in 2022-23, or being in the top quarter in both categories, as they are now, I would choose the latter. This preference holds true even though lower-event hockey may be slightly less thrilling.
