Oh what a week for the Edmonton Oilers!
Last week the Edmonton Oilers did something we have not seen since 1987: they won all five games in a five game homestead. Last week, the Oilers went 3-0, beating the Buffalo Sabres 4-2, beating the San Jose Sharks 4-3 in Overtime and beating The New York Rangers in a firewagon-like hockey game, 7-5.
Even better: The Oilers are only two points away from being second in the Pacific Division. Remember last December? Where they won two games all month? Where Dallas Eakins finally got fired?
It’s night and day between last year and this year. That said, need to stay grounded, especially for the highs and the lows. Only a couple weeks ago, people wanted to blow up the core and now we are talking about the P word for the first time in a long time. Expectations should still be tempered.
That said, we should enjoy every last second of it. This is without McDavid, Pouliot or Yakupov either.
Edmonton Oilers Three Stars
3. Leon Draisaitl: Oh Leon. You only have 26 points in 20 games now, outscoring names like Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby. Ho hum. You’re in the top twenty for NHL scoring right now, despite playing the first ten games in the AHL. You have been easily the silver lining of the McDavid injury where you’ve stepped your game up to a level that nobody saw coming. Sure, your extremely high shooting percentage is bound to go down, but what do you do? Just post four assists against the New York Rangers. You only had 1 goal and 6 assists for 7 points in three games. He’s only 20.
2. Taylor Hall: Every week I chuckle because there’s actually some people out there that wanted Taylor Hall gone from the team because of attitude problems or character problems. Every week Hall just continues to prove those people horribly wrong. Taylor Hall is the heart and soul of this Hockey Team and is currently fourth in the NHL scoring race. You know what’s the best part of Taylor Hall’s game right now? He’s +15. I don’t really like +/- as a stat, but boy is he ever shining. Hall had the Overtime winner against San Jose and had 4 goals, 4 assists for 8 points in three games. I think he’s the future captain of the Edmonton Oilers, if not Connor McDavid
1. Glen Sather: Yes, I’m stealing a note from the Sportsnet crew and giving current New York Rangers President and former longtime GM, Glen Sather the first star of the week. Sather was honoured on Friday night before the game for his contributions with the Edmonton Oilers. Like him or not, Glen Sather was just as instrumental as the Hall of Fame players he had under his roster. He combined a swagger and fierceness into his Edmonton Oilers. It was great seeing him walk all the way down and through the crowd, interacting with fans and giving a great speech. It was a fitting night too: The Rangers and Oilers combined for 12 goals as his former team won the game. I even included a video for you guys to watch, in case you missed the ceremony. It was really a top notch effort.
Edmonton Oilers Rumors and News
One horrible nugget during that thrilling 7-5 win: The Oilers lost Oscar Klefbom to injury. He reportedly has a broken finger. That’s a really tough break (no pun intended).
Oilers' 5v5 shots during 5gm win streak with and without Klef
With Klef 61-47
Without 63-99He's kinda important.
— Woodguy (@Woodguy55) December 12, 2015
That’s a huge hole to lose in the lineup. He’s been a beast 5v5 as Woodguy55 has pointed out. Very bad news.
Also: Mark Fayne was put on waivers and cleared. Nikita Nikitin was also called back up. Apparently Nikitin has been playing quite well in the AHL….so maybe we can give him the benefit of the doubt?
I tore into Nikitin during the pre season in a stinging article. I’ll hold my tongue for now.
Around the League
- The Penguins fired Mike Johnson yesterday and replaced him for now with Mike Sullivan.
- Boo Hiss. The Flames have also won five games in a row. *spits*
- Sportsnet had an article explaining why Taylor Hall is one of the best in the league.
- Logan Couture had surgery on his leg after a charlie horse against the Oilers. He had an small arterial bleed. Scary stuff.
- Sadly, Pascal Dupuis is unable to play hockey due to blood clot issues.
- The Family of Steve Montador is suing the NHL. Montador passed away in February.
- Stamkos liked a tweet mentioning him going to the Maple Leafs.
Highlights
Connor McDavid was featured on 60 Minutes. Here’s the link on YouTube
A bit late, but TSN recently did a Top 10 3v3 Overtime Goals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Gso4yyRgGg
Brayden Holtby is a Jedi.
The Week Ahead
The Edmonton Oilers play FOUR times this week and it’s a tough four game road trip.
Monday they visit Boston and Tuesday face the New York Rangers in back to back games.
Thursday they visit the Madhouse on Madison and the Chicago Blackhawks and finally Saturday they visit the very beatable Colorado Avalanche.
That’s the week that was! Follow me on Twitter and have a wonderful week Oil Fans.
